Whoa Dude! Head over to Turtle Talk theater at the Seas with Nemo & Friends Pavilion to hang ten with Turtle Talk with Crush.
Take a seat as you look out onto the “Window to the Pacific.”
If you have a question for this tubular turtle, raise your hand! You may just get to chat with Crush personally.
And you may also get to meet Crush’s pals Marlin, Nemo, Squirt, Dory and others from the films Finding Nemo and Finding Dory.
Since this chat is totally improvised, you’ll see a different show everytime you visit Turtle Talk with Crush.
Just keep swimming, dudes and dudettes, for our complete guide to Turtle Talk with Crush.
Turtle Talk with Crush Quick Facts
Description: Turtle Talk uses the same technology that is used at Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor in Magic Kingdom which includes an actor voicing the character while also controlling the live animation on the screen. This fun show includes many of your favorite characters from Finding Nemo and Finding Dory.
Location
Turtle Talk with Crush is located in The Seas Pavilion. When you enter Epcot, go to the right of Spaceship Earth (the large golf ball) and Turtle Talk with Crush will be on your right.
Here it is on a map:
How to Watch Turtle Talk with Crush
Turtle Talk with Crush has a Standby Line and a Lightning Lane. There are different shows throughout the day. You can check the My Disney Experience app for daily showtimes.
Do I need to use Genie+ at Turtle Talk with Crush?
Genie+ is available at Turtle Talk with Crush, however, this is usually not a priority when it comes to making your Genie+ reservations because availability rarely runs out.
Be sure to check out our touring plans for Epcot for more Genie+ advice.
Rider Switch/Child Swap
As there is no height requirement for Turtle Talk with Crush, this attraction does not offer Rider Switch. Plus, Rider Switch isn’t normally offered for shows and is reserved for rides.
Rider Switch is Disney’s system that allows guests with small children to take turns riding bigger rides, while another person/people wait with the little one.
You can learn more about Rider Switch via our handy guide.
What to Expect when you Watch
Queue
The queue for Turtle Talk with Crush is inside The Seas with Nemo & Friends pavilion. Once you enter the queue, there really isn’t a traditional line.
Instead, there are interactive exhibits like fish tanks with tiny glowing jellyfish and a large backlit panel that gives a rundown of some of the characters of Finding Nemo and Finding Dory.
There is also “Mr. Ray’s Pop Quiz” which has four touchscreens where you can answer different questions about the ocean and “Mr. Ray’s Lagoon,” an open-top tank that has stingrays swimming around and burying themselves in the sand.
When it’s time for the show, make your way back to the line where you’ll file into the theater for Turtle Talk with Crush.
Accessibility Information
Those in ECVs and wheelchairs may remain in them while experiencing Turtle Talk with Crush. Assistive Listening is available for guests.
In the Show
If you prefer to experience Turtle Talk with Crush without spoilers, you may want to swim over this section.
At Turtle Talk with Crush you’re seated in a theater but instead of a stage at the front, there is a large aquarium-style window opening onto an undersea vista, known as the “Window to the Pacific.”
This window is a large rear-projection screen portraying an animated undersea environment.
In the theater, children are encouraged to sit on a carpeted area up front, while adults sit on benches behind them. The host introduces Crush who appears in the window as surf music plays.
With the help of the moderator, Crush selects children and adults from the audience and asks them questions. He also responds to questions while other characters from the films make cameo appearances.
Though the format is mostly the same from performance to performance, because the show relies on audience participation the dialogue is mostly improvised.
To achieve this magical effect, Crush is presented as a computer graphic avatar controlled by a puppet. It is operated by an actor/puppeteer backstage whose movements and vocal patterns are rendered on the fly and projected at 60 frames per second. This means that the turtle’s mouth moves in synchronization with the actor’s words.
The actor voicing Crush can see the audience thanks to cameras mounted in the theater. This allows them to refer to the specific appearance of audience members, as well as their location in the theater.
Is Turtle Talk with Crush Kid-Friendly?
This interactive experience that features the characters from Pixar’s Finding Nemo (2003) and Finding Dory (2016) films is appropriate for guests of all ages. While kids love it, some of the jokes and conversations adults will truly appreciate.
Strollers
Strollers are not allowed in most queues at Walt Disney World, including Turtle Talk with Crush.
Instead, you’ll need to leave your stroller in the designated stroller parking area located near the entrance to the pavilion.
History
Turtle Talk with Crush is housed in The Seas Pavilion in Epcot. It is the former home of The Living Seas attraction which opened on January 15, 1986.
On October 21, 2001, part of The Living Seas was closed down and in December 2003 Disney began to change the pavilion’s theme to Finding Nemo which had been released earlier that year.
Walt Disney Imagineering worked closely with Pixar to create the improvisational, real-time conversation at Turtle Talk with Crush and it opened on November 16, 2004.
The show’s unexpected success overwhelmed the pavilion, so when The Living Seas pavilion closed for its transformation into The Seas with Nemo & Friends in August of 2005, Turtle Talk With Crush was moved to a larger theater to better handle the demand.
In 2016, new characters from Finding Dory were added to Turtle Talk with Crush.
Other Fun Details
- With the release of Finding Dory in May 2016, characters like Marlin, Nemo, Squirt the turtle, Hank the “septopus,” Destiny the whale shark, and Bailey the beluga whale joined Turtle Talk with Crush. If you ask Crush about some of the other characters, they may appear during the show.
- The show was the first Finding Nemo-based attraction in The Seas with Nemo & Friends pavilion. It debuted in 2004, prior to the renovation that transformed The Living Seas pavilion.
- Turtle Talk with Crush was one of the biggest surprise hits in Disney history. Due to its popularity, the show was moved into a larger theater during the pavilion’s renovations in 2005.
- Identical attractions were installed at Disney’s California Adventure in 2005 and Tokyo DisneySea in 2009.
- Walt Disney Imagineering created a replica of the attraction and donated it to Children’s Hospital of Orange County in 2013. The show is performed twice daily by volunteer Cast Members. This marked the first time that a Disney theme park attraction operated outside one of the company’s theme parks.
- Turtle Talk with Crush was the first Disney attraction that allowed guests to vocally interact with animated characters on a screen. Because the dialogue depends on questions and answers from audience members, the show is largely unscripted.
- The technology pioneered in Turtle Talk with Crush also appears in Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor at the Magic Kingdom.