Credit: DisneyConstruction continues in The Seas with Nemo and Friends Pavilion at EPCOT, and the ongoing project is impacting the guest experience. According to a recent report, work will continue into the summer, causing The Seas to close earlier than the rest of the second Walt Disney World Resort theme park.
The Seas With Nemo and Friends originally opened as The Living Seas in 1986. At the time, it housed the largest saltwater tank in the world, holding 5.7 million U.S. gallons of water (the Georgia Aquarium eventually beat this record). In 2007, as Walt Disney Imagineers incorporated more intellectual property (IP) throughout the Disney parks, they rethemed The Seas to its current Finding Nemo (2003) theme. The World Nature neighborhood building now houses the Coral Reef restaurant, The Seas With Nemo and Friends dark ride, Turtle Talk with Crush, and several aquatic animal enclosures.
A lot has changed at The Seas in recent years. In 2024, Walt Disney World Resort announced that it would permanently end its dolphin care program, relocating the mammals to a third-party facility. Earlier this year, EPCOT shifted its manatee program from long-term care to short-term rehabilitation. Its former manatees moved to different Florida facilities to make room for recent rescues, which wildlife officials hoped to return to the wild.
The changes aren’t done. A month ago, construction walls appeared inside The Seas, blocking two escalators from guest use. The Seas With Nemo and Friends began closing at 7:00 p.m, much earlier than the rest of EPCOT. According to a recent report, there’s no end in sight for the work inside the building.
On Thursday, BlogMickey reported that construction work has expanded inside The Seas with Nemo and Friends at EPCOT. They shared that not only do construction walls still block guests from accessing the two escalators, but new blue construction walls have appeared in a tunnel to the second-floor aquarium viewing area.
According to the Walt Disney World Resort website, The Seas With Nemo and Friends will continue to close at 7:00 p.m. through at least June 17, 2025. Although Disney hasn’t provided an exact reason for the early closure, it’s thought that it gives cast members time to do construction before quiet hours are necessary for the animals.
With no end to the early closures in sight, construction in The Seas is expected to continue through the summer. Walt Disney World Resort hasn’t announced an exact end date for the construction, so stay tuned to Inside the Magic for updates.
Have construction and early closures at The Seas With Nemo and Friends interrupted your EPCOT visit? Share your story with Inside the Magic in the comments!