Ellen DeGeneres turned 60 today, and to celebrate many staffers and celebrities sent her well wishes and gifts.
For Disney fans, the highlight was the gifting of what was touted to be the (frightening) remains of the original Ellen animatronic from the Universe of Energy.
While the segment was pretty funny, there was definitely something a bit “off” about Robo Ellen. Apparently only the red shirt and pants were authentic, as Disney Imagineering dismantled the Ellen animatronic for parts years ago.
From WDW News Today…
The audio-animatronic figure was destroyed and used for parts by Walt Disney Imagineering way ahead of the closure of the ride last August, thus why the figure was missing completely from the attraction the last few years.
Last year, Ellen heard that the Universe of Energy was closing and wanted help in finding her robotic doppelganger.
While Disney PR allegedly tried to help get Robo Ellen back, she was long gone at that point.
We talked about Universe of Energy on an episode of the Pirates ‘N Princesses podcast a few years ago. My son was a huge fan of Ellen’s Energy Adventure, and even sang a song in honor of the attraction.
The Universe of Energy closed for good last August, and will be replaced by a new attraction based on Guardians of the Galaxy.
[Source: ellen, WDWNT]
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