I remember going when it opened. My mother HATES elevators. Getting in the "Hydrolator" she had the death grip on my dads arm. She dreaded having to go back thru the hydrolator again. We even explained that all it was is a room with moving side panels to make it look like we were going down. She asked a CM how to get out of the attraction. She escorted my mom thru a door and up some steps. She said she felt so foolish.

the thing that bothered me most about the Nemo theme, is the clam shell omnimover closed off an entire aquarium. You used to be able to see right and left aquariums, but the clamshell ride vehicle pointed you to the right and that was all you could see. I still love the living sees and last time I was there a cast member took me back stage of the manatee area, simply because I said it was our favorite. A little disney magic goes a long way.

If there's one thing that I've always wanted to experience it's Epcot as it was conceptualized in its' early years. Growing up I always felt so inspired getting off of Spaceship Earth - I wanted to make an impact on the world. I realize now that the entire park was meant to inspire future generations that way. It was a calling to deeper understand science, history, art and the human experience. I only ever got to experience one shred of what it once was. Unfortunately, it seems it is only becoming a secondary Magic Kingdom. Hollywood Studios is suffering the same thing, and it seems Animal Kingdom will be next. I long for a time where we dreamed greater dreams...

The hydrolators were very convincing to my young self. I went several times as a young Floridian, and they totally sold me on the illusion of descending down to the sea floor. The attraction is greatly diminished by their removal.

As a kid my parents would frequently have to pry me out of Seabase Alpha. I’d stay there for hours because I had wanted to be a marine biologist and thought it would be so cool to work in an underwater research facility. And the pavilion gave me a chance to live that as kid. As an adult, I got to work at the Living Seas as an attractions CM. The animal care team and dive team were amazing and would invite us up to the catwalks from time to time so we could interact with the dolphins, manatees, and other animals. I didn’t become a marine biologist but value my time as a CM there.

Worked custodial on epcot during the summer for the DCP, every time i got assigned to work on the seas area I knew it was going to be a great shift. Such an underrated area.

I grew up going there in the 80s and early 90s. I rode the Hydrolators quite a few times. The first time I remember riding them I thought it was real. Of course, I was probably 8 years old and didn't understand much about perspective. As I grew up and figured it out, it was still pretty easy to trick your brain into thinking you were moving. What broke it was the realization that the floor wasn't connected to the wall, so while the floor moved (it wasn't just a vibration but a very slight side to side motion like an elevator bouncing off the tolerances of its track), the walls didn't move at all and that slight variance was enough to take you out of it. Staring right at the rotating rocks helped. Cool video. Thanks for sharing. Lots of great memories there.

This original version was really fun. But the Sea Cab was ridiculously short. If I’m not mistaken they gave you the option of walking after a couple years

I went scuba diving in the living seas around 2001. Messing with people on the old ride and eating in the restaurant are core memories for me. Probably my favorite pavilion at EPCOT.

Having just come from Defunctland's musical history journey through EPCOT's development, I guess today is just a day to learn all about this one land 😙

Back in 1982 Disney spent an enormous amount of money on EPCOT as the ride systems wore out they were replaced with cheaper versions to what we have today, a shadow of it's former self.

I miss the old stuff so bad. Hope in the future with the technology of VR. We will be able to experience these once again.

Love these history videos. How about exploring the history of the fireworks shows and history of Disney's food options over the years? How about a look into the seasonal parades? It looks like they actually use a lot of the same floats year after year.

I've been going to Epcot since it opened, and going into Sea Base Alpha is so nostalgic and brings me back to my childhood like few other places in the part can anymore. So easy to lose track of time in there. I love it.

I'm 45, and been going to Disney World and Epcot since I was a little kid. I'm so glad I got to experience a lot of these attractions before they were closed or changed. Such great memories.

Man seeing the footage of the Hydrolators unlocked a memory for me. It was a very convincing effect for an 8 year old me in 1998.

Some of my favorite memories of my many childhood visits to WDW were from The Living Seas. I LOVE the little movie and the hydrolators.

The Sea Cabs disappeared before they rethemed for quite a long time. There was a rumor at one time where some lady sued Disney because she claimed she had damage to her ears because of the pressure caused in the Hydrolators. The entire judge and jury had to make a field trip to EPCOT to check out the Hydrolators only to stand in front of the door as it opened and the door in sea base opened so that you could see straight through I assume while running the hydrolators thus showing that they didn't move and were on ground level. I don't know if it is true but it was pretty popular a few years ago.

The hydrolaters were cool, but the queue of the current ride does thematically cover how we got under water into sea base alpha. The queue starts out on the beach and in each room of the queue you slowly go farther and farther under water. We then board our magical clam shell, learn about everyday life for a school of fish, and finally our magical clam shells take us right into sea base alpha

thank you for giving the living seas the attention it deserves! it’s been one of my favorite pavilions since i was a kid, i totally get what you mean by it feeling ‘old epcot.’ it’s such a nice break from the hectic running around from the rest of epcot, just a chance to stroll around and check out the fish for a while :] and to see the manatees!

16:55 one time someone in the clam mobile next to us used flash photography to snap a shot of that scene. Getting a really quick glimpse of the giant robotic arm that moves the angler around actually makes the scene even more unsettling for me now lol

Love EPCOT! Can't wait to see what you have in store with this video! Living Seas is one of the more underrated pavilions. :)

The Hydrolators were beyond convincing! As a kid I can remember being completely convinced we were descending into an ocean environment. One of the fun little details in the Hydrolators was the floor/level indicator lights that would illuminate as you travel. You started on “level one: ground floor” and ended up on “level five: Seabase Alpha.” But the other supposed floors all had different things as well. I so badly wanted to be able to stop on the other floors to explore parts of The Living Seas that I’d never seen before. Edit: oh look you showed them near the end!

The United States has some really incredible freshwater ecosystems that, in my opinion, have a huge impact on much of the country. Florida in particular has all sorts of cool freshwater fish and invertebrates that are in need of conservation attention. It would be really cool if Disney extended the seas to include freshwater ecosystems. I propagate native freshwater mussels for a living, so having a place there for both doing similar conservation aquaculture and educating about it would awesome!

Growing up in Florida, I used to go to Epcot very frequently. I was too young to remember the moment that I learned there was no Santa Claus. But I clearly remember the moment I learned the hydrolators were not real, and Seabase Alpha was not actually fully submerged in the water. I was in my 30s. I was absolutely crushed. I'm not sure I ever FULLY got over it.

I'm just commenting to annoy the FIRST guy.

Brought back a lot of great memories! I remember and wax poetic about old Epcot Center. It truly was the best. TY for such a great kick in the nostalgia feels!

I absolutely love The Seas. I was in EPCOT last year for the first time and I fell in love. I didn’t know that there were manatees and I almost cried when I saw them. 😂

I enjoy the Living Seas, though there is always so much to do at Epcot, always find myself rushing through the Seas. All the kids want to do is rush to the rides 🤦‍♂️

8:30 Couldn’t help yelling “MINE!” a few times 😂

This was my favourite attraction in Epcot when I was a kid, I miss the hydrolators, sea cabs and educational movie, is scuba Mickey still there? Once I grew up, I was able to do divequest, they explain why the sharks don’t eat the fish in the exhibit and that spaceship earth could fit in the big tank. Best pavilion. I have never eaten at coral reef so morally I’m clear.

This is one of my favorite attractions at EPCOT and my wife makes fun of me for it. We are both SCUBA divers and did Dive Quest for her birthday back in October. I have dived all over the place and this is one of my top dives. It would be worth getting certified to do. Tolstoy the turtle is my favorite.

I'm actually really proud and grateful of The Seas with Nemo and friends because I have a spaecial heart for the waters, oceans, and Nemo!

Since the Defunctland EPCOT Center video I have been craving more EPCOT Center history, so this came out at the perfect time!

Thank you for covering DiveQuest as part of this video! I’m old enough to remember the TV special that aired when The Living Seas opened. The special started with John Ritter coming down the divers’ lockout chamber, and I thought “I wanna do that!” These days, I’m scuba-certified but still have never gone. It remains on my bucket list.

Just one note: Raytheon was never a sponsor and the name Raytheon was never on Living Seas. UT may have become a part of Raytheon now, but at the time the Living Seas was designed and built, United Technologies was a separate Company. Also, the reason it took so long to open Living Seas is Disney had never before had live animals. They really had no concept of how to work with live animals. There were birds and small animals at Discovery Island in Bay Lake but Disney didn’t really understand the needs of caring for animals. Getting an acquarium that large takes a very long time. It has to have the right mechanical systems and water . If I recall they also sourced the fish and other marine life directly from the oceans of the world (they contracted it out) and after you have found the fish it takes time to get everything adjusted so you marine life actually lives and thrives. They had the same issue with Animal Kingdom. It was several years late in opening because getting the live animals, transporting them to FL, adjusted to the climate, setting up the routines and getting the animals used to the comings and goings in the park took much much longer than expected.

I remember when it rained....and it rained......and rained....... (IYKYK). ..Also did DiveQuest back in 2002. It was a fun, unique experience for sure.

I really liked what they did with Nemo's queue. You slowly transition from the beach, to just under the waves, until you're in the deep and you board the clam. It's a clever and subtle way to replace the Hydrolaters, but the original will always be missed. 💜

I’m delighted we’re getting a new ride history video! I was missing the old days of deep dive ride videos.

I loved the pre-show film, it still gives me goosebumps, when I watch it on KZfaq. The „water lock“ where divers (and sometimes even Mickey in scuba gear) supposedly entered the aquarium was also cool, shame they don‘t use it anymore. Did Dive Quest several times and it was an amazing experience every time. You could also peek in the sponsors lounge from the aquarium. At the end of the experience, a CM was supposed to escort the participants back to the exit of the park, but they always let us stay, so you basically got a free evening entry into Epcot on top. There were actually exit hydrolators where the sliding doors now are located. They were a shorter version of the descent at the beginning of the ride. You can see them in the video at 23:46 . Unfortunately, before they were finally removed, they kept both doors open and you just walked through them to exit the pavilion, which really broke the illusion of being under the sea.

The seas with Nemo and friends was one of my fave things at disneyworld when i went back as an adult, partly because it really did feel like Epcot from when i was a kid in the 2000's and partly because i just love animals and sealife and itw as also normally a bit quieter in there so i could chill out!

I love the spotlight on the composers.

7:25 For comparison, when I took the magic key backstage tour in 2012, we saw the one Million gallon surge tank under Splash Mountain- the place where all the water goes when it drains out of the Laughing Place. I sure hope Tokyo Disney keeps theirs!! The tank is a massive cube.

You forgot to mention The Reef restaurant that they have there! Some of the best food at disney! With a spectacular view as well.

I got to experience the Hydrolators when I was a kid. I’m sad they’re gone now. I have very vivid memories of the first time I went in them to this day.

Super fantastic topic! I miss the old hydrolators.

As a 90s/2000s kid, I remember all the hype for Turtle Talk With Crush. They had some Disney Channel kids go and promote it and i was always so jealous watching them.

I did Dive Quest twice. Was really fun, mostly because I was able to play around in front of the various viewing glasses to the entertainment of my little sister and any other kids present.

On regards of old Epcot. Given current technology now. Its completely possible to recreate the old rides and structures using programs such as the Unreal Engine, and indeed possible to create the original concept ideas as comparison. This is something someone should try to do.

I love these history videos. I’ve been going to WDW for 30 years so they bring back a lot of memories.❤️❤️

The hydrolator was so awesome. I forgot about it till this video and now I remember why this was my favorite place to go in Epcot as a kid. Like 10,000 leagues under the sea in magic kingdom. I loved the underwater stuff!!! Actually all water stuff. Pirates and the original water ride in Norway and Mexico.

I want someone to clip him out of context when he said "Forget about the people mover" and just leave it at that. But really I only went once to Epcot and it was already Nemo themed but the Alpha base area really amazed us. We regretted not taking 2 days at Epcot instead of Magic Kingdom because it was so magical and we still missed out on so much. We got to see a manatee eat and a diver going through that giant tube and wish I could've seen how the dark ride and hydrolators would have been because that tank was overshadowed by the Nemo cartoons "swimming" in front of them.

I worked there from 96-2000, it was great, and was there when they filmed Deuce Bigalo, male gigalo. When he cleaned the big tank, that was it, and when he got kicked out, was the back exit, we used to take breaks back there

The part of the Nemo version of the ride that kills me is the part where they blacked out part of the row of windows through the aquarium so they could project animated fish and turtles on the wall. It's literally that fucking Futurama episode where there's a moon-themed theme park on the moon. It'd be like if, say, a huge theme part corporation built a California-themed theme park in California.

Dallin actually dressed up for this video. SUBTLE😏 All jokes aside, I really really miss the Living Seas. I remember watching the main preshow and the aquarium on my old home videos tapes before I was born in '99 and it was pretty neat for the time. I'm still a fan of Nemo to an extent and the Seas with Nemo and friends still delivers it's purpose but I still hold on very firmly to the memories of Seabase Alpha.

I love The Seas pavilion. Although I do feel uncomfortable eating seafood at Coral Reef in front of the aquariums

As a kid, the hydrolators were VERY convincing. stepping out of them surrounded by the base theme and looking into the tank, bought it hook line and sinker.

Yes please do more history videos! I started watching Disney KZfaq videos with Yesterworld and Defunctland so I definitely love history of the parks and company as a whole

I loved Turtle Talk with Crush so much when I was a kid. It was so fun.

The zig-zags in the first room of the que haven't changed over the years - just been rethemed. But during the retheme they gained a lot of room in that pavilion by taking out the large holding room, the TWO preshow theatres, the hydrolator waiting room, and the actual hydrolators - I seem to remember there being 6 or 8 of them in a row. And don't forget, in order to leave Sea Base Alphs, you had to ride in another hydrolater. The first time I rode the Nemo Ride after the refurb, I was amazed that they had somehow lengthened the ride track. But then I thought about how much room they had gained and it made sense. And yes, the original ride was so short that it was laughable. You turned a corner, went through the underwater tunnel, and then exited in Sea Base Alpha. But you had to ride it because the Hydrolators "back to Epcot" were one way. And they posted a castmember to keep people from trying to go through in reverse. You had to endure all of the preshows if you just wanted to see Sea Base Alpha.

Love history videos like this! And love the living seas! Always was obsessed with it because boy meets world was my favorite tv show

Hooray! I LOVE the Seas!! I’ve done the Dive Quest a few times and it’s always worth it!!

I got to go to The Living Seas & ride the hydrolator in 2000! I was only 7 though & my fam somehow missed Spaceship Earth. My fave part was a deep sea dive suit photo op that had a big metal helmet & claws.

Those circular pools were intended to be subtle references to…… anyone? Mouse Ears Love, a former EPCOT Cast Member from a long-ass time ago

I took the family to this attraction for the first time (I'm the only one who had been in the original Living Seas) and what they've done to this attraction is criminal! They have changed the sea base because you could see a lot more of the aquarium and although the airlock device is still present, it's not connected to the aquarium anymore. I remember seeing divers going into the aquarium from it!! They've turned one of the best attractions at EPCOT into the absolute worst!

Surprised that you haven’t yet reviewed the Adventureland treehouse with all its SEA references.

This was a great video! Thank you for all the research and old b-roll

I loved this video,thank you so much!! If you need a video idea, a Disney CEO teir list would be really cool!

I grew up in Orlando and my senior homecoming dance was in The Living Seas. It was super cool and a lot of fun! Even more fun than that was my 9th grade homecoming dance which was in the Universe of Energy ride with all of the dinosaurs! The perks of growing up in Orlando 😎

Really enjoyed this! Thanks for it.

Oh geez, you made me feel old when you mentioned that it's been almost 40 years since it opened. I was about 7 when I first went there in '86 or '87.

Love it! I grew up in the 1999-2013 era of Epcot and it was the best thing ever.

I'm kinda surprised you didn't mention the absolutely massive sponsor area / lounge in this pavillion or where the sponsor entrance is located.

Been going to EPCOT since 86 (so i’m old) and this is still one of our favorite non hectic areas of the park. We do miss the Inovations sound track especially at night. And I do miss old EPCOT.

I LOVED the hydrolators as a young person and would go thru several times to figure out the mechanics of the illusion! 😎

Here I come ro puzzle again why the land pavilion has a boat ride and the seas has an omimover.

Hey bro! happy holidays to you and all.

this is so good wtf i loved learning about this history!!!! please feel free to make a history of music for the parks i would enjoy that so so much

I'd love to see a 15 minute dark ride on anything. Not counting interactive que. And if you can somehow speed up any standby more than 20 mins ( not counting i.q. ) that would be cool. Also, how is eating seafood in front of fish being a monster? What do you think sea life eats? ( Let's except price for manatees).

Great video- more history stuff please!

Us Houstonians can probably feel the Hydrolators even if we weren’t around for them in EPCOT because the science museum has a similar experience that’s been around, conservatively, my entire life, that has you going into the earth to look at the layers we go through for oil drilling. It hasn’t been updated since I was a kid and honestly I prefer it that way.

Not going to lie, but i kinda want the Tomorrow Land at Disneyland CA to have a smaller version on The Living Sea. Best example of a very well themed aquarium that comes to mind has to be that new seaworld abu dhabi Endless ocean exhibit. Its a very impressive exhibit that mainly focuses on one tank and the theming it just great. I think it be better if they bring back educational attraction to that side of the park. Focusing on biology, engineering, physics, earth history while promoting for a better future. Keep the E-tickets rides like space mountain and possibly the people mover, but turn the whole area into a suped-up version of a very well themed science center. If possible move startoars to the new galaxy edge and possibly use that area for a new original theme attraction based on something educational but fun and awe-inspiring.

I love this part of Epcot. I have happily sat for hours in that aquarium.

Great video! Thanks!

Thank you for doing this video. I went to Epcot when I was seven and SeaBase Alpha is one of my clearest memories of the day we spent there. Also, does Aeropostale still exist even? Lastly, as a scuba diver who has dove all over the world, I have done seaQuest twice. It is very expensive for the dive time compared to other experiences, however the next time I am in Florida, I will do it again without batting an eye. I can’t recommend it enough.

Loved this!

Last time I was at the Living Seas a few weeks ago (I still call it that) they had a tank of baby cuttlefish. Baby cuttlefish! That's the best thing I saw all day in Epcot!

I loved the original Living Seas, it really felt futuristic and science-y. There was a dramatic movie reshow that set up the whole experience so when you rode the ride the impact of the reveal when you entered the lucite tube going through the tank was impressive. We visited WDW this spring and, I hate to say it, Seas was a shadow of its former self. The Nemo "ride" feels like a cheap add on, screens in the dark, and the aquarium was almost empty. It felt like we were walking around a defunct shopping mall. And, yes, the "Hydrolators" were a pretty neat effect. Sadly, much of our WDW vacation was lackluster, and Epcot as a whole (GOTG was freaking amazing!) felt kind of sad.

Such a great episode.

Great job with this video

There is another very subtle reference to the Living Seas and its sponsor in the pavilion I noticed last time I was there. The floor plates at the top and bottom of the escalators still have Otis logos on them. Otis Elevator was owned by United Technologies, the sponsor, when the pavilion was built.

Id still love a full video on Epcot’s musical history on your channel!

Finally got round to watching this! 👀 😉👌🏼 great! Nice to hear your appreciation, what with you being a lot younger than me! I was 24 in 2005! 😆👌🏼

I like these kind of videos. You should still do a video about the musical history of EPCOT, ‘cause I’ll probably never get around to watch a 1:09:00 video that Defunctland did.

Fun video love the history stuff

Nice work

Every time you said "Epcot Center" it reminded me of the Oceans Twelve movie

I loved this attraction back in the late 80s and early 90s

God I remember the good old days of being a sponsor “vip” from my childhood. The whole family works for UTC/RTX (Pratt & Whitney) now 😂. My dad was a UTC employee as a small kid so they had a “hidden” room to chill and eat snacks. Interestingly THey sold off OTIS elevators.

Love/hate relationship with The Seas. If you pushed your face up against the Hydrolater windows, you could clearly see the rotating rubber "rock" background moving. Once you saw that as a 7-year-old, the illusion was shattered - and it pulled back the curtain on a lot of magic in general.