FlyOver at Canada Place at Christmas

Soar with Santa is a Christmas-themed multi-dimensional film at the FlyOver theatre at Canada Place in Vancouver during the winter holiday season.

Dates for the Soar With Santa film during this year’s Christmas season are from November 21st, 2024, until January 1st, 2025. The film Awaken Canada is also showing during those dates. There are special Breakfast With Santa experiences on weekends between November 30th and December 22nd as well.

(TIP: When buying your tickets online, if you select the Family Experience option for either the Soar with Santa or Awaken Canada shows on a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday between the above dates, you can get a free child pass per paying adult! The Family Experience option also gives you a 50% discount off a souvenir photo should you want one. (Note: With this offer, children can ride free, but still require a ticket. Consequently, be sure to book both the adult and child’s ticket at the same time using the Family Experience option. Also, the offer if good for visit up until December 19th, 2024.)

For tickets and the attraction’s official website, click FlyOver Canada.

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Soar With Santa at the FlyOver Canada Theatre in Vancouver in 2024

FlyOver Canada is a movie theatre where you buckle your seat belt and fly over amazing Canadian scenery including Toronto, the Prairies, the Okanagan and Vancouver. The attraction operates year-round but has special seasonal themes at different times of the year including Halloween and Christmas.

FlyOver Canada gets decked out during the winter holiday season with Christmas trees and other festive decorations. Santa makes an appearance on the giant movie screen and there’s a short pre-main show film featuring a couple of elves.

Overall, it’s a fun, indoors and wonderful family-friendly Christmas experience. The 2024 edition is also a little different from what it was in years past, for those who have already gone and might want to go again!

For the attraction’s official website click FlyOver Canada.

Christmas Display at FlyOver at Canada Place — Christmas Decorations at FlyOver

FlyOver Canada Location

FlyOver Canada is on the western side of Canada Place which is the giant convention centre building in downtown Vancouver. It’s the structure with the white sails on top and the Pan Pacific Hotel at the front.

The attraction’s address is 999 Canada Place. The venue is a couple of blocks and around the corner from Waterfront Station, which is the city’s main transit hub with SeaBus, SkyTrain and West Coast Express services.

Canada Place is at the northern end of Howe and Burrard Streets. From in front of the Pan Pacific Hotel, walk around to the left (or west side) of the promenade deck of Canada Place. About halfway down you’ll find the entrance to FlyOver Canada.

Dates and Show Times

This season the Christmas-themed film shows daily from November 21st, 2024, until January 1st, 2025. Screening times for this show are typically between 10:00 am and 8:00 pm.

FlyOver Canada Admission Rates

Admission rates to FlyOver Canada over the Christmas season vary depending on the date and when you purchase your ticket. Admission usually costs less on days when the attraction predicts lower numbers of visitors and higher on days when they expect it to be busier. Weekdays tend to cost less, while both weekends and days closer to Christmas and New Year’s Eve cost more.

Tickets Purchased Online

Tickets purchased in advance online usually cost at least 10% less compared to tickets at the gate. BC residents can also save an additional $3 or so. Online tickets for the Christmas show in November and December 2024 cost the following (with prices are subject to change).

Adults: $29
Children (ages 15 and under): $19

(NOTE: To experience the Ultimate Flying Ride, children must be at least 40 inches or 102 cm tall and accompanied by an adult.)

See the FlyOver Canada website for showtimes and tickets.

What to Expect at the Show

The FlyOver Canada film presentations run about once every 15 to 20 minutes and last for around 25 minutes. Each presentation includes the pre-show and about an eight-minute experience on the Ultimate Flying Ride.

Below is a description of what you can expect at the show during the Christmas season, based on our experience from attending this year.

At the Start

When you enter the FlyOver Canada venue you buy or show your already pre-purchased ticket and then get in the queue to go in. You can also get your photo taken at the entrance if you want. The photos cost $18 for either a printed or digital copy in 2024.

You’re not completely “inside” while waiting in line ahead of the pre-show, but it’s a covered area with some heaters directly overhead. It was a little chilly outside when we went but we weren’t cold at all after we had our tickets scanned!

The Pre-Show

Once inside the FlyOver Canada venue, you find yourself in a small room with screens all around. During the Christmas season, the room is decorated with fake Christmas trees, reindeer and other holiday-themed items.

There is a short introductory Winter Wonderland-themed pre-show narrated by a few elves. Their names are Chestnut, Pinecone and Peppermint. The storyline of Soar With Santa is that you’re going to go across the country to all the places that Santa’s elves are on vacation, to make sure they all make their way back up to the North Pole again.

You are directed after that to go through the doors at the side, down a hall and then into a line-up by the entrance to the main theatre.

Preparing for the Main Show

Prior to entering the main FlyOver Canada theatre there is a short, but humorous safety video. It’s made to resemble the kind of safety film people watch before an airplane takes off. It includes all three of the elves as well as a Grinch.

After the video, guests are instructed to follow the tour guide into the theatre. Everyone then buckles themselves in, puts their purses and small bags under their seats and gets ready for the ride.

At the start of the FlyOver Canada theatre ride the lights dim, the seats move up and out, and then the film begins.

The FlyOver Canada Film

The eight-minute Ultimate Flying Ride experience is short but amazing. During the film you feel like you and the seats you are in are really flying!

The main feature film at Christmas is a holiday-themed version of the original FlyOver film about Canada (which has now been replaced in the regular rotation by Awaken Canada). What makes it different is that there are regular cameos by some of Santa’s elves taking part in activities like paragliding and canoeing in the beautiful scenery. Santa Claus himself also makes an appearance in his sleigh of course.

Another thing that’s different about the Christmas show compared to other times of the year is that there’s an extended final scene where you get to fly over Santa’s magical North Pole. It’s pretty cool!

The film takes you on a journey across Canada. You fly from the Maritimes on the eastern side of the country, past Toronto, over Niagara Falls, across the Prairies, through the Rocky Mountains and to British Columbia.

In BC you fly past vineyards in the Okanagan, the province’s coastline and over Vancouver and Canada Place (which is home to the FlyOver Canada theatre). You then head up north to see the Northern Lights, before going even further north all the way up to Santa’s workshop.

The film experience at FlyOver Canada is four-dimensional. In addition to your row of seats moving with every turn in the film, there are smells and touch sensations too. While flying you sense the wind over Niagara Falls, through clouds you feel the mist, and in forest scenes you can smell the trees.

See the FlyOver Canada website for tickets.

FlyOver Canada at Christmas Preview Video

Below is a promotional video showcasing the FlyOver Canada at Christmas film. As you’ll see, it includes scenes from the original FlyOver Canada film about Canada. It has extra magical scenes too, though with a wonderful Christmas theme.