The Living Seas was one of the first pavilions added to Epcot Center, and it gave the park a brilliant new area to explore, much of which survives to this day.
The pavilion at the time was one of the biggest aquariums in the world, but built with all the theming of a classic Disney attraction. You would enter the pavilion through a Hydrolator, a specially themed elevator that would take you down to Seabase Alpha, a high tech underwater research facility.
Once you reached the facility, you were presented with a ride through a tunnel in the largest tank of the aquarium before being allowed to explore the massive tanks of Seabase Alpha.
This ride gave Epcot Center a massive aquarium that you could explore at no additional cost, something that remains a part of Walt Disney World to this day. It was the first major usage of live animals within one of the theme parks of Disney World, opening the door for Disney's Animal Kingdom, later on, to build on this in epic scale.
This pavilion was later redeveloped into The Seas With Nemo and Friends, although the basic elements of the pavilion remain the same, with a massive aquarium and ride through the tank itself.
On its 35th anniversary, we remember the past of The Living Seas, and appreciate the present successes of The Seas With Nemo and Friends.
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