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The Universe of Energy at Epcot
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Universe of Energy is a pavilion located in the eastern half of Future World at Epcot. 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 1st, 1982 through 2004.
Original Attraction
The original Universe of Energy pavilion itself was an innovation in energy technology, as the entire roof was covered in photovoltaic solar panels that partially powered the ride vehicles. Visitors were transported through the pavilion in large battery-powered "traveling theatre cars" that followed guide-wires embedded in the floor as opposed to riding along conventional ride tracks. The original attraction featured numerous films that presented information on the subject of energy in a serious fashion as well as a ride through a primeval diorama complete with animatronic dinosaurs.
- Pre-show Theatre Film (audience standing) - The original pre-show featured a unique eight minute film presentation known as the "Kinetic Mosaic," which was invented by Czech film director Emil Radok (see link below for video). The mosaic screen consisted of 100 rotating prism-shaped flip screens (reminiscent of those on the classic game show Concentration), arranged in a twenty five wide by four high array. These flip screens rotated under computer control and were synchronized to a live-action motion picture that was projected onto their surface. Each flip screen contained three sides with white projection surfaces on two sides and a matte black surface on the third. The combination of the film and the screens' 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.
- Theatre I Film (audience seated) – Upon entering the theatre, guests were seated in one of six seating areas. Here, they viewed a four minute hand-animated film that depicted the beginnings of life on earth and the formation of fossil fuels.
Primeval Diorama (audience seated) - At the conclusion of the film, the entire theatre seating area moved into the primeval diorama. Here, the theatre seating broke up into six multi-passenger vehicles that took guests on a five minute journey through the diorama, which was populated by numerous animatronic dinosaurs and even featured an erupting volcano.
- Theatre II Film (audience seated) - Leaving the diorama, the vehicles entered the EPCOT Energy Information Center where they reassembled back into their original theatre seating formation. Here, guests viewed a twelve minute live-action film that took them on an in-depth look at various current and future energy resources around the world.
- Theatre I Finale Film (audience seated) - At the conclusion of the film, the entire seating area moved back into Theatre I where guests viewed a two minute computer-animated film of laser-like images that were reflected off of mirrored walls within the theatre. The film was accompanied by an upbeat song entitled, "Universe of Energy."
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 production, and the search for new energy resources. In particular it focuses on the origins of fossil fuels such as petroleum, coal and natural gas. The current attraction uses the same traveling theater system that was used by the original Universe of Energy show. The primeval diorama uses essentially the same sets and audio-animatronic dinosaurs as the original show, though during the rehab to the Ellen's Energy Adventure show, several animatronic figures were added along with a musical score to help tie it into the new films.
- Pre-show Theatre Film (audience standing) - Guests view an eight minute film in which Ellen DeGeneres falls asleep and dreams that she is 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.
- Theatre I Film (audience seated) – Upon entering the theatre, guests are seated in one of six seating areas. Here, they view a four minute film in which 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.
- Primeval Diorama (audience seated) - At the conclusion of the film, the entire theatre seating area moves into the primeval diorama. Here, the theatre seating breaks up into six multi-passenger vehicles that take guests on a five minute journey through the diorama, which is populated by numerous animatronic dinosaurs and even an animatronic Ellen.
- Theatre II Film (audience seated) - Leaving the diorama, the vehicles enter a second theatre where they reassemble back into their original theatre seating formation. Here, guests view a twelve minute film in which 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.
- Theatre I Finale Film (audience seated) - At the conclusion of the film, the entire seating area moves back into Theatre I where guests see the two minute conclusion of Ellen's Jeopardy! dream.
- During the transition from Theatre II to Theatre I, Johnny Gilbert, the Jeopardy! announcer, in traditional game show style, mentions that as a consolation prize, “Some contestants will receive 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)."
The article text above is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Universe of Energy".
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