Soarin' Over Californian Grand Opening, Introduction

Soarin' Over Californian Grand Opening
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by Rebekah and Doobie Moseley
February 16, 2001
Coverage of the Grand Opening of Soarin' Over California.

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Soarin' Over California
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On February 7, 2001 Disney officially dedicated Soarin' Over California with a ceremony emceed by Paul Pressler. Also on hand where Jeana Yeager and Richard Rutan who piloted the Voyager aircraft non-stop around the world.

  • This Page
    Video
    Introduction
  • Page 2
    Paul Pressler
  • Page 3
    Jeana Yeager and Richard Rutan

Videos
There are three videos available that together show the entire ceremony. All videos are in RealVideo format. All videos are available in low bandwidth (modem) and high bandwidth (DSL, cable, LAN) formats. The low bandwidth videos are 192 X 144. The high bandwidth videos are 320 X 240. The videos are also linked at the appropriate places within the article. A free version of the RealVideo player is available at www.real.com.

Introduction
Following is a transcript of the ceremony. The ceremony began with a biplane doing aerobatics overhead and three actors dressed as aviators and mechanics coming out to watch.

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A biplane flyover
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RealVideo: Introduction with biplane flyover. 2 minutes, 31 seconds.
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Aviator: Yeah, there she goes!

Female Mechanic: Isn’t that something, a Jenny!

Aviator:: Just like the first plane Charles Lindbergh bought.

Male Mechanic: Every time I see one of those old birds fly it’s like a window to another time. You know, when I helped a pilot into the cockpit he just sat there for a minute. I thought he was having second thoughts about flying there. When he finally spoke he said he searched a long time for a plane like that.

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(l-r): Aviator, Female Mechanic, Male Mechanic
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Female Mechanic: Isn’t it something how the thought of soaring through the clouds in one of those vintage planes can transform a grown man into a dreamer.

Aviator: A grown man, a grown woman or a child. If it weren’t for the dreams of pilots like Amelia Earhart, James Herman Banning, Charles Lindbergh or T. Claude Ryan we might not have found our wings and discovered that the sky is no longer the limit, but home.

Female Mechanic: You know, I think I hear him circling back around. Come on guys, let’s go watch him land.

Male Mechanic: Woo Hoo!

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Aviator: To us, it’s a bit of history but back then a sight like that Jenny was just another day at the airfield. You know, they all eventually came here to California where wide open spaces and good thermal winds provided near perfect conditions for flying. It was once said that man’s mind and spirit grew within the space in which they are allowed to operate. Well the California skies provided that space. Flying fostered fantasies of childhood and stirred our capacity to dream and those dreams took us higher, faster and further than anyone ever though possible. You know, Amelia Earhart once said, ‘You haven’t seen a tree until you see its shadow from the sky.’ And she was right. I hope you all get to view your world from that same perspective.

Announcer: Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome the chairman of the Walt Disney Resorts, Mr. Paul Pressler.

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