Since its release, Apple Vision Pro has been in the spotlight for its new role in the media industry. Most notably, Jon M. Chu publicly shared that he used the product in the editing process for Wicked. Now, the product is getting new use for a brand new Disney theme park attraction.
A new video posted to the Disney Parks YouTube channel shows audio designers from their Walt Disney Imagineering team using Apple Vision Pro to work on the sound mixing for Soarin’ Across America.
For those unfamiliar with the Soarin’ attractions, they utilize a ‘flying theater’ design that elevates rows of seats up into a domed screen 80 feet in the air. It uses motion simulation, scents, and music to evoke the feeling of hang gliding. The first iteration of the attraction, Soarin’ Over California, opened with the Disney California Adventure park in 2001 to much acclaim as a favorite for all ages. The ride has since been duplicated in Orlando, Shanghai, and Tokyo.
The third and latest film for the attraction is centered around America’s bicentennial celebration. It features views of a NASA Artemis launch, the Statue of Liberty, and more American landmarks.
In the past, performing audio mixing work for the attraction would require building scaffolding in the theater and lifting mixing equipment and screens on top to match the placement of the ride vehicles; however, audio designers for the attraction said that the ‘accelerated schedule’ to complete in time for the 250th anniversary made that strategy a ‘no-go.’ Instead, they decided to bring up the bare essentials with them on a small desk attached to the ride carriage and manage all of the screen views on Apple Vision Pro headsets with a Bluetooth mouse and keyboard.
Walt Disney World used Apple Vision Pros to streamline the live audio mixing process for the recently updated Soarin’ attraction at EPCOT
Normally they would have to build a bunch of scaffolding just to support all of the displays and mixing equipment for this use case pic.twitter.com/dXdvwNWnXe
— Brad Lynch (@SadlyItsBradley) June 12, 2026
The audio designers with the Vision Pro headsets were able to receive real-time feedback from colleagues on the music team who were also on the vehicles to critique the mix. Then, they were able to go back and quickly make the changes, all while fully experiencing the motions of the attraction.
Though the format of the Soarin’ ride films is remarkably similar to the Apple Immersive Video format, the imagineers are not editing directly on the headsets. Instead, they are using them as virtual monitors while experiencing the ride film through passthrough and the in-house speakers for sound. It is definitely a more niche and resourceful application for the Apple Vision Pro’s tech than any other industry professional has done before.
Soarin’ Across America premiered at EPCOT in Orlando, Fla., on May 26. It will premiere at Disney’s California Adventure in Anaheim, Calif., on July 2 after a limited-time run of Soarin’ Over California.
