The Spirited Seventh Heaven ...

[Goofyernmost]

I'll help you out:

"And it rained....and rained....and rained....and rained.

THE DELUGE!!!!"

I really liked "The Seas" 0riginal. I was completely amused by the Hydolators and completely impressed with how realistic it seemed. It did manage to confuse my mind a little (not that it's difficult to do that) because my grown-up mind knew that we didn't move a single inch, my more gullible mind was sure that we just went far below the surface of Florida to an undersea world.

That said, the major problem with it was that as an Edutainment facility it was a bit too much into it. It wasn't very returnable. Once you had seen the film and, as someone said, the incredibly short ride through the tank, if you had seen one fish, you had seen them all. Then when they closed down the Hydrolaters and the ride portion, well, there wasn't any reason to ever go more then once.

Because of that, the change to Nemo and Turtle Talk brought a new, albeit different, life to the place and does make it far more a place that you tend to return too. Mostly because it is much lighter entertainment.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

One issue was each version was downsized from the original late 70s The Seas pavilion. United Tech signed off on their scientific pavilion that tried too hard to be both scientific and true to the original fantasy design.

Yes, the pavilion gave that impression. That it couldn't choose what to be between several concepts and ended up being neither. The ride in particular was downsized into insignificance, merely an annoyance. Maybe they kept it for crowd control, fearing the tunnel would get clogged otherwise. Still, I wish they would've overhauled the design then, opting for an entirely different approach instead of arriving at this forty feet long ride. As seems to be the custom for underwater rides, the queue was better than the ride itself, terrific. Maybe WDW has been overcompensating its underwater queues for the horror that was 20k's queue!

Which also makes me think that, however much one may regret that the Space pavilion went into the thrill ride direction, at least they decided on one concept and stuck with that, instead of trying to incorporate elements of previous designs as the Seas did.

 

[SosoDude]

@AEfx - read it and weep! A goldmine of what was and what could have been.

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I wonder what would be listed if Disney sent those out today? You got Avatar and some DVC's....... Maybe a mention of a new film for Soaring. ...Guess that about it.

 

[Cesar R M]

dont forget benches and bathrooms and M&G's ... oh my!

bathrooms.. bathrooms everywhere!

I still wonder if we will get the long awaited "han shat first" themed starwars bathroom at DHS

 

[mgpan]

Not people with a one park pass that are forced to pay hundreds of dollars for their families to upgrade.

To be fair, they also have to pay more for a two park ticket if they want the whole "Frozen Experience" including the meet and greet.

 

[Gabe1]

dont forget benches and bathrooms and M&G's ... oh my!

I am old enough to remember when M&G were not listed as attractions. The characters popped up, no reservations necessary, characters were bonuses not the attraction. It was actually very charming to round a corner and see Minnie and Mickey just waving at ya. Miss those times.

 

[CDavid]

I think people overrate Seabase Alpha. The concept was fantastic with the Hydrolaters, but the "ride" was boring as all get out and the film got stale once you saw it a few times. The seabase itself is largely the same as it is now (and the changes are to the better, like adding Crush).

You have to keep a nearly thirty year old pavilion in perspective. Sea Base Alpha was arguably not overrated at all for the mid-1980's when it opened, but considered as a whole The Living Seas was a solid "E" ticket addition (unlike NFL, Seas was all one package). Perhaps related to the subject matter, but more so to the (typical of Future World) lack of updates in the intervening years and then the thematically questionable inclusion of cartoon fish, the attraction hasn't aged as well as other Epcot pavilions. The current Nemo ride is actually pretty good, though it would be more thematically appropriate in another park (where have we heard that before!).

Much for that reason, I cannot fully agree the changes were for the better, but at the same time, they were probably better than nothing at all, given the condition of the pavilion (no Seacabs, etc.) in the years preceding Nemo and Crush. Much like El Rio del Tiempo and the Maelstrom, the dumbed down experience of cartoon fish may be a needed update to a dated attraction and certainly more popular - and can even be reasonably well done, as with Nemo - but still exacerbates the old problem of thematically inappropriate additions turning Epcot in general - and The Living Seas in particular - into something it was never meant to be.

 

[mgpan]

A couple of side notes from yesterday's hijinks at the Magic Kingdom….

...


There was talk of the William j LePetomaine thruway.

Thanks, next time I go to MK I'll be sure to first go back to the hotel and get a s%^&load of dimes.

 

[asianway]

I am old enough to remember when M&G were not listed as attractions. The characters popped up, no reservations necessary, characters were bonuses not the attraction. It was actually very charming to round a corner and see Minnie and Mickey just waving at ya. Miss those times.

It's still that way in Paris & Tokyo where they don't blow the majority of the entertainment budget on meet & greets.

 

[John]

This became a bit of a thread drift into a history lesson didn't it? Sorry Spirit.

Maybe I should start a "history lessons with Marni" thread...

...or maybe that'd be too pompous.

Brilliant idea, I am sure this isn't the first time you have thought of it. Pompous? only if you DONT do it!

edit: I will go one step further.....Steve should give it its own subsection.

 

[PhotoDave219]

bathrooms.. bathrooms everywhere!

I still wonder if we will get the long awaited "han shat first" themed starwars bathroom at DHS

Only if you eat at the ABC commissary first.

 

[flynnibus]

The seabase itself is largely the same as it is now

Almost as amusing as the 83-89 comments

 

[flynnibus]

That said, the major problem with it was that as an Edutainment facility it was a bit too much into it. It wasn't very returnable. Once you had seen the film and, as someone said, the incredibly short ride through the tank, if you had seen one fish, you had seen them all.

Someone tell the aquariums of the world... Apparently they are fundamentally flawed - once you see one fish you've seen them all!

 

[wm49rs]

Someone tell the aquariums of the world... Apparently they are fundamentally flawed - once you see one fish you've seen them all!

Well, their goes my pass to the GA Aquarium right out the window....

 

[John]

Someone tell the aquariums of the world... Apparently they are fundamentally flawed - once you see one fish you've seen them all!

Yea, The Baltimore National aquarium had an attendance of 1.55 million people last year. That's a lot of people who never saw fish before.

 

[GoofGoof]

This became a bit of a thread drift into a history lesson didn't it? Sorry Spirit.

Maybe I should start a "history lessons with Marni" thread...

...or maybe that'd be too pompous.

I think that's a pretty solid idea. Pick a specific ride or land and then lay some history on us complete with pictures and videos. Then we can all talk about it. Your videos always bring a smile to my face and then in a lot of cases make me sad because of what's gone.

 

[John]

I think that's a pretty solid idea. Pick a specific ride or land and then lay some history on us complete with pictures and videos. Then we can all talk about it. Your videos always bring a smile to my face and then in a lot of cases make me sad because of what's gone.

This idea is such a no brainer.....needs to be done already. Its perfect for this site.

 

[schuelma]

This idea is such a no brainer.....needs to be done already. Its perfect for this site.

Yes please- great idea.

 

[wm49rs]

Yea, The Baltimore National aquarium had an attendance of 1.55 million people last year. That's a lot of people who never saw fish before.

That's a great place and a wonderful locale. Taking in the aquarium, Inner Harbor and a game at Camden is one heck of a trifecta....

 

[doctornick]

Almost as amusing as the 83-89 comments

Really? I don't really recall a significant difference previously once you are in the actual Seabase. I'll admit that I don't recall it well enough from my younger days to be sure, but what in what exactly was the Seabase drastically different in the past?