The Seas with Nemo & Friends

The Seas with Nemo & Friends

Above: The Seas with Nemo & Friends logo
Below: Entrance to the pavilion
Epcot
Area Future World
Status Operating
Soft opening date 2007
Opening date January 24, 2007
Replaced The Living Seas
General statistics
Attraction type Aquarium/Dark ride
Manufacturer Montgomery Watson
Designer Walt Disney Imagineering
Theme Finding Nemo, Underwater exploration base
Site area 185,000 sq ft (17,200 m2)
Capacity 2,200 riders per hour
Vehicle type Clam mobiles
Vehicles 1
Riders per vehicle 2
Rows 1
Tank size 5,700,000 US gallons (22,000 m3), 793,000 US gallons (3,000 m3) kept in storage
Number of creatures 8,500
Construction time 22 months
Audio-animatronics Yes
Fastpass+ available
Wheelchair accessible
Must transfer from wheelchair
Assistive listening available
Closed captioning available
The Living Seas

Above: The Living Seas logo, now shown on the door to The Living Seas Conference Center
Below: Entrance to The Living Seas pavilion
Epcot
Area Future World
Status Closed
Opening date January 15, 1986
Closing date 2005
Replaced by The Seas with Nemo & Friends
General statistics
Attraction type Aquarium
Designer WED Enterprises
Theme Underwater exploration base
Music George Wilkins and Russell Brower[1]
Wheelchair accessible
Must transfer from wheelchair
Assistive listening available
Closed captioning available

The Seas with Nemo & Friends (formerly The Living Seas) is an aquarium and attached dark ride attraction in Future World at Epcot at the Walt Disney World Resort. The attraction is themed as an underwater exploration base, with several exhibits devoted to oceanic study. The pavilion opened in 1986, but had been planned as part of the park since its opening in 1982.[2][3]

History

The Living Seas

The Living Seas opened to the public on January 15, 1986. It housed the largest saltwater tank in the world at its completion, holding 5.7 million US gallons (22,000 m3) of water, but was surpassed in 2005 with the opening of the Georgia Aquarium.[3][4] The concept of the building was to take visitors under the ocean to "Sea Base Alpha". Guests viewed a short movie about the formation of the oceans entitled The Sea, which was followed by an elevator ride to the ocean floor aboard a "Hydrolator" (in reality, the floor merely shook and effects in the walls simulated downward motion). Guests then boarded a "Seacab" and traveled along an underwater tunnel through the aquarium at the Caribbean Coral Reef Ride. From there, guests rode around Sea Base Alpha and got an up-close view of the marine life. They then disembarked into the main exhibit area where they could interact with various multimedia displays.

The Living Seas was sponsored by United Technologies from its opening until 1998. After the departure of United Technologies as sponsor of The Living Seas, significant changes were made to the pavilion. All sponsorship references were removed from the pavilion. Additionally, one of the two preshow theaters was removed and was replaced with a walkway, allowing for guests to bypass the preshow if they wished to go directly to the Hydrolators.

In October 2001, the Seacabs closed down. The queue of the Seacab ride was left intact and the Seacabs were still visible to guests through the ocean tank windows. Reasons for their closure are not entirely known. After they closed, guests leaving the Hydrolators walked along a corridor to Sea Base Alpha. Now, guests had the option of viewing the preshow or going directly to the Hydrolators and simply walking to Sea Base Alpha.

The Seas with Nemo & Friends

In December 2003, Disney began to re-theme The Living Seas into a new pavilion based on the recently released Pixar film Finding Nemo. The majority of the transformation began with exterior elements, but in January 2004, the interior began to change as well. On November 16, 2004, Turtle Talk with Crush opened in what was once Module 1C, or the Earth Systems exhibit. The show's unexpected success overwhelmed the pavilion, causing the development of plans to move Turtle Talk with Crush to a larger area in the pavilion.

Turtle Talk with Crush was only the beginning of changes to The Living Seas. On August 21, 2005, The Living Seas closed for its transformation into The Seas with Nemo & Friends. Parts of the pavilion reopened in late November 2005. Outside the pavilion, the facade and mural were changed and depictions of sea life seen in Finding Nemo were added. The exit Hydrolators had been removed, and were replaced with glass doors that served as an exit and temporary entrance. Sea Base Alpha had been re-themed to Finding Nemo and the entire original preshow area was in the process of being rebuilt. Decor and signage was replaced and scientific displays were replaced by ones themed to Finding Nemo. Turtle Talk with Crush remained as popular as it was before the transformation.

Throughout 2006, construction walls hid the preshow area which was undergoing reconstruction. With the former Sea Base Alpha open, work progressed on the new queue areas and the Seacabs were being rebuilt as a new "Clamobile" attraction. The remaining Living Seas preshow theater, entrance Hydrolators, holding areas, and Seacabs queue were all completely removed and replaced by a new themed queue area which took the place of the former Hydrolator story. Hydrolator Three and Theater 1 were replaced by a number of new dark ride sets. The former Seacabs ride was lengthened by 280 feet (85 m), but the final section still took place inside the tank. A new projection technology was added to the tank and the new show scenes. The existing Seacabs were given a clamshell shape and renamed "Clamobiles". Three Audio-Animatronic seagulls were added to the entrance, which occasionally squawk "Mine! Mine! Mine!", just like the seagulls do in Finding Nemo.

On October 10, 2006, the construction walls in front of the entrance to The Living Seas, now The Seas with Nemo & Friends, were removed. The temporary entrance was removed from the exit. A corridor was constructed extending from the module into the second preshow theater, which had been unused since a bypass corridor was built so guests could choose to skip the preshow after United Technologies discontinued its sponsorship of The Living Seas. The Seas with Nemo & Friends was rededicated on January 24, 2007.

It was the first Epcot Pavilion to be based on a Disney animated movie property and only the second Epcot attraction to do so (The Lion King-based Circle of Life: An Environmental Fable at The Land Pavilion was the first, opening in 1995 replacing Symbiosis).

Consultants and advisers

Pavilion

Attractions

Restaurants

Shopping

Experiences

VIP room

This pavilion has a backstage VIP room that is used for private events, such as weddings and conventions. The room is long and curved with wood paneled walls. One side has floor-to-ceiling windows into the aquarium. The room also has an acrylic glass see-through piano.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Brigante, Ricky (September 30, 2012). "Fascinating facets of Epcot's 30th anniversary explored by D23 in Walt Disney World fan celebration". Inside the Magic. Archived from the original on October 3, 2012. Retrieved September 6, 2016.
  2. ↑ Beard, Richard R. (1982). Lory Frankel, ed. Walt Disney's EPCOT. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc. p. 119. ISBN 0-8109-0819-0.
  3. 1 2 Kurtti, Jeff (1996). Since the World Began: Walt Disney World, The First 25 Years. New York, New York: Hyperion. p. 105. ISBN 0-7868-6248-3.
  4. ↑ "Aquarium sets Guinness record". Associated Press. Atlanta Journal-Constitution. 2010-08-23. Retrieved 2010-09-09.
  5. ↑ "Epcot DiveQuest - Walt Disney World Resort". Walt Disney World.


Coordinates: 28°22′31.34″N 81°33′3.17″W / 28.3753722°N 81.5508806°W / 28.3753722; -81.5508806

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