Seven Seas Lagoon Wave Machine

U

UltimateCoaster

New Member
Original Poster
I know there was a thread here about this a while back, but I also know how annoying Necro-posting is...so I decided to just ask in a new topic. My apologies if that's not the proper way to go about this.

I apologize in advance for this massive post...I've been desperately seeking answers about this, and I feel the background information I'm giving is relevant.

Anywho, I posted back here about a year ago asking about the Wave Machine that used to be installed in the Seven Seas Lagoon.

Most of us know the story behind the machine - it was installed to create the "authentic" feeling of waves against a beach for the Polynesian, and used to hit the shores near where the GF's Wedding Pavilion is today. It was shut down due to erosion of the beaches, and, at some point, some/most/all of it was removed from the Lagoon.

Now, it's obvious that SOME parts of the machine were removed. There are several pictures that clearly show the large machine above water when all of it was still there...

http://img86.imageshack.us/img86/8614/wavemachinefullmu4.jpg

http://img86.imageshack.us/img86/1214/wavemachinesn2.jpg

http://img86.imageshack.us/img86/2425/wavemachineob5.png

However, multiple sources all have conflicting information as to what is left of it - some claim that the entire machine is gone. Others claim the whole thing is still there, just submerged (which doesn't make much sense - there would be no reason to sink the machine, and there's no way the water level was raised). Still other sources claim that what is left of it is now used as an artificial reef.

I asked a Keys to the Kingdom tour guide about it, and she said that to her knowledge, most of the machine is still there.

Taking a Mouser (Sea Sprite, nowadays?) boat out to Beachcomber Isle, to about where the machine used to be, I couldn't see anything below the surface of the water - but then again, it's hard to see anything that isn't within six inches of the surface in Seven Seas Lagoon water. The only thing that would even give a CLUE as to anything ever having been there is the fact that there is a (otherwise odd and out-of-place looking) stone seawall on that section of Beachcomber Isle, which MUST be left over from the machine days (no other part of any island has it, to my knowledge).

My final bit of "background information" before I ask my questions is I have no idea when the removal of above-water (or possibly whole) portions of the machine took place. My family is made up of avid Disney fans - my parents have gone every year since Epcot opened, I believe (possibly earlier) - and my dad claims to have taken me in a Mouser boat out to see the machine (he had no idea what it was at the time) - but this would mean that the machine would've had to be removed post-1988 (I was born in '88, my first trip on a Mouser boat must've been a few years later). He could be mistaken, however.

So my questions are these:

1. What, if anything, is left of the machine?
2. If anything is left, is it visible? How?
3. When exactly were the above-surface pieces of the machine removed?
4. Are there any pictures of the machine other than the three I showed (any pictures any of you members may have taken of it?)
5. Finally, does anyone know how exactly it worked (i.e. it's obviously not the water-dumping system Typhoon Lagoon has)?

To be honest, any information that I've not given would be great - I'd LOVE to know when the last time any of you older (compared to me, that is :p) Disney visitors can confirm last seeing the machine, any reliable information as to its final fate, and, especially, any pictures of it that anyone may have.

Thanks again for any information in advance, and my apologies for my excessively long post.
 
PhilharMagician

PhilharMagician

Well-Known Member
I have been given the same info as you that most of the machine is still intact out there in the lagoon. I wish I could add more, but look forward to hearing some more info.
 
Chux

Chux

Member
Fantastic thread. Since I'm a relative newbie to the world (First trip in 01, but every year since) I never knew about the wave machine.
 
A

ann0d1

Member
Somewhere on this site in the information - I just read yesterday I think in the history section, that part of it is still down there used as a natural reef.
 
B

Barnabus

New Member
I took a look at some of the birdseye pics of Beachcomber isle. I dont think parts of the wave machine are still in place at beachcomber isle. You would be able to see some evidence of it from altitude. I dont think it would be unreaonable to have removed the machine and sunk it in a deeper area of the lagoon so it is not a hazard to navigation. Much cheaper that removing it from the water and tr__________g it off somewhere.
 
Nemo14

Nemo14

Well-Known Member
I found this on the Park History section of this site:

Some ideas for the resort made by Imagineers worked better on paper than in reality. Several attempts to make a wave machine work near the Polynesian Village Resort resulted in failure. The plan was to have artificial waves crash along the resort's beach like real Pacific Island beaches. At one point during testing, the waves were large enough for surfing; however, they also caused massive beach erosion, and the wave machine was permanently switched off only a few months after the resort opened. Parts of it still lie beneath Seven Seas Lagoon as a habitat reef for resident fish.
 
Hoop Raeb

Hoop Raeb

Formerly known as...
Info:
http://jimhillmedia.com/blogs/jim_hill/archive/2002/10/26/358.aspx

From:
http://www.omniluxe.net/wyw/poly.htm

A more exotic water element never made it to a regular operational state. The "wave machine," a subject of intense cast member interest in the early seventies, was actually built off the southern shore of Beachcomber Isle in the Seven Seas Lagoon. This mechanism, championed at length by then-WDW Operations chief ________ Nunis, was intended to provide breakers capable of sustaining surfers. And that's exactly what it did when completed after several delays. Unfortunately, the waves eroded the shoreline near Luau Cove and the machine was permanently shut down. It later became an artificial reef.
Click to expand...

And from Allears.net:

What secrets lie off the shore of the Polynesian beach?

When the resort opened in 1971, a wave-making machine created artificial waves that crashed onto the beach. Although it added to the authentic South Seas feel of the resort, it also created rapid beach erosion. Operation of the wave machine ceased shortly afterwards, but the machine itself is still located just under the waters off the Polynesian beach.
Click to expand...

One of my favorite bits of WDW history. Looking forward to more discussion since accounts of what happened to the machine vary across the net.
 
Fordlover

Fordlover

Active Member
It would stand to reason that they removed the machinery portion (above ground) and left the mechanical portion (in the water), mostly for ease and cost.

Of course I haven't found anything that specifically states the type of wave machine it was, there are at least 3 different popular ways to create waves, and the machines and designs are quite different.

Very interesting topic.
 
C

cloudboy

Well-Known Member
I am certainly not an expert on these things, but from what little I know about devices like this, I don't think it is a "machine" per say, at least in the form of one contained unit. They usually work either by containing a large quantity of water and releasing it, or by some kind of movement of something in the water. So the actual motors are probably not there, as I would doubt are the baffles or anything like that. But the foundation and supports might very well still lie there, being far more difficult to remove than it is worth to get them out of there.
 
stalkingmickey

stalkingmickey

Active Member
I took a fire works cruise on Seven Seas on 9/3 as part of my cruise our Captian took us on a 45 minute tour of the two bodies of water. Our Captain has worked for Disney for 30 years and took us to each island and gave us the history. We went right up to the cement wall and he said they machine was still their. Once Disney decides to not use something anymore, they just leave the items and move on. You can still see slides in River Country. It would cost money to remove things so they might as well just leave them be.
 
stalkingmickey

stalkingmickey

Active Member
TheBeatles said:
Was it sunk or was the portion sticking out of the water removed?
Click to expand...

Most of the machine was underwater, but the cement wall can be seen about a inch or so above the water. From my understanding and some pictures I do not think much of the machine was above water. The Captain on our boat said the wave machine was still there. From the context of his sentence I believe nothing was removed, as there was not much above water to remove.
 
maelstrom

maelstrom

Well-Known Member
That long piece that juts out into the water away from the island is gone. I've driven up to the island in a sea raycer to look around because I'm nosy. You can't see anything underneath the water because the Seven Seas Lagoon isn't exactly the cleanest and clearest lake. It is my understanding that most of the underwater parts and supports were left there. There is a "wall" of some sort along that edge of the island, whose purpose I do not know. It looks like a seawall but it's *very* short. I took a picture of it, so I'll have to go look for it.
 
maelstrom

maelstrom

Well-Known Member
adam75081 said:
This has probly been asked mefore, but Why would they need one?
Click to expand...

To give off a true Hawaiian and Polynesian theme, they set up the wave machine so that guests could surf at the Polynesian. But the waves eroded the beach, so that didn't last very long.

Also, for those who may be uncertain, the waves were set up not at the "main" Polynesian beach by the dock and pool, but over towards the Wedding Pavillion.
 

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