The Seas with Nemo & Friends attraction is a ride for Guests of all ages in Future World in Epcot theme park inspired by the characters from the Disney-Pixar film Finding Nemo.
Board a "clamobile" and gently descend below the waves into a colorful underwater world where Nemo and his friends explore colorful tropical reefs, discover ancient shipwrecks, meet beautiful sea creatures and avoid lurking peril.
Nemo is once again missing and Marlin and Dory are searching for him-although, unlike in the movie, Nemo is more playfully absent than truly lost. The adventure climaxes with an awe-inspiring view of the Finding Nemo characters frolicking among real-life fish living in a 5.7 million gallon salt-water tank.
Some of the original animators who worked on Finding Nemo at Pixar Animation Studios helped bring their characters to life in this delightful attraction. Fans of the movie will find plenty to love in the new adventures of some of their favorite underwater friends.
Guests board "Clamobiles" and venture into the sea to join Marlin, Dory, and other characters from the film Finding Nemo, as they search for Nemo who has gotten lost again. Guests first journey through a coral reef where they find Marlin, a clownfish, searching for Nemo. Farther along the reef, they come across Mr. Ray and his students, setting out to explore and look for Nemo. Dory soon joins Marlin in the search and they come upon a group of jellyfish. An anglerfish comes out of the darkness and begins to chase them frantically. Guests dive deeper and come upon the wreck of a massive submarine that sits in the center of a deadly minefield. Peeking out from the wreck is Bruce, a great white shark, and Chum, a mako shark, trying to coax Nemo out from his hiding spot. (Anchor, a hammerhead shark is not included in the ride.) They assure him in their sneaky voices that fish are friends, not food. The Clamobiles are then swept up into the East Australian Current with Nemo, Crush, and Squirt. The current empties the guests out into a massive aquarium where Nemo is reunited once again with his friends. As they sing a closing song, "In the Big Blue World" (although the ride opened first, this song was adapted from the Disney's Animal Kingdom show Finding Nemo - The Musical), these animated Pixar characters swim in the actual aquarium with real fish through the use of special effect glass. The Clamobiles then return to the surface.
Touring Tips
- This slow-moving and tranquil "omni-mover" style attraction provides a gentle transition from the outside world into the deep sea-depths of The Seas with Nemo & Friends Pavilion.
- The Finding Nemo fun is just starting when the ride ends-there are plenty of aquatic adventures and activities inside the pavilion.
Facts
- This attraction revolves around one of the largest saltwater aquariums in the world which was developed by Walt Disney Imagineering in consultation with some of the world's foremost oceanographic experts. With the focus on the "Finding Nemo" movie, there's a ride, terrific displays and interactive activities for all to enjoy
- This aquarium features over two hundred species of sea life including dolphins, sharks, sea turtles, gliding rays and a 500 lb. Grouper, as well as a rainbow of multi-colored tropical fish. The tank is 200' in diameter, is 27' deep and the glass is 8 inches thick.
- There's a separate tank where the Manatees are found. Throughout the day a Cast Member is there to answer questions about these gentle giants and the ongoing efforts to save them from extinction.
- This pavilion houses the second largest salt water tank in the world (5.7 million gallons). The tank is so large that it could hold the diameter of Spaceship Earth!
History
The Living Seas opened to the public in 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. 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, guests only moved down approximately two inches). 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 (The logos of UT were removed in 1999). 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.
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 prior to 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!", as the seagulls are shown to 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. The Seas with Nemo & Friends was rededicated on January 24, 2007. Turtle Talk with Crush closed five days after this rededication. Its unusual success overwhelmed the pavilion. When it opened, it occupied Module 1C, formerly Earth Systems. When it reopened a few weeks later, Module 1A was closed and its displays were relocated to Module 1C, with Module 1A becoming the new entrance to Turtle Talk with Crush. 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.