Living Seas Ride Thru What Happened???

[Manncab]

I miss those sea-cabs but the new Nemo=azation of the Living Seas is much needed it had became sterile type atmosphere much like a funneral home. event he manatees looked bored

but i can adamit that i do go there and vegitate by the window seat on the lower level next to the bathrooms it a good viewing spot.

as we know epcot is in the need of serious sponcer problems for some of the rides and attraction exxon/mobile is pulling out of the UoE and the body wars attraction area is if ever hardly open.. a good sponcer for them could be phizer or smith/kline

get your free sample of the limited edtion mickey viagra pill guarenteeded to put a set of ears on your wooden soldier



never mind forget that last sponcership idea

[rdeacon]

It bothers me that they rehabed The Living Seas after Finding Nemo when they've had a massive hit in The Little Mermaid for years. Plus, it would have been nice to update the attraction with something homegrown as opposed to a Pixar product (as much as I like it). One answer could be that they may feel that they already have a Mermaid attraction at Disney/MGM, but that still doesn't change the fact that they've been sitting on Mermaid since '89 and have not worked very hard to incorporate her into the parks and Seas would have been a great fit.

Intresting point.

My guess would be that since the Living Seas opened in 1986 and the Little Mermaid was 'born' in 89, that too much time had passed when the rehab was needed. The Nemo franchise is hot and Disney stands to alot more money off of the Nemo merchandise then it would The Little Mermaid.

So I guess its just a matter of timing, and urm money

Rich

[vfxpro]

It bothers me that they rehabed The Living Seas after Finding Nemo when they've had a massive hit in The Little Mermaid for years. Plus, it would have been nice to update the attraction with something homegrown as opposed to a Pixar product (as much as I like it). One answer could be that they may feel that they already have a Mermaid attraction at Disney/MGM, but that still doesn't change the fact that they've been sitting on Mermaid since '89 and have not worked very hard to incorporate her into the parks and Seas would have been a great fit.

Intresting point.

My guess would be that since the Living Seas opened in 1986 and the Little Mermaid was 'born' in 89, that too much time had passed when the rehab was needed. The Nemo franchise is hot and Disney stands to alot more money off of the Nemo merchandise then it would The Little Mermaid.

So I guess its just a matter of timing, and urm money

Rich

Although Mermaid is a fantastic film, Nemo has grossed by far more $$$ and is much much more popular. Have you seen Turtle Talk? It's great. Just wait to see what is happening with the Sea Cabs. Seas is going down for a major rehab soon and they are taking out the movie area to make room for an extensive sea cabs rebuild. It's going to be a new Nemo themed dark ride. This may include several “wet-for-dry” effects scenes and some kind of special effect to take guests on a ride through the bubble filled East Australian Current.

Should be cool..

[G2-4T]

Seeing the rumor/news on the WoL reopening reminded me to dig this one up - any more word on the Seacabs and the cruise thru the EAC?

[Captain Schnemo]

It would suck if they lose the Seabase Alpha theme... A Nemo-themed pavilion does sound nice, but not in Epcot. Given that they've abandoned all sense of coherent theming in Future World, however, I guess it would hardly matter...

[Captain Schnemo]

Along with the rumor of bringing back the seacabs is replacing the film at the seas with a sea based 'star tours' type attraction.

Sounds awful.

I haven't been there in years, is the whole Seabase Alpha theme gone now? What about the coral reef exhibit that used to be on the west side of the building (with the kelp tube in the middle)?

I was thinking of going back to Epcot recently, but that could be the nail in the coffin for me...

[G2-4T]

There is still a heavy Seabase Alpha theme. I like it a lot and agree - would be a shame to let that go. It is still space age since we've never actually set up an undersea base... There have been changes in the last few years - I think the reef thing you are thinking of is still there, but some other parts [like the seacabs] have changed. The manatees are still calling the base home - always neat to see them.

They need to do something to draw in people - it is a less-than-popular place but the new Turtle Talk is pretty cool and does not take away from the sea base theme. Too bad they are so lost on Future World, it used to be so cool with all the classic rides... At least this one they are re-doing, not replacing.

[Captain Schnemo]

Well, I guess that doesn't sound too bad. I would have preferred that they spend more energy making interesting things with a more scientific bent (even fantasy science, given that it's allegedly Future World), but I guess that's too much to expect from Disney now.

At least Nemo was an excellent movie, so it's not garbage like HISTA or whatever poop-of-the-moment they've got going on at MGM. The Turtle Talk thing does sound cool, I just wish they'd used that tech to stay more in keeping with the Seabase Alpha theme.

So...where's the turtle? In the area where the ROV used to talk to people? Do they still do the thing where the diver enters the tube and swims up to the ceiling? I always thought that was a cool touch.

[kronk's angel]

My $0.02 worth: My family only went to Living Seas once, were rushed, and were like... this is it? What is there to do?? Couldn't figure out what we were to do, other than look at what seemed to be nearly empty water tanks. We loved Sea World, and enjoyed aquariums in La Jolla, etc. even the one in Rainforest Cafe... But thought LS was a lot of nothing. Less than an ideal experience... Again, just my $0.02. Still confused by the (non-)experience.

[rdeacon]

UPDATE

This is from wdwmagic.com

6 November 2005: Living Seas reopening

Beginning on Wednesday, November 23, 2005, The Living Seas at Epcot will reopen after completeing its recent refurbishment. "Seabase Alpha" has been renamed "SeaBase at The Living Seas Pavilion."

Enhancements have been made to the interior decor to complement the Nemo & Friends concept in the pavilion. Guest will be entering SeaBase through the former pavilion exit, and will find a new merchandise shop and other unique displays. The Hydrolators have been removed to complement the new Nemo & Friends theme of the pavilion.


No hydrolators and no talk about sea cabs
BUMMER

Rich

[Disneynut]

No sea cabs? Thats going to be a disappointment.

[G2-4T]

If they cheapened the experiance they're going down! The hydrolaters were a bit strange but the idea was there and the "open water entrance" where you walked by pools as you entered was cool, sort of felt like it was a real Seabase. I'm afraid of what the opening day reports are going to bring us - all I can say is they better have the SeaCabs...

[Captain Schnemo]

Doesn't sound promising. I wonder if the old front door will be the new back door and if you'll still be able to go thru it after you've seen the opening a couple dozen times...

My family only went to Living Seas once, were rushed, and were like... this is it? What is there to do?? Couldn't figure out what we were to do, other than look at what seemed to be nearly empty water tanks.

Wow, my brain can't even process this. I can't tell you how many hours I spent just watching the creatures in the tanks, chatting with the interns about how things were done and how all the little guys were doing.

A tank with 3 large brown sharks, dolphins, a giant jewfish, turtles, tons of rays, etc. ...empty? Does not compute.

In particular, I liked the coral reef exhibit on the west side of the building where you could watch the fish interact with each other and see which were territorial and which just wandered around. Even the aquaculture tanks were full of cool critters.

I'm not doubting your experience and impressions, just saying that I can't even process a context in which the Living Seas didn't kick butt.

[subsonic]

Stuff like this makes me so sad. One, I'll never see it again, and Two, my friends that I want to take will NEVER see it the way it first was and what was usually better.