Editor’s Note: This series is a look at how one staff member would re-imagine Epcot pavilions. Previous articles in the series can be found here.

You can bash me all you want in the comments section that this attraction no longer exists and it makes no sense to re-imagine an extinct attraction. However, this is my hypothetical Epcot I’m building – and I want Universe of Energy in it. Also, the ride only closed in August – the show building is still there, so Universe of Energy will be in my re-imagined Epcot.

The Universe of Energy, an opening day attraction at Epcot, closed on August 13th, 2017, to be replaced by a Guardians of the Galaxy-themed roller coaster. At the time of its closure, it was known as Ellen’s Energy Adventure, which opened in 1996; before then, the attraction was homonymous with its pavilion.

The 1996 version of the attraction never met original crowd projections, so Disney and RoboBob Chapek decided to shutter it several months before its 35th birthday.

Currently, the show building is still there, but will be gutted as the queue area for the Guardians coaster. However, in my re-imagined Epcot, Universe of Energy 3.0 will be built. Just like Guardians, I’m getting rid of the theater cars and putting in an IP – but unlike what’s actually happening to UoE, I’ll be embracing the energy theme of the pavilion. For UoE 3.0, we’re going to the late-2000s Pixar film, WALL·E.

An IP makes sense for the third iteration of this attraction. The movie already has strong themes of energy conservation and environmentalism, and WALL·E is a solar-powered robot – what better fit for a solar-powered building?

The concept for this attraction is simple: a trackless dark ride, probably around five minutes long, that will continue the storyline of the movie, showing the ways that energy can be used to create a thriving society and environment.

The new ride vehicles will be two rows of three passengers, taking up less space. The interior will be completely demolished, including the beloved dinosaur room – but the dinosaurs will find a good home, don’t you worry. 

Looking at the layout of Ellen’s Energy Adventure, the ride track isn’t long and the theaters take up a lot of space, plus the new ride vehicles are much smaller. This means there is plenty of room to put a larger ride track with more show scenes for this new attraction.

The new physical show scenes will combine the newest projection technologies with the latest in animatronic figures.

The attraction starts where the movie ends, when all the passengers of the Axiom spaceship return to Earth, along with WALL·E and EVE. The attraction will follow the lovable robots and their human friends as they re-beautify the Earth that once was, using renewable energy sources: solar, wind, tidal, wave, and hydropower, to achieve that goal.

The ride will also educate riders about these kinds of energy sources and how they work – for example, the differences between wave power and tidal power.

“Energy, You Make the World Go Round” will return as the only attraction song, with all the characters singing it in the finale scene.

The outside of the show building will slightly change, with a new attraction sign, but the mosaic will stay as a tribute to the original attraction. Also, a gift shop will be added to the exit area because money.

When it opens, this attraction could be a D-ticket, and will bring new life to Future World while keeping with the new IP agenda that Parks & Resorts is pushing.

Next time, I’m moving over to clean up the mess that is Mission: SPACE, even though Imagineering just tried to clean up that mess a few months ago, but failed to do so.

Alex Murphy