My First Impressions of Journey of Water, Inspired by Moana

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We finally walked past this sign!

Fresh off of our whirlwind trip to Disneyland, my daughter and I attended an Annual Passholder Preview of Journey of Water, Inspired by Moana on September 27. Normally when I write about a brand new experience I’ll try to keep it free of spoilers, but I don’t think that there’s really that much to spoil here. The name Journey of Water tells you what the new attraction is all about.

The entire attraction is beautiful 

I’ll start with the check-in process. After hearing about long waits and Virtual Queues, I was slightly nervous that we wouldn’t get in. There was no problem, we scanned our MagicBands and showed our IDs, and that was it. I don’t know how or if they are going to control the number of people admitted once Journey of Water, Inspired by Moana officially opens. I’ll just say that it wasn’t crowded when we went and I hope that they do keep the number of people low to make it a better experience for all.

Run your hand through the water “strings” to hear music! 

Journey of Water, Inspired by Moana is a walkthrough attraction. It is not a ride. There is a path that you will follow, and there are different stations along that path. Each stop has a plaque that teaches something about the journey of water, and there is an exhibit of some type. The exhibits are interactive and some of them are a lot of fun.

What a beautiful sign… 

There is a good chance that you will get somewhat wet if you choose to participate in the various activities. Some are made to drench you, while others will only get your hands wet. The good news is that you can stay mostly dry if you follow the dry path. We did a little bit of both. We tried the activities where we needed to stick our hands in the water, but we avoided the others.

I’m not telling you where we found her, only to look for her! 

Along the way there are some familiar figures to look for in the rocks. To keep from spoiling the experience I’m not going to tell you where we found some. There were Cast Members along the way who were more than happy to supply hints on where to look if asked.

Just so you know… 

There is a restroom located in the middle of Journey of Water, Inspired by Moana. That said, it’s probably the smallest one that I’ve seen at Walt Disney World. Don’t rely on it, especially if Epcot is crowded.

Te Fiti is gorgeous!

Te Fiti is probably the highlight of Journey of Water, Inspired by Moana. I’ve seen her in conceptual drawings. I’ve seen her model at D23 Expo. I’ve seen her behind the walls on the Epcot monorail. I’ve seen the top of her head over the construction walls. It was nice to finally be able to see her up close and real. Te Fiti did not disappoint. She is over 15 feet tall, and made of over 3,000 pieces of foliage and over 180 feet of vines. The placement is perfect, and I know that Te Fiti will become a popular picture spot.

Another angle 

I really like Journey of Water, Inspired by Moana. It opens to the public on October 16. I can’t wait to see it after dark! If you’re looking for a thrilling adventure, stick to Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind. If you’d prefer to wander and take things at your own pace, you’ll enjoy Journey of Water, Inspired by Moana. It’s a beautiful attraction, and you just might learn something!

Here’s one area where you WILL get wet if you want to!