July 13, 2016

Magical Blogorail: Discover Future World – Universe of Energy

Welcome to this month’s Blogorail Green Loop. Today we are taking a closer look at the fun you can find in Future World at Epcot.

UNIVERSE OF ENERGY

Ellen. The Science Guy. A Game Show. Dinosaurs. And Air-conditioning. How could you not like this attraction?

Unlike many of the rides in Future World this one has a very large capacity which means you will experience one of the shortest wait times in Disney theme park history. So if you see a low wait time on the board for this attraction, please don’t think it’s because it isn’t good!

And it’s in a pretty building

The pavilion is located in the eastern half of Future World at Epcot. It contains just the one attraction, its second since its 1982 opening. The current attraction, entitled Ellen’s Energy Adventure, stars Ellen DeGeneres and Bill Nye. It features a combination of four separate large-format film presentations and a slow-moving dark ride.

You begin by standing in an outer theater while you watch Ellen in an eight-minute film in which she 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. After round one, Ellen is losing badly. Enter Bill Nye to save the day with science information! Next you enter the main show area and take a seat in large ride vehicles. Another screen is used to show a four-minute film which sets Ellen up for the adventure about energy. She is taken back into the distance past. Then you are on the move into a dinosaur diorama:

Next is a 12-minute film giving an in-depth look at various current and future energy resources across the United States. Last is a final two-minute film presenting the end of Ellen’s dream in which she uses her new knowledge about energy in Round 2 to unseat Judy as Jeopardy! champion.

This is also one of the longest rides in Future World so sit back and relax and rest your tired feet in air-conditioned comfort! Some find the content a bit dated but the information is still relevant today.

When you exit, be sure to check out the views:

Sometimes the oldest attractions can be the best, and while this energy adventure may not necessarily be the best, it certainly is worth the time! Did I mention it’s air-conditioned?

For more about Future World, check out the other great posts from the Blogorail!

Here is the map of our Magical Blogorail Green | Discover Future World Loop:

1st Stop – My Dreams of Disney | Rediscovering the Imagination Pavilion
2nd Stop – Magical Memories with the Mouse | The Seas with Nemo & Friends
3rd Stop – Heidi’s Head | Everything You Need to Know about The Land
4th Stop – Superheroes and Teacups | Spaceship Earth: The Heart of Epcot
5th Stop – Frontierland Station | Test Track
6th Stop – Cool Nouns by Lee Beatens | (you are here)
7th Stop – The Delightful Life | The Music of Future World
8th Stop – My Dreams of Disney | Mission SPACE
9th Stop – Rolling with the Magic | Innoventions & Festival Center

Attractions, Magical Blogorail, Theme Parks, Walt Disney World

Attractions, Bill Nye, Ellen Degeneres, Epcot, Future World, Magical Blogorail, Theme Parks, Universe of Energy, Walt Disney World Resort

Mike Ellis

June 7, 2014

8 Days: Test Track

One of the rides that I am most looking forward to seeing is Test Track! We haven’t ridden it since before it was updated!

Today is #Day8 in our #DisneyWorldCountdown, and for our choice for today we’re taking a look at Test Track — the ride that changed a while back and we haven’t ridden since the changes! When we last rode it, we were “crash test dummies” and we were helping to test out some of the safety features of the cars. The ride was fun, and ended with a ride outside on the lap at top speed! From what I understand, the changes are more in the first part of the ride, where, instead of going through the tests, you now have the opportunity to design your own car! I may be wrong on this a bit, so if I am wrong and you know, leave me a comment to clarify for us please!

In the past, the problem I had with Test Track was that it was so problematic from a standpoint that weather could totally ground the attraction. Because of this, it’s not my favorite ride by any stretch — if I had to rank Future World attractions, I’d have Soarin at #1, Spaceship Earth at #2, and Ellen’s Energy Adventure at #3. Still, we are excited to see if it has improved with the new design of the attraction.

What do you think of Test Track? Is it still problematic from a weather standpoint, is it still slow loading like it was, or has it improved? Do you have to design your own vehicle or can you skip that? Do you like it or do you skip it? Let me know in the comments, and thanks!

Bloggers, Disney World Countdown, My Dreams of Disney, Walt Disney World

Epcot, Featured, Soarin, Soarin' Over California, Spaceship Earth, Test Track, Universe of Energy, Walt Disney Company, Walt Disney World Resort

Mike Ellis

April 30, 2014

46 Days: Ellen’s Energy Adventure

Ellen’s Energy Adventure is our selection for #Day46 in our #DisneyWorldCountdown. Image ©Disney Parks.

Welcome to Day 46 in our #DisneyWorldCountdown! On this day, we are taking a look at Ellen’s Energy Adventure, a pavilion and attraction that is part show, part ride, and features Ellen Degeneres and Bill Nigh the Science Guy! This attraction kind of snuck up on me — I had never been on it before, and then in 2012 we decided to see what it was about. It was so neat! I loved the show, it was a lot of fun, and I also enjoyed how the merged the show and the ride together. In some ways, it’s kind of like a morph of The Great Movie Ride with DINOSAUR and Spaceship Earth, all rolled together. The best thing for me is how neat the Dinosaurs are — here’s a great photo for you to enjoy:

I don’t know if you like Ellen’s Energy Adventure or not — do you like it? Let me know in the comments, and thanks for stopping by today! It’s been my pleasure to bring these posts to you, I hope they are helping in your Disney Planning!

Bloggers, Disney World Countdown, My Dreams of Disney, Walt Disney World

Art, Dinosaur, Disney Parks, Ellen, Ellen Degeneres, Epcot, Featured, Spaceship Earth, Universe of Energy

Mike Ellis

March 13, 2013

7 Comments

Wordless Wednesday – Flowers and Gardens

One of the best pavilions in Epcot’s World Showcase, the Canada Pavilion’s landscaping is incredible!

Hello everyone, and welcome to this week’s edition of the Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop! As always, a special and sincere thanks goes out to my friend Deb from Focused on the Magic for hosting this incredible series each week. The theme this week is Flowers and Gardens, in honor, of course, of the Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival which started on March 6th. While I haven’t been to the Festival, I’ve got several photos of flowers that I’d like to share with you, so I hope you enjoy them!