 By: Bill and Donna |
 Finally after being in the planning stages for over three and a-half years and an actual build time of a little over six months, the new attraction at EPCOT's "The Seas with Nemo and Friends" is ready for the guests. This new attraction is housed in the other half of the Sea's Exhibit which was totally gutted and outfitted with this new adventure. The outside has an all new wall with reliefs of Nemo and his friends and a beautiful rock outcropping with water that splashes all around the rocks just as if the waves of the ocean were crashing against the shore and three animatronic seagulls who are squawking and turning their heads. A really nice entrance scene!
The attraction was opened a few days ago for a surprise "Soft Opening" for the cast members and a few guests chosen at random and things, according to a cast member I spoke to went well. This Friday through Sunday is for DVC members and Annual passholders only. My wife and I arrived promptly at 9 AM only to find a lengthy line awaited us. But it wasn't because of the volume of people; the attraction was having a few "teething" problems. After about an hour, everything was up and running and the lines went by very briskly.
On the ceiling, in all different places, are projections of moving water on a black matte curtain, makes you feel your underwater. Once you board your "Clam-Buggies", you will see some of the most stunning scenery and amazing computer-generated graphics that Disney has produced. The basic story is that Mr.Ray took his class on a trip and soon find that Nemo has disappeared. Throughout the attraction, you will see friends such as Squirt, Bruce, Dory and Crush, all looking for Nemo. Now after you wind around some of the beautiful sets, the second half of the ride is brilliant! This half of the ride goes around the bottom part of the almost 6 million gallon aquarium in the Seas exhibit. What the Imagineers did was project the rest of the CG movie scenes in the tanks, so you will see Nemo and his friends actually swimming with the live fish and the backgrounds already in place. Not only is this so realistic, it must have saved a bundle in scenery! The attraction will appeal to all of us "Kids". It was well worth the wait and makes a fine addition to the attraction arsenal that Disney is famous for.
|
 |
Now the first thing you are going to find out is that this attraction has one of the longest queue lines of any Disney attraction. From the beginning it serpentines around what I think is the most visually stunning scenes and displays of any queue line. As of now, there is no fastpass, nor is one planned for. The reason, according to one manager is that the attraction utilizes the same people-mover that the Haunted Mansion uses. In fact, the Clam-buggies look a lot like "Doom Buggies", except they are facing side-by-side instead of in a row like at the Mansion. So the attraction's vehicles are in constant motion so the lines should move quickly. In the first part of the queue line you walk around concrete walls with live scenes of sand dunes with grasses, signs with nautical information, a lifeguard house, etc. The second half of the line is just amazing! Instead of walls, there are now iron railings which are made to look like they have been undersea for decades, all rusted and bent. A beautiful job.