We made it out to EPCOT today to check out the Finding Dory’s Friends scavenger hunt that debuted at The Seas Pavilion yesterday. In this post, we’ll talk about the process, cost, and experience of the Finding Dory’s Scavenger Hunt at EPCOT.

First off, this scavenger hunt is completely free. Simply locate this stand near the exit to The Seas with Nemo & Friends on the first floor of The Seas Pavilion to pick up the free booklet seen above. Because the experience is free, there is no prize at the end like you would find during a paid EPCOT festival scavenger hunt.

Inside the booklet, guests are given a brief backstory to their hunt, which includes helping Dory find her friends around The Seas Pavilion by completing the rhyming lyrics in a song.

Guests match stickers in the center of the booklet to a specific page and fill-in-the-blank song lyric.

Here’s an example page. We won’t go through every single page, but guests will find a variety of sea life that will take you through both levels of The Seas Pavilion.

It looks like a lot of the upgraded signage that we’ve seen installed over the past few months have been culminating in this scavenger hunt. In the booklet page above, it directs you to the Ocean Life Area, which might have otherwise been unidentifiable to the average guest.

Other signage that we’ve seen installed helps guests realize what is on the upper levels of the pavilion.

Unfortunately, once you get to the specific module, or room, that the booklet directs you to, there is no further signage to direct you to what you’re looking for. Given that children are probably the target audience for this scavenger hunt, it would probably be better for a Dory sticker or something to be placed on the clues that you’re supposed to be looking for. Instead, children will have to look at all of the displays and exhibits to try and find out what the answer is.

Some are considerably more difficult than others (if you don’t want to just cheat and match the unique shape of the sticker to the book). For example, in the Marine Mammal Area (even though the signage calls it the Manatee Area), the clue is “he weighs half a ton”. Perhaps this is a wonderful learning opportunity for children to learn some math along with some science, but it seems like trying to find a sign that lists the mammals weight might be a bit advanced. That said, it makes this a pretty difficult hunt for guests of all ages (again, ignoring the sticker outline or rhyming clue).

Perhaps the worst part of the scavenger hunt was the Undersea Viewing Area, which didn’t have any signage for guests to match clues to. Instead, you had to realize that you need to watch one of the slideshows on a TV near the viewing windows.

Overall, while the scavenger hunt feels a bit tough or far reaching at times, the concept will surely pull guests into The Seas Pavilion. It’s been wonderful to see this pavilion get some attention over the past few months instead of becoming an afterthought or worse. Finding Dory’s Friends Scavenger Hunt is free, and some might say you get what you paid for. That said, it has the potential to lead to some edutainment opportunities which is always a welcome experience at EPCOT.