Under the sea v the seas with nemo and friends

Hi All,
Are these two rides very similar? If so which is the best
TIA

Very similar, both basically dark rides telling the story of their respective films. I love Little Mermaid and have no time for Nemo (except the show in AK) so I pick Under the Sea.

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Under the Sea is better by far. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone through and whole scenes weren’t working in Nemo. It’s one of the most sad Disney ride experiences in my opinion.

Prepare to stop about 20 times on Under the Sea but if you’re familiar with the story of TLM and enjoy the music, you’ll appreciate it.

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Aww I really like the Nemo ride! The best part is that at the end they have integrated the ride with the actual seas.

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I love them both but Under the Sea is the one I usually do more than once a trip.

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Very similar, but I prefer Under the Sea!

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I don’t find them similar beyond the clamshells:
Under the Sea takes you in a clamshell though an animatronic retelling of The Litter Mermaid, with multiple scenes - think It’s a Small World but with the Little Mermaid.
Nemo and Friends takes you along a very short linear track past the actual Seas pavilion tanks (although there’s not a ton to see at that level) with short projections of Nemo and friends onto the tank to make it seem like you’re seeing them swimming in real water. Marlin is looking for Nemo but it’s nowhere near a full retelling on the story. I’ve always seen it as a cute conveyer belt into the Seas pavilion.

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As with most things in FW, I thought the original Living Seas was far superior to the Nemo overlay. You started by watching a film about the ocean habitat, you then boarded “hydrolators” - “fake” elevators that created the illusion that you were descending to a lower level. You then boarded futuristic vehicles that took you past small aquarium displays, and the “finale” was a glass tunnel through the main tank to Sea Base Alpha, which was filled with educational exhibits and of course, views of the main tank. Why they boarded up the glass tunnel I have NO idea, and the Nemo projections (borrowed from the much better DL submarine voyage Nemo overlay) are cute, but somewhat disappointing. I typically skip the ride and just go in the other entrance (originally just the exit) and spend time looking at the main tank. Turtle Talk is kind of fun with some cool technology, but definitely more of a kids thing.

VotLM is a “typical” Disney dark ride with some cool effects that kind of tells the story of the LM - assuming that you already know it. The centerpiece is the large “Under the Sea” room with lots of bright colors and a lot going on. I make it a point to ride it every trip. It could have been (was supposed to have been) a lot more spectacular, but when the original was being built for DCA, it underwent a lot of budget cuts. Many were hoping that Disney would go back to the original plans for WDW, but sadly they took the cheap way out and simply cloned the pared down CA version.

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Nemo wins it for me. I’m a sucker for the newer technologies and I thought the projections at the end of the ride were just brilliant.

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@bswan26 I felt the same way about The Living Seas ride. Also, the pre-show movie is still stuck in my head.

For those who have never seen the original, here is Martin’s excellent “Ultimate Tribute” video

For reasons unknown to me, it seems that the video defaults to the middle; if it does, start from the beginning.

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