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/* Development and Construction */
==Pavilion History==
===Development and Construction===
As plans for The Seas continued to develop, the makeup of the pavilion began to change. By 1980, the "clipper ship" attraction seems to have been removed. In this version of the pavilion, guests would enter The Seas through a “portal” which transported them into a grotto. From here, they would enter a large preshow theater. With a storm raging around them, the doors of the theater would close. With a strike of lightning, Poseidon would appear and calm the storm with a stroke of his hand. He then noted that despite mankind's superstitions regarding the sea, it was the oceans themselves that were the “cradle of life”. Looking back at the few men who were brave enough to explore the oceans, he would then note that with wisdom and courage, we too could explore the sea.
At this point, the entire theater was to turn 180 degrees as the action on the screen followed guests. Another crash of lightning would then reveal a load area in the distance. As Poseidon called guests to move to the load area, they would travel down a long corridor to their ride vehicles, which were shaped like large glass bubbles.
After boarding their omnimover vehicles, guests would go on an adventure where they would pass through a “series of scenes depicting the visual drama of ocean kelp forests, abyssal canyons and other marvelous and mysterious ocean environments”. They would then enter a clear acrylic tube which was to run through the pavilion's 5 million gallon sea water tank. Following this journey, they would arrive in SeaBase Alpha, where they could further examine interactive exhibits as well as enter viewing platforms to observe the activity in the large aquarium.
Continuing to tinker with the pavilion, eventually, Imagineers cut the large entrance hall between the Poseidon show and the omnimovers. Furthermore, the ride path the the omnimovers would take was changed so that instead of going straight through the pavilion's massive tank, the ride vehicles now went around its circumference before entering and exiting through the central viewing module.
By the end of 1980 plans for The Seas pavilion still changing. At this point the omnimover ride was shortened and theme became completely scientific. In the 1980 book Walt Disney's Epcot Center, the Seas pavilion is described:
{{Quotation| "Visitors to The Seas pavilion will explore the wonders of the aquatic frontier through two major presentations. First, "The World of the Sea," a ride-thru experience presenting various ocean environments; and second, "Sea Base Alpha," a futuristic undersea research station complete with a 5,000,000-gallon tank supporting a living coral reef community." <ref name= "intercot"> http://www.intercot.com/edc/LivingSeas/lsconstr.html </ref>}}
[[Image:Seas2.jpg|400px|thumb|Early concept art for The Living Seas pavilion.]]
When EPCOT Center opened on October 1, 1982, The Seas pavilion was nowhere to be found. Instead, an empty large plot of land could be found in Future World West, with a sign that announced that The Living Seas would be opening in 1984. Despite this promise, Disney had yet to find a sponsor for the pavilion. This changed however on July 20, 1983 when United Technologies agreed to sponsor the 90 million dollar pavilion.
{{Quotation| "Visitors to The Seas pavilion will explore the wonders of the aquatic frontier through two major presentations. First, "The World of the Sea," a ride-thru experience presenting various ocean environments; and second, "Sea Base Alpha," a futuristic undersea research station complete with a 5,000,000-gallon tank supporting a living coral reef community." <ref name= "intercot"> http://www.intercot.com/edc/LivingSeas/lsconstr.html </ref>}}
[[Image:Seas2.jpg|400px|thumb|Early concept art for The Living Seas pavilion.]]
Between 1980 and 1982, the tone of The Seas had clearly changed. Gone was the fantasy elements of the pavilion's designs, as the focus of The Seas shifted to the scientific, with an exclusive emphasis on the SeasBase portion of the pavilion the 1982 book EPCOT Center: Creating the World of Tomorrow, notes that while in The Living Seas ride guests would see:
{{Quotation| The environment, designed to look like a futuristic sea base, is an actual working environment in which man and machine coexist with the sea and its original inhabitants. All around us, we see diver’s carrying on their tasks, often accompanied by their coworkers, the dolphins, trained to work alongside man.| EPCOT Center: Creating the World of Tomorrow }}
Another early concept would have begun with guests entering The Living Seas and seeing a preshow where the Greek god Poseidon would calm a raging storm. After the preshow, Poseidon would have narrated guests on their dark ride adventure <ref name= "Martin"/>. This dark ride would have been a fully immersive experience, with shark attacks, shipwrecks, and various special effects adding to the excitement <ref name= "Martin"/>. Guests would eventually enter the pavilion’s 200 ft. tank at the rides conclusion. Following the dark ride, guests would have arrived at Sea Base Alpha- an underwater research facility <ref name= "Martin"/>. According to the 1982 book EPCOT Center: Creating the World of Tomorrow, while in The Living Seas ride guests would see:
