Ellen's Energy Adventure

Universe of Energy: Ellen's Energy Adventure is an attraction in Epcot at the Walt Disney World Resort. It stars comedienne and TV personality Ellen DeGeneres and Bill Nye the Science Guy. Appearances are also made by Alex Trebek, Johnny Gilbert and Jamie Lee Curtis. This attraction opened in 1996, replacing Universe of Energy, which had been there since the park opened in 1982.

Plot
It deals with energy in various forms, how they are produced, the history of energy production, and the search for new energy resources. In particular it focuses on the origins of fossil fuels such as petroleum, coal and natural gas. The current attraction uses the same traveling theater system that was used by the original Universe of Energy show. The primeval diorama uses essentially the same sets and audio-animatronic dinosaurs as the original show, though during the rehab to the Ellen's Energy Adventure show, several animatronic figures were added along with a musical score to help tie it into the new films.


 * Pre-show Theatre Film (audience standing) - Guests view an eight minute film in which Ellen DeGeneres falls asleep and dreams that she is in an energy-themed version of Jeopardy!, playing against an old rival Judy Peterson and Albert Einstein. Unfortunately, Ellen messes up on her first clue, and Judy beats her in a few more clues in the first round.


 * Unfortunately, it was not possible to film using the actual Jeopardy! set at the time (the "grid" set) at Sony Pictures Studios, so the crew built a replica, which is why the set seen in the attraction varies slightly from the way viewers would have recognized the 1996 set. One of the most notable differences is the lack of a vane display for the scoreboards - instead, light bulbs similar to those used in eggcrate displays form the seven-segment formation used in vane displays.


 * Theatre I Film (audience seated) – Upon entering the theatre, guests are seated in one of six seating areas. Here, they view a four minute film in which Bill Nye takes Ellen back billions of years in time to witness the Big Bang and then into a prehistoric jungle where he explains the formation of fossil fuels such as oil and shale.


 * Primeval Diorama (audience seated) - At the conclusion of the film, the entire theatre seating area moves into the primeval diorama. Here, the theatre seating breaks up into six multi-passenger vehicles that take guests on a five minute journey through the diorama, which is populated by numerous animatronic dinosaurs and even an animatronic version of Ellen. This section is very similar to Ford's Magic Skyway from the 1964-65 World's Fair, and the Primeval World diorama on the Disneyland Railroad.


 * Theatre II Film (audience seated) - Leaving the diorama, the vehicles enter a second theatre where they reassemble back into their original theatre seating formation. Here, guests view a twelve minute film in which Ellen and Bill Nye take an in-depth look at various current and future energy resources. Actor Michael Richards also makes a brief cameo as a caveman.


 * Theatre I Finale Film (audience seated) - At the conclusion of the film, the entire seating area moves back into Theatre I where guests see the two minute conclusion of Ellen's Jeopardy! dream, where Ellen finally beats Judy and finally wakes up with new energy knowledge. A noticeable difference is the "Think!" music - instead of it going for 30 seconds like normal, it lasts for a minute.

During the transition from Theatre II to Theatre I, Johnny Gilbert, the Jeopardy! announcer, in his traditional game show style, mentions that as a consolation prize, “Some contestants will receive a year's supply of energy. Energy, You Make The World Go ‘Round." This line is actually a tribute to the original attraction, whose pre-show film featured a song titled, "Energy (You Make The World Go ‘Round)."