Disney modifies queue plans for EPCOT's Journey of Water previews after initial hiccups

Sep 25, 2023 in "Journey of Water Inspired by Moana"

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Journey of Water Inspired by Moana Passholder previews

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Posted: Monday September 25, 2023 3:31pm ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

Disney has provided a new update on the queuing process for the Walt Disney World Annual Passholder previews of Journey of Water Inspired by Moana at EPCOT.

Journey of Water Inspired by Moana Passholder previews

Disney had initially said that a standby queue would be in place and "a virtual queue will not be available."

Plans quickly changed in the first hour of the opening day of previews, and Disney put in place a modified Virtual Queue, which required guests to join a long line to reach a poster with a QR code to enter a hidden Virtual Queue. Due to various issues, the QR code was quickly abandoned, and Disney reverted to using the standard Virtual Queue process in the 'My Disney Experience' app.

The latest update says that a standby line will be in place, and a Virtual Queue in My Disney Experience may be used during periods of high demand. You can check if a Virtual Queue is currently operating by visiting the Virtual Queue tab in My Disney Experience.

Here is the full wording from Disney:

Registration is not required to attend this preview. However, you must have a theme park reservation for EPCOT on the day of the preview.
A standby queue will be in place for this experience. To ensure the best Guest experience, a virtual queue may open for eligible Annual Passholders during periods of high demand. When a virtual queue is available, Guests may join after entering EPCOT, using the My Disney Experience app.
An eligible, activated Annual Pass is required to attend this preview. You must show your Annual Pass card, Disney MagicMobile pass, MagicBand or MagicBand+—along with valid photo identification—when checking in.
Everyone in your party must be an Annual Passholder to attend this preview experience.

Passholder previews will take place at EPCOT from park open to park close on the following dates:

September 24 to September 29, 2023
October 1 to October 4, 2023

Journey of Water Inspired by Moana overview

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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. ;)