LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- As an encore to the Disney-Pixar blockbuster film "Finding Nemo," Nemo the clownfish and his motion picture family and friends make a big splash in an eye-filling new attraction at Epcot. "The Seas with Nemo & Friends" attraction brings the familiar characters to life, anchoring the newly renamed and re-launched The Seas with Nemo & Friends pavilion (formerly The Living Seas) in Epcot Future World.

A whimsical and visually stunning attraction for Walt Disney World guests of all ages, "The Seas with Nemo & Friends" attraction picks up where the motion picture "Finding Nemo" left off. The attraction features technology that magically enables the stars of the motion picture to swim amid the marine life in the pavilion's 5.7-million-gallon saltwater environment.

"The Seas with Nemo & Friends" opened as part of "The Year of a Million Dreams," a first-of-it's-kind celebration at Walt Disney World and Disneyland resorts.

" 'Finding Nemo' is such a compelling movie with endearing characters and a great story line, and it translates so well in this new attraction," said Kathy Mangum, vice president and executive producer with Walt Disney Imagineering.

The underwater adventure begins when guests approach the pavilion and see a striking new façade that features colorful appliqués of fish and sea creatures. Three Audio-Animatronics seagulls are perched on the rocks outside the pavilion, occasionally squawking "Mine, Mine, Mine," just like in the film.

Inside the pavilion guests enter a queue area styled to look like a beach -- complete with sand dunes, sea oats and the sound of cawing gulls and crashing waves. As guests dive deeper into the experience, they find themselves under the sea, looking up at the water's surface and the hull of a boat.

The immersion is complete as guests board "clamobiles" for an undersea voyage in a colorful world of coral and amazing animation (the attraction is fully accessible).

The vivid coral in the first three of nine attraction scenes was created by Walt Disney Imagineers in three dimensions to meticulously recreate the beautiful undersea world that was designed by Pixar for the "Finding Nemo" animated film.

Guests first meet Mr. Ray and his class on a field trip and soon learn that Nemo has wandered off. The journey in search of Nemo includes familiar characters such as Dory, Marlin, Bruce, Squirt and Crush. These deep-sea friends inhabit a variety of vibrant vignettes, including a garden of jellyfish, a bubble-filled underwater playground, the menacing domain of Bruce the shark and the totally cool East Australian current where Crush and Squirt -- father and son surfing-turtle dudes -- chill out. And guests should keep their eye on the threatening and agile anglerfish that chases Marlin.

In the musical finale of the attraction, Nemo is happily reunited with his friends to the tune of a new song, "In the Big Blue World." Amazingly, the animated characters appear to be swimming among the real sea life in the actual aquarium containing more than 65 species of marine life. This final scene is an example of combining the creativity of Walt Disney Imagineering with new technology and collaboration with Disney-Pixar to create the visually stunning, animation projection effect.

At the conclusion of the five-minute experience, guests exit into The Seas with Nemo & Friends pavilion which has been newly renamed and re-launched. Other innovative and engaging areas of the revamped pavilion include:

• "Turtle Talk With Crush" featuring the laid-back sea turtle from the "Finding Nemo" movie, who laughs and interacts with guests in live, unscripted conversations. From his digital world under the sea, Crush chats, plays and jokes with guests in a personalized way. The 152-year-old turtle recognizes guests and asks them questions about themselves and the human world in the first-of-its-kind real-time animated show.
• Bruce's Shark World, which features another familiar character from the film, is an interactive area with colorful graphics, fun facts about sharks and fun photo opportunities. A particularly precarious-looking photo can be snapped while smiling guests stand inside the toothy mouth of the menacing Bruce the shark.
• Live marine life inhabits both the 5.7 million gallon aquarium -- one of the world's largest -- and various specialized exhibits. In all, more than 2,000 fish, sharks, rays and dolphins call the pavilion home.
• Certified divers can experience Epcot DiveQuest, a program featuring explorations inside the pavilion's saltwater environment. For snorkelers, the Seas Aqua Tour provides an immersive plunge into the aquarium. To learn more about dolphins and research at the pavilion, guests can join Disney's Dolphins in Depth program.