Soarin' Expansion Update: Work on New Queue Begins
Back in December 2014, the OTPN Team was able to confirm that the popular Soarin' attraction (located inside The Land pavilion at Epcot) will be receiving a completely redesigned queue area that will use the existing footprint as well as spaces that were previously unused. This expanded (and themed) waiting line will be necessary due to the construction of the attraction's third theater, which is also in full swing (we included some construction photos in this post).
The biggest new section of the queue line will be located inside what was formerly the stage of Kitchen Kabaret/Food Rocks, which has been a completely abandoned area since Soarin' opened (it was used just to store small pieces of equipment) UPDATE (JULY 16, 2015): We have actually been informed that the former theater will become a new bathroom location to serve the ever-increasing amount of Guests visiting the bottom floor of The Land pavilion. The Soarin' queue wil still be expanded, but not using that location. Here's a map showing the location of the old stage:
Work officially begun in that area just a few days ago (walls were installed on Wednesday or Thursday). While the former stage is two stories high, it's unlikely that the queue will take up more than one floor, especially since it would be complicated to have Guests using wheelchairs move between floors.
Here's another map showing the expanded queue, as well as the location of the third theater (note that the blue area marked with a "C" has been confirmed as being part of the new queue new restrooms, while the blue section marked with a "?" has not been confirmed, and should be considered just speculation for now):
Before concluding, here you are a couple of photos showing the third theater. These pictures were taken right next to the Imagination! pavilion, next to the entrance of Journey into Imagination with Figment:
And that is all for now. We will continue to keep you up-to-date in regards to this project. Stay tuned.
MAP: ©2015 NearMap. All Rights Reserved.
Maybe Disney will have the money to replace the roofing on The Land and Imagination when his is done!
ReplyDeleteCould the worse queue in all of Walt Disney World finally get some improvements?
ReplyDeleteWhile the Soarin' queue has always been incredibly boring, I appreciated the fact that it was indoors, at least, and out of the Florida sun and heat!
ReplyDeleteI am surprised they do not change Soarin to Soarin over Frozen. LOL
ReplyDeleteThe one thing that's pee me off is that the area of Kitchen Kabaret/food rocks is still there so they could have still build Soarin without removing that attraction.
ReplyDeleteIt's time for queueless queue!
ReplyDeleteThey experimented with this on RnR several years ago, and have even implemented it on Dumbo, but haven't done much with it since.