Epcot, when it was founded, was ostensibly educational, or at the least, edutainment…the idea of entertainment that educates at the same time. Over the years, there has been a gradual move away from that as Disney adds its intellectual property to everything once original. When Epcot opened Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, it was for me the end of that era.
The Journey of Water
The Journey of Water though, is a surprising return to form amidst the meh renovation of Epcot. Meh as in a lot of work for very little.
Before I saw the attraction for myself, I didn’t quite understand what a walkthrough water attraction was. I thought it was more about Moana than it was, and tuned it out for that reason. I have not seen the movie, for the record.
I have looked and have been told there are times where there is a wait to enter the attraction, but I visited on a relatively cool day in Orlando, however, I could see this as being very useful on a hot day to cool down . There were routes where you could avoid getting sprayed with water and ones where you would.
You can cool down, learn some things about water, and it is not something with a long line usually, I’d imagine, as it keeps moving. There are also interactive features.
- You can wave your hands in the air to make water rise.
- You can trigger a waterfall
All of this is themed to Moana, with Moana themed topiary, carvings, and more.
What We Lost
What water did we lose in order to get this? We lost, for one, the Fountain of Nations, which opened with the park. It was filled with water from 29 countries and 25 bodies of water, and in the end had synchronized jets that ran a regular show.
Before the renovation, this half of Epcot was called ‘Future World’ as opposed to the World Showcase. But as part of the reimagining, Future World has been replaced by new areas: World Celebration, World Discovery, and World Nature.
- Celebration includes the Imagination! Pavilion, Spaceship Earth, and the new Communicore Hall which is the new festivals space.
- World Discovery includes Mission: Space, Test Track, the Wonders of Xandar Pavilion(aka Guardians), and the former Wonders of Life Pavilion…which was supposed to become the Play Pavillion..now cancelled.
- Finally, World Nature includes the Land and Sea Pavilions and the Journey of Water.
Walking through the Core of Disney, you can see the new Dreamer’s Point, with a statue called, “Walt the Dreamer” at its center. The new World areas definitely change the tone of this half of the park, with more greenery and open space. But for the number of years they spent knocking down old buildings, we ultimately got one additional thing: The Journey of Water, and one replacement.
It means, for the many years of Epcot, we have very little to show for it.
If I had been taking this approach, with the World Showcase being a reproduction of the World’s Fairs of the past, I would have extended this theming more than already into the former Future World and tried to tie both sides of the park together with it. Clearly this was on the minds of Imagineers, but there isn’t a narrative element to tie it together.
I’m thinking maybe a purple dragon and his bearded human friend.