Disney Celebrates 40 Years of The Seas Pavilion With “Wild” Fun Facts
If you have been reading along here at MickeyBlog, you know that Disney is currently celebrating 40 years of The Seas with Nemo and Friends.
Throughout January, Disney is shining a spotlight on the beloved pavilion and celebrating its history.
Here is a quick look back.
The Living Seas
Although The Living Seas wouldn’t open until 1986, plans for the pavilion date back to at least 1977.
Photo: Disney
Over the next five years, the concept continued to grow and evolve. At one point, Poseidon was set to send guests on an adventure showcasing the ocean’s power and majesty.
When EPCOT Center opened on October 1, 1982, however, the Seas pavilion was nowhere to be found.
Photo: Disney
Instead, on opening day, guests were greeted by an empty expansion plot and a sign telling guests that the pavilion would open in 1984.
Despite this promise, The Living Seas would not open until 1986. Sponsored by United Technologies, the pavilion was initially composed of a series of smaller, interconnected attractions, culminating in guests’ arrival at Sea Base Alpha.
After opening, The Seas quickly became beloved for its 7-minute preshow film, Hydrolators, and Caribbean Coral Reef Ride, which took guests through the pavilion’s 5,700,000-gallon tank.
Photo: Disney
While the pavilion has undergone numerous changes over the past four decades—including the introduction of Nemo and friends—the heart of The Living Seas has remained unchanged.
Fun Facts About the Pavilion
To celebrate 40 years of The Seas, Disney shared some fun facts about the pavilion.
Here is what we learned!
40 years after the pavilion opened, The Seas with Nemo and Friends’ Coral Reef Aquarium remains awe-inspiring.
Did you know? The aquarium’s diameter is large enough to fit Spaceship Earth in!
To keep the water clean, there are 10 filters backstage that continuously filter water at a rate of 2 Olympic-sized swimming pools per hour!
Additionally, it took 27 truckloads of non-iodized salt to produce the saltwater used to fill the tank.
Currently, The Seas is home to over 2,000 individual animals and over 90 species.
Additionally, in partnership with the ASE Conservation team, The Seas has rehabilitated and released more than 350 sick and injured sea turtles to date.
Tolstoy, the loggerhead sea turtle found in the pavilion, weighs 275 pounds and is estimated ot be nearly 110 years old.
A Look Ahead
Over the past 40 years, The Seas has done an exemplary job of entertaining, educating, and inspiring.
So, here is to the next 40 years. I can’t wait to see what the future holds.
Photo: MickeyBlog
