Did you know that a new EPCOT attraction is opening this year? Journey of Water — Inspired by Moana is a walk-through attraction coming to World Nature this fall.

Journey of Water Concept Art © Disney

We know that the attraction will be a “lush exploration trail” that allows visitors to “play with magical, living water” and that you’ll learn all about the importance of the natural water cycle during the experience. But how will this attraction actually work? Will there be a Lightning Lane? What about a virtual queue? Here’s what we know so far.

Disney hasn’t revealed much about the logistics of Journey of Water, so we can’t say for sure whether the attraction will have a Genie+ Lightning Lane or a virtual queue. However, there are a couple of clues that may point to the answers, so let’s dive in!

Most New Attractions Have Utilized a Virtual Queue

The first indication that Journey of Water might have a virtual queue is that most new attractions in Disney World have used it recently.

Concept Art for Journey of Water

TRON Lightcycle / Run in Magic Kingdom and Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind both used a virtual when they opened and continue to use one now.

TRON opened in April 2023, so it’s been using a virtual queue for about four months now. Cosmic Rewind, which opened in May 2022, has used the virtual queue for over a year.

TRON Virtual Queue board

Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure and Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance both used virtual queues when they first opened but no longer offer that option. Now, they just have Lightning Lanes and standby lines.

That’s four new attractions in a row that have all utilized the virtual queue system, but here’s the thing — Journey of Water looks like a very different kind of attraction than any of those four. It’s a walk-through, interactive exploration trail, not a thrill ride or roller coaster.

Journey of Water Concept Art as seen in The EPCOT Experience

However, it’s not just roller coasters that get long lines (meet-and-greets sometimes have longer wait times than even the popular coasters), so if Disney is anticipating a huge turn-out for the Moana attraction, they might use a virtual queue at least for the first few months that it’s open.

Journey of Water

The only attractions that seem comparable to the Moana trails are Tom Sawyer’s Island in Magic Kingdom and the animal trails (Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail and Maharajah Jungle Trek) in Disney’s Animal Kingdom, which don’t have a Lighting Lane and haven’t used virtual queues. However, those attractions are much older, so demand isn’t as strong as it will be for a brand-new spot.

Find out what Disney’s NOT telling you about its newest virtual queue.

The Ride Doesn’t Seem To Be Laid Out for a Lightning Lane

From what we can see, it looks like Disney likely isn’t adding a Lightning Lane to this attraction. Note that our observations are ONLY based on what we can see from the Monorail as we ride by, but the area that we think is the entrance to this attraction doesn’t seem to have two separate lines (for standby and a Lightning Lane).

Probably the Entrance

For Guardians of the Galaxy and TRON, we could see the Lightning Lane queue before the attractions opened. If Disney doesn’t add a Lightning Lane, then the only way for them to keep wait times down would be to use a virtual queue.

Moana Construction

Keep in mind that this is all speculation. It’s possible that the area we think is the entrance is something else entirely, and the true entrance (including a Lightning Lane) is located elsewhere, where we can’t see it.

Click here to learn more about Lightning Lanes and Genie+.

The Walt Disney Imagineering team has tasked themselves with capturing the beauty of the natural water cycle for Journey of Water — Inspired by Moana. Disney says they were also inspired by Moana’s fierce determination to protect her environment and her bond with water.

Looking Good!

If you’re a fan of the movie Moana, you should be able to recognize some familiar characters and shapes that are carved into the rocks and waterways (there are about a dozen hidden characters throughout the attraction, both on land and in the water) throughout Journey of Water.

©Disney

Additionally, Disney recently posted a few new photos on Instagram that show Imagineers testing out some water effects. Check out more recent updates about the upcoming attraction here:

• HUGE Update on the Moana-Themed Attraction Coming to Disney World
• MOANA UPDATE: We Heard Something NEW at the EPCOT Attraction

Stay tuned to DFB for more updates on all the latest Disney news.

Click here to learn all about the HUGE EPCOT transformation.

Are you excited about the new Moana attraction? Let us know in the comments!