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Universe of Energy Pavilion
The Universe of Energy is a pavilion located in the eastern half of "Future World". The pavilion contains one attraction, its second since its 1982 opening, entitled "Ellen's Energy Adventure." Universe of Energy was sponsored by ExxonMobil (formerly Exxon) from October 1, 1982 through 2004. There is currently no sponsor.
The Attraction – Ellen’s Energy Adventure
Ellen dreams she is on Jeopardy, only to discover that all the categories deal with one thing she knows nothing about... Energy! Computer-generated imagery and Audio-Animatronic dinosaurs combine to make this an entertaining, yet educational look at Energy!
The 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 and coal. The entire pavilion building itself is an innovation in energy use, as nearly half the roof is covered in solar panels that partially power the ride system.
Preshow Movie (waiting area)/Theater #1: Audience standing - Ellen DeGeneres falls asleep, and finds herself in an energy-themed version of Jeopardy!, playing against an old rival (portrayed by Jamie Lee Curtis) and Albert Einstein (played by Benny Wasserman).
Movie/Theater #2: Audience seated - Ellen DeGeneres hosts an educational look at energy - co-hosted with Bill Nye (the science guy). Actor Michael Richards also makes a brief cameo as a caveman.
The ride: After the movie 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.
Movie/Theater #3: Audience seated - The lengthiest portion of the show, an in-depth look at various current and future sources of energy.
Conclusion/Theater #2: Audience seated - The ride vehicles return to theater #2 where guests see the conclusion of Ellen's Jeopardy! dream.
History
The Universe of Energy pavilion opened on October 1, 1982 with Epcot Center. The original show in the Universe of Energy pavilion was known simply as "The Universe of Energy". On September 15, 1996, the revised show, known as "Ellen's Energy Crisis" opened. The name was quickly changed to "Ellen's Energy Adventure," while the pavilion's name remains, "The Universe of Energy."
The original Universe of Energy attraction used the same theater system that is used by Ellen's Energy Adventure. The preshow, introductory movie, and final movie presented similar information but presented 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 movies.
The attraction's original song, "Energy (You Make the World Go Round)" was written by Robert Moline and played during the pre-show movie of the same name. The film showed various images of energy production, and was shown on a 14 by 90-foot screen made up of 100 rotating projection triangles. These reflective triangles could move and rotate in sync, a process known as a "kinetic mosaic" by its creator, Czech filmmaker Emil Radok.
The second song, "Universe of Energy" is the "official theme song" of the attraction, and was played near the end of the attraction, as the ride cars moved into a final room with another animated movie. "Universe of Energy" was written by Al Kasha and Joel Hirschorn.
Touring Tips
-Be sure to arrive in time for the standing pre-show, which sets the stage for what you will see inside.
-The Universe of Energy can accommodate a large number of guests at one time. This is a good attraction to visit when you want to get off your feet and out of the heat.
-The Universe of Energy, including the preshow, will take approximately 53 minutes start to finish. Since it is such a long attraction, it is usually not real popular among youngsters, especially those with shorter attention spans.
-Handicapped accessibility: guest remains in wheelchair, wheelchair is ramped onto ride vehicle
Dining
The closest spot to grab a bite is the Electric Umbrella at Innoventions East. The Electric Umbrella is a counter service restaurant, which serves burgers, sandwiches and salads.
Shopping
There are no shops in the Universe of Energy Pavilion, however the Innoventions Plaza has the biggest shop in Epcot - MouseGear!
Interesting Facts
-Ride system: Moving theater seats
-Vehicle capacity: 97 per vehicle - Two sets of six (12 total) for a total capacity of 1,164!
-Ride duration: 45 minutes
-Weighing more than 15 tons, each of the ride cars in the Universe of Energy pavilion is guided through the attraction on a wire that is merely 1/8 inch thick!
-There are three-dozen Audio-Animatronics in the Universe of Energy.
- When The Universe of Energy opened in 1982, it was the largest privately funded solar-power installation in the world.
- On the roof of Ellen's Energy Adventure are large photovoltaic solar panels that generate 15% of the power needed to run the entire attraction.
-There are 80,000 three-inch cells arranged on 2,200 panels. The cells can provide 77 kilowatts of DC current at optimal conditions. This energy is converted into AC current for later use.
- The Universe of Energy attraction has more "Please remain seated" placards in their ride vehicles than any other ride in Walt Disney World.
- The topiaries outside the Universe of Energy were shipped to Epcot from New York's Rockefeller Center where they were once part of a Flower Festival.
- At the conclusion of the current version of Universe of Energy, 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, which featured a song titled, "Energy (You Make The World Go Round)."
- 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.
-Look for this “Hidden Mickey”: After the dinosaur section of the ride, the movie shows a man driving a car out of a barn and towards a church building in the background (the fourth building from the left). A shadow of the Disney-MGM Studios "Earffel" Tower appears in the door of the church.
Can't wait to see more!
