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:
{{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 }}