Just another terribly misguided decision…
Written: Aug 14 '01
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Dinosaurs are still there; Somewhat educational
Cons: Long; Weak story; Second-hand ‘celebrity’ host
The Bottom Line: This attraction is an eyesore, but, considering the sad state of Epcot today, it may be one of your few choices.
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| cactus_matt's Full Review: Universe of Energy |
Okay, Disney has ruined a lot of rides in recent years. Handing the Enchanted Tiki Room over to Iago and Zazu was notably thoughtless. Handing the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse over to Tarzan was considerably dimwitted. But placing the lasting appeal of an attraction in the hands of a comedian whose fifteen minutes of fame resulted from her choice of lifestyle rather than her being legitimately talented? That’s just idiotic. Come on, Ellen’s Energy Adventure? Ellen DeGeneres isn’t a Disney character. Ellen’s not even marketable.
Epcot’s in a shabby state these days, and I can confidently say that this comes as the result of a lot of crummy decisions. Epcot had some great attractions during the early years, but the park design prevented too much expansion. Consequently, when attendance began to falter, many of the original attractions, despite being well-loved, had to be kicked out or ‘improved’ to make room for new attractions that would supposedly bring in guests.
Ellen’s Energy Adventure was opened in 1996, taking over the old Universe of Energy pavilion. Actually, the pavilion retains the same name, although this single attraction is really its only occupant. This change took place before Ellen announced her sexuality over the air in 1997. Sure, we all knew about it beforehand, but the likelihood of Disney having given her a ride may have been a bit more questionable had they anticipated she might come out of the closet. A quietly gay individual is good for company politics, but an openly gay individual is not what Disney wanted.
Regardless of her sexual orientation, Ellen is still far from a big name. She was only a mediocre television star, and her show was cancelled the season after she made her big announcement due to lack of interest. To me, putting stock in her to carry an attraction that was meant to last is like giving an attraction to the New Kids on the Block. Both were passing fads.
Now, as much as I loved the original Universe of Energy, I will agree nowadays that it needed work. The educational parts, discussing methods energy, were boring and far too serious. The concept of animatronic dinosaurs inside may have been a good way to draw crowds, but they were simply eye candy and had very little to do with the idea of the attraction. Although I would have considered the dinosaurs the climax, you were still forced to sit and watch an overly long documentary afterwards. Looking back, it was Exxon propaganda, plain and simple. The problem is that Ellen’s Energy Adventure didn’t really do much to improve on the original.
The Universe of Energy building hasn’t exactly changed. No big deal here, it’s one of the coolest buildings left in Epcot. The whole thing is covered with a number of ‘photovoltaic’ cells, small solar panels that allegedly provide up to 15% of the attraction’s power at any given time. Ditto for a cloudy day, I suppose. There are some neat dinosaur topiaries outside as well. The biggest change is a sign with a cutout of a T-rex constantly bobbing up and down with its jaws looming over a cutout of Ellen’s head. The wait to get in typically isn’t too bad. The time between shows is about 15 minutes, and it’s extremely unlikely that you’ll have to sit through more than one of these periods.
Once you make your way in, you find yourself in a dark room facing a few sets of doors. High above the doors are movie screens that you’ll have to tilt your neck back to see clearly. The host will implore you not to sit on the floor either, so tough luck there. The lights dim and Ellen shows up on the movie screen. Ellen tries to be funny for a moment and then goes on to tell us about a recent experience where she came to learn about energy.
Flashback to Ellen’s apartment, where Jeopardy, her favorite show, is about to come on. There’s a knock on the door, and in comes Bill Nye, ‘the Science Guy.’ Disney does their best to use this poor guy when they can. Bill asks to borrow some stuff for an aimless science experiment. Meanwhile, Jeopardy comes on and Ellen recognizes a contestant as Judy Peterson, her old, know-it-all college roommate. Ellen mocks Judy for having become a professor of energy. Bill counters that energy is the most important thing in the universe. Ellen doesn’t seem to grasp the necessity.
After Bill leaves, Ellen opts to take a nap instead of watch her favorite program. She ends up having a dream where she, Judy (played by Jamie Lee Curtis), and Albert Einstein are all on Jeopardy. Unfortunately, all the questions are about energy, and Ellen doesn’t know squat. After the first round, Judy has a commanding lead, Ellen has a negative score, and Einstein hasn’t got anything. Ellen decides that it’s time to take action, freezing the dream and calling upon Bill Nye’s help. Bill insists that they take a journey back in time in order to learn about energy.
At this point the doors open and you’re led into a large theater, with seating composed of six large vehicles. The host will read off the typical precautions, and then it’s back to the show. Ellen and Bill are shown wandering through a void before the creation of the universe. We witness the Big Bang, which is considerably loud. Suddenly, we’re in the age of the dinosaurs, where Ellen and Bill are exploring a jungle. Bill tries to relate this to the concept of energy, but concludes with an indecisive “Dinosaurs are just cool! Let’s check ‘em out!”
From here the theater breaks up and the vehicles take a single-file formation into the dinosaur segment. Lots of animatronic dinos, but not as many as before. We eventually come to an animatronic Ellen fending off a large, snakelike dinosaur with a stick. I think the snakelike dinosaur used to be aimed at your car, but now he’s off to the side. The animatronic Ellen is pretty shabby and doesn’t really look much like her. I guess corner-cutting should have been expected. The dinosaur scene ends as the cars pass under an erupting volcano.
The next room is dark, with a radio tower and ‘sound waves’ projected on the wall. A creative way of making up for all those other millions of years as Willard Scott dictates the extinction of dinosaurs and the evolution of man through numerous weather reports. The whole thing ends back up at present day, where we’re brought to another large movie screen. Bill and Ellen are still in a jungle, and Bill proceeds to talk about all the new innovations and sources of energy that have come about over the years. Bill and Ellen use various means of transportation to visit places where power is generated. Then, it’s back to the Jeopardy studios.
Ellen starts catching up with Judy’s score. By the end of round two, both are tied. Albert Einstein still has no money, so he is unable to compete in Final Jeopardy. Ellen gives him a lightbulb as a parting gift and he grimly treads offstage. The Final Jeopardy answer is “This is the one source of power that will never run out.” The Jeopardy music plays for an extremely long time as Ellen and Judy write down their answers and the cars make their way back into the original theater.
After Ellen and Judy have had about four or five minutes to consider, the music ends and the two display their answers. Judy’s is blank, and she wagers all, debating that there is no such source. She’s apparently wrong, and loses everything. Ellen’s answer is ‘brain power,’ arguably the hokiest answers the writers could think up. Ellen is correct, however, and doubles her score, winning the game. Ellen celebrates and the dream fades out. Ellen comes back out and concludes the show. An Exxon logo flashes over the screen as the doors open and we’re allowed to leave.
At least the theme of the attraction is upbeat and fun, a definite improvement over the original. The whole thing lasts 45 minutes, though, almost the same as before. That probably makes it longer than any other show or ride in all of Disney World. 45 minutes will take a big chunk out of your day. Is it worth spending on this attraction?
As for Ellen, she’s sort of funny at the beginning, but gradually becomes more annoying as the show progresses. Like I said before, her fifteen minutes of fame was up long ago, and she hardly deserves her own pavilion at Epcot. Jamie Lee Curtis is the most notable celebrity here, although that distinction is dubious after some recent cellular phone commercials. Still, I would’ve much rather preferred to have seen ‘Jamie’s Energy Adventure’ instead. Bill Nye is underrated, but he’s pretty far from being a celebrity. He’s just one of Disney’s smaller investments, constantly dodging obscurity. Michael Richards of ‘Seinfeld’ fame has a cameo as a caveman discovering fire. What has he done lately? Willard Scott is somewhat of a wannabe celebrity. Alex Trebec just goes with Jeopardy.
Some other miscellaneous complaints – The dinosaurs still hardly have anything to do with the story of the attraction. I’m glad that they’re still around, but that quote from Bill Nye pretty much sums up their usefulness. The attraction definitely has a feel that it was overhauled with as little necessary change as possible. This is just an example of Disney being cheap and lazy, which is sadly becoming characteristic.
These days, Epcot is a real mess. There’s hardly an attraction to be seen that remains in its original state. A couple are just sitting closed, awaiting the methodical construction that has been promising to turn them into something new for years. And considering that attractions are sparse in Epcot as it is, it doesn’t seem likely that they’re going to risk shutting down Ellen’s Energy Adventure anytime soon in order to put in something better. And so, roughly 15% of Future World is stuck carrying the name of a washed-up 90’s sitcom star. I can’t really recommend this attraction – your attendance would only help to convince Disney that what they’re doing is right. However, if you plan on spending a full day at Epcot, you may simply be left without any other choices.
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
cactus_matt
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Location: Florida
Reviews written: 40
Trusted by: 24 members
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