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The Universe of Energy is a pavilion located in the eastern half of "Future World" at Epcot, a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. The pavilion contains one attraction, its second since its 1982 opening, entitled "Ellen's Energy Adventure." Universe of Energy was formerly sponsored by ExxonMobil, formerly Exxon from Opening Day October 1, 1982 through 2004. There is currently no sponsor.
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 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 the entire roof is covered in solar panels that partially power the ride system. Visitors travel in battery-powered "Moving Theater" vehicles which forego conventional tracks and instead follow guide wires embedded in the floor.
Attraction facts
- Grand opening: October 1, 1982 (Opened with Epcot)
- Grand re-opening: September 15, 1996
- Designer: WED Enterprises
- Show length (Ellen's Energy Adventure): 45 mins (new shows every 17 minutes)
- Preshow length: 8 mins
- Seating capacity: Six 97-passenger vehicles
- Number of audio-animatronics: 36
- Previous sponsor: ExxonMobil
- Ride system: Moving theater seats
- Handicapped accessibility: guest remains in wheelchair, wheelchair is ramped onto ride vehicle
Attraction
- Ellen's Energy Adventure
- 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 Tim Conway).
- Movie/Theater #2, audience seated - Ellen DeGeneres hosts an educational look at energy - co hosted with Bill Nye (the science guy).
- 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.
- Trivia: It was not possible to film using the actual Jeopardy! set, so the crew built a replica - which is why the set seen here varies greatly from the way viewers recognize it.
Former Attraction
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 original preshow was a unique "kinetic mosaic" invented by Czech film director Emil Radok. It consisted of 100 triangular units (reminiscent of those on the classic game show Concentration), arranged in a 25 wide by 4 high array. These units rotated under computer control and were synchronized to a movie projected onto their surface. These units were white on two sides, and mat black on the third. The combination of the film and the units' rotation created undulating, sometimes three-dimensional-appearing images.
Timeline
- October 1, 1982 — The pavilion opens, with the original Universe of Energy attraction.
- January 21, 1996 — The original Universe of Energy attraction is closed for refurbishment.
- September 15, 1996 — The revised show opens as Ellen's Energy Crisis, quickly renamed to Ellen's Energy Adventure.
"Universe of Energy"