Energy Adventures is a pavilion located in the eastern half of Futureland at Hootonland. The pavilion contains one attraction, Energy of the Future. The attraction features a combination of four separate large-format film presentations and a slow-moving dark ride through audio-animatronic filled sets, using a same concept as the now-defunct Universe of Energy at Walt Disney World's Epcot. The Energy Adventures pavilion is sponsored by Tesla since its opening day.
Energy of the Future[]
The Energy of the Future itself is an innovation in energy technology, as the entire roof is covered in photovoltaic solar panels that powers the entire building, including the ride vehicles, and, in case the solar panels aren't working, the backup energy storage that stores solar power will be used to power the building until the solar panels work again. Visitors are transported through the pavilion in large battery-powered "traveling theatre cars" that follow guide-wires embedded in the floor as opposed to riding along conventional ride tracks. The attraction features the similar films to ones that Epcot's Universe of Energy showed (even borrowing the music from its own pre-show thanks to special permission from Disney Parks) that presented information on the subject of energy in a serious fashion as well as a ride through a primeval diorama complete with audio-animatronic Charles Knight-styled Holocene mammals, birds, and a large snake.
Pre-show[]
The pre-show features an eight-minute live-action film presentation about the various forms of energy found in nature and traces the history of how mankind harnessed these different forms of energy for his use. This unique film presentation is known as the Kinetic Mosaic and was invented by Czech film director Bob Emille. The mosaic screen consists of 100 rotating prism-shaped flip screens (reminiscent of those on the classic game show Concentration and Epcot's Universe of Energy), arranged in a twenty five wide by four high array. These flip screens rotate under computer control and are synchronized to the motion picture that is projected onto their surface via five synchronized motion picture projectors. Each flip screen contains three sides, with white projection surfaces on two sides and a matte black surface on the third. The combination of the film and the screens' rotation creats undulating, sometimes three-dimensional-appearing images. During the conclusion of the pre-show, the song Energy (You Make The World Go ‘Round) is played.
Theatre I film[]
Upon entering the theatre, guests are seated in one of six sections. The seating area rotates 180 degrees to face three large movie screens for the first film: a four-minute hand-animated film that depicts the beginnings of life on earth and the formation of fossil fuels, even depicting the primeval-styled Holocene Earth (as, in this ride, depicted by future non-mammal paleontologists) showcasing a pterosaur-like vulture flying close to the screen and several trunkless earless reptilian-looking elephants and giraffes wallowing in the shorelines just before the lighting storm and rain showered and the film ends.
Primeval diorama[]
At the conclusion of the film, the seating area rotates 90 degrees to face a curtain, which then raises to reveal a primeval diorama. The entire seating area moves into the diorama where it then brakes apart into six multi-passenger vehicles that takes guests on a seven-minute journey through the diorama, which is populated by numerous animatronic Holocene creatures including a reptilian sail-backed bison and two dog-sized spiders fighting and a family of amphibious reptilian giraffes (with inaccurate elephantine legs, thicker bodies, and nose holes on their horns) in a swamp (complete with realistic "swampy" smell), an earless trunkless reptilian elephant fighting a reptilian bipedal carnivorous hippopotamus on an overhead cliff, several reptilian bipedal rhinoceroses (with beaks) bathing beneath a waterfall, a number of reptilian clawed fingered ostriches watching helplessly as one of their own sinks into a boiling tar pit, a giant snake (which shares the similar model and is a replica of Universe of Energy's Elasmosaurus animatronic) that lashes out of a tidal pool at guests, and numerous pterosaur-like featherless vultures (with leathery skin and wing membranes) that are perched around an erupting volcano (complete with flowing lava and realistic "volcano" smell).
Theatre II film[]
Leaving the diorama, the vehicles enter the Hootonland Energy Information Center where they reassemble back into their original theatre seating formation. Here, guests view a twelve-minute live-action film on three giant wrap around screens that takes them on an in-depth look at various current and future energy resources around the world.
Theatre I finale film[]
At the conclusion of the film, the screens raise and the entire seating area travels beneath them into Theatre I and rotates back into its starting position facing the audience towards a large cylindrical-shaped screen. There, guests view a two-minute computer-animated film that was reflected off of mirrored walls within the theatre. The film depicts an ever-evolving landscape of colorful, laser-like imagery of the various ways mankind has benefited from harnessing renewable energies (solar, wind, water, etc) for his use and is accompanied by an upbeat song entitled Energy Adventures.
Gallery[]
