Soarin’ to tower, we’re nearly cleared for takeoff! The new edition of Soarin’, where guests will fly across iconic American landscapes, will debut on May 26th at Epcot. Ahead of the opening date, Walt Disney World has shared that there will be previews for Annual Passholders, DVC Members and Cast Members. They have also announced preview dates for Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets. In this post, we’ll share Soarin’ Across America’s preview dates and details.

Soarin’ Across America is debuting in honor of the country’s 250th anniversary this summer. While it won’t debut in California Adventure until July 2nd, Epcot will open the ride over a month earlier on May 26th.

The new bi-coastal offering will showcase the United States—from sea to shining sea—highlighting some of the country’s natural beauty and iconic cityscapes. This will be brought to life with the iconic elements that make Soarin’ unforgettable – the flight, the sights and score, even the scents! Walt Disney Imagineering captured more than a dozen breathtaking locations for the new flight.

Below are all of the preview details for the reimagined ride.

Annual Passholder Previews

Enjoy the natural beauty and iconic cityscapes of the United States in this simulated flight that takes you coast to coast. Soarin’ Across America lands at EPCOT on May 26. Passholders can experience a preview flight on May 19 and 20.

How To Experience Previews for Soarin’ Across America
To participate in the preview, Passholders may join the standby queue during normal Epcot operating hours (subject to capacity).

Important Information

• Passholders must have a Walt Disney World Annual Pass with valid admission on the preview date and may need a theme park reservation depending on the time of visit. Applicable pass blockout dates apply. Theme park reservations are limited and subject to availability, and reservation requirements are subject to change
• Passholders must enter the theme park where they have a reservation prior to visiting another theme park. Or, Passholders may visit a theme park without a reservation after 2:00 PM (except Magic Kingdom Park on Saturdays and Sundays). 
• Offering, dates, and hours are all subject to change or cancellation without notice or liability.

Disney Vacation Club Previews

DVC has shared in an Instagram post that it will also be offering a preview of Soarin’ Across America. You can see the post below but here is the caption:

DVC Members, get ready to jam and jet! You’ll be among the first to experience Rock ’n’ Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets and Soarin’ Across America before they open on May 26, 2026. Eligible Members with a qualifying Walt Disney World Resort hotel reservation on the event dates are automatically registered for these special experiences. If that’s you, keep an eye on your inbox for additional event details!

In an additional comment, DVC announced that the Priority Access Dates will be May 21st for Soarin’ Across America and May 24th for Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets.

The post eludes to all Walt Disney World hotel reservations being applicable and not just DVC reservations, as long as you have a DVC membership. We don’t know that for sure yet and will be awaiting more news from DVC. It doesn’t appear that either attraction will use a virtual queue for the Disney Vacation Club preview day.

Cast Member Preview

Walt Disney World Cast Members can sign up for previews beginning on May 6th. That’s tomorrow! Cast Members should either receive an email or can sign into the CastLife website and select a time from there. That May 6th date pertains to both Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets and Soarin’ Across America.

Commentary

With Soarin’ Around the World’s last day of operation being May 13th, it’s not a surprise to see previews pop up for the new attraction. The theaters should be relatively easy to turnover and the Epcot queue doesn’t have much room for new props. The cosmetic changes for the attraction should be minimal and they’re just changing out the movies.

The lack of virtual queue for this attraction, while Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster has one for previews, shows a couple of things. First of all, Soarin’ has a higher capacity. It’s easier, and maybe more dependable, in cycling guests through. The other takeaway is that Disney World might not expect this attraction to be as popular as the reimagined coaster. That would make sense when comparing the wait times of the previous iterations.

Even if this new edition of Soarin’ isn’t getting as much hype, we’re very excited about the project. I’ll be honest, some of that excitement comes from my disenchantment with Soarin’ Around the World. Compared to the original (Soarin’ Over California), the 2nd iteration just doesn’t hit for me. Yes, there are some great scenes but the whole film relies too heavily on CGI and over the top transitions.

I’m hopeful that Soarin’ Across America will be a course correction in terms of filmmaking. Capturing places in America is probably more practical than, say, the Taj Mahal. I’m eager to see what this new version looks like and am hoping they minimize the whales jumping out at me or the CGI elephant throwing dirt to make a transition.

While I probably come off to cynical about Soarin’ Around the World, Soarin’ Over California remains an all-time classic. I think Soarin’ Across America has a good chance of capturing that same spirit. We’ll be there for the previews and will have our review of the new attraction in a few weeks! Until then, happy flying.

Are you excited for Soarin’ Across America? Let us know your thoughts, along with any questions you might have, in the comments below! Planning a trip to Walt Disney World? Check out our Disney World Trip Planning Guide to help you out. This site offers discount tickets for those looking! If you enjoy what you are reading here on Wandering in Disney please share this post with your friends, as well as like our social media pages. You can also subscribe to the blog via WordPress or email. All of those links are on the right side of this page. Thank you for reading, we really appreciate it!