Discovery World

The Nature Pavillion

If you love the outdoors, then the Nature Pavilion is for you. This pavilion celebrates all the beautiful landscapes, exciting plant and animal life, and natural phenomena that make up our amazing planet Earth! Let's look around!

Everyone's heard about Mother Nature and what her role in our culture is. We tell stories about her, we talk about how she determines planet Earth's fate. The Life of Nature, a live-action performance, goes through the circle of life for one little flower. While it sounds simple, it is quite captivating. You follow the journey of this flower who feels alone, but not all is bad, as Mother Nature speaks to her (and us!) to inform her about the life cycle of all living things, how she makes all of these interesting natural events happen, help make the flower grow big and strong, but ultimately make the flower pass on. But it's no sad ending, as the flower isn't really gone as new ones will continue to grow and go through this same beautiful adventure with Mother Nature.

The Storm Labs is one of the most immersive dark rides Disney has ever built! Here, you get to ride in a suspended, slow-moving vehicle as you tour the different labs that are set up for you here. You can see audio-animatronics testing different things you, studying the radars, and observing patterns on screens. But the more interesting labs are yet to come. At the storm labs, they recreate weather conditions to try to understand them better and be more prepared to handle them. Hold onto your hats in the extreme wind labs! I would recommend wearing a sweater for the snow labs, but then you'd be kicking yourself in the heat room! Look out for water in the torrential downpour lab, and be careful in the flooding lab or or vehicle just might get swooped away!

Maybe your'e like me and appreciate a good adventure every now and then! In that case, Sights of the Sea is definitely your speed then. With some of the most impressive technology I've ever seen, you are on a mission to explore the depths of the sea. However, in order to blend in, scientists have developed a mechanical fish which you board similarly to a submarine. Your vehicle then dives down through the dark ocean where a simulation of the sea is ahead of you. It's a lot of fun going on the exploring when your'e blended in, but it also might make you a bit of a target amongst large fish predators!

Our cameras were granted rare behind-the-scenes access to see how this attraction works, and it was quite cool. The fish vehicles really aren't diving down anywhere, but are simply riding into another room, where a giant screen is ahead of you. Several fish vehicles are in this room at the same time enjoying this simulated adventure. What a fine example of Disney innovation!

In addition, there are also a lot of delicious places to eat while your'e visiting this pavilion. My personal favorite was BIOMES, an amazing buffet with many different flavors of the seasons. It's themed to the many biomes that make up planet Earth, with amazing murals and sets to resemble such. There is also many others, including 4 Seasons Cafe and Aquatica Restaurant, set with full aquariums on the walls around you!

The Technology and science pavillion

If we didn't have this show to keep filming, I could have spent hours in the Technology and Hard Sciences Pavilion! This pavilion has a lot of really high-tech, heart-pumping, and informative attractions, as well as fun interactive activities for the whole family.

Space Station X takes you on an ultimate tour of the space station of the future. You board vehicles similar to those at the next door park's attraction Peter Pan's Flight, and before you know it, NASA transport tunnels send you soaring into space at an insane speed (an effect that has screens on the walls around you move backwards really quickly).Once there, you get the best view of Earth that you could ever imagine, and get one of the closest understandings of how the space program works, next to of course taking an actual class on it. Oh, and don't worry about oxygen and all...the vehicles emit special levels of gas to make the air right around your face breathable. The biggest worry for me is making sure my hat doesn't float away like everything else here with zero gravity! Trust me, this attraction'll leave you breathless.

What better way to teach you about energy than to put you first hand in one of the most intense and thrilling experiences that Disney has ever created?! Well, Power Up! Sponsored by Energizer does exactly that. This is more than a traditional drop tower. Located in the heart of this large indoor building, you board your charging cells right there in the center. As you start to lift, a man tells you about the concept of energy, down to the very basics. In addition, as you lift your cell continues to build up more and more energy. Once you are almost at the top, however, this narrator tells you that energy goes back all the way to the beginning. Suddenly, the energy bursts in an explosion of light, and you go dropping down, through the floor several levels until you go back to the age of the Dinosaurs. This story continues on, and as do the lifts and drops, until you learn about the importance and power of energy.

Near the exit of this attraction, you can visit the Energizer Resource Project for different games and activities that the entire family can enjoy! At each activity the goal is to charge up a battery, whether by playing with solar panels and light sources to maximize solar energy, powering wind energy bikes, or other fun electronic games.

Lastly, and one of my favorite attractions here, is Progress Rail Sponsored by IBM. Similar to Living With the Land at EPCOT, this attraction focuses on the importance and future of the hard sciences. In this ride, you board an omnimover vehicle similar to a Monorail cell, and you begin touring scenes featuring past achievements in these fields and how they relate to our everyday lives. In addition, you get looks into actual IBM labs with scientists hard at work trying to answer the questions yet to be asked. Together, IBM partnered with WestCOT Center can achieve great things!

The Human Pavillion

The Human Pavilion celebrates the wonders of life through our own eyes. Experience the dreams of the spirit, the thoughts of the mind, and the creativity that lives in all of us. The Human Pavilion is also the fitting gateway to the World Showcase.

In Imagination! Join Figment and his friend, the Dreamfinder, on an epic, wacky journey through the Imagination in all of us. Experience the world of Imagination through literature, art, science, music through the mayhem provided by Figment himself! This 3D attraction is a technological sister attraction to Muppet Vision 3D at Disney's MGM Studios.

Join the beta group for Tom Marrow Industries latest state-of-the-art invention of The Mind Rover. When shirked, this vehicle allows humanity to discover it's own intellectual system like never before - Through exploration! Experience how the mind goes through problem solving, emotions, and dreams. Don't go to to far into the mind, the farther you go the closer you get to being erased in the memory bank! Mind Rovers is a must do on any trip to WestCOT.

The number one production at Disney's WestCOT this opening day is a beautiful stage show called Moving Picture. This production uses special effects, acrobats, music, dance, and puppetry to explain one of the most creative art processes ever created: The Wonder of Disney Animation. Though this spectacular show features seven musical arrangements by Alan Menken, it also features rotating one rotating song from Disney's latest movie release of that year. This opening year's music is themed to Pocahontas, while next year Hunchback of Notre Dame will become the highlight. This show runs 5 different times throughout the day. Check your Times Guide for more information.

SpaceStation Earth

As you enter the park, there's one thing that's impossible to miss- the giant, beautiful, glowing Spacestation Earth globe. It's 300 feet tall (nearly 120 feet taller than it's counterpart in Florida!), but with it constantly glowing, there's no problems. While Spaceship Earth in EPCOT Center focuses on the history of communication between mankind, Spacestation Earth examines and honors the history of the greatest innovations mankind has ever developed that helped contribute to this highly technological, intellectual, and innovative world we live in today.

In addition, outside of this attraction in the Spacestation Earth hub, you can also board the Peoplemover. Similarly to Tomorrowland's in Disneyland Park, the Peoplemover takes guests on a tour throughout Discoveryland. It visits the 3 pavilions and tours around the walking paths. Ride Walt's dream mode of transportation here!