Touring the Seas Pavilion at Epcot (A Resorts Gal Guide)

In this article, we tour the Seas Pavilion at Epcot and discuss popular attractions like The Seas with Nemo and Friends, Turtle Talk with Crush, and Bruce’s Sub House. Additionally, we’ll explore the massive saltwater aquarium and see dolphins, manatees, and other forms of sea life. When we’re finished, you’ll know everything to do at the Seas Pavilion during your Walt Disney World vacation.

Anyone interested in marine life will also want to spend considerable time at the Seas Pavilion. Inside, you’ll find an aquarium with 5.7 million gallons of water. For reference, Epcot’s aquarium was the largest of its kind from when it opened in 1986 and remained the largest until the Georgia Aquarium opened in 2005. When the attraction opened, guests could board seacabs that took them on a tour of the Living Seas Pavilion before dropping them off at Sea Base Alpha.

However, in 2007, the pavilion’s feature attraction changed to The Seas with Nemo and Friends. This ride allows guests to hop aboard clamobiles and exits at the aquarium.

At the end of the ride, you’ll find a two-story aquarium to explore.

When you exit the ride, restrooms are to the immediate right. Elevators are near the restrooms. Additionally, there are escalators and stairs in the center of the aquarium.

Everything in the pavilion is well-labeled. So you shouldn’t have any trouble finding the elevators and restrooms. While this seems somewhat insignificant, it’s good to know that restrooms are nearby when you exit the ride.

Bruce’s Sub House

Another fun attraction for children is Bruce’s Sub House, also known as Bruce’s Shark World. This interactive walk-through is a play area for children.

You can walk inside Bruce’s mouth and pretend to be shark bait. This is an excellent area for kids to run off some energy, let loose, and stretch out a bit, especially when it’s raining outside.

It’s a pretty decent-sized space with several edutainment offerings.

Manatees at Epcot

The Manatees Up-Close exhibit is located on the pavilion’s first and second floors. The picture below is from the second level.

You can see the manatees in the tank from the first floor through a glass viewing area.

However, there’s a better opportunity to learn more about them on the second floor.

Both manatees at the Seas Pavilion are rescue animals. Lil’ Joe, who weighs 1705 lbs, was found as an orphan. (Lou was relocated in 2024, and a new manatee soon joined the pavilion.)

Unfortunately, many manatees are killed in boating accidents. They are considered gentle giants of the sea.

You might encounter a manatee feeding during your visit. If so, it’s fun to watch them munch on lettuce. They eat 70-150 heads of Romaine lettuce daily, eating 6-8 hours of the day.

Coral Reef Ecosystems

On the first floor, next to the manatee viewing area, there’s a large room with several aquariums containing tropical fish, seahorses, starfish, eels, and other species.

These aquariums are pristine. While they are small, if you take the time to look, you can find a number of creatures hiding in them.

They are stunning and calming at the same time.

Additionally, there’s a good deal of information about coral, which provides a shelter for many fish and other aquatic wildlife.

You’ll probably see some things you’ve never seen before.

Here, we have a chocolate-ship starfish with a seahorse floating nearby.

It’s worth taking a few moments to explore the reef exhibits.

Dolphins at Epcot

Update: Disney relocated the dolphins at Epcot in late 2024.

Dolphins are on the second floor of the Seas Pavilion, adjacent to the large observation deck. Usually, you’ll find them swimming around the tank. However, they are most active during their feeding time.

Sharks, Rays, and Sea Turtles (Main Aquarium Viewing Area)

The largest area is where you’ll find the observation deck that extends into the aquarium.

You’ll find yourself surrounded by the aquarium at the end of the hall

You might even find a hidden Mickey or two in the area.

Occasionally, a scuba diver cleans the tanks during viewing hours. Once in a blue moon, Mickey appears in the tank wearing his scuba suit. However, that is a rare occasion.

It’s a beautiful aquarium.

You’ll see fish ranging from tiny to giant sizes.

There are several kinds of sharks, including hammerheads.

Additionally, you’ll see various sting rays and sea turtles. If you want to swim with sting rays and dolphins, you might try Discovery Cove in Orlando, near SeaWorld.

Nursery

A nursery is located on the far end of the second level. It provides an excellent opportunity to see some unique fish on a much smaller scale. This area used to have some Explorer’s Club signage.

Below is a photo of a Common Clownfish, most commonly known to Disney fans as Nemo! You might occasionally see these in one of the nursery aquariums.

The ones in this photo are called Banggai Cardinalfish. They are beautiful black-striped and silver-colored fish. They appear to be suspended in the water.

On our last visit, we saw several updated aquariums dedicated to rehabilitating reefs, a necessary conservation effort.

There’s a good deal of information about coral.

You can see where they are growing coral in this reef tank.

Additionally, there’s a tank with Mangroves. If you’ve ever visited the Florida Keys, you’ve likely seen a few mangrove forests.

Similar to coral, mangroves provide shelter for various crustaceans and fish.

We also saw a few giant clams essential to coral reef systems.

They help maintain the water quality, which in turn helps keep reefs clean and healthy.

Finding Dory’s Friends Scavenger Hunt

While in the Seas Pavilion, you might pick up a scavenger hunt booklet. They are on display in the center of the first floor. Children can use the scavenger hunt to explore the pavilion.

Coral Reef Restuarant

There is one table service restaurant located at the Seas Pavilion. It has a separate entrance toward the back of the pavilion. Guests dining at Coral Reef Restaurant can enjoy views of the aquarium while they eat.

The Seas Pavilion Gift Shop

Before you exit the pavilion, you will see a retail store with a few merchandise items. This is a great place to grab a soda or water if you get caught during a storm. Most of the merchandise is Nemo and Dory-specific.

Here are a few of the items that were available on this visit.

Toward the front of the store, there’s a wall with pins. You may remember that Epcot had a vast pin area before the construction near the former Fountain of Nations. Visitors came specifically for pin trading.

Several other machines, including an old-fashioned pressed penny machine with a crank.

Here are the pressed penny options.

This machine had Flounder, Nemo, Marlin, and Sebastian.

Additionally, there was a portable charger station for Fuel Rod.

The Seas Pavilion Video

Here is a video with clips from several visits to the Seas Pavilion. It includes manatees, dolphins, and views of the aquarium from the observation deck.

Final Thoughts

Overall, the Seas Pavilion is a lot of fun. You could easily spend well over an hour exploring everything. However, guests often feel rushed and miss out on many of these things. Epcot is an excellent park to explore on a rainy day. With so much to do inside the pavilion, you’ll probably forget it’s raining. When you’re finished, it’s a relatively short walk to The Land Pavilion or the Imagination Pavilion. You could easily spend several hours exploring these three areas. For more attractions at Epcot, you might enjoy the following:

• Living with the Land
• Soarin’ Around the World
• Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind
• Spaceship Earth at Epcot

You might also like our entire Epcot Planning Guide.

In the Comments

What are your thoughts on the Seas Pavilion at Epcot? Do you enjoy exploring this area of the park? Let us know in the comments section below.