Part 8: More Disney Tidbits, EPCOT

I'm sorry it has been a couple of weeks since I have posted Tidbits, but here are some more on Epcot:

Did You Know?

• The Seas with Nemo and Friends:
• At Sea Base Alfa, look at the beams inside.  You will see a bunch of letters and numbers.  The people who worked on building it wanted to leave something, so the letters and numbers mean something special to each one who worked on the building   
• When you leave notice the overhang coming out is very large.  That is to give you eyes time to get readjusted to the sunlight. 
•  The Living Seas Pavilion measures 203’ in diameter, 27’ deep, and contains 5.7 million gallons of salt water.  The Aquarium is so large that Spaceship Earth (160’ in diameter) would fit inside with room to spare.
• A standard swimming pool holds 20,000 gallons of water.   One inch of water from the surface here can fill a standard swimming pool. 
• Nearly two tons of food is produced each week for the inhabitants of the Seas.  The dolphins dine on herring and capelin; the West Indian manatees eat lettuce, carrots, sprouts, and fruit.  Animal nutritionists at The Seas manufacture the coral out of dental plaster, mixing in ground fish and other food in the process.  Divers place about a dozen of these out each day, and the parrotfish and other coral crunchers eat them up.  
• If you emptied the water from the aquarium into one-gallon milk jugs and laid them side by side, they would stretch from here to New Orleans, Knoxville ,or Raleigh -- 540 miles, and the recipe for the artificial sea water called for 27 truckloads of sodium chloride or common table salt. 
• The windows in the Coral Reef restaurant in the Living Seas are 18’ high, 8” thick, and are made of acrylic.
• In Soarin' look for the Hidden Mickey in the Golf Ball and fireworks.
• The Land:
• Watch for the lab set up on the right near the end of the ride.  There is a bunch of green test tubes in the shape of Mickeys head in the test tube holder on the far right. 
• You can make cookies in the Nestle Junior Chef Program at the yellow bakery storefront near the Sunshine Season Food Pavilion.  Kids ages 3-10 can help make a batch of cookies.  They get a chef hat, a bag of chocolate chips, & 2 cookies for free!  No registration.  First come, 1st serve, 1/2 hr long. 
• Did you know that the 134'-long mural at the Land is made up of over 150,000 tiles?  They represent the layers of the Earth's soil.  Both sides of the mural are EXACTLY alike EXCEPT for one green tile on the right-hand mural which was placed there by the artist as her "signature."
• The buffalo and prairie dogs were originally conceived to be part of a ride called Western River Expedition that was going to be put at WDW instead of Pirates. The ride never made it to fruition but traces of its inspiration can be seen in several parks!
• If you're enjoying fresh vegetables at the Garden Grill, Sunshine Season Food Fair, or Coral Reef restaurants at Epcot, chances are they were grown right in the theme park.  Last year more than 30 tons of fruits and veggies were harvested from The Land pavilion's greenhouses.
• There are talking water fountains by the restrooms on the side of Innoventions facing The Land.  As you come through the center of the building walking towards The Land, make a quick left turn.  They are right there and outside Mousegear shop, behind Innoventions West, near the restroom between Innoventions and HISTA Pavilion, near the play fountain between Future World and World Showcase (left side of the big fountain in FW as you are walking toward WS).
• Innoventions:
• Innoventions West, at the IBM exhibit, you can email pictures of yourself.
• Innoventions East the ten-second video clip you can email. 
• Look for the solar-powered lawnmowers at EPCOT.