There’s about to be a sea change at the Living Seas pavilion at EPCOT, as Walt Disney World is embarking upon infrastructure work and is reevaluating its roster of mammals in the 5.7 million gallon aquarium. This post covers the animals that’ll be permanently relocated, along with the resulting suspension and end of certain tours of the Seas with Nemo & Friends, plus our commentary.
One manatee and three dolphins soon will be moving out of their EPCOT aquarium habitat, Walt Disney World announced. This is coming as a result of recommendations by aquatic animal organizations, as well as state and federal agencies. Disney indicates the changes are due to infrastructure work, but also that Walt Disney World is making changes that require “careful thought, prioritizing the wellbeing of these sensitive marine mammals.”
With this in mind, Walt Disney World is working with experts and making changes recommended by the Manatee Rehabilitation Partnership (MRP) and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Services (USFWS) that will result in fan-favorite manatee Lou, a longtime resident of the Living Seas pavilion, to be relocated to another Florida-based rehabilitation center.
According to Walt Disney World, Lou will move to a new home on September 11, 2024 as part of a statewide manatee initiative recommended by the MRP and USFWS. These are the statewide agencies in charge of managing the rehabilitation and conservation of manatees throughout Florida, and this is part of statewide changes that are in the works for manatees.
Soon after Lou’s relocation, another manatee will come to EPCOT as a companion to Lil Joe, the remaining manatee in the Living Seas pavilion. “While we will greatly miss Lou, we do look forward to aiding this other manatee in the next stage of rehabilitation as we continue to do our part in addressing the manatee crisis in Florida, which has seen declining manatee populations in the past few years,” Walt Disney World said in a statement.
The more significant change is that EPCOT’s trio of male dolphins will be relocated to the Gulfarium Marine Adventure Park in Fort Walton Beach, Florida in late October 2024. Unlike the manatees, there are no replacement dolphins en route to EPCOT.
Dolphins have been part of the Living Seas pavilion since its debut in 1986, so this is a massive change. Walt Disney World has also indicated that there are no plans to reintroduce dolphins to EPCOT at a later date. In short, this means that dolphins will no longer live at EPCOT.
“This decision came after a comprehensive evaluation as to what is best for these dolphins as infrastructure work progresses at The Seas,” said Walt Disney World in a statement.
The three dolphins will be permanently relocated to the Gulfarium Marine Adventure Park in Florida which is accredited by the Alliance of Marine Mammal Parks & Aquariums and the International Marine Animals Trainer’s Association. Gulfarium opened its multimillion dollar Dolphin Oasis earlier this year, and offers dolphin encounters and a live show.
With this reevaluation of the aquatic life present in the Living Seas pavilion and infrastructure work of unknown nature occurring to the aquarium, there are naturally impacts to the special tours offered of the facilities.
Walt Disney World will continue to honor reservations for guests with previously-booked Dolphins in Depth and DiveQuest experiences through October 19, 2024. DiveQuest will return sometime in 2025, likely after the infrastructure work is completed. The Dolphins in Depth tour will not return, given that there won’t be dolphins.
Although there are changes on the horizon for the Living Seas Pavilion at EPCOT, the aquatic animals will continue to be the focus of the team. Cast Members affected by the moves of marine mammals will continue to do important work with other sea life. EPCOT will continue to be home to marine species, including sharks, sea turtles, jellyfish, angelfish, eagle rays, clownfish, and more.
Turning to commentary, let’s start by dispelling any misconceptions that this is a matter of budget cuts or penny-pinching on the part of Walt Disney World. Even though we’re getting close to the end of the fiscal year and start of the next when exactly that type of thing starts happening, that isn’t what this is. The dolphins, intelligent as they are, probably haven’t demanded raises (unless you count increases to the number of fish they’re fed each day, in which case, those requests are probably regular).
In all likelihood, this has more to do with evolving expectations and societal perceptions of cetaceans in captivity. The Living Seas aquarium space for the dolphins is small and it’s frankly a bit sad. Moving the dolphins to Gulfarium should, at minimum, give them more room and improve their quality of life. Aquariums having cetaceans in captivity has been controversial for at least a few years now, and I’m honestly surprised that Walt Disney World didn’t feel pressured to make this move before 2024.
For the last several years, a group called the Dolphin Project has been running a negative review, letter-writing and petition campaign about “Disney’s Dismal Dolphins” that attempts to bring about the end to Walt Disney World’s dolphin program. It’s unclear whether that initiative has achieved success, or if Disney–which partners with variety of conservation organizations–has received outside advice that it’s time to move on. Either way, the outcome is the same.
One thing I found fascinating and downright disturbing is the history of dolphins in the Living Seas pavilion, dating back to its beginnings in 1985. Here’s the full history of their capture and deaths of the original dolphins for those who are curious. As someone who has loved this pavilion since I was a small child, that was tough to read. (I’d like to think that: 1) it was a different era; 2) the positives from the number of kids who were inspired to get into conservation, marine biology, etc., outweighs the harm.)
Nevertheless, this news is a little bittersweet. It’s the end of an era for dolphins in the Living Seas pavilion. Even as I had my misgivings about cetaceans in captivity, I’d be lying if I didn’t also admit that I still enjoy watching the dolphins. Maybe it makes me a hypocrite, but the Living Seas is a favorite midday escape, perfect as dark and cool counterprogramming to the sunny and hot summer days at Walt Disney World.
Just a couple of weeks ago, I happened to find myself in the Seas pavilion one evening as the crowds cleared out. Two of the dolphins were zooming around the tank, and I swear they were playing hide and seek with one another. It was adorable and a decompressing way to spend a bit of time after eating way too much mac & cheese in CommuniCore Hall.
Well, it was decompressing until one of the few other groups of guests in the entire pavilion started banging on the tank, trying to get the attention of the dolphins. I guess they felt left out and wanted to play hide and seek with the dolphins? In any case, this type of behavior is all too common, and it baffles me that grown adults don’t know better. (Then again, I see adults feeding ducks almost every time I’m in the parks, too.) Behavior like that is just sad, and further underscores why it’s probably time for Disney to move on from a dolphin exhibit. But I digress.
Ultimately, these are good changes on balance for the health and welfare of the mammals in the Living Seas at EPCOT. Still, there will be a negative impact to the guest experience, as dolphins are a highlight of the aquarium. Sure, sharks are cool and the rays fun to watch glide around. But dolphins are/were a big draw.
A bit tangential, but the best “compromise” I can think of is bringing out Scuba Mickey more often. We’ve had the good fortune of seeing him a few times in the last several years, as Scuba Mickey Mouse often makes rare appearances on World Oceans Day. I cannot even begin to tell you how awesome this is to see as an old school EPCOT Center fan. (I assume it’s awesome for anyone, though.) The Walt Disney World promotional VHS tapes of my childhood all contained footage of two characters in Future World: Figment and Scuba Mickey.
Between the Boy Meets World proposal at Coral Reef and footage of Scuba Mickey, the Living Seas pavilion held a special place in my heart as a kid. (It also physically held manatees, which were my favorite animal as a kid.) Mickey Mouse scuba diving in one of the largest man-made ocean environments on the planet is the kind of unforgettable “little thing” that absolutely defines (or should define) Walt Disney World.
It’s seemingly insignificant, but it leaves a lasting impression–an indelible memory that guests will cherish long after they’ve forgotten which rides they rode or shows they saw at EPCOT. In short, it seems like swapping a trio of dolphins for one gigantic aquatic mouse is a fair trade. One that will make as many or more magical moments for guests, and without any concerns about animal welfare. Win-win.
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YOUR THOUGHTS
What do you think about the changes coming to the Living Seas pavilion? Sad to see dolphins being retired from EPCOT, or do you understand and agree with the likely rationale for the decision? What do you think of Scuba Mickey as a “trade” for the three dolphins? Thoughts on the DiveQuest or Dolphins in Depth tours at EPCOT? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
