Is Michael Eisner the Golfer in Soarin' Over California?

A popular Disney legend is that former Disney CEO Michael Eisner is the golfer in the Palm Springs sequence in the Soarin’ Over California ride film. But is that true?

Thanks to a May 10, 2024, episode of Podcast the Ride, we know the truth. Podcast co-host, comedian, and writer Scott Gairdner collaborated with theme park historian, writer, and podcaster Jim Hill to figure it out.

Jim Hill found his media sourcebook from the grand opening of Disney California Adventure Park in 2001. According to the media sourcebook, Disney Imagineer Rick Rothschild directed the original version of Soarin’. Scott contacted Rothschild, who revealed that Michael Eisner was not the golfer.

Michael was not one of the golfers in the sequence we shot at the PGA West golf course in Palm Desert. What Michael did contribute was the additional financing to add a few final CG effects after screening my initial cut of the film. One of which was the golf ball that comes roaring up at us from the golfer who’s teed off. And you of course know when we added the golf ball I asked for the Mickey to be placed on it. It was our not-so-subtle hidden Mickey in the film.

The golfing scene was shot at PGA West Palmer Course in La Quinta, which is credited as Palm Springs in the ride queue. Watch the full version of Soarin’ Over California on the Park Rovers YouTube channel.