Disney's Finding Nemo Across the USA

Disneyland and Disney World have both unveiled their new attractions for this year. And both of them happen to feature the cast from Finding Nemo. Disneyland has the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage while Walt Disney World had The Seas with Nemo and Friends. And while both of these attractions use some of the same footage the attractions are totally and completely different. But which is better? Well other than the fact the Disneyland version is longer, its up in the air.

Both of these attractions are not new, in fact they both were essentially giant refurbishments for older attractions. In Disneyland the Nemo Voyage had fixed up the old submarine lagoon. Yes the subs are back in action. I remember riding the original attraction as a child; I also remember when the subs were shut down. My father remembers when the subs were first opened, and he and my mom went to ride them when they opened. So those subs have some neat history with my family. Anyways, the subs are working again at full speed ahead. Meanwhile across the USA the Seas with Nemo had taken over the building where The Seas used to operate.

Both attractions feature the same idea, Nemo is lost again after the movie and we all have to find him. Other than that the rides has totally different storyline and ways of solving the problem. The Walt Disney World version uses an omnimover system just like the Haunted Mansion, except the ride vehicle is a clam mobile. The WDW version is very much like the movie with little differences. The ride is very artistically beautiful. There are videos of this ride online and I suggest looking for them, some are very well done and show the beauty of the art. The effects are very interesting and creative. For example during the EAC scene the room is completely dark and then you see the EAC and Crush projected on the wall as if you are swimming with him. My favorite part of the ride is the end when you circle around a giant aquarium with the Nemo characters projected inside the aquarium with the real fish.

The Disneyland version is about an underwater volcano, and your team is going to go exploring for it. On the way the submarine team shows you a new technology allowing you the viewer to hear what fish are saying. From that point on the captain becomes quiet and the Nemo cast becomes the focus of the ride. The projections are very neat and realistic. There is actually some frightening scenery in this ride that surprised me. I'm not going to spoil the fun, it is very predictable though. There is very little "art" on the wall kind of eye candy, but the underwater recreation is amazing. Eventually you make it to the volcano, find Nemo and get back to the surface. The meat and bones of the ride are the projectors and how they are used.

Both rides are amazing. They are very alike and very different. I hope everyone will be able to ride them sometime soon.