“ It ’ s a walk-through experience for you to really take it all in ,” Mohamad said . “ It frames EPCOT beautifully . It tells a story .”
And that story is for everyone . Imagineers ensured that all guests could enjoy the attraction .
“ The harps that are in the beginning of the attraction … Those are at a level where people of all ages , people in wheelchairs , can all play with those experiences simultaneously ,” Mohamad shared . “ We made sure to take the accessibility aspect of this very seriously , and we wanted to make sure that everybody got a chance to experience it .”
Play the music like a harp . PHOTO BY LAURIE SAPP
The attraction also subtly encourages guests to explore and work together to unlock the mysteries of the water cycle .
“ We didn ’ t want to advertise that it was going to be a larger payout if you have more people ,” said Mohamad . “ We wanted people to come together and kind of play with the water as much as they can and see what they can get out of it … We saw this a few times where we had a party of two interact with the water and then try to encourage people they didn ’ t know to come play with them in the experience .”
On my journey through the attraction , I noticed guests working together to create bigger waves and sharing tips they had discovered about how the interactive elements
This isn ’ t Kali River Rapids ; getting wet is optional . PHOTO BY JUDD HELMS
Guests can work together to create bigger blasts of water . PHOTO BY LAURIE SAPP
behave ; it really is an organic experience that encourages connection and communication with other guests . The camaraderie among strangers is a testament to the creative vision for Journey of Water — and harkens to one of EPCOT ’ s larger missions .
THERE YOU ARE Journey of Water blends a natural landscape and constructed elements to create a tropical oasis in World Nature . One of the most delightful aspects for me was finding the hidden Moana characters , cleverly carved into the rockwork . An attraction Cast Member ( shout-out to Nicole ) spotted me with my
Character Carvings