lazyboy97o
Well-Known Member
It cost a small fortune and is taking up prime real estate in the middle of the park. This could have easily fit where so many inaccurately described it as being located between The Land and The Seas.
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Journey of Water featuring Moana coming to Epcot
- Thread starter Rteetz
- Start date
Some of the issues that I've heard so far:
- Almost no shade or covering for sun or rain. Like it was designed with California weather in mind?!? (TSL again)
- Not very interesting from an education perspective.
- Not very fun as a play area.
- Most activities can be experienced by a small group, and the next group waiting sees the effect happen before they get there.
- Low capacity.
Maybe the masses won't agree - we'll see
- Almost no shade or covering for sun or rain. Like it was designed with California weather in mind?!? (TSL again)
- Not very interesting from an education perspective.
- Not very fun as a play area.
- Most activities can be experienced by a small group, and the next group waiting sees the effect happen before they get there.
- Low capacity.
Maybe the masses won't agree - we'll see
I think it has had a good amount of promotion from Disney, which has certainly built expectations. Its prime location, and the amount of time taken, will certainly add to that. I would expect that a lot of guests who don't follow this, but are aware its happening are very likely to be expecting some kind of ride as part of this. The walkthrough part being the queue.
JohnD
Well-Known Member
Had a hunch it would be "one and done".
hpyhnt 1000
Well-Known Member
If you're a family with young children, I suspect you're going to get the most out of this area given the water features and interactivity. It essentially becomes an upgraded splash pad.
For most everyone else, it's likely a one and done. While the water features may be kind of neat, at the end of the day it's a closed path with plants and fake rocks. If it connected The Seas with the central hub it would at least have some practical benefit as a regular path, but that literally wasn't the path they chose.
Such a poor use of prime real estate in a park that really needs more rides and/or actual attractions.
For most everyone else, it's likely a one and done. While the water features may be kind of neat, at the end of the day it's a closed path with plants and fake rocks. If it connected The Seas with the central hub it would at least have some practical benefit as a regular path, but that literally wasn't the path they chose.
Such a poor use of prime real estate in a park that really needs more rides and/or actual attractions.
I was thinking these things reading Blog Mickey's impressions, the waterfall cave being the biggest question mark. I'm not sure how that effect will reliably work if multiple people/groups are trying to walk through.Some of the issues that I've heard so far:
- Almost no shade or covering for sun or rain. Like it was designed with California weather in mind?!? (TSL again)
- Not very interesting from an education perspective.
- Not very fun as a play area.
- Most activities can be experienced by a small group, and the next group waiting sees the effect happen before they get there.
- Low capacity.
Maybe the masses won't agree - we'll see
Disney Analyst
Well-Known Member
It’s certainly something that expectations should be managed on. Also by Disney. I know most of the Epcot project got scrapped, but we don’t need to draw this out further or hype it with previews and this or that. Get your testing previews done with CMs, and then just open it, with little fanfare. Give it a social post, say it’s now open, and move on.
Let it be a nice small addition to the park. Just like other walkthroughs in other parks.
NelsonRD
Well-Known Member
Apparently some people are. When I suggested it was testing poorly, I was dismissed pretty quickly.
lazyboy97o
Well-Known Member
It can't just be a small addition. It cost too much and its location made it cost more than necessary.
Disney Analyst
Well-Known Member
I mean regardless of what it cost, it’s a small addition. So if they want to manage expectations, that is what they should do.
I think we had more progress updates on this from Disney than we did on Cosmic Rewind and TRON.
wonkabars7
Active Member
We will be there on Sept 24th during our trip...is that a good chance to be able to see it by then?
We may see the start of some kind of guest previews from September 23. Now it could be Club 33 or media first, followed by Annual Pass and DVC. They could take the best part of October. At this point we have no info the timeline, but Disney says it will open late 2023. If you are there on Sep 24, the most likely we seem to be some kind of preview event.
lazyboy97o
Well-Known Member
They can’t manage expectations because they can’t disregard cost. It has to have a return on investment.
Yep. It cost a fortune, and ROI is critical. They will do whatever it takes to get some of that cost back, and quickly.
Disney Analyst
Well-Known Member
How does one gauge ROI on an attraction of this type? It's just a walkthrough. It will add something to do in the park, but isn't going to drive attendance. I can't imagine they saw substantial ROI for something like this? Apart from adding something families can experience.
This feels like it was always a minor addition, meant to flesh out the park a bit more, but now seeming more important due to everything else getting cut...
lazyboy97o
Well-Known Member
The same way they do other attractions. They need people to say on surveys that Journey of Water was a major reason for why they decided to visit Epcot.
It was always going to be stuck having to out perform its offerings because of its base cost and then the premium required by its location.
You would be amazed at how much of a factor ROI is at Disney. They will survey and measure every aspect of its impact on the bottom line.
They will very much be expecting it to drive attendance. Nothing is built with ROI, especially something this expensive.
Disney Analyst
Well-Known Member
Are they that stupid then? They know what they designed and budgeted for. This was never going to rank on surveys in that way.
I can't imagine anyone in the company would actually believe it would, could, or should?
Regardless, it's almost done, almost open, and we can all move on.
Disney Analyst
Well-Known Member
So in this case, ROI is simply ... good reviews?