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/* Pavilion History */
The Universe of Energy (as the pavilion was eventually named) was the first of Future World's pavilions to reach its final design. Of note, is the fact that throughout the development of EPCOT Center, the Energy pavilion never changed locations, despite the fact that many of the other Future World pavilions were being constantly moved around <ref name= "Martin"/>. The reason for this, was that plans for the pavilion always called for solar panels to be used in some capacity (initially as part of the solar energy collector and then later as a part of the pavilion's roof). In order to maximize the amount of the sun that the panels would receive, the Energy pavilion needed to be in the location that it was eventually constructed <ref name= "book"> Pedersen, R.A. The EPCOT Explorer's Encyclopedia:. United States: Epcyclopedia, 2011. Print. </ref>. By 1979, the pavilion's final shape was decided. During the Energy pavilion's development there were only minor changes to the building's exterior. A 1981 model of the pavilion shows that at one time Imagineers planned on giving the pavilion a blue color scheme <ref> http://progresscityusa.com/2011/04/01/energy-a-few-of-its-faces/ </ref>. Furthermore, pre-construction concept art showed a number of shallow lagoons that were to be located in Future World East, much like those that were eventually constructed in Future World West. In the Energy pavilions final design however, a fountain was constructed outside of the building in lieu of shallow lagoons <ref> http://progresscityusa.com/2011/06/19/epcot-origins-a-model-future-1978/ </ref>.
Construction began on the Energy pavilion in 1979/1980 <ref name= "Martin"/>. The pavilion featured 105,000 ft of show area, as well as 2,156 solar panels <ref name= "book"/>. Construction on the Universe of Energy was completed on time, and the pavilion opened with the rest of EPCOT Center on October 1, 1982. When completed, the Universe of Energy pavilion housed an attraction (also called Universe of Energy) that featured four films and a dark ride <ref name= "Martin"/>. Guests entered the pavilion and watched a film before moving into a large theater. When seated, visitors watched a second film, before the theater itself broke up into six dark ride vehicles. In the dark ride portion of the attraction, guests traveled back to the time of dinosaurs to get a better idea of where fossil fuel energy came from<ref name= "Martin"/>. After traveling through the Primeval Diorama, the ride vehicles reassembled and guests watched another film and then a grand finale. After exiting the attraction, guests could explore a few Exxon exhibits before exiting leaving the pavilion <ref> http://www.lostepcot.com/universeofenergy.html </ref>.
Throughout the first 14 years of its existence, the Universe of Energy pavilion did not see any major modifications. This changed however on January 20, 1996, when the pavilion closed for a major refurbishment <ref> http://progresscityusa.com/energy/rehab.htm </ref>. Although the Universe of Energy had been quite popular when it opened, by the mid-1990s the pavilion’s popularity had waned <ref name= "Martin2"> http://www.martinsvids.net/?p=619 </ref>. Furthermore, the information given in the pavilion was becoming dated, and guests began to complain about the overly serious tone of the attraction <ref name= "book"/>. In line with the rest of the Future World pavilions, Exxon wanted the Universe of Energy to get a new attraction in time for the pavilion’s 15th anniversary in 1997. In contrast to the original attraction’s scientific tone, Disney hoped to rejuvenate the pavilion by giving it a lighter and more comedic tone, while still keeping the original attraction’s basic structure (including the Primeval Diorama) <ref name= "book"/> <ref name= "Martin2"/>. In order to do this, Imagineers pitched a new attraction titled Ellen’s Energy Crisis, which would take the format of a game show and star Ellen DeGeneres. At the time that the attraction as being developed, DeGeneres had a popular show on ABC, which Disney was in the processes of buying <ref name= "Martin2"/>.
