NEWS: The Seas with Nemo and Friends at EPCOT Will Get New Manatees Soon

So you probably know that you have plenty of opportunities to see animals all over Disney’s Animal Kingdom, including on a safari, as well as on many walking trails throughout the park.

However, you can see sea life in EPCOT at The Seas with Nemo and Friends Pavilion, which houses one of the largest aquariums in the world. One of our favorite animals to see are the manatees, and we’ve got some good news. On January 14th, The Seas with Nemo & Friends closed at 7PM for maintenance. When we spoke with Cast Members, we learned that some new manatees will be coming to the pavilion.

We recently visited EPCOT and noticed that the manatee exhibit was closed. We spoke with a Cast Member who told us that the manatees that were here before have been moved to another facility. However, this is not the end of Disney’s animal rehabilitation program here: Cast Members shared that they are hoping to bring some new manatees to The Seas with Nemo and Friends soon. The new manatees would be in need of milder rehab than those sent to other facilities with more extensive care like SeaWorld.

However, before that happens, the construction at the pavilion and maintenance of the tank has to happen first, which is why the pavilion is closing at 7PM for the foreseeable future. We saw a sign in front of the pavilion notifying visitors of the early closure.

Sign indicating early closure of pavilion

If you’ve visited the pavilion recently, you’ve probably noticed that the escalator hasn’t been working. Disney has put up construction walls around the escalator to begin work on it, so we hope to see it fixed soon.

Cast Members also suggested that once this work was done, they could focus on other things, like the DiveQuest program that has been closed for some time, but should be reopening in the spring.

Check back with AllEars again soon for more.