There is a change coming to one of EPCOT's most popular attractions that has a specific and somewhat compressed timeline, and guests planning visits to the park between now and Memorial Day weekend need to have it on their radar.
Soarin' Around the World is being temporarily replaced by Soarin' Across America, a new film celebrating the 250th anniversary of the United States. The transition involves a closure period that starts May 14, a cast member preview window that runs through most of May, and a public opening on May 26. A parallel version opens at Disney California Adventure on July 2.
Cast members and employees who work at Walt Disney World can begin registering for preview dates starting May 6. Each eligible cast member can register for one date and bring up to three guests. Those previews run throughout May and give the people who operate the attraction their first experience with the new film before general guests arrive.
For everyone else, May 26 is the date.
What Soarin' Across America Actually Is
The new film keeps everything that makes Soarin' work as an attraction. The hang glider seating, the multi-screen theater, the lift, and the scents all remain. What changes is where the flight goes.
Soarin' Around the World takes guests on a global journey across multiple continents. Soarin' Across America narrows the scope to the United States, covering more than a dozen locations across the country with an original score composed specifically for this version and scents matched to the American landscapes guests will fly over. Disney has already shared footage from filming at the Grand Canyon, which is among the confirmed destinations. The full list of locations has not been published but the Grand Canyon framing suggests the film will lean into the kind of sweeping natural landscape that Soarin' has always done well.
This version of the film is tied to the United States 250th anniversary celebration and Disney has been explicit that it is a limited-time offering, not a permanent replacement for the global version. Soarin' Around the World will return at some point after the anniversary programming concludes. Disney has not announced when that will be.
The queue is also being updated alongside the film change. New carpet installation has been spotted at the EPCOT attraction, with a more detailed and plush design replacing the existing pattern. The installation is happening in stages during overnight hours. Walt Disney Imagineering also filed a permit for set installation at the attraction recently, suggesting the physical changes inside extend beyond the queue carpeting.
The Closure Window That Matters
Soarin' Around the World closes on May 14. The attraction does not reopen until May 26 as Soarin' Across America. That is a twelve-day window where Soarin' is unavailable at EPCOT entirely.
For guests with EPCOT visits already planned, that window is worth checking against current itineraries. Any trip to EPCOT between May 14 and May 25 means the park's most consistently in-demand attraction is not running. Guests who built their EPCOT plan around a Soarin' ride will need to restructure that day.
The reopening on May 26 coincides with the unofficial start of the summer travel season at Walt Disney World, which means the first days and weeks of Soarin' Across America will overlap with increased park attendance. New film launches at popular attractions tend to draw elevated interest beyond the normal baseline demand. Guests visiting in the immediate post-launch window should expect higher than usual wait times for Soarin' and plan Lightning Lane bookings accordingly.
For guests interested in riding Soarin' Around the World specifically before it pauses, the window to do that is now through May 13. Any EPCOT visit in that range gets the global film. Any visit from May 26 onward gets the American version.
How This Fits Into a Broader EPCOT Visit
Soarin' is consistently one of the longer wait-time attractions at EPCOT and it anchors a lot of guest itineraries as an early morning priority or a Lightning Lane selection. The change in film content does not affect that dynamic significantly. Soarin' Across America is expected to draw comparable demand to Soarin' Around the World, and the novelty of a new film typically drives additional interest in the short term.
For first-time EPCOT visitors, the change makes no practical difference. They will experience the attraction as it exists when they arrive. For returning guests with a strong preference for one version or the other, the date awareness is what matters.
For Disney guests on the West Coast, the California timeline is July 2 at Disney California Adventure. The Disneyland version opens about five weeks after the EPCOT premiere, giving both coasts a version of the 250th anniversary flight.
The limited-time designation also introduces a planning variable for guests who are booking trips well into the future. Soarin' Around the World will return, but there is no public timeline for when. Guests planning EPCOT visits in late 2026 or 2027 are working with genuine uncertainty about which film will be playing during their trip. That information is worth watching for as Disney provides updates closer to the anniversary program's conclusion.
What to Do Before Your EPCOT Visit
Pull up your EPCOT date and check it against three things. Is it before May 14? Soarin' Around the World is running. Is it between May 14 and May 25? Soarin' is closed. Is it May 26 or later? Soarin' Across America is open and the queue has new carpet.
If Soarin' in any form is a priority for your group on a specific day, this check takes thirty seconds and eliminates any unpleasant surprise at the attraction. If you have flexibility on your EPCOT date and you want the new film with the fresh queue, May 26 onward is your window. If you want the global film before it goes on hiatus, you are working with whatever days remain before May 14.
Check your EPCOT dates against the Soarin' schedule before you finalize anything for May. The closure window is real and the compressed timeline between announcement and opening means a lot of guests are just now finding out about it. Our EPCOT guide has current hours and attraction status updated regularly so you always have an accurate picture of what is running on the days you are there.
