Ellen’s Energy Adventure is one of the attractions in Epcot Future World. Of course we know that many may disagree with us but really it is not one of the ‘must see’ attractions. But if you do have some extra time whilst visiting Epcot park then this attraction which features Ellen Degeneres is worth a look. This show has been running since 1996 and in our opinion should be high on the list of attractions in need of an update at Walt Disney World, but if you have time, and a taste for nostalgia then gee it a go.
Photos by lorenjavier
Ellen’s Energy Adventure is located in the Universe of Energy Pavilion in Epcot. It is rather hidden out of the way as it is not on a walk way to any of the other attractions. If you walk towards Test Track (with all the other crowds of people heading there) but turn left and head towards the futurist looking silver building then you will see that his houses the attraction.
The first thing that you really need to know is that you do have to commit quite a lot of time to this attraction. It is a total of 45 minutes long and after the 7 minute pre show there really is no turning back!
The show starts every 17 minutes and there is rarely a line which goes outside. If you can see that the line has just gone in and the doors are shut then you probably don’t need to commit to staying in the line for the whole 17 minutes. This is very much a minor attraction and as such the lines don’t usually get that long.
You will enter a large pre show area. It is pretty dark in there. In front of you is a huge screen which will soon start to play the pre show. This is a parody of the show Jeopardy which has Ellen pitted against Jamie Lee Curtis and Einstein. An interesting combination of course.
Ellen doesn’t know much about energy. So she needs to travel back to prehistoric times to find out just how energy was created in the first place.
The doors will open at the end of the pre show and you will walk into a room filled with a huge vehicle (and yes we mean huge as it holds 600 people). Guests sit in long rows in the vehicle which moves very slowly through the attraction.
It is dark inside. Very dark. Our middle son was terrified when he first went on the ride aged around 2, and it seems most times we ride this there is a toddler who is not appreciating the combination of the dark, and the huge animatronic dinosaurs.
The whole ride does seem quite dated. When we first rode many years ago the technology was impressive. Things have moved on so much now that the animatronic dinosaurs really aren’t so impressive any more. Ellen Degeneres is great as always but once you have heard the script once there really isn’t a compelling reason to hear it again!
Our advice. Skip it unless this is at least your second visit, or you really need to sit down in the shade for a long period of time. Oh and we have used it to take a nap sometimes too – although the seating is not that comfortable!
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Alison Meacham is the founder of EverythingMouse Disney Blog. For over 15 years she has shared her love of Disney Parks, Disney Cruises and Universal Orlando. In over 30 years of Disney Travel she has spent countless months in Disney Parks and has sailed on over 45 cruises. A British native and now a United States resident she splits her time between California, Florida and the UK. And spends a serious amount of time sailing the seven seas. She helps over 200,000 people per month follow their Disney travel dreams.
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