Living Seas Hydrolators Open?

[Lorelai]

Is the new ride through portion of the Living Seas up and running yet?

 

[Bobbysdog]

Nope! We were there last week, and the only thing open in the pavilion is Turtle Talk with Crush and a couple of small exhibits. It doesn't look like anything else there will be open anytime soon.

 

[Lorelai]

Can you still look at all of the huge aquariums, or are things blocked because of the rehab?

 

[Robo]

Is the new ride through portion of the Living Seas up and running yet?

You don't mean HYDROLATORS, the elevators that fomerly took you "into" and "out of" the Living Seas exhibit (these have been removed).

You might mean the "SEA CABS" which are ride vehicles that used to (and maybe WILL) travel along a section of the aquarium viewing windows.

 

[KJHawley]

From what I've heard the "hydrolators" are closed indefinitely, and may never return. The rumor is that they may go to go back to the pre-2001 "sea cabs" instead.

 

[RobInBigKC]

Can you still look at all of the huge aquariums, or are things blocked because of the rehab?

Yes, you can still see all of the huge aquariums. You just now need to use more pedestrian methods (no pun intended) to move from one floor to the other now that the "hydrolators" are gone.

-- Rob

 

[WorldlyWise]

That bites. Actually, they used to have both the hydrolators and then the sea cars. We were very disappointed when the sea cars went away. If they took out the hydrolators too, what is left???

 

[RobInBigKC]

If they took out the hydrolators too, what is left???

A bunch of fish!

-- Rob

 

[Robo]

If they took out the hydrolators too, what is left???

With "Turtle Talk" and the new "Nemo" theming...
a LOT more GUESTS.

More folks than have gone there in years are getting to see the Manatees and Rays and all the other fish in the huge tanks, because its now easier to GET IN.

My gosh, it used to take about a HALF HOUR just to get into the viewing area ("Seabase Alpha").

a. Waiting Room ONE (with the wavy queue railings and antique diving gear).
b. Waiting Room TWO (with the countdown clock and NOTHING ELSE).
c. File slowly into the theater.
d. "The DELUGE" film (good, but it took TIME).
e. File slowly OUT of the theater.
f. Waiting Room THREE (as you waited to board the Hydrolators).
g. Hydrolator "descent" (more "wait" as the floor wiggled & bubbles blubed)
h. Waiting Room FOUR (as you waited to board the SeaCabs).
i. Slow ride thru the water "tunnels" until, finally:
SEABASE ALPHA!
This was pretty "cool" a couple of trips, but EACH TIME? (Yikes!)
And after viewing, you'd wait again for the EXIT HYDROLATORS.

Heck, "Turtle Talk with Crush" is so GOOD, I don't want all of that WAITING just to get IN.

 

[caribear]

For some reason October sticks out in my head as the target date for the new ride/Sea cabs. Not sure though. Hydrolators are gone...just some regular doors leading to the exit(exit and entrance are the same right now while the ride portion is being worked on)...well the doors do have bubbles etched into them.

 

[RobInBigKC]

ITA on both the crowds and the removal of the hydrolators. First time visitors might have enjoyed the hydrolators more but I really don't miss them and I think the attraction is easier to get into and out of without them.

The one complaint I had (which was brought on my ownself by my ignorance so let this be a warning to others) was that we got to the Living Seas a little after 9:00 to beat the crowds to Turtle Talk but Turtle Talk didn't open until 10:00 and my two youngest DS's were ready to go by 9:20 (having seen all the fish and sea mammals they cared to see). Of course, when we came back later in the day we ended up waiting about 40 minutes to see Crush anyways!

So, it would be nice if there was another attraction to see/do at the Living Seas. Realistically though, I'm not sure any of the individual pavilions have enough attractions to keep my DS's entertained for 60 minutes (nor do I expect them to).

-- Rob

 

[WorldlyWise]

No Deluge either - we haven't seen it in awile but I thought we were just skipping it. Didn't really register that it was gone. I dunno, seem like another dumb down to me.

 

[Robo]

No Deluge either - we haven't seen it in awile but I thought we were just skipping it. Didn't really register that it was gone. I dunno, seem like another dumb down to me.

The point is we DON'T KNOW about this YET.
The film may be available as an "attraction" (or even the "prelude" again, for all we know).

But the Living Seas is only "partially open" right now (I'd say using only about 1/3rd of the total area so far.)

Earlier in 2005, we still had ALL the waiting, the Hydrolators, the Deluge.
After the "first stage" of the rehab, no hydrolators... but WHO KNOWS what will be coming.
I heard JACK-HAMMERS behind the barriers in late Jan. 2005.
So I know they are doing some "serious re-hab".

Besides, you're going to have to explain what attractions (other than "Journey into Imagaination") that Disney has "dumbed-down" for me to see it as a "trend".

 

[byoung]

Crush is worth the wait if there is one.

 

[seashoreCM]

That bites. Actually, they used to have both the hydrolators and then the sea cars. We were very disappointed when the sea cars went away. If they took out the hydrolators too, what is left???

Living Seas was supposed to be a total experience, starting with (a) Waiting Room One (above), standing in the hydrolators for a minute, etc.

There are still some ordinary elevators going between the levels of Sea Base Alpha. The hydrolators had just two boarding/alighting levels (which were a couple of inches apart if that) -- outside, and Sea Base Alpha lower level.

 

[Robo]

The hydrolators had just two boarding/alighting levels (which were a couple of inches apart if that) -- outside, and Sea Base Alpha lower level.

Not so much as an INCH (unless you count a door threshold.)

 

[All Aboard]

With "Turtle Talk" and the new "Nemo" theming...
a LOT more GUESTS.

More folks than have gone there in years are getting to see the Manatees and Rays and all the other fish in the huge tanks, because its now easier to GET IN.

My gosh, it used to take about a HALF HOUR just to get into the viewing area ("Seabase Alpha").

a. Waiting Room ONE (with the wavy queue railings and antique diving gear).
b. Waiting Room TWO (with the countdown clock and NOTHING ELSE).
c. File slowly into the theater.
d. "The DELUGE" film (good, but it took TIME).
e. File slowly OUT of the theater.
f. Waiting Room THREE (as you waited to board the Hydrolators).
g. Hydrolator "descent" (more "wait" as the floor wiggled & bubbles blubed)
h. Waiting Room FOUR (as you waited to board the SeaCabs).
i. Slow ride thru the water "tunnels" until, finally:
SEABASE ALPHA!
This was pretty "cool" a couple of trips, but EACH TIME? (Yikes!)
And after viewing, you'd wait again for the EXIT HYDROLATORS.

Heck, "Turtle Talk with Crush" is so GOOD, I don't want all of that WAITING just to get IN.

I understand your point, but think about this... Now, there are more people than (perhaps) ever before that have an interest in The Living Seas. But, unlike the "old days" when these guests were spread out in areas a through i as you've described, now 100% of them are in Sea Base Alpha. Which is making for extremely crowded conditions.

 

[Robo]

I understand your point, but think about this... Now, there are more people than (perhaps) ever before that have an interest in The Living Seas. But, unlike the "old days" when these guests were spread out in areas a through i as you've described, now 100% of them are in Sea Base Alpha. Which is making for extremely crowded conditions.

"NOW" is not a good indicator.

We don't know WHAT they are building in the rest of the facility.
It might be "nothing but more waiting", or it might be much better.

I couldn't care less about whether an attraction is crowded, if it offers entertainment of high quality like "Turtle Talk".
(I wish nobody but ME showed up, but the attraction wouldn't last.)

The "Hot Ride Du Jour" will always be backed-up, regardless.
("Soarin' " holds that honor right now.)

But "forcing" me wait in a series of "DARK ROOMS" with no entertainment value (even when the attraction is NOT BUSY) is pointless.
I might as well be standing in a serpentine queue (and frequently AM).

And to take this idea further... since you had to INVEST so much time GETTING IN... and its also a bit "difficult" (hydrolators) to exit... logic would tell you STAY LONGER and fill MORE SPACE with milling bodies...
because you won't want to have go throught this "maze of waiting" to attempt to "come back later".

I have to think that Turtle Talk will become a FP attraction.
If there was the former "maze of waiting" to enter the space, nobody would ever be able to time their enty to hit their FP "window".
(Late is OK, early is not.)

 

[MNRMommy]

I may be wrong but couldn't you just talk to a CM and bypass the film? I had read somewhere that you could because so many people had seen it a thousand times.

 

[Robo]

I may be wrong but couldn't you just talk to a CM and bypass the film? I had read somewhere that you could because so many people had seen it a thousand times.

They got to the point of telling everyone in "WAITING ROOM 2" that when the theater was ready to be entered, you could go through the "doors on the left" and just go to the Hydrolators.

But you still had to WAIT in the First queue-line, then the Dark Room (until the film was "ready to enter", and then (with the crowd leaving the film) wait for and ride the Hydrolators.

I just stopped visiting the Living Seas for years because I knew I would be in for this peculiar waiting process.

Later, we just jumped INTO an EXIT hydrolator as its doors were open to let guests depart.
(If you don't know, when the OUTSIDE doors shut (after guests exited) the INSIDE doors IMMEDIATELY would slide open (zero "decent" time).
CMs and others would just open the "emergency exit doors" and stroll in as well, but that (seeing the outside light shine in) could ruin the "magic" for other guests and we didn't want that.

Now (at least during the "open-while-remodeling" time,) they have basically used "our workaround" of just popping directly in the exit.

NOW, we go right in to Living Seas every Epcot day.
Its so much easier to enjoy LS without the needless waits.