Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Tip Tuesday: Making Soarin' magical for kids

Welcome to another Tip Tuesday!

If you've been following my trip reports from my Dec. 2008 Walt Disney World trip, then you may have read on Day 6 about a little tip a Dream Squad cast member (at least I think he was a Dream Squad cast member) gave me to bring a little more magic to Soarin' for younger kids.

I'm going to let you in on the secret, just don't tell my kids!

Soarin' veterans will know about the golf ball that flies right over your head at one point halfway through the attraction. If you look carefully, there's a hidden Mickey on the ball. Here's where the magic comes.

Before you go to the parks, find a golf ball (real or plastic, doesn't matter) and draw a black three-circle Mickey icon on it. On the day you plan to ride Soarin', bring the ball with you, but keep this out of sight. While standing in the queue, talk to your kids about the golf ball that will fly just over your head and challenge them to find the hidden Mickey. Then, in a quiet voice, tell them that there's a bit of magic in the attraction. You can try to CATCH the ball!

As you take your seat on the bench, slip the golf ball out of your pocket and keep it hidden in your hand - DON'T DROP IT!!

As the golf ball scene comes, remind your kids to try to catch the ball. As you hear the golfer hit the ball reach out with the hand that DOES NOT have the ball and "catch" it. Wait until the attraction is done. As you glide back down to the platform, show the ball to your kids - they will go nuts!

This also works if a big brother or sister "catches" the ball. They just have to be in on the magic.
So the next time you're on Soarin', you never know if you might be the one to catch the golf ball!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great tip Chuck! I may have to try this on our next trip down.

Eric Hoffman said...

Tricky! I like it.

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