Universe of Energy

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Universe of Energy

Epcot
Designer	WED Enterprises
Attraction type	Pavilion
Opening date	October 1, 1982
Hosted by	Ellen DeGeneres, Bill Nye 'The Science Guy,' Alex Trebek, Jamie Lee Curtis and Johnny Gilbert
Vehicle type	Two sets of six (12 total) moving vehicles with theater seating
Vehicle capacity	97
Ride duration	40 minutes
Audio-animatronics	36
Sponsored by	ExxonMobil (1982-2004)

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 "Traveling Theater" vehicles which forego conventional tracks and instead follow guide wires embedded in the floor.

1 Pavilion Facts and Figures
2 Current Attractions
3 Former Attractions
4 Timeline
5 External links

[edit] Pavilion Facts and Figures

Grand opening: October 1, 1982 (Opened with EPCOT Center)
- Grand re-opening: September 15, 1996
Designer: WED Enterprises
Show length (Ellen's Energy Adventure): 45 minutes (new shows every 17 minutes)
- Preshow length: 8 minutes
Seating capacity: 1100+, Six 97-passenger vehicles per show, two concurrent shows
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

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, lightbulbs similar to those used in eggcrate displays form the seven-segment formation used in vane displays.

[edit] Current Attractions

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). Actor Michael Richards also makes a brief cameo.
- 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.

[edit] Former Attractions

The original Universe of Energy logo.

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 matte black on the third. The combination of the film and the units' rotation created undulating, sometimes three-dimensional-appearing images. During the conclusion of the pre-show, the song "You Make The World Go Round" was performed.

Following the audio-animatronic dinosaur sequence, the audience then watched a film further discussing energy. At the conclusion of the film, the song, "Universe of Energy" was performed. Following the song, the ride concluded.

[edit] 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.