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| caption='''The coastline facade façade in front of the Seas With Nemo & Friends.'''

| land=Future WorldNature

The Seas With Nemo & Friends is a pavilion within Future World Nature in [[Epcot]]. If you are looking for the attraction located within the pavilion please see [[The Seas with Nemo & Friends (Attraction)]]

Although The Living Seas would not open until 1986, plans for The Seas pavilion had been apart a part of EPCOT Center's early designs. The first mention of The Seas pavilion took place appeared in the 1977 Walt Disney Productions Annual Report. While touting the breakthrough of their newest plan to make EPCOT Center a reality, Disney described the planned Seas pavilion:

{{Quotation|'''The Seas''' -- Guests will board the clipper ship, "Spirit of Mankind," to sail through moments of peril and triumph with seven legendary mariners ... the great explorers who charted the seas for civilization. In another adventure, Poseidon the Sea Lord will challenge visitors to journey through ocean depths ... from the Continental Shelf to the Great Coral Reef. Finally arriving at "Sea Base Alpha," guests will experience an authentic ocean environment with live marine life, an undersea restaurant, and a showcase of oceanographic exhibits and displays<ref> Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney Productions 1977 Annual Report , 1977. July 2018. </ref>.}}[[Image:Seas2.jpg|400px|thumb|Early concept art for The Living Seas pavilion featuring the glass bubble ride vehicles.]]

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 new version of the pavilion, guests would enter The Seas through a “portal” which transported them into a grotto<ref name= "Martin"> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7TGeBE_0cQ </ref>. From here, they would enter a large preshow theater. With As a storm raging raged 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 the god would then note that with wisdom and courage, we guests too could explore the sea<ref name= "Martin"/>.

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 areaforward, they would travel down a long corridor to their ride vehicles, which were shaped like large glass bubbles<ref name= "Martin"/>.

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”<ref name= "intercot"/>. 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 Sea Base Alpha, where they could further examine interactive exhibits , as well as enter a long viewing platforms platform 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<ref name= "Martin"/>. Furthermore, the ride path the that 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<ref name= "Martin"/>.

By the end of 1980 plans for The Seas pavilion were still changing. At this point the omnimover ride was shortened and theme the tone became completely more scientific. In the 1980 book Walt Disney's Epcot Center, the Seas pavilion is described:

[[Image:Seas2Seasopening.jpg|400px|thumb|Early concept art for The Grand Opening of The Living Seas pavilion.]]

When EPCOT Center opened on October 1, 1982{{Quotation| The environment, The Seas pavilion was nowhere designed to be found. Insteadlook like a futuristic sea base, is an empty large plot of land could be found actual working environment in Future World West, which man and machine coexist 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 pavilionsea and its original inhabitants. This changed however All around us, we see diver’s carrying on July 20their tasks, 1983 when United Technologies agreed often accompanied by their coworkers, the dolphins, trained to sponsor work alongside man.<ref> Beard, Richard R., and Walt Disney. Walt Disneys EPCOT: Creating the 90 million dollar pavilionNew World of Tomorrow. Harry N. Abrams, 1982. </ref>}}

{{Quotation| "Visitors to When EPCOT Center opened on October 1, 1982, however, The Seas pavilion will explore the wonders of the aquatic frontier through two major presentationswas nowhere to be found. FirstInstead, "The an empty large plot of land could be found in Future World of the SeaWest," with a ride-thru experience presenting various ocean environments; and second, sign that announced that The Living Seas would be opening in 1984<ref name= "Martin"Sea Base Alpha/>. Despite this promise," Disney had yet to find a futuristic undersea research station complete with a 5sponsor for the pavilion. This changed on July 20,0001983,000-gallon tank supporting a living coral reef community." when United Technologies agreed to sponsor the 90 million dollar pavilion<ref name= "intercotMartin"> 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 With United Technologies now sponsoring the pavilion's designs, as the focus final layout of The Living Seas shifted began to the scientifictake shape. At this time, with an exclusive emphasis on the SeasBase portion of Poseidon preshow and the pavilion the 1982 book EPCOT Centerlong dark ride attraction (which United Technologies was unwilling to pay for) were removed <ref name= "Martin"/> <ref> https: Creating //futureprobe.blogspot.com/2012/10/from-seas-to-living-seas-and-beyond.html </ref>. Instead, guests would now enter the World pavilion and watch a short preshow video. After this, they would take a quick trip through the pavilion's aquarium before arriving at Sea Base Alpha. After a series of Tomorrowsetbacks, notes that while in construction on The Living Seas ride guests would see:began in March of 1984 <ref name= "Martin"/>.

{{Quotation===The Living Seas Presented By United Technologies (1986-1998)===[[Image:Seasentrance.jpg|350px|thumb| The environment, designed entrance to The Living Seas prior to look like a futuristic sea base, is an actual working environment in which man and machine coexist with the sea and its original inhabitants2005 refurbishment. All around us, we see diver’s carrying on their tasks, often accompanied by their coworkers, the dolphins, trained to work alongside manPhoto Michael Grey.| 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 officially opened to guests on their dark ride adventure January 15, 1986 <ref name= "Martin"/>https://d23. This dark ride would have been com/a fully immersive experience, with shark attacks, shipwrecks, and various special effects adding -to -z/living-seas-the excitement / <ref name= "Martin"/ref>. Guests would eventually enter On hand for the pavilion’s 200 ft. tank at pavilion's Grand Opening were Disney president Frank Wells (who cut the rides conclusion. Following opening ribbon inside the dark ride, guests would have arrived at Sea Base Alphapavilion's 5.7 million- an underwater research facility gallon tank), chairman Michael Eisner, Florida Governor Bob Graham, United Technologies chairman Harry Gray, and Roy E. Disney <ref name= "Martin"> http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1986-01-16/news/0190190142_1_walt-disney-disney-productions-living-seas </ref>. According to the 1982 book EPCOT Center: Creating the World of Tomorrow, 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 completed Living Seas pavilion was unique among the sea and its original inhabitantsEPCOT Center pavilion's in that it did not house a "feature attraction". All around usInstead, we see diver’s carrying on their tasks, often accompanied by their coworkersthe pavilion was made up a series of interconnected smaller attractions, concluding with guests arrival at the dolphins, trained to work alongside manfuturistic underwater research center [[Sea Base Alpha]].| EPCOT Center: Creating the World of Tomorrow }}

Inside of Sea Base Alpha, The Living Seas began with guests could see entering a "television" system winding queue that allowed them to follow various divers’ activitiesfeatured artifacts from the history of sea travel. One camera They would be set on then enter the sea floorfirst preshow, the second mounted on where they watched a robotic device which followed slideshow touting United Technologies. Following the diverslideshow, and a third guests would be on walk into another theater, where they were shown the diver’s helmet itself7 minute film "The Sea". In the research facility, This movie showed guests would also be able to see a series of exhibits that showcased not only underwater how water made lifeon earth possible, but while also the future touching on how humanity's understanding of underwater sciencethe seas has developed. Unlike its successorAfter the film, guests exited to the original plans for The Living Seas pavilion’s architecture called for a two story pavilion with a glass roofHydrolators, which were "sea elevators" designed to take 30 guests "below the surface". As designs for Exiting the pavilion changedHydrolators, guests would then board their "SeaCabs" and the entire Living Seas took travel on a more serious tone, the glass ceiling was replaced by a conventional oneCaribbean Coral Reef Ride through the pavilion's Caribbean Coral Reef Aquarium (thus the name of the ride) to Sea Base Alpha.

Due to this change in tone as well as logistical issues, construction on The Living Seas Sea Base Aplha was pushed back. Before construction began, the layout of The Living Seas was altered. This was either due designed to look like a change in the pavilion's tone or the unwillingness of the pavilion's sponsor United Technologies futuristic, underwater research center (thus guests had to fund the elaborate design <ref name= "Martin"> https://wwwtake Hydrolators to get there).youtube.com/watch?v=P7TGeBE_0cQ </ref>. Instead of the extensive dark ride that would have led guests to While Imagineers had originally planned on Sea Base Alphabeing made up of eight modules, a preshow video and short trip through the aquarium were instead installed final version only featured six <ref name= "Martin"/>. The pavilion was now designed with essentially two parts: Each of the large Coral Reef Aquariummodules housed a series of interactive exhibits which focused on a central theme. In addition to the modules, and Sea Base Alpha, where guests could look at also further observe the future of underwater research <ref name= "Martin"/>Caribbean Coral Reef Aquarium from a viewing platform. After a series of setbacksFinally, construction on The Living Seas began in March of 1984was also home to the [[Coral Reef Restaurant]], and which allowed guests to look into the pavilion opened 's aquarium while they dined. Of note is the fact that in order to exit the public on January 15pavilion, 1986 <ref name= "Martin"/>guests would enter another set of Hydrolators.

===The first major change to The Living Seas Presented By came in 1991 when the pavilion's corporate lounge was closed due to due United Technologies (1986-' budget constraints <ref name="Martin"/>. Following the closure, the space was used for park events. Subsequently, between August 10th and September 14th 1998)=, the Coral Reef Restaurant underwent major renovations <ref name==[[Image:Seasentrance"Martin"/>.jpg|400px|thumb|The entrance to The Living Seas prior At this time, the restaurant was moved upstairs to the 2005 refurbishmentformer corporate lounge. Photo Michael GreyDuring the refurbishment the restaurant's color scheme and original wood was removed, and the decor was lightened.]]

When ===The Living Seas opened it featured three connected attractions and the [[Coral Reef Restaurant]]. After winding their way through the queue (where guests could see historical artifacts from the history of sea exploration1998-2006), guests watched a short film called The Seas. This movie showed guests how water made life on earth possible, while also touching on how humanity's understanding of the seas has developed.===

After watching the short filmIn June 1999, guests entered United Technologies decided to end its sponsorship of The Living Seas <ref name= "Martin"/>. With the Hydrolatorsend of the sponsorship, which were elevators that took guests "down" all references to the ocean floor (although in actuality they only went down two inches), before they company were loaded into their SeaCabs for removed from the Caribbean Coral Reef Ride. The Caribbean Coral Reef Ride took guests through pavilion by the ocean's depths (end of the Coral Reef Aquarium) to Sea Base Alpha, in omnimover fashionyear <ref> http://www. Once at Sea Base Alpha, guests could explore various interactive exhibits that allowed them to learn about marine life, and the technology that made underwater research possibleintercot. From Sea Base Alpha, guests could also look out into the various tankscom/EDC/LivingSeas/index. After exploring Sea Base Alpha, guests could enter another set of Hydrolators and exit the pavilionhtml </ref>.

===The Living Seas (1998-2006)===Aside from minor changes next major change to come to Sea Base Alpha, The Living Seas remained essentially unchanged until 1998 took place in 2001, when United Technologies ended their sponsorship of the pavilion <ref name= "Martin"/>. With the end of United Technologies sponsorship, all references to the company were removed from the pavilion by the end of 1999 <ref> http://www.intercot.com/EDC/LivingSeas/index.html </ref>. At this time, one of the two preshow theaters was also closed in order to allow returning guests to skip the "The Seas" film altogether and move directly to the Hydrolators <ref name= "Martin"/>. Subsequently, in 2002 on October 21, 2001, the Caribbean Coral Reef Ride portion of the pavilion closed, with guests now walking from the Hydrolators, past the Caribbean Coral Reef Aquarium, and into Sea Base Alpha (of note is the fact that . Although the SeaCabs remained intact after being discontinued, in January 2002 they were just boarded up) <ref name= "Martin"/>.

With no sponsor and a decreasing popularityBy 2003, Disney decided The Living Seas was a far cry from the busy and vibrant pavilion that it had been when it opened in 1986. The changes to the pavilion's structure in the previous years had killed the natural flow that it relied on. As previously mentioned, the original Living Seas needed was designed to changebe more than the sum of its parts. In order With the ability to increase bypass the pavilion’s popularitypreshow and the loss of the SeaCabs however, the pavilion no longer worked. As attendance problems continued to plague The Living Seas, Disney began to tie the popular 2003 film Finding Nemo into the exhibits in Sea Base Alphalook for a change.

In Following the release of the Disney-Pixar movie "Finding Nemo", in December 2003, references to Nemo Disney began to appear through tie the pavilion, especially animated characters from the film into The Living Seas. While this integration originally took place mostly in the pavilion's gift shop , exterior and in some of the Sea Base Alpha exhibits, a larger change was coming <ref name= "MartinMartin2"> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wj6VD1bJEYs </ref>. NextIn the end, the first Nemo references would only be Phase I of a complete remodel of The Living Seas. The next step of the overhaul came in January 2004 when Module 1C and Module 1D in Sea Base Alpha were alpha closed <ref name= "Martin"/>. When the modules reopened on November 16, 2004 they were replaced by featured two new Finding Nemo based exhibits- "Bruce’s Bruce's Shark World" (in Module 1D) and a new attraction [[Turtle Talk with Crush]] (in Module IC) <refname="book">Pedersen, R. A. The EPCOT Explorer's Encyclopedia:. United States: Epcyclopedia, 2011. Print. </ref>. While Bruce's Shark World was a playground for younger guests, Turtle Talk With Crush was an interactive show that featuring featured Disney's newest technology, "digital puppetry". Looking through an arcylric window, on Turtle Talk with Crush, which allowed guests to could talk and interact with Crush the Turtle from Finding Nemo. The new show proved to be so popular that Disney decided to integrate Nemo into the entire Living Seas pavilion. In order to do this, on August 21, 2005 , the entire whole pavilion closed to the public(although the [[Coral Reef Restaurant]] remained open)<ref name= "MartinMartin2"/>.

On November 23, 2005, the Sea Base Alpha half of The Seas pavilion reopened <ref name= "MartinMartin2"/>. During the refurbishment, the exit Hydrolators were removed from the pavilion, and guests now (temporarily) entered and exited through large glass doors <ref name= "MartinMartin2"/>. The Sea Base (as it was now called) had also been completely remodeled. New signs and decor were added and some of the previously scientific exhibits were replaced by Finding Nemo themed ones<ref name= "MartinMartin2"/>.

Although Sea Base - (and thus Turtle Talk with Crush - ) was operational by November, the front half of the pavilion remained closed. In this area, Imagineers were hard at work creating a new dark ride attraction, "The Seas with Nemo & Friends". The new attraction was constructed in the location that had previously housed one of the pavilion's preshow theaters, the Hydrolators, the holding areas, and the queue for the old Caribbean Coral Reef Ride (the SeaCabs) <Ref name= "MartinMartin2"/>.

The Seas with Nemo & Friends's queue replaced the Hydrolator portion of the attraction. The new queue was themed so that guests would travel from the beach, under a pier, and finally underwater. This allowed Disney to eliminate the need for the Hydrolators, but retain the original story that they told. The removal of the third Hydrolator , as well as the preshow theater , also allowed Imagineers to install nine new dark ride scenes <Ref name= "MartinMartin2"/>. In order to extend the original Caribbean Coral Reef Ride track to include these new scenes, 280 ft of additional track was installed<Ref name= "MartinMartin2"/>.The SeaCabs themselves were remodeled into replaced with the "Clamobiles" that would take guests through the story.

Finally, on October 10, 2006, the construction walls outside of the pavilion came down. The rest of the pavilion opened to the public on October 19th as The Seas with Nemo & Friends. The Seas with Nemo & Friends pavilion now features a substantial dark ride (also named the Seas with Nemo & Friends) to go along with Turtle Talk with Crush and the rest of Sea Base. On January 4, 2007, the pavilion was officially rededicated<Ref name= "Martin2"/>. With the Seas with Nemo & Friends operational, there was still one final change to The Seas pavilion. On January 29th 2007, Turtle Talk with Crush closed <ref name= "Martin"/>. The popular attraction was then moved from module 1C to the larger module 1A. A corridor was then also built to connect the module to the old preshow theater #2, allowing Turtle Talk to have a much higher capacity <ref name= "MartinMartin2"/>.

'''[[The Seas with Nemo & Friends (Attraction)]]'''- This dark ride allows guests to explore the "Big Blue World" with Nemo and his friends. On The Seas with Nemo & Friends, guests board Clamobiles and set off to help rescue Nemo , who is once again missing. The Seas with Nemo & Friends is based on the Finding Nemo franchise.

'''[[Turtle Talk with Crush]]'''- This interactive show allows guests to meet and talk to Crush himself. Turtle Talk with Crush uses digital puppetry to help the sea turtle answer guests guest's questions.

'''SeasThe Sea'''- This short video explained to guests how the Earth changed from a volcanic planet, to one covered in oceans. The Seas Sea film played from 1986 until 2005.

'''Sea Base Alpha'''-Sea Base Alpha featured many scientific exhibits related to underwater research. Although the exhibits changed over time, they always had a marine focus. From Sea Base Alpha, guests could look out into the pavilion's aquariums and see many exotic marine animals. Sea Base Alpha was open from 1986-2005. At this time, the area was renamed simply Sea Base, and many of the exhibits housed within were given a Finding Nemo Themetheme.

'''[[Coral Reef Restaurant]]'''- The Coral Reef Restaurant is a table service restaurant which specializes in seafood. The restaurant is located to the right of the entrance to [[The Seas with Nemo & Friends (Attraction)]]. Inside, guests can look out into the Caribbean Coral Reef aquarium and observe over 4000 6000 sea creatures.

* There are 61 different windows through which guests can view the Caribbean Coral Reef aquarium<ref name= "intercot2"/>.

* Spaceship Earth could fit completely inside the Caribbean Coral Reef aquarium<ref> https://twitter.com/wdwtoday/status/872105819361480704 </ref>.

* Many of the interior pipes in the Seas With Nemo & Friends have the name and extension number of Imagineers who worked on the attractionpavilion <ref name= "trivia"> http://www.wdwradio.com/2007/09/the-seas-with-nemo-and-friends/ </ref>.

* Montgomery Watson was the prime architectural and engineering contractor for The Living Seas pavilion<ref name="book"/>.

* The gravel floor in the Caribbean Coral Reef aquarium was replaced for the first time in 1998<ref name= "intercot2"/>.

* In 1991 Lorilei, the VIP lounge and conference center first manatee born in captivity, was born in The Living Seas closed due to United Technologies' cost cutting effortspavilion in 1991 <ref name= "intercot2"/>.

* LorileiThe Caribbean Coral Reef Aquarium holds 5, the first manatee born in captivity700, was born in The Living Seas pavilion in 1991000 gallons of water <ref name= "trivia"/>.

===Consultants <Refname="intercot2"> http://www.intercot.com/edc/LivingSeas/lsfacts.html </ref>===