The Seas with Nemo & Friends

When I first visited Disneyworld, this attraction was called ‘The Living Seas’. When originally completed, in 1886, it was the largest manufactured underwater environment in the world. You entered the attraction at ground level & after watching a short film about how the oceans were created, you travelled to ‘Sea Base Alpha’ in a simulated ‘Hydrolator’ (underwater elevator). You then rode through an underwater, glass, tunnel to the main exhibit area where there was free access to the aquarium.

This has now been revamped as ‘The Seas with Nemo & Friends’. You still enter the attraction at ground level but now take your very own ‘Clamobile’ to the aquarium. The clamobiles take you through the ocean with Marlin, Dory, & other Finding Nemo characters that are all searching for Nemo (who has got lost again). You travel through the coral reef where Marlin the Clownfish is searching for Nemo. Towards the end of the reef, you meet up with Mr Ray & his students before coming across a group of jellyfish. Then a crazy Anglerfish comes out of the darkness & chases you down towards a huge submarine wreck in the middle of a minefield with Bruce, Chum, & Mako the sharks swimming about, reminding Bruce that, "Fish are friends, not food! The clamobiles the get swept up into the EAC with Nemo, Crush, & Squirt, before arriving at the aquarium.

We had a walk around, looked at loads of fish & other sealife in the huge aquarium & then lined up for ‘Turtle Talk’ with Crush the turtle. To pass the time, the entrance to this attraction was next to an open topped tank containing stingrays that you could pet & watch swim & jump. Turtle Talk was really cool (&, I think, Cheryl’s favourite attraction)! All the children sat on the floor in front of a huge screen (which looked out into the animated Ocean) with parents on the bleachers behind. When Crush arrived, he taught the children how to talk turtle – it’s like radicaaaal duuude. He then asked them some questions & would describe the child that he wanted to answer to the assistant in the room. After a while, he swam off & came back with a red & white striped bikini top around his neck as if he was wearing it. He then asked the children what it was, as he seemed proud of his find! When none of them answered he asked the parents & a woman told him what it was, to which he answered, "so it’s a totally chick thing?" When everyone chorused yes, he turned bright red & quickly swam off only to return looking really embarrassed! The most impressive thing about Turtle Talk was that despite Crush being animated, and not knowing who was going to answer or what they were going to say, there were no delays in his voice & his expressions matched exactly what he said – very interactive & totally cool!

Test Track

This is another simulation ride, but this time instead of being a computer simulation like ‘Mission Space’, it is an actual ride around a vehicle test track.

This was originally the ‘World of Motion’, which was a ride through various animatronic displays showing how travel had developed. At the end of the ride you exited in a GM based ‘Autorama’ car show complete with vehicles on stage that were revealed similar to when a new car is unveiled for the first time.

Test Track is completely the opposite of the original attraction, being a thrill ride where you actually get to experience the different aspects of vehicle pre-production testing. As you enter the attraction, you are directed through a workshop with evaluation tests, e.g., seat wear resistance, door testing, impact tests, & suspension testing. There is always a long queue for this ride, so we used the ‘Fastpass’ ticket option to miss most of the line.

When you reach the briefing section you are shown a video of the test track controller specifying what aspects of the vehicle will be tested – traction control, ABS, chemical & heat resistance (which a video showing what each aspect chosen consists of). He then tells the operator to choose a certain option (which she questions as to whether this is a good idea) while the video display shows a vehicle crashing (as the option is chosen).

You then pass through to the staging area where you enter the test vehicle. These are futuristic styled, open top cars, which seat six. Each row contains displays showing vehicle status & speed. The ride starts in the building where you undergo the series of tests. The vehicle first accelerates through a hill-climb, travels over different road surfaces to test the suspension, & then brakes with & without ABS. It then travels through the environmental testing areas – heat (110F), cold (10F), & corrosive chemicals (in this case just water, spayed through Mickey Mouse nozzles). The vehicle then starts to accelerate towards a huge crash test block which, at the last minute, opens to reveal a long straight outside the building where you accelerate to 65 mph before riding around a banked curve attached to the main building above the entrance.

As you exit the ride, you pass through the GM ‘Autorama’ with the latest GM cars on display (the new Camaro looked cool) & a Test Track & GM themed gift shop.