The Living Seas Introduction

Attraction:

Pre-show

'The Seas' Movie

Hydrolators &
Sea Cabs

Sea Base Alpha

Exit Hydrolator

Coral Reef Restaurant

Extras:

Concepts & Construction

Fact Sheet

EDC Site Map

Search

Contact

INTERCOT
 

Formerly Presented by

The information on this site may not be reproduced in any form on the Internet without express written permission from EDC.

The Living Seas Fact Sheet

• The Caribbean Coral Reef tank:

  • 203 feet in diameter

  • 27 feet deep

  • Contains 5.7 million gallons of water (plus 793,000 gallons for storage)

  • 33 inches of dolomite gravel line the bottom of the tank.

  • Home to 8,500 inhabitants

  • The temperature of the tank is kept between 74 and 78 degrees Fahrenheit.

  • The coral in the tank was made from manmade materials to simulate a live reef.

  • The aquarium includes a 120,000 gallon dolphin performing tank, two 30,000 gallon dolphin holding tanks, a 4,400 gallon seal pool, a 3,500 gallon sea lion pool, a 7,200 gallon kelp tank, a 12,850 gallon predator tank, and 4,250 gallon coral reef tank.

  • The water to originally fill the tank was drawn from several wells so as to protect the underground water supplies. Then the freshwater needed to be converted into sea water to support the ocean life. This took 27 truckloads of non-iodized salt, 400 tons of magnesium chloride, and 300 tons of magnesium sulfate among other materials. These elements were added to the freshwater supply over a 10 day period as it was circulated through one of the three 300,000 gallon recovery basins (located to the west of the pavilion). The correct mix was reached in October of 1985.

• The entire system is monitored 24 hours a day by a central control computer station. The station constantly receives updates on the status of all water locations throughout the pavilion.

• One inch of the main-tank depth equals 17,000 gallons

• Six inches would fill an Olympic sized swimming pool

• Windows:

  • 61 acrylic windows allow viewing of the tank

  • The 8 foot by 24 foot acrylic panels in the observation module weigh 9,000 pounds each. These are the largest single casting of acrylic ever attempted.

  • Acrylic panels used throughout the attraction range from 6 to 8 inches in thickness.

  • The use of acrylic allows for crystal clear optical characteristics.

• The Filtration System:

  • A reverse-flow filtration system forces the impurities in the water to the top where they flow out with skimmed water.

  • The water then passes through a 48 inch main to ten different 10 foot by 30 foot sand-filter tanks at a rate of 35,000 gallons per minute (faster than the City of Orlando).

  • It then moves through an ozone defuser (aeration tower) which cleans it of bacteria and parasites. This is similar to what chlorine or ultra-violet sterilization would do in smaller bodies of water.

  • It is then pumped to the top of the pavilion where gravity pulls it back into the tank.

  • This process recycles the entire 6.25 million gallons every 2 hours and 40 minutes.

• Food:

  • With 100 different species, the menu at The Living Seas is broad.

  • 400 pounds of food is prepared daily which equals nearly two tons each week.

  • Since some of the species naturally eat clumps of the coral, animal nutritionists create synthetic coral out of dental plaster. They mix in ground fish and other food as well. Divers "plant" these each day for the parrotfish and other coral crunchers to eat up.

  • All of the food is stored frozen. The staff thaws it and inspects it for quality and freshness before preparing it for the animals.

• Construction:

  • took 22 months

  • 12,000 cubic yards of concrete and 900 tons of reinforcing steel for the tank

  • 8,000 cubic yards of concrete and 850 tons of structural steel in the rest of the pavilion

  • The pavilion features the largest aluminum roof, the largest aquarium, the largest quantity of structural acrylic, and the largest marine life support system.

  • Montgomery Watson was the prime architectural/engineering contractor for The Living Seas pavilion. Montgomery Watson as the prime contractor used major subcontractors for architecture, electrical, heating, air conditioning and ventilation.

• The gravel floor at the base of the tank was replaced for the first time in September 1998. This disruption caused the water to become murky throughout October of that year.

• Lorilei, the first manatee conceived and born in captivity, gave birth in September 1991 in an aquarium in The Living Seas. The newborn manatee was 3 1/2 feet long and weighed 50 to 60 pounds. Lorilei was born at the Miami Seaquarium in 1975.

• Many of the interior pipes have the names and extension numbers of the Imagineers that worked on the pavilion written on them.

• The conference center and V.I.P. lounge closed in December 1991. The 11,000-square-foot center overlooks the tank and is now used by Disney for certain special occasions. The reason for closing it was because of United Technologies' $1 billion cost-cutting effort at the time.

• The Diver Lock-out Chamber is an acrylic tube 5 feet in diameter and 22.5 feet in height. It takes 60 seconds to fill and 42 seconds to empty its 4,000 gallons of water.

• "The Seas" motion-picture was written, produced, and directed by Paul Gerber.

• The movie is 7 minutes in length.

• First use (for a project of this size) of liquid nitrogen to cool the poured concrete.

• Spaceship Earth is 164 feet in diameter and could fit completely inside the tank in The Living Seas (203 feet in diameter).

• In the Spring of 1999, the pre-show was suspended and guests were allowed to bypass the movie. In the Fall of 1999, the pre-show room became a holding area, the theater on the left was closed and a short hallway was built in the corner of that theater to allow guests to go directly to the hydrolators. The theater on the right remained as the Briefing Room allowing first-time guests the opportunity to view the film. The narration throughout the Sea Cab ride and the exit hydrolator was changed. SeaBase.Link terminals replaced the original ocean quiz terminals in Sea Base Alpha.

• During the latter part of 2000, the carpet was replaced throughout the queue, pre-show, and SeaBase Alpha sections of the pavilion.  The orange oval in the carpet surrounding the pre-show room was replaced with a red oval at this time.

Attraction Music:

Pavilion Background Music:	Music by George Wilkins and Russell Brower
	Arranged by Russell Brower
Queue Area:	Music by Russell Brower
Pre-show:	Music by Richard Bellis
"The Seas" Movie:	Music by Patrick Gleason
"Atlas of the Living World" (SBA Exhibit):	Music by Richard Bellis
"Suited for the Sea" (SBA Exhibit):	Music by Ralph Ferrara
"Nitrogen Boogie" (SBA Exhibit):	Music by George Wilkins
	Lyrics by Scott Hennesy
	Vocals by B.J. Ward
Seawatch Videos (SBA Exhibit):	Music by George Wilkins
Coral Reef Restaurant Suite:	Original compositions by Russell Brower

Specifications:

Capacity:	2,200/Hour
Pavilion Square Footage:	185,000
Queue Capactiy:	350

Consultants & Advisors:

The following consultants, advisors, and organizations are credited on a plaque near The Living Seas exit for their assistance in the planning, research, and/or fact verification in the development of the pavilion.

Dr. Robert Ballard:	Senior Scientist, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Dr. Sylvia Earle:	Vice President, Ocean Engineering, Inc.
Mr. Gilbert Grosvenor:	President, National Geographic Society
Dr. Murray Newman:	Director, Vancouver Public Aquarium
Professor William Nierenberg:	Director, Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Dr. David Potter:	Vice President, Public Affairs, General Motors Corporation
Dr. John Ryther:	Director, Division of Applied Biology, Harbor Branch Foundation, Inc.
Mr. Robert Wildman	Deputy Director, NOAA, Office of Sea Grants Program

Organizations:

Benthos, Inc.; California Institute of Technology, Kerckhoff Marine Laboratory; Can-Dive Services, Ltd.; Deep Submergence Laboratory, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution; Harbor Branch Foundation, Inc.; Marineland; Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Services; NASA; National Geographic Society; National Science Foundation; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; Oceaneering International, Inc.; Pioneer LDC, Inc.; University of Miami, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science; Scripps Institution of Oceanography; University of Southern California, Coastal Zone Studies Center; and the United States Navy.

The Living Seas Introduction | Pre-show | The Seas Film | Hydrolators & Sea Cabs
Sea Base Alpha | Exit Hydrolator | Coral Reef Restaurant
Concepts & Construction | Fact Sheet

Return to: EDC Gateway

If you have any questions, comments, or corrections regarding this site, please contact the EDC Webmaster.

DISCLAIMER: Use of the EDC site signifies your agreement to the terms of use detailed in the Complete Disclaimer. This is a fan based site and is to be a source of entertainment and information. This site is NOT affiliated with or endorsed by the Epcot theme park and The Walt Disney Company. All photos presented within this site are © Copyrighted by EDC unless otherwise noted.