October 2nd
 

Home Up October 2nd - Page 2


 

Monday, October 2nd, 2023            

I took a half day at work today to participate in one of the remaining Passholder Previews of the new Journey of Water, Inspired by Moana walk through attraction. Grandma Terry, Uncle Steven, and Aunt Erica picked me up at home and we then headed to pick up Jayden from Riverview High School to make the drive over. We ended up grabbing some Chick-fil-A (everyone but me) and McDonald's (me) for lunch on our way out. The drive over wasn't terrible, so we made decent time to Epcot.

Once inside, we headed right over to Journey of Water, Inspired by Moana. This was a bit of a different preview than the others we've been fortunate enough to experience, in that we didn't need to make a reservation for the attraction itself. Instead, they only allowed passholders into the queue. It worked out well, as we didn't have to wait long in line at all. The attraction itself is very cool visually, and the actual activities are certainly enjoyable. I'm certainly glad we got to experience it, and I think we all thoroughly enjoyed it, but I don't see this as a must-do attraction on my future visits. If the wait isn't outrageous, then it'll be worth it, but if there is a wait I think this is one that I'd pass on in the future.

Since we were close by after completing our walk through of Journey of Water, Inspired by Moana, we decided to hit up the nearby The Seas with Nemo & Friends. We enjoyed the slow moving ride, despite a couple of stops along our ride through. We had discussed checking out the Turtle Talk with Crush show, but ended up skipping it for today. Instead, we wandered through the various attractions at SeaBase, checking out the manatees, dolphins, sea turtles, and more as we made our way through the different exhibits.

After leaving the underwater attractions, it was time to take to the sky. Using Uncle Steve's Disability Access Service (DAS) pass we took our first ever ride on Soarin' Over California. This attraction is at Epcot on a temporary basis and is usually shown at Disneyland. After experiencing it, Jay and I both agreed that we absolutely prefer the normal Soarin' Around the World experience. The were a few issues that I had with the California version:

  • The abrupt transitions between locations - There was no entering the ocean mist and ending up in a new location on the other side. It was just a sudden jump from one spot to another.
  • The locations were mostly unknown to me - I guess the locations seemed mostly generic to me in the grand scheme of things. The mountains could have been mountains anywhere, the countryside could have been any countryside. There were a few locations I recognized, but most were too generic to make an impact on me.
  • The holiday based end location - Like the Soarin' Around the World version, the Soarin' Over California version ends in a Disney Park. I didn't like that we ended up at Disneyland during the Christmas celebration. We could even see Santa in the park! Seems odd for other parts of the year...

Overall, we were glad we got to experience it, but I know that for Jay and I we would rather see the regular Epcot show instead.

Since we were close, we hit up a ride Aunt Erica had never been on, Journey Into Imagination With Figment - Tara's favorite! Though we enjoyed our journey with Figment, this ride is definitely in need of an update.

The remainder of our day in the park can be found on page two!

 

Epcot


 

The entrance sign to the new Journey of Water, Inspired by Moana walk through attraction.

 
 

The mist overtaking the "mountain" near the beginning of the walk through.

 
 

The water symbol seen throughout the Moana movie as the mist clears.

 
 

Jayden enjoying the attraction so far!

 
 

Making our way through Journey of Water, Inspired by Moana.

 
 

Grandma Terry, Uncle Steven, Aunt Erica, and Jay waiting for the crowd to clear ahead of them.

 
 

The first part of the journey that we encountered - stream.

 
 

Grandma Terry waving to the stream to make the water jump.

 
 

Jay taking her turn to wave to the stream to make the water jump.

 
 

A look at the water jumping following the wave.

 
 

The second part of our journey - wetland.

 
 

A look at the wetland display.

 
 

The third part of the journey that we explored - spring.

 
 

Jayden interacting with the springs...

 
 

...and making the water rise up to her hand.

 
 

A look at the spring area of the attraction.

 
 

The fourth part of the journey that we encountered - land.

 
 

Aunt Erica and Uncle Steve had made their way through the waterfall doorway that stopped falling as you walked through...

 
 

...while Jay chose to run through.

 
 

The fifth part of our journey - lake.

 
 

A waterfall seen inside the lake section of the attraction.

 
 

Te Fiti as seen within Journey of Water, Inspired by Moana.

 
 

A couple of photos of the jumping fountains...

 
     
 

Jay posing for pictures in front of Te Fiti...

 
     
 

The sixth part of the journey that we experienced - river.

 
 

More jumping fountains.

 
 

A couple more pictures of Te Fiti with Spaceship Earth in the background...

 
     
 

A baby Moana carved into the rocks of the attraction...

 
     
 

This attraction was like a wave crashing in the air as you raised your arms in front of it...

 
   
 

Uncle Steve and Aunt Erica participating in the hand wave attraction.

 
 

The Kakamora carved into the rock of the Moana attraction.

 
 

The detailing on the awning is reminiscent of a sail on the boats in Moana.

 
 

Tamatoa is represented in the attraction as well...

 
     
 

These carvings remind me of Squirt...

 
 

...and Crush, even through they were from Finding Nemo and not Moana!

 
 

A seashell spotted in the rockwork.

 
 

After spotting the baby version of Moana earlier, we later found this adult version as well...

 
     
 

The seventh and final section of the journey that we explored - sky.

 
 

Another look at the mist on the mountainside...

 
     
 

Some of the signs we spotted in the The Seas with Nemo & Friends queue.

 
 

Next up was SeaBase, where we saw manatees...

 
     
     
 

...and dolphins...

 
     
     
 

...sea turtles...

 
     
     
     
 

...scuba divers...

 
  ...hidden Mickey's...  
 

...rays...

 
     
 

...sharks...

 
     
 

...and a variety of fish...

 
     
     
 

...and coral...

 
 

...shrimp...

 
 

...starfish...

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
 

...morays...

 
     
     
     
     
 

...sea urchins...

 
 

...anemones...

 
     
     
     
 

We also went for a ride on Journey Into Imagination With Figment. Here is a look back at the track as we entered the attraction. 

 
 

Figment!

 
 

Some of the sights from the Journey Into Imagination With Figment ride...

 
     
 

Please click here for page two of the photos

 


 

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