The Living Seas is a pavilion in Future World at Epcot in Walt Disney World, Lake Buena Vista, Florida. The attraction is based on the theme of underwater exploration with several exhibits devoted to that theme. It’s part of the Future World showcase of various exhibits devoted to the celebration and understanding of new technologies. The exhibit was always part of the master plan for the park with signs denoting the future project up as early as 1983.
History
The Living Seas opened to the public in 1986. It was the largest man-made underwater environment in the world at its completion (surpassed by the Georgia Aquarium). It was a marvel of engineering creating the single largest salt water tank ever built. The concept of the building was to take visitors under the ocean to ‘Sea Base Alpha’. Visitors would watch a short movie then proceed to take an ‘elevator’ ride to the ocean floor using ‘Hydrolators’. From there guests would ride around ‘Sea Base Alpha’ getting an up-close view of the marine life. They would then disembark into the main exhibit area where they could interact with various multimedia displays. In 2003, the process of bringing elements of the Pixar film Finding Nemo began. This includes the now popular Turtle Talk with Crush show where the sea turtle Crush talks to the audience about marine life by usage of an innovative live CGI system. In 2005, Living Seas closed for its extensive Finding Nemo lay over, which included removing the hydrolators and movie. Currently half of the attraction is open, featuring the exhibits and marine tank, but no hydrolators. The second half of the pavilion is scheduled to reopen in 2006 with a new attraction, The Seas with Nemo & Friends.
Building attractions and services
Coral Reef Restaurant
The Seas with Nemo & Friends - a ride aboard ‘clamobiles’ that follows the adventures of Nemo and his friends, with the characters from the movie actually interacting inside of the Living Seas aquarium (set to debut Fall, 2006)
Sea Base Alpha - the main viewing area for the aquarium
Turtle Talk with Crush - an interactive show wherein the sea turtle from Finding Nemo answers children’s questions about the sea
The Seas with Nemo & Friends
Gift Shop
Attraction facts
Grand opening: January 15, 1986
Designer: Walt Disney Imagineering
Original sponsor: United Technologies (1986-1998)
Tank size: 5.7 million gallons (793,000 gallons kept in storage)
Number of creatures living in the tank: 8,500
Pavilion size: 185,000 Square Feet
Peak Capacity: 2,200 people an hour
Construction: 22 months built by Montgomery Watson (prime contractor)
Consultants and advisors
Dr. Robert Ballard, Senior Scientist, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Dr. Sylvia Earle, Vice President, Ocean Engineering, Inc.
Mr. Gilbert Grosvenor, President, National Geographic Society
Dr. Murray Newman, Director, Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre
Professor William Nierenberg, Director, Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Dr. David Potter, Vice President, Public Affairs, General Motors Corporation
Dr. John Ryther, Director, Division of Applied Biology, Harbor Branch Foundation, Inc.
Mr. Robert Wildman, Deputy Director, NOAA, Office of Sea Grants Program
Copyright: Wikipedia information about The Living Seas – This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "The Living Seas". More from Wikipedia