The first entry in our attraction trivia series!

1 The attraction almost didn't get made because Imagineers had a hard time coming up with a ride system that could both accomodate a large number of people, and not require elevators or stairs to get to the upper rows. During Thanksgiving break, Imagineer Mark Sumner came up with the swing-arm idea they eventually used. By the end of the weekend, he had constructed a working mechanical model of the attraction using his old Erector set.

2 The attraction film is the same used at Disney's California's Soarin' Over California. Hence, all the locations shown are from that state: San Francisco, Monterey Coast, Yosemite National Park, Napa Valley, Lake Tahoe, Palm Springs, San Diego, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, Los Angeles, Malibu and Disneyland in Anaheim are locations seen in the film.

4 The shots for the movie were not left to chance. For example, for the nighttime Disneyland flyover scene, the film crew had to plan a special staging of the Disneyland Christmas parade.

5 The various smells in the ride are sprayed into a fan toward the rider.

6 The ride utilizes OMNIMAX technology, now called Imax Dome, for its screen and projection. Unlike traditional IMAX screen, the OMNIMAX image wraps around the viewer's peripheral range, which can give the illusion of being inside the projected scene.

7 The ride's score is by the late Jerry Goldsmith, composer of the music for dozens of films including, The Omen, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, and Mulan (his only other Disney project).

8 The name of the original concept for the ride was "Ultra Flight."

SOURCES:
The History Channel's Modern Marvels: Walt Disney World (DVD), 2005
Wikipedia entry: Soarin'
IMDb entry: Jerry Goldsmith