Soarin' Over California is soaring back to Disney California Adventure for a limited time

THEME PARK ATTRACTIONS, once built and standing tall, have a way of remaining in place for years, with no change-outs or switcheroos possible, save a creative holiday overlay or special decorations. Soarin', located in the Grizzly Peak Airfield of Disney California Adventure Park, is an exciting exception to this general rule. The fly-high experience, which takes guests on a hang-glider-like adventure via an 80-foot projection show, raised cantilevered seating, and some deftly delivered scents, whisks flyers around the globe, taking them to lands far from Anaheim. But for the last few years, this planet-spanning trip has gone on hiatus during the Disney California Adventure Food & Wine Festival, which returns in March, to make way for the airy escapade that formerly occupied the capacious hangar-style building for many years: Soarin' Over California, which takes fans across, and over, some of the Golden State's most notable locations.

SOARIN' OVER CALIFORNIA... will again take flight beginning on March 1, 2024, with all of the scenes you loved: The colorful balloons drifting gently over a vine-filled landscape, snowy peaks, kayakers on a river. The Golden Gate Bridge makes a cameo, as do the busy freeways of Los Angeles, and the golf ball flying for viewers, at least on screen, is another staple of the show (that appears in the desert segment). There are pine trees to smell, and oranges, too, when you glide over a fruit-filled grove, thanks to some well-timed scent releases. And Disneyland? That's the final, firework-y exclamation point to the indoor trip, with further thrills created by Jerry Goldsmith's iconic and beloved score. Good to know? There's no additional ticket required to ride Soarin' Over California, though admission and a reservation are required to enter Disney California Adventure Park.