Walt Disney Imagineer shares a ground-level look at Journey of Water Inspired by Moana

Aug 19, 2022 in "Journey of Water Inspired by Moana"

Posted: Friday August 19, 2022 1:37pm ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

Walt Disney Imagineer Zach Riddley has shared a new ground-level look at EPCOT's latest project - Journey of Water Inspired by Moana.


Zach said on Instagram, "It was great to spend the day on our project site for Journey of Water, Inspired by Moana – the new attraction coming to the World Nature neighborhood of EPCOT. Many years go into designing these experiences and nothing beats seeing the real thing in its own “state of becoming.” Our guests are following along on this work from the monorail above our site, so I thought it would be fun to share a few views with you from on the ground, right in the middle of the process."

"The craft of creating rockwork is a blend of art and science, and seeing this carving and sculpting progress live is one of the things I love most about my role as an Imagineer. I joined the project team for a walk of the site alongside Imagineers Scott and Robert, two of our leaders overseeing the project. The range of textures are inspired by real world formations – all the way down to the tiniest details and variation that, when finished, should be impossible to distinguish from the real thing."


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BocabearMar 10, 2024

but then again, it should have been instantly corrected before people started tripping over them...Anyone can see it would be a problem... That is the biggest problem when we do installations...people tripping over our stuff as we are working...and even if they are beyond the barricades we installed, they will still blame us... So we have become hyper aware of this issue...I am shocked someone at Disney did not see this and flag it .... and come up with something for it... Tiny bench surround, etc.

retr0gateMar 06, 2024

I could be completely wrong here, but I find it hard to believe the mounds were an intentional part of the design. It seems far more likely that there was an issue with the grading and they decided to just leave it as is / improvise something during construction. I've worked on similar projects (albeit, not in theme parks) and what we draw does not always reflect what's actually built on site. You can usually expect to see a lot of small discrepancies like this, especially when it comes to site work like pavement, lighting fixtures, etc., usually because something was overlooked during installation, not the design process.

Disstevefan1Mar 03, 2024

LOL. This is why I love these boards! 🏆

_calebMar 02, 2024

*concrete

Cmdr_CrimsonMar 02, 2024

How bout this....😏

Disstevefan1Mar 02, 2024

I don’t know what this means, but the mounds of cement the designers chose as lamp post bases in World Malformation in EPCOT was a tripping hazard and they looked ugly. It makes you wonder, did they run out of time and/or money and the cement mounds was just a cost cutting mistake? Maybe a CFTOD inspection flagged it and made them fix it? LOL! Whatever the reason, they are ending up spending even more money to correct it.

Cmdr_CrimsonMar 02, 2024

CntrlFlPeteMar 02, 2024

I found it crazy when I was there the other day in the way they had Pluto out in the walkway right across from Daisey (who was in one of the sections). Each time I needed to go through that area, I needed to dodge folks going between the two characters while the crowd is trying to walk in the walkway. Just looked/felt like a cluster that did not need to be.

SoFloMagicMar 01, 2024

Or just ban double wide strollers

HauntedPirateMar 01, 2024

That would make much more sense, and I sincerely hope your guess is correct and that there is work being done in that area to move the queue. Without a change in the queue placement, that walkway is going to be miserable during busier times. Even when it's not terribly busy, it only takes a few families and a few dozen people going each way to clog things up.

James AlucobondMar 01, 2024

If you look back at the plan from when the festival center was still a thing, it did appear to include the M&G oriented in that way (see below for flow). We basically have the exit area on the right, and I suspect they're working on some variation of the proposed queuing area right now, though it might ultimately be a bit more of a straightaway that also provides backstage access rather than what was originally proposed. I could be wrong, though.

HauntedPirateMar 01, 2024

That would definitely be a preferable area for that queue.

James AlucobondMar 01, 2024

I'm hoping they intend to swap the queue to the opposite side between the M&G and Coral Reef once that area is done. They're doing a lot of paving over there that wasn't in the original site plan, so I have to imagine it's in support of the M&G, which also wasn't in the plan.

HauntedPirateMar 01, 2024

I really wish they had better placement for the meet and greet. In its current spot, the line has a tendency to create a choke-point on that walkway when things are busy. Or when you have a couple of families with double-wide strollers and they don't see the need to move close to the side. ;)