Calling all Annual Passholders! You can now preview the upcoming Journey of Water – Inspired by Moana walkthrough nature trail at EPCOT ahead of its official opening next month. The preview is open to all Annual Passholders, but there are a few things you need to know before you head out to EPCOT. In this article, we’ll cover some FAQs and share our experience with the preview experience from this morning.
Who Is Eligible?
Any Annual Passholder with an EPCOT Disney Park Pass reservation and valid admission is eligible for the Journey of Water – Inspired by Moana preview. Everyone in your party must be an Annual Passholder to attend this preview experience.
Who is Ineligible?
Guests who are not Annual Passholders (or DVC Members) or who do not have valid Annual Passholder admission are not eligible. Everyone in your party must be an Annual Passholder to attend this preview experience.
What Are the Disney Park Pass Requirements?
Annual Passholders with an EPCOT Disney Park Pass and valid admission can enjoy the Journey of Water preview. Please note the following Disney Park Pass restrictions:
- If your theme park reservation is for a different theme park (and not for EPCOT), you will not be eligible to participate in a preview that day.
- If you enter EPCOT without a theme park reservation after 2:00 PM, you will not be eligible to participate in a preview that day.
What Are the Preview Dates and Times?
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
Can You Join the Preview More Than Once Per Day?
No. Annual Passholders can only join the standby line or Virtual Queue once per day. That said, there are no restrictions on how long you can stay in the experience. There is no food for sale, but there is a water fountain and restrooms inside the experience.
Is There A Virtual Queue?
Maybe. The Journey of Water – Inspired by Moana preview starts each day as a standby offering, but a Virtual Queue may be used should crowds become too large. Disney World utilized a Virtual Queue on the first day of the preview, but has not updated any of the language on its website to reflect the change in operating procedure. In fact, the website still a Virtual Queue will not be used, which is wrong. When we visited this morning (September 25th), there was no Virtual Queue required and our standby wait was only 15 minutes, but that is subject to change.
Guests are encouraged to check the “Virtual Queue” section of the My Disney Experience app to see if a Virtual Queue is required. If it is, guests will be required to enter EPCOT before they can join the Virtual Queue. Here’s an example of what the screen will look like if a Virtual Queue is required and if standby is open.
Journey of Water Annual Passholder Preview Crowds
The Journey of Water – Inspired by Moana walkthrough nature trail is a self-guided experience with no formal line to follow through the attraction. Instead, guests are encouraged to forge their own path like Moana and not follow the group in front of them once they make it to the experience entrance.
We’ll start with a look at the part of the experience that does have a formal line – the standby queue. Eligible guests can join the standby queue near the entrance to the attraction. A space next to Spaceship Earth is roped off for the standby queue, which can get quite long. Here’s a look at our roughly 15-minute wait in photos.
Once inside, it’s a free-for-all, and the experience can get quite crowded. You won’t wait more than 5-10 minutes for an interactive experience such as waving to water or getting a high-five from water. The largest crowds were for the photo-op area in front of the impressive 16-foot-tall Te Fiti figure toward the end of the nature trail. Here’s a look at crowds.
For a more serene walk-through experience, check out our video below or our article with some empty-ish photos of the nature trail.
As always, keep checking back with us here at BlogMickey.com as we continue to bring you the latest news, photos, and info from around the Disney Parks!