At its opening, Living Seas was the largest man-made underwater environment in the world, with 5.7 million gallons of water and over 8,500 marine animals. It’s design recreated a Caribbean coral reef with more than 60 different species of marine life, including dolphins, sharks, sea turtles, rays, starfish, angelfish, and barracuda.

Guests began their journey in a theater featuring a film about the ocean's mysteries and its effects on people's lives. Next they entered hydrolators that created the illusion of descending deep under the sea. Upon exiting, they boarded a vehicle and were transported throughout the aquarium in an underwater Plexiglass tunnel for close-up views of the tropical reef. Finally arriving at Sea Base Alpha, guests explored a model research facility and interactive exhibits.

The ride tunnel, because of its tubular shape and hard surfaces was interesting. We were able to locate orange absorptive cylinders that looked like lifeboat floats. The appearance fit well with the show theme and they proved to be effective absorbers. The ride was an omnimover system with drive motors below the floors. A combination of ¾” plywood and absorption helped control this source.

Visual design took precedence over the acoustics of Sea Base Alpha and consequently there were many hard surfaces as well as elevated noise levels due to high velocity air coming from the HVAC ducts.