Difference between revisions of "Ellen's Energy Adventure"

Revision as of 20:21, 5 April 2012

Ellen's Energy Adventure is an attraction located in Epcot.

Ride Summary

Ellen's Energy Adventure is a 45 minute attraction with consists of four movies and a dark ride.

Preshow Film

As guests enter the attractions first room, they can see a dark movie screen on the wall. After everyone is in the room, Ellen DeGeneres walks onto the screen and begins to talk to the audience. Ellen introduces herself as the spokeswomen for the Universe of Energy, which she admits is somewhat surprising. Ellen tells guests that while she is an expert on a lot of things, not to long ago she could have cared less about energy. She says that one day everything changed as she was watching TV in her apartment. When she snaps her fingers (for a second time) we are transported back to her apartment, where we hear the TV announcer saying, "This is ... Jeopardy!". As Ellen is watching Jeopardy, her neighbor, Bill Nye the Science Guy walks in. Bill says he came over to borrow some foil for an experiment but soon enough he is watching the show with Ellen. The announcer tells guests that the first contestant is a professor of energy at Princeton University, named Dr. Judy Peterson. Ellen exclaims that Judy was her "know it all" roommate in college. Ellen claims that both Judy and energy are stupid, which Bill disagrees with before leaving. After Bill leaves, Ellen says that even if the universe needs energy, she doesn't, before she falls asleep.

At this point Ellen in the current time appears to tell guests that every time somebody takes a nap in front of the TV that means their going to have a dream. The scene then shifts to Ellen's dream (or nightmare), which has her appearing on Jeopardy along with Dr. Judy Peterson and Albert Einstein. Alex Trebeck (the host of Jeopardy) then tells the contestants the categories, which all have to do with energy. After the end of the first round, Judy has $17,800 while Einstein has zero and Ellen has negative money. Although defeated, Ellen declares that since it is her dream she can still win. Bill Nye then appears (to meet Einstein) and agrees to teach Ellen about energy, by taking her back in time.

In total the preshow video is about 8 minutes long, following the video guests enter a theater where they are seated in one of six seating areas.

First Film

After everyone is seated in the first theater, the theater turns 180 degrees so that it facing another large screen. Ellen and Bill are now standing in almost complete darkness. Although Ellen is confused, Bill explains that they are going to witness the Big Bang, which many scientists believe is how the universe started. Bill tells Ellen that they are about to witness how the universe formed, and that they should probably get out of the way. All of the sudden, the universe explodes and guests see a high speed depiction of how the Earth was created. In the scene, volcanoes erupt, mountains emerge, and vegetation covers the Earth. Bill then emerges from a jungle, and tells Ellen that they are "Two hundred twenty million years in the earth's past, give or take a day". When Ellen asks Bill where all the energy is, Bill explains that when the plants and animals they see around them die, "time, pressure and heat" will turn them into fossil fuels. Bill then says he wants to go explore, and while Ellen is at first hesitant, a dinosaur roaring convinces her to go.

The first theater film is approximately six minutes. After it concludes, the theater seats break up into six ride vehicles and guests proceed into the next room.

The first theater films

Primeval Diorama

When guests enter the Primeval Diorama scene, they can no longer see Ellen and Bill. They can however, hear both of their voices as they proceed through the scene. The first thing that guests hear is Ellen talking to a roaring dinosaur who she has mistaken for Bill. After Bill calls her over the two reunite and move with guests through the scene. In the Primeval scene, the first creatures that guests encounter are a giant millipede and Edaphosaurus. Further on, guests can see a giant Brotosauruses eating swamp plants who sneezes on guests. Nearby duck-billed Trachodons can be seen bathing in small body of water.

Perhaps the most recognizable scene in the attraction features an Allosaurus and a Stegosaurus fighting on a cliff. Nearby Pteranodons are perched around an erupting volcano. Guests can also see Ellen fighting off a Elasmosaurus with a stick. As she defends against the dinosaur she says:

"Don't make me use this thing! Stop it! You don't wanna eat me! I'll make you lose your appetite"

Guests then leave the Audio Anamatronic portion of the show, and they enter another theater. Here, the vehicles reassemble and guests listen to a radio broadcast.

Radio Broadcast

After entering the theater, guests hear a radio broadcast. The broadcast says that the year is 55 million B.C. and Willard Scott says the forecast calls for a decrease in the dinosaur population and an increase in mammals. The radio also mentions that cockroach's are "two hundred million years old today", but an incoming comet might get rid of them. The radio announcer then calls for a traffic report, from which guests learn that the mammals are continuing to boom.

The radio broadcast then changes to one million B.C. and guests learn that mammals are dominating the Earth, while Dinosaurs have gone extinct. Willard Scott then gives another weather broadcast which says that the Earth is getting colder and mammals need to cover themselves in fur. The broadcast then shifts to nine hundred thousand B.C. Here guests learn that Wholly mammals, saber-tooth cats, and giant antlers have begun to appear. Willard then informs guests that the glaciers are receding and the planet is getting warmer and a new kind of mammal is soon to evolve. The radio broadcast then ends and guests watch another film.

Second Film

The second film begins with Bill Nye back in the jungle. While he is looking for Ellen, she swings behind him on a vine and begins protesting the whole adventure. Bill informs here that they are at the dawn of humanity, and a very important discovery is about to take place. Guests then see a caveman discovering fire. Following this discovery a montage of man's progress using various forms of energy (ie. wind, steam, and gasoline.) is shown. The montage ends with Bill and Ellen flying in a helicopter, with Ellen asserting that she is ready for Jeopardy. Bill tells her that she is not quite ready, and he begins to explain potential future sources of energy. Bill goes through solar, wind, hydroelectric, which all have their own problems. Bill also explains fossil fuels such as coal, natural gas, and oil. He says that although these sources of energy will eventually run out, things like off shore drilling and satellites can help us find new sources. Bill and Ellen also discuss how nuclear and fusion energy could also be solutions. The two end up concluding that as long as we keep working on it, there should be lots of options in the future.

Final Film

After completing her adventure, Ellen reappears on Jeopardy. As the contestants are about to enter Double Jeopardy, Judy informs Alex that although they were roommates, she called Ellen "stupid Ellen". With Ellen getting to make the first selection, she surprises everybody by getting a $1000 dinosaur question right. This propels Ellen on to a series of correct answers. At the end of Double Jeopardy Ellen is leading Judy, and Einstein still has no money. This means that only Judy and Ellen will be competing in "Final Jeopardy" with their topic being "Future Energy". Alex tells them that the Final Jeopardy question is, "This is the kind of energy that will never run out". As the Jeopardy music plays the announcer tells guests:

If you would like to have your own energy nightmare, place a self-addressed, stamped envelope under your pillow, or check us out on the web at www.energynightmare.game

As the contestants finish their answers the Jeopardy announcer tells the audience that, "Some contestants on Jeopardy! will receive a year's supply of energy. Energy, you make the world go 'round.". "Energy You Make the World Go 'Round", is a not so subtle reference to the theme song of the World of Motion attraction that Ellen's Energy Adventure replaced.

When Alex asks Judy for her answer she tells him that she wrote nothing down because their is no right answer. Alex informs Judy that her answer is incorrect, and that since she bet all her money, she will finish with nothing. Ellen ends up winning with a total of $35,000, and she says goodbye before the film ends.