Journey of Water featuring Moana coming to Epcot

[HauntedMansionFLA]

Let’s move One Man’s Dream, Its a small world and Carousal of progress to Epcot and call it a day

 

[HauntedMansionFLA]

The irony is that every time some new information or details come out about this, it seems to me that it’s a solid fit for the area and Epcot in general and is the kind of smaller scale diversion that Disney doesn’t build enough of anymore… and then I read the comments decrying it yet again.

I would think this new release emphasizing the water cycle aspect will help to stop people from dismissively calling it a splash pad in order to insult it, but I doubt we’d be that lucky.

I’m personally excited for this attraction. I love Gorilla Falls over at DAK. This will be a must do at Epcot

 

[Vinnie Mac]

how does this look like an edutainment offering? It looks in all art we have seen and current construction, like a water play area

Do you believe us now or?

 

[HauntedPirate]

Good.

I wouldn’t be so smug. You were about to get schooled until someone decided you weren’t worth the time or effort. Not exactly something worth celebrating.

 

[Magenta Panther]

So is this just a bunch of fountains or what?

 

[MisterPenguin]

So is just a bunch of fountains or what?

Would there be any way to answer this question without you using it as an excuse to go off on a rant about it?

 

[Patcheslee]

While I tend to agree that Disney needs to get back in the habit of building more small, hidden gems that fill time between the major tentpole attractions, I think my issue is that more and more it seems to me like that's not actually what they're doing here.

Consider how you might feel if they'd built Journey of Water here:

View attachment 655755

Then consider that this is basically what they're doing, only at EPCOT. Sure, it's close to some areas where you could argue that Moana fits (Adventureland in my example, or, more tenuously, The Seas at EPCOT), and you could argue that the space was underutilized before. But having it encroach into an established area the way it is throws off larger dynamics of the park. That they're essentially dead-ending the walkthrough so that it won't be accessible from the central plaza is all the worse for these dynamics, and makes the space more confusing and irregular than it was before.

The art is new, but the bit about the water cycle being central to this attraction has been known since the beginning, so this doesn't really move the needle for me one way or the other.

It just kinda feels like they don't have a clear vision for what the front half of the park is meant to be now, except the place where Spaceship Earth is, a place with a vaguely futuristic but really more contemporary vibe, and now more Disney characters (and aquisitions) than ever will call it home because . . . well, people like those things, and we want people to come to EPCOT, so they're here now.

Add to this the fact that both Moana the movie and Moana the character are deserving of larger representation within the resort and it compounds the issue. Why is EPCOT the park where Disney takes massive properties and bunts with them? Frozen, Moana, Nemo . . . these movies made nearly $3 Billion between them, and not including the given sequels. Why do we get a 2 C Tickets and an B Ticket attraction out of them? Especially when two of those properties are crying out to be in Magic Kingdom instead?

Why is Moana sitting in the shadow of Spaceship Earth when she should very obviously be in the shade of the Adventureland palms? It just smacks of poor planning and under-investment, which seem to be emblematic of the current direction of the resort and people take issue with that. It feels like damage control because that's what it is. EPCOT has been the most visible case of this. The park has been failing because Disney refuses to invest properly, and their solution is to . . . refuse to invest properly. At least Cosmic Rewind had a more than healthy budget, though after riding it myself I'll be darned if I could tell you where that money went.

Had they build this in the place that made the most thematic sense, or had they invested seriously in one of their biggest new Princess characters, or had they developed an attraction that didn't feel wholly tacked on to the space that already exists around it, and if they didn't have a suspiciously lousy track record of not doing all these things despite the overwhelming wealth and success of the resort enterprise . . . perhaps we wouldn't have so much to decry.

Maybe it has to do with making Epcot more appealing to a larger number of kids. They don't necessarily need A tickets due to the lack of overall appeal to them. In essence throwing the kids a bone.

 

[aladdin2007]

So is just a bunch of fountains or what?

I'd say more trees than anything. Im surprised they want any water at all, they have turned off or plugged up with plants every fountain that use to be in the park, minus the one in France.

 

[James Alucobond]

I'd say more trees than anything. Im surprised they want any water at all, they have turned off or plugged up with plants every fountain that use to be in the park, minus the one in France.

Don't The Seas, Imagination, Italy, Canada, Germany, Morocco, Mexico (interior), and the American Adventure also all still have functioning water features? I'm probably missing some too.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

I disagree a bit, the spine project will significantly improve the front half of the park. It looks like wit will be full of trees and landscaping, a big difference from.how it felt before imo. But we will all just have to wait and see

I found some concept art of an EPCOT spine with trees, landscaping and even lots of water

 

[UNCgolf]

Don't The Seas, Imagination, Italy, Canada, Germany, Morocco, Mexico (interior), and the American Adventure also all still have functioning water features? I'm probably missing some too.

I think the one in Canada was turned off for a very long time, but I also think I saw somewhere that it was back on.

 

[UNCgolf]

I found some concept art of an EPCOT spine with trees, landscaping and even lots of waterView attachment 655853View attachment 655854View attachment 655855

It's still baffling that they took this and turned it into the concrete plaza that existed up until recently. I can't imagine why anyone ever thought that was a good idea.

 

[James Alucobond]

I think the one in Canada was turned off for a very long time, but I also think I saw somewhere that it was back on.

Gotcha. Was just wondering if that poster meant they'd been turned off post-closure or something since when I last went pre-closure, those were all still operating.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

The original omnimover rides would not be useful today.

At the top of that list is horizons. It was killed early, so people let nostalgia take over instead of actually remember how 70’s it was…world a motion is there too.

You're not wrong. But the very stroke of genius of Horizons was that it understood just how short-lived futurist visions are. It turned this relativation into its first act, with a presentation of previous futurist visions since Jules Verne.

Hotizons itself taught that its futurism isn't about prediction, but that it is about dreaming, inspiring, mental exploration. About looking at recent scientific and technological breakthroughs, and some likely within the near future, and exploring them for what new uses they may bring about.

 

[Roy G. Dis]

EPCOT is the park most in need of stuff for little kids right now. If this has at least some "wonder" to it for others then I think I'll be a fan.

 

[Magenta Panther]

Would there be any way to answer this question without you using it as an excuse to go off on a rant about it?

Temper, temper, Disney apologist.

 

[HauntedPirate]

Temper, temper, Disney apologist.

He's far from a "Disney apologist".

 

[castlecake2.0]

Don't The Seas, Imagination, Italy, Canada, Germany, Morocco, Mexico (interior), and the American Adventure also all still have functioning water features? I'm probably missing some too.

And they just fixed Canadas two weeks ago. Also Italy and Norway. And Japan.

 

[MisterPenguin]

And they just fixed Canadas two weeks ago. Also Italy and Norway. And Japan.

The Canadian falls were roaring in full force when I was there in mid-May.

 

[Magenta Panther]

He's far from a "Disney apologist".

He's far from a Disney critic. Right now, he's defending a bunch of plants and fountains masquerading as an attraction. Oh well, at least we're not getting a Moana bathroom. Although that would be more on-theme than Tangled, given its IP-appropriate "water features" .