Te Fiti from the 2022 D23 ExpoWe still don’t have an opening date for Journey of Water, Inspired by Moana at Epcot. The Walt Disney World website says “opening late 2023”. Still, there are signs that the new attraction is getting closer to opening.
Select Cast Members have already visited Journey of Water. I don’t know how many or how they were chosen. Disney likes to gauge reactions before a new attraction opens to the public to see what needs to be tweaked. It’s also an opportunity to fix anything that might not be working correctly. The Cast Members who visited were not allowed to take pictures.
Another sign that we might soon get an opening date for Journey of Water is that all Cast Members can now sign up for previews. Their previews will take place from September 1 through September 22. I don’t know if pictures will be allowed, because Disney has done it both ways.
Te Fiti explanation, from the 2022 D23 ExpoClub 33 Members are also getting a preview of Journey of Water, Inspired by Moana. From what I’ve heard, they’ll be able to visit on September 9.
Does that mean that Annual Passholder and Disney Vacation Club Member previews will be next? We don’t know. So far, there’s been no official word on if there will even be previews for those two groups. I’d be very surprised if there are no previews for Annual Passholders or DVC. My guess is that they will be held starting in late September into early October, but I could be far off.
I’d also be surprised if there’s not a D23 event. Destination D23 will take place September 8-10, but I doubt that there would be an event that early for D23 because it doesn’t give people time to plan. More likely it would be held in late September or early October.
Testing the water and lights after dark I hope that we’ll receive word soon about both an opening date and more previews. When I hear something, I’ll share it on Disney Over 50. From the little glimpses that I’ve seen of Journey of Water, Inspired by Moana, it looks like it will be amazing.