If you’ve been to Disney World, you know that changes are always happening!
Those changes can come in the form of openings and closings. There are plenty of brand-new things coming to the Disney World parks in the next couple of years like Monsters, Inc. Land and a new Disney Villains stage show coming Hollywood Studios, or the two new Cars attractions coming to Magic Kingdom, and even at EPCOT, we’ve got Test Track undergoing renovations to bring it’s third incarnation to life. As we said, those changes can also include closures, and speaking of EPCOT, there’s this one experience that’s permanently closing next week.
As we were saying, over at The Seas with Nemo & Friends in EPCOT, Disney shared that one manatee and three dolphins would be permanently relocated from their habitats at the pavilion.
First up, in the manatee habitat, Lou, the 1,800-pound manatee, was relocated to a manatee rehabilitation center in Florida on Wednesday, September 11th, 2024.
About relocating Lou, Disney shared, “While we will greatly miss Lou, we do look forward to aiding this other manatee in the next stage of rehabilitation as we continue to do our part in addressing the manatee crisis in Florida, which has seen declining manatee populations in the past few years.”
Even though Lou is gone, the manatee habitat will continue to exist. Lil Joe, Lou’s fellow manatee, got a new friend Inigo, to join him in the habitat.
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Now, over at the dolphin habitat, Disney World will be relocating the three male dolphins to the Gulfarium Marine Adventure Park in Fort Walton Beach in late October.
In a statement, Disney wrote, “This decision came after a comprehensive evaluation as to what is best for these dolphins as infrastructure work progresses at The Seas.” That means that the Dolphins in Depth Tour will be permanently closing.
In the meantime, Disney said they will honor reservations through October 19th, 2024, after which it will permanently close.
Another tour that’s set to close is EPCOT Seas Adventures — DiveQuest, a two-hour backstage tour and SCUBA experience in a 5.7-million-gallon saltwater aquarium featuring coral and aquatic life such as sea turtles, reef fish, stingrays, and sharks.
It will be closing at the same time as Dolphins in Depth on October 19th, but DiveQuest’s closure is only temporary. Like Dolphins in Depth, DiveQuest will continue to honor reservations through this date.
As we said, it’s not a permanent closure. Disney already stated that this experience is set to reopen in 2025.
Keep it right here at AllEars for the latest EPCOT and Disney World news!
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Have you experienced Dolphins in Depth or DiveQuest? Let us know in the comments!
I’ve done Dive Quest several times over the last 25+ years. It’s an absolutely amazing and beautiful dive experience. To see that much sea life in one place is truly awesome. I look forward to it reopening!!!
My daughter loved Dolphins from an early age, so on our 1st trip to WDW in 2006, she and I did Dolphins in Depth while Dad and the boys rode the mini speed boats on the lagoon at DTD. We all thoroughly enjoyed our respective afternoons! :o)