Journey of Water featuring Moana coming to Epcot

[jeanericuser001]

Moana really isn't part of the central plaza project - it's geographically very separate from that area. That project should also have been completed in its entirety years ago. I suspect we don't have the full story of why the plaza project has been so delayed...

I suspect they are treating the whole thing as one project and the moana portion was the easiest part. The second part now is exhibition areas which supposedly was gonna feature stages and a what appeared to be large displays. They might have scaled back the project a bit due to budget cuts. My suspicion is they probably had a deal that was to be announced with a big sponsor but once covid happened the sponsor pulled out so now disney is building something that has no sponsor so they are trying to find a new one to take its place before they make any big announcements.

 

[Disstevefan1]

Better to have thick ropes that assure children can't see a thing.

You are correct, thick ropes would be even worse.

I guess you are right, what else can they do at this point? They have no choice but to finish this.

But the fencing does remind me of chain link fence. Maybe it's just me.

 

[Bocabear]

Remember all of those images of people playing with the water, and no barriers or fences... lol
I know the barriers are necessary but this seems an inelegant solution... I guess we will see this Fall when it opens...

 

[HauntedMansionFLA]

As someone with a trip the last week of August, I hope that qualifies as "Fall" ... But not holding my breath

Fall goes all the way up to December 20th. I assume they want to open everything together???? In the real world, The festival center could have been done last year.

 

[lazyboy97o]

That is why the project is still being worked on so they can complete the project instead of just another footpath area that essentially goes no where.

Even when it is done, Journey of Water is a footpath that essentially goes nowhere. It is a loop completely disconnected from the rest of the central plaza.

I suspect they are treating the whole thing as one project and the moana portion was the easiest part. The second part now is exhibition areas which supposedly was gonna feature stages and a what appeared to be large displays. They might have scaled back the project a bit due to budget cuts. My suspicion is they probably had a deal that was to be announced with a big sponsor but once covid happened the sponsor pulled out so now disney is building something that has no sponsor so they are trying to find a new one to take its place before they make any big announcements.

They scaled the project back because Chapek wasn’t interested in building Iger’s vanity project and the pandemic had them reassessing expenses. There was no secret sponsor or some secret deadline to find a new one by this fall, especially since a big sponsor would want some sort of integration into the design.

 

[MrPromey]

I suspect they are treating the whole thing as one project and the moana portion was the easiest part. The second part now is exhibition areas which supposedly was gonna feature stages and a what appeared to be large displays...

Which would really make no sense if true since both the entrance and exit are facing The Living Seas and the center spine is intended to be hidden from view while inside.

There is absolutely no connection between this and the dreamer's point, landscaped center, stage areas other than that they are near each other.

This won't even face any of that.

Back before the layout was more defined, it appeared like this was going to be a somewhat open area accessible from multiple sides but it's going to be a very controlled Swiss Family Robinson's style walk-through where there is a single entrance and single exit and both are opposite the spine so unless there are construction/access reasons they need to wait for the rest to be completed, there is no attraction/theme/accessibility reason to wait for that just to open this.

 

[jeanericuser001]

Even when it is done, Journey of Water is a footpath that essentially goes nowhere. It is a loop completely disconnected from the rest of the central plaza.


They scaled the project back because Chapek wasn’t interested in building Iger’s vanity project and the pandemic had them reassessing expenses. There was no secret sponsor or some secret deadline to find a new one by this fall, especially since a big sponsor would want some sort of integration into the design.

Exactly. People want all or nothing. They would rather have everything open at once instead of just a single snippet which is why even though the moana attraction is built you will not be able to access it until all of the construction work around it is done. As for the sponsorship, that was merely theory but one thing I do know about disney and epcot is they love to have sponsors. The more the merrier and a big sponsorship always helps to defray costs. As for moana, I doubt there is a sponsorship but the rest of the stuff does make me wonder about that. The outdoor stage could be used for the usual stage acts but the indoor seems a lot more specific as if they already had something in mind. Doesn't surprise me though if cheap chappy didn't want to do Iger's project but then again that door seems to swing both ways for every CEO. One has a pet project and another would rather scale it back for something else.

Which would really make no sense if true since both the entrance and exit are facing The Living Seas and the center spine is intended to be hidden from view while inside.

There is absolutely no connection between this and the dreamer's point, landscaped center, stage areas other than that they are near each other.

This won't even face any of that.

Back before the layout was more defined, it appeared like this was going to be a somewhat open area accessible from multiple sides but it's going to be a very controlled Swiss Family Robinson's style walk-through where there is a single entrance and single exit and both are opposite the spine so unless there are construction/access reasons they need to wait for the rest to be completed, there is no attraction/theme/accessibility reason to wait for that to open this.

The construction they are doing is so big though that they are treating this as one big project as opposed to a couple smaller projects hence why they are working on it in multiple parts but they will probably not open it all till the right time. To put this in food terms, they would rather give everyone all the food on the plate at once rather than give the steak first then after a few minutes add some carrots while you are eating the steak followed by mashed potatoes served last. That is why its all being done as one project. That is why its all one big construction site instead of multiple small ones with spaces inbetween.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

Waiting until after summer is over to open this was a choice.

 

[Bocabear]

Exactly. People want all or nothing. They would rather have everything open at once instead of just a single snippet which is why even though the moana attraction is built you will not be able to access it until all of the construction work around it is done. As for the sponsorship, that was merely theory but one thing I do know about disney and epcot is they love to have sponsors. The more the merrier and a big sponsorship always helps to defray costs. As for moana, I doubt there is a sponsorship but the rest of the stuff does make me wonder about that. The outdoor stage could be used for the usual stage acts but the indoor seems a lot more specific as if they already had something in mind. Doesn't surprise me though if cheap chappy didn't want to do Iger's project but then again that door seems to swing both ways for every CEO. One has a pet project and another would rather scale it back for something else.


The construction they are doing is so big though that they are treating this as one big project as opposed to a couple smaller projects hence why they are working on it in multiple parts but they will probably not open it all till the right time. To put this in food terms, they would rather give everyone all the food on the plate at once rather than give the steak first then after a few minutes add some carrots while you are eating the steak followed by mashed potatoes served last. That is why its all being done as one project. That is why its all one big construction site instead of multiple small ones with spaces inbetween.

but when the carrots and potatoes were finished a week ago and have since rotted in their bowls and the steak is beyond overdone waiting for the garnish...and the dinner guests have finally given up and went to McDonalds....

 

[WDWFREAK53]

Waiting until after summer is over to open this was a choice.

Opening it in Fall would mean that they have a better shot of having all of the effects working for the holiday rush.

 

[jeanericuser001]

but when the carrots and potatoes were finished a week ago and have since rotted in their bowls and the steak is beyond overdone waiting for the garnish...and the dinner guests have finally given up and went to McDonalds....

That is the thing about theme park attractions. They are like canned foods. Despite how ever long people wait for these attractions, when ever they come out they are a hit. That is why people are still willing to pay extra just to ride some rides despite the very long time it took for them to be made. Granted this will not be as popular as rise of the resistance but it certainly will serve a long term benefit that will probably be at least a decade or two until anything major replaces it.

 

[J4546]

it will open, people will enjoy it, and people on these boards will move on to complaining about the next thing that isnt open yet. thats just how it goes.

 

[MrPromey]

The construction they are doing is so big though that they are treating this as one big project as opposed to a couple smaller projects hence why they are working on it in multiple parts but they will probably not open it all till the right time. To put this in food terms, they would rather give everyone all the food on the plate at once rather than give the steak first then after a few minutes add some carrots while you are eating the steak followed by mashed potatoes served last. That is why its all being done as one project. That is why its all one big construction site instead of multiple small ones with spaces inbetween.

That's literally not how they've done anything else with this redo of Epoct.

If they had, we wouldn't have had to deal with the messed up area in front of Spaceship Earth and then the separate messed up area in front of the ticket gates with the entrance from the parking and now the messed up area behind Spaceship Earth.

They'd have done it all at once instead of having some major part of the front half of this park behind some sort of wall for nearly a decade before it's all done.

 

[MrPromey]

it will open, people will enjoy it, and people on these boards will move on to complaining about the next thing that isnt open yet. thats just how it goes.

I just can't wait for people to wind all the way through this wonderfully themed queue only to be confused about where the boat ride is they were in line for that they heard was announced at D23 a "year or two ago".*

"Oh that? We never actually said we were building that. We were just showing that because we thought it was cool artwork. Maybe we'll build something like that some day but no, that was just a fun picture we thought we'd show everyone and if we build it, it won't be here."



*I kid, I kid! I'm sure that won't happen... much.

 

[jeanericuser001]

That's literally not how they've done anything else with this redo of Epoct.

If they had, we wouldn't have had to deal with the messed up area in front of Spaceship Earth and then the separate messed up area in front of the ticket gates with the entrance from the parking and now the messed up area behind Spaceship Earth.

They'd have done it all at once instead of having some major part of the front half of this park behind some sort of wall for nearly a decade before it's all done.

Those were different smaller projects that had no connection to the main construction site. The smaller stuff was finished first because it was an easy project to finish quickly. The main project in the center area required multiple demos as well as a complete replacement of an antiquated plumbing system that had been around since the early days of epcot. All that has been completely torn out and redone. The whole thing is a completely new setup that would take years to construct unlike those other projects which could be completed a lot sooner.

 

[MrPromey]

Those were different smaller projects that had no connection to the main construction site. The smaller stuff was finished first because it was an easy project to finish quickly. The main project in the center area required multiple demos as well as a complete replacement of an antiquated plumbing system that had been around since the early days of epcot. All that has been completely torn out and redone. The whole thing is a completely new setup that would take years to construct unlike those other projects which could be completed a lot sooner.

Literally none of this has been finished quickly.

Also, they could have started it all at once and opened the "quicker" parts as completed to reduce the total amount of time the front half of the park would be a construction zone but they chose not to do that. They made the conscious choice to drag the whole process out, all while still charging full price to the guests who've gotten to come and walk through it all for years on end.

But now you're just jumping around. None of what you just said explains why they'd sit on this attraction and wait for the spine on the other side of the berm they've created specifically to separate this from that to be completed before opening this.

Anyway, if it makes you happy to think there is some grand plan looking out for the guests or giving people what they want with how they're handling all of this I guess it's not up to me to ruin that for you.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

it will open, people will enjoy it, and people on these boards will move on to complaining about the next thing that isnt open yet. thats just how it goes.

well, first they will complain about the people enjoying it and tell them they are wrong to ... and then move on

 

[lazyboy97o]

Exactly. People want all or nothing. They would rather have everything open at once instead of just a single snippet which is why even though the moana attraction is built you will not be able to access it until all of the construction work around it is done. As for the sponsorship, that was merely theory but one thing I do know about disney and epcot is they love to have sponsors. The more the merrier and a big sponsorship always helps to defray costs. As for moana, I doubt there is a sponsorship but the rest of the stuff does make me wonder about that. The outdoor stage could be used for the usual stage acts but the indoor seems a lot more specific as if they already had something in mind. Doesn't surprise me though if cheap chappy didn't want to do Iger's project but then again that door seems to swing both ways for every CEO. One has a pet project and another would rather scale it back for something else.

Sponsorship offset design and construction costs by being there near the beginning of the project.

They do have something in mind for the new building, namely a meet and greet. That's not the whole thing, but it's a good chunk that doesn't really leave much else for a big sponsor. More than likely, since its all about the festivals, it'll host a revolving door of different festival sponsors.

 

[jeanericuser001]

Literally none of this has been finished quickly.

Also, they could have started it all at once and opened the "quicker" parts as completed to reduce the total amount of time the front half of the park would be a construction zone but they chose not to do that. They made the conscious choice to drag the whole process out, all while still charging full price to the guests who've gotten to come and walk through it all for years on end.

But now you're just jumping around. None of what you just said explains why they'd sit on this attraction and wait for the spine on the other side of the berm they've created specifically to separate this from that to be completed before opening this.

Anyway, if it makes you happy to think there is some grand plan looking out for the guests or giving people what they want with how they're handling all of this I guess it's not up to me to ruin that for you.

You keep adding covid to the equation despite the fact that construction was significantly delayed or in some cases completely stopped due to covid. If you don't include covid as part of the time frame for this constructions its been a lot faster than it could have been. Those areas once again as I explained are not directly connected to the project in the middle. The project in the middle will take a lot longer due to all the requirements tied to the construction. No amount of complaining about it taking too long can change that. You can't make a seed turn into a tree simply by yelling at it to grow faster. As for the moana, they are again delaying it because its part of the construction site. Sure it may be just a small part of it but if you know anything about disney you know they do not like to release an area half finished unless there is a benefit for doing so. Opening that area right now serves no benefit hence the delay.

Sponsorship offset design and construction costs by being there near the beginning of the project.

They do have something in mind for the new building, namely a meet and greet. That's not the whole thing, but it's a good chunk that doesn't really leave much else for a big sponsor. More than likely, since its all about the festivals, it'll host a revolving door of different festival sponsors.

That is why I had the theory about the sponsorship. The way things were planned before covid hence there were grander ideas but alas covid has changed a lot of things and left many companies struggling to justify expenditures that may not bring a good return on investment. As for the building being solely a meet and greet, I sadly have to agree that eventually it could devolve into that but curiously enough disney has already created a lot of meet and greets but lately many stand abandoned compared to how they use to be. While meet and greets are still one of disney's many attractions, they are not nearly as potent in their draw potential as they use to be.

Sadly boys I need to get some rest as I have a long night shift ahead of me then I will be on vacation at disney and universal till monday. I will see you guys next week. Good night and thanks for the debate. Go ahead and reply if you wish but do not expect replies back for at least a few days. Good night and have a great weekend.

 

[TP2000]

I thought for sure the chain-link rope netting fence was temporary, as part of ongoing construction safety rules.

But then I read the various posts on it, and the fence is staying? This is done? You stand in front of a chain-link rope netting fence and watch water splash onto rocks?

That makes no sense from an entertainment perspective. This can't really be the final product as one of the major scenes of this thing.

It can't just be this. Seriously.