Journey of Water featuring Moana coming to Epcot

Horizonsfan

Horizonsfan

Well-Known Member
After experiencing it in person, I stand by my original assesments:

- a beautiful, but excessively costly space
- a modest experiential improvement from the Innoventions exhibits of the last 25 years.
- seems like an overall capacity loss from Innoventions West (at least the Innoventions of ~pre 2015)
- the entry would have benefited from some sort of small futuristic/modern pavilion you transition through before experiencing the tropical trail feel…the built product isn’t offensive though thanks to placement at the edge of world nature and the extensive landscaping.

On an A+ to F scale, I’d give it a C+, maybe a B- if crowds were less intense.
 
MisterPenguin

MisterPenguin

President of Animal Kingdom
Premium Member
blogmickey.com

Additional Construction Required for 'Journey of Water' Before Grand Opening at EPCOT

Disney World will be performing some last-minute construction at the Journey of Water attraction before it opens in EPCOT
blogmickey.com blogmickey.com

Seen below, the scoring in the ground is after the magical waterfall that (typically) parts as you walk through. While there is signage that tells guests to not run, some of the younger crowd seems to take the causal timing of the parting waterfall as a challenge to get wet and they run through before the water can part.​


Called it...

MisterPenguin said:
<makes a note> Test to see how fast one needs to run at a wall of water to beat the detection system. Though, I venture some seven year old will beat me to it.
Click to expand...
 
monothingie

monothingie

Evil will always triumph, because good is dumb.
Premium Member
You'd think they're opening a brand new state of the art E-Ticket which cost hundreds of millions.....

But No.

It's just a very expensive highly themed splash pad that appears to already be broken.
 
monothingie

monothingie

Evil will always triumph, because good is dumb.
Premium Member
MisterPenguin said:
blogmickey.com

Additional Construction Required for 'Journey of Water' Before Grand Opening at EPCOT

Disney World will be performing some last-minute construction at the Journey of Water attraction before it opens in EPCOT
blogmickey.com blogmickey.com

Seen below, the scoring in the ground is after the magical waterfall that (typically) parts as you walk through. While there is signage that tells guests to not run, some of the younger crowd seems to take the causal timing of the parting waterfall as a challenge to get wet and they run through before the water can part.​


Called it...
Click to expand...
Penguin Bap GIF
 
retr0gate

retr0gate

Well-Known Member
Finally had a chance to experience this in person and I loved it. You can argue about its placement all you want, but there was something really beautiful about seeing how they blended the "natural" elements amongst the classic architecture of the park. Sightlines were definitely a priority when designing this. One of my favorite parts, that caught me a bit by surprise, was as you're entering the "Ocean" part of the trail and there's a great view of the Seas mural looming in the background. The exterior is also not visually intrusive at all - the area surrounding the Land and the Seas has always been a bit more lush than the rest of the park so from the outside JoW just blends in with the rest of the landscaping.

As for the experience as a whole, I enjoyed it. It feels like a big outdoor innoventions exhibit and it's not trying too hard to be anything more than that (despite what Disney PR may be pushing). The interactive elements were cute and even as an adult I found them to be quite amusing. The informational signage was easy to miss, and admittedly didn't add much to the experience, but I think they drive the message home with the interactive elements alone. The actual "journey" was easy to follow and is presented in a way that allows people to process the information while actively engaging in it. Even if you were to ignore all the informational signage, there's enough context clues baked into the actual design of the trail to get a basic understanding of water traveling from a lake, to a river, to an ocean, etc, etc.

I can see how this will be a one and done for many people, but the interactive elements are fun and I think the experience is worth making multiple visits to just for the views alone. In an era where post show areas and walkthrough attractions seem to be dying off due to a lack of proper upkeep, it's nice to have a new experience like this to show that EPCOT is more than just a place to go on a couple mediocre rides.
 

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