The Seas with Nemo & Friends getting a makeover?

[Seabasealpha1]

Sigh, all of you are *so* negative about this but thanks for bringing me back to reality, I guess. It's just that Disney has to invest *billions* into Epcot's Future World anyway -- so I believe there is some hope. Epcot's Marine Life Institute (with Nemo & Dory) sounds so good and would look amazing.

Disney is *way* behind, so it's going to take some time for them to get caught up on everything. Epcot's Future World is next after DHS.

And, I hadn't even thought of the Nemo ride yet. Yeah, Disney should totally demolish it and build a real state of the art Finding Nemo & Dory dark ride -- that utilizes screens for the deep ocean scenes and feature some animatronics and interactive sets for the Marine Life Institute, like on a Haunted Mansion and Pirates type level.

The Nemo show could use a serious update and a brand new theater, too. Finding Dory is such a huge success, so this investment is wise and very much needed. Really, Disney should get started on this now.

True, the scenes/artwork from the film are beautiful and such an upgrade to the Seas would be wonderful...but honestly, Sea World ain't that far away and there are parts of me that sometimes feel like maybe it'd be good to just remove the seas all together and transplant a giant tank over to Animal Kingdom with some kind of tie-in to Australia or something...especially since Disney has lost all interest in teaching us WHY a giant saltwater tank like that should be in a theme park that is "supposedly" about the future and world culture.


They did that (kinda ) with the Living Seas. Now they're just rehashing a movie that's 13 years old. And quite poorly for that matter...

I say this as a die-hard EPCOT Center Fan-Boy. It's not pleasant to do so either...

 

[sshindel]

Like, even @sshindel agrees that Disney has to upgrade The Nemo ride and The Seas Pavilion. And, He wrote *THE* Epcot Manifesto. So....

I do agree that something has to be done. The attraction as it stands today is, put bluntly, terrible. It looks poorly conceived, poorly executed, and does not tell a single story throughout the pavilion. It's just "here's a dark ride, here's an aquarium, look, they both have fish".
The issue, like everything, is in the execution. I can imagineer many simple ways to update The Seas to tell a cohesive story, and the institute in Dory is a pretty simple and straightforward way to do so.
The problem is for now, it's all imagineering. I don't think that there are any concrete, or speculative, information at the time that Disney plans to do any more with this pavilion than they already have by updating Turtle Talk. Anything else for now is nothing more than arm-chair imagineering. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

 

[glvsav37]

What was the old attraction before Nemo?

It was an omni mover on the same track but it had a full pre show, hydrolator and then a ride through the aquarium around Sea Base Alpha. Then putting you out into the aquarium display.

IMO, the hydrolator was the best part. It was a mock elevator that took you down to the sea floor. In reality, it was just a small room that shook and had bubble effects on the windows to make you feel like you were moving down through the water. Amazing stuff.

The track is basically the same as now, but it ran through more of a tube though the aquarium with glass all around you. The cars were facing forward vs today where they turned them to the side so that you only get a view of one side. From what I heard, all they did was cover the other parts of the tube and if you look upward you can see some of the light from the aquarium poking through the seams

You can watch it here

 

[Seabasealpha1]

I do agree that something has to be done. The attraction as it stands today is, put bluntly, terrible. It looks poorly conceived, poorly executed, and does not tell a single story throughout the pavilion. It's just "here's a dark ride, here's an aquarium, look, they both have fish".
The issue, like everything, is in the execution. I can imagineer many simple ways to update The Seas to tell a cohesive story, and the institute in Dory is a pretty simple and straightforward way to do so.
The problem is for now, it's all imagineering. I don't think that there are any concrete, or speculative, information at the time that Disney plans to do any more with this pavilion than they already have by updating Turtle Talk. Anything else for now is nothing more than arm-chair imagineering. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Just checked out that open letter. Two things...

1. Well done! I hope it made it to the right set of eyes...

2. I'm feeling fired up to write one myself...

 

[sshindel]

Just checked out that open letter. Two things...

1. Well done! I hope it made it to the right set of eyes...

2. I'm feeling fired up to write one myself...

Thank you. You should get a response. I spoke with someone from Guest Experience Services for a bit yesterday. Standard "keep our customers happy" conversation, I expect nothing of it.
She did however state that Ms. Valiquette did "read my email and distribute it to Epcot leadership". I don't have high faith in this actually having happened, but in the smallest likelihood that someone actually read it, I'll feel it was worth taking the time to write.

 

[ScottKC]

I got the impression "The Marine Life Institute" was a thinly veiled Monterey Bay Aquarium. That having been said it would make wonderful "in-Universe" sense for Seabase Alpha to be renovated into a Marine Life Institute. After all they did establish that there was a Cleveland facility so why not a Florida facility? Here is hoping Sigourney Weaver is available to do the voice over, that would be awesome.

It would give the whole attraction a wonderful cohesion as you would "travel from the open sea via clamshell ride vehicles through ocean currents to arrive at the Marine Life Institute", would unify the pavilion in a way more reminiscent of the original pavilion.

 

[marni1971]

What was the old attraction before Nemo?

It's an old one, but if I may...

 

[Bairstow]

What used to separate The Living Seas from the average aquarium was that the emphasis of the pavilion was as much on the geological aspect of the world's oceans and the evolving technology to explore and live under them as it was on sea life.

This has been abandoned with the loss of sponsorship, and the primary purpose of the attraction now is to move dat plush.

 

[Seabasealpha1]

What used to separate The Living Seas from the average aquarium was that the emphasis of the pavilion was as much on the geological aspect of the world's oceans and the evolving technology to explore and live under them as it was on sea life.

This has been abandoned with the loss of sponsorship, and the primary purpose of the attraction now is to move dat plush.

Dat plush tho...
(couldn't help it)

 

[Jon81uk]

There is some backstage construction going on at The Seas http://www.orlandoparksnews.com/2016/07/construction-work-starts-at-seas-with.html

 

[dizda]

Disney failed to keep up with developments at other aquariums over the last 20 years. Without the original theme, The Seas is just a regional aquarium. The Nemo ride adds nothing and might as well be a separate attraction.

 

[Castle Cake Apologist]

That aside, I seriously doubt if anything significant will be happening to The Seas as a result of this movie.

 

[Siren]

That makes about as much sense as the long-standing rumors at Disneyland that the Matterhorn will sink if they ever drain the submarine lagoon. Yet the lagoon continues to get drained and the Matterhorn continues
to not sink

If anything were to happen structurally (and there's no indication that there's anything wrong other than some minor leaks, which can be expected after 30 years), it would be while the tank is full and the water is exerting immense lateral pressure, similar to the video from T-Rex. If that pressure is removed, there's no reason that the structure would suddenly fail. The structure is
designed to resist the lateral pressure, not rely on it to stand up

Edit: A much bigger concern would be how/where to relocate all the animals living in the aquarium,
which would be a rather time consuming process should they ever decide to drain the main
tank

I found this picture on google that shows how Disney constructed the tank, it's pretty solid.

Obviously, the circle part is the tank. This is a huge complex, it doesn't seem like Disney is utilizing all of this space properly.

The website said this -

"The sea tanks inhabitants were kept at a holding center off the Florida Keys from January 1985. THE LIVING SEAS finally opened on January 15, 1986."

So Disney could transport the fish back there or somewhere like it, while they upgrade.

 

[Siren]

True, the scenes/artwork from the film are beautiful and such an upgrade to the Seas would be
wonderful...but honestly, Sea World ain't that far away and there are parts of me that sometimes feel like maybe it'd be good to just remove the seas all together and transplant a giant tank over to Animal Kingdom with some kind of tie-in to Australia or something...especially since Disney has lost all interest in teaching us WHY a giant saltwater tank like that should be in a theme park that is "supposedly" about the future and world culture.

They did that (kinda ) with the Living Seas. Now they're just rehashing a movie that's 13 years old. And quite poorly for that matter...

I say this as a die-hard EPCOT Center Fan-Boy. It's not pleasant to do so either...

Hi @Seabasealpha1. I don't want to lose The Seas pavilion at Epcot. That seems way too drastic. I love the idea for a giant tank in AK though.

After reading about Seabase Alpha and The Living Seas. I think your Animal Kingdom Australia idea would be a much better fit for Nemo. Disney really should do both.

 

[Siren]

I do agree that something has to be done. The attraction as it stands today is, put bluntly, terrible. It looks poorly conceived, poorly executed, and does not tell a single story throughout the pavilion. It's just "here's a dark ride, here's an aquarium, look, they both have fish".

The issue, like everything, is in the execution. I can imagineer many simple ways to update The Seas to tell a cohesive story, and the institute in Dory is a pretty simple and straightforward way to
do so.

The problem is for now, it's all imagineering. I don't think that there are any concrete, or speculative, information at the time that Disney plans to do any more with this pavilion than they already have by updating Turtle Talk. Anything else for now is nothing more than arm-chair imagineering. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Hi @sshindel. I would love to hear your ideas on how to update this place because right now there is no real cohesiveness at The Seas with Nemo pavilion. I just usually find myself wandering around aimlessly from room to room. It's not bad or anything and I do have fun, but The Seabase Alpha concept was a full immersive experience and much better, IMO.

This Seabase Alpha and The Living Seas thing is all so new to me. I was just browsing through old pictures and The Living Seas looked so much nicer!

After seeing what was there before I really detest Nemo taking over and should not be there at all. Nemo is a much better fit for something in AK.

Unfortunately, without a major sponsor like United Technologies -- Finding Dory is the only way that Disney will invest.

Honestly, I think this is way worse than Frozen in Epcot. LOL.

 

[Siren]

OK, moving on... anything to this rumor or is this just wishing??

Hi @Bocabear! No, there is nothing to it *yet*. The Marine Life Institute and The Seas with Nemo pavilion are just so similar. I am hoping that it is a hint from Disney. This is much more in reach than all the other rumors circulating.

 

[Bocabear]

Hi @Bocabear! No, there is nothing to it *yet*. The Marine Life Institute and The Seas with Nemo pavilion are just so similar. I am hoping that it is a hint from Disney. This is much more in reach than all the other rumors circulating.

Me too...I would love the have the original pavilion back...Hydrolators and all, and then maybe add Nemo as projections in the tanks on the sea cab ride talking about the wonders of the ocean... Do you think anyone now gives a thought to how the oceans were formed? How extraordinary the seas are? they changed the focus to just being about the cartoon fish... which is a shame. So I would welcome any change in the direction back to what it was when it celebrated the technology and educational aspects of The Seas...

 

[wdisney9000]

Hi @Bocabear! No, there is nothing to it *yet*. The Marine Life Institute and The Seas with Nemo pavilion are just so similar. I am hoping that it is a hint from Disney. This is much more in reach than all the other rumors circulating.

Is this actually a thread based off an opinion that The Seas interior looks similar to the aquarium in Finding Dory?

So what exactly is the point of this thread continuing other than to armchair imagineer and speculate on random possibilities? Buildings in Mulan looked similar to China and Japan pavilion, so should we start a thread that they are getting make overs? This would be fine for chit chat, but to be in the News and Rumors sections (which it is neither), seems silly.

 

[Seabasealpha1]

Hi @sshindel. I would love to hear your ideas on how to update this place because right now there is no real cohesiveness at The Seas with Nemo pavilion. I just usually find myself wandering around aimlessly from room to room. It's not bad or anything and I do have fun, but The Seabase Alpha concept was a full immersive experience and much better, IMO.

This Seabase Alpha and The Living Seas thing is all so new to me. I was just browsing through old pictures and The Living Seas looked so much nicer!

After seeing what was there before I really detest Nemo taking over and should not be there at all. Nemo is a much better fit for something in AK.

Unfortunately, without a major sponsor like United Technologies -- Finding Dory is the only way that Disney will invest.

Honestly, I think this is way worse than Frozen in Epcot. LOL.

Welcome to the club

 

[World_Showcase_Lover007]

...I would love the have the original pavilion back...

I don't care if this has been said a thousand times, it needs to be said again. Bring the Living Seas back like it was. Why? because it worked, it was fun, it was entertaining, and I might have even learned something along the way. I continue to be so disappointed with the Nemo ride. A group of 3rd graders could design a better attraction during their recess break.