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The Universe of Energy is a pavilion located in the eastern half of "Future World" at Epcot, a theme park that is part of the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. The pavilion contains one attraction, its second since its 1982 opening, entitled "Ellen's Energy Adventure." Universe of Energy was previously sponsored by ExxonMobil (formerly Exxon) from opening day October 1, 1982 through 2004.
[edit] Ellen's Energy Adventure
The current show stars Ellen DeGeneres, Bill Nye 'The Science Guy,' Alex Trebek, and Jamie Lee Curtis. It deals with energy, how energy is produced, the history of energy sources, and the search for new resources. In particular it focuses on the origins of fossil fuels such as petroleum, coal and natural gas. The entire pavilion building itself is an innovation in energy use, as the entire roof is covered in photovoltaic solar panels that partially power the ride system. Visitors travel in large battery-powered "Traveling Theater" vehicles that forego conventional tracks and instead follow guide wires embedded in the floor.
- Preshow Theater Film (audience standing) - Ellen DeGeneres falls asleep, and finds herself in an energy-themed version of Jeopardy!, playing against an old rival Judy Peterson (portrayed by Jamie Lee Curtis) and Albert Einstein (played by Detroit's Benny Wasserman b.April 2, 1934).
- It was not possible to film using the actual Jeopardy! set, so the crew built a replica, which is why the set seen in the attraction varies slightly from the way viewers would have recognized the 1996 set. One of the most notable differences is the lack of a vane display for the scoreboards - instead, light bulbs similar to those used in eggcrate displays form the seven-segment formation used in vane displays.
- Theater I Film (audience seated) - Bill Nye takes Ellen back billions of years in time to witness the Big Bang and then into a prehistoric jungle where he explains the formation of fossil fuels.
-
Dinosaurs in the
Universe of Energy
The Ride (audience seated) - At the conclusion of the film, the theater seating breaks up into six multi-passenger vehicles. The vehicles travel through primeval dioramas, populated with audio-animatronic dinosaurs and an audio-animatronic Ellen.
- Theater II Film (audience seated) - The lengthiest portion of the show, Ellen and Bill Nye take an in-depth look at various current and future energy resources. Actor Michael Richards also makes a brief cameo as a caveman.
- Theater I Finale Film (audience seated) - The ride vehicles return to Theater I where guests see the conclusion of Ellen's Jeopardy! dream.
- At the conclusion, Johnny Gilbert, the Jeopardy! announcer, in traditional game show style, says that some contestants would receive as a consolation prize "...a year's supply of energy. Energy - You Make The World Go Round." This line is actually a tribute to the original attraction, whose pre-show film featured a song titled, "Energy (You Make The World Go Round)."
[edit] Original attraction
The original Universe of Energy attraction used the same traveling theater system that is currently used by Ellen's Energy Adventure. The original films presented similar information but in a more serious fashion. The main attraction used essentially the same scenes and audio-animatronic dinosaurs as Ellen's Energy Adventure, though the latter attraction added a few figures to tie it to the new films.
- Preshow Theater Film (audience standing) - The original preshow was a unique "kinetic mosaic" invented by Czech film director Emil Radok (see link below for video). It consisted of 100 triangular units (reminiscent of those on the classic game show Concentration), arranged in a 25 wide by 4 high array. These units rotated under computer control and were synchronized to a movie projected onto their surface. These units were white on two sides, and matte black on the third. The combination of the film and the units' rotation created undulating, sometimes three-dimensional-appearing images. During the conclusion of the pre-show, the song "Energy (You Make The World Go Round)" was played.
- Theater I Film (audience seated) - Guests viewed an animated film that depicted the beginning of life on earth and the formation of fossil fuels.
- The Ride (audience seated) - At the conclusion of the film, the theater seating breaks up into six multi-passenger vehicles. The vehicles travel through primeval dioramas, populated with audio-animatronic dinosaurs.
- Theater II Film (audience seated) - The lengthiest portion of the show, a live-action film took guests on an in-depth look at various current and future sources of energy.
- Theater I Finale Film (audience seated) - The ride vehicles return to Theater I where guests saw a computer generated film of laser-like images that were reflected off of mirrored walls within the theater. The film was accompanied by the upbeat song "Universe of Energy."
[edit] Pavilion facts and figures
- Grand opening: October 1, 1982 (Opened with EPCOT Center)
- Designer: WED Enterprises (Universe of Energy) / Walt Disney Imagineering (Ellen's Energy Adventure)
- Show Duration (Ellen's Energy Adventure): 45 minutes (new shows every 17 minutes)
- Preshow length: 8 minutes
- Seating capacity: 1100+, Six 97-passenger vehicles per show, two concurrent shows
- Number of audio-animatronics: 36
- Former Sponsor: Exxon (Universe of Energy) / ExxonMobil (Ellen's Energy Adventure)
- Ride system: Traveling Theatre
- Track: 1/8-inch embedded wire
- Handicapped accessibility: Guests remains in wheelchairs (up to 6 wheelchairs are ramped onto ride vehicles)
[edit] Timeline
- October 1, 1982 — The pavilion opens, with the original Universe of Energy attraction.
- January 21, 1996 — The original Universe of Energy attraction is closed for refurbishment.
- September 15, 1996 — The revised show opens as Ellen's Energy Crisis, quickly renamed to Ellen's Energy Adventure.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
