Before you ask, “How can you have bad news about a NEW EPCOT attraction?!” hear us out. Don’t get us wrong, we are SUPER excited to check out Journey of Water — Inspired by Moana. We’re looking forward to exploring the new walkthrough attraction this fall — and finally getting some extra shade in EPCOT. All around, we can’t wait to watch the EPCOT transformation take shape, and the new Journey of Water experience is a huge step in the right direction.

EPCOT

But, with every new addition in Disney World, there’s one thing we see happen time and time again. As excited as we are to say hello to Journey of Water — Inspired by Moana, you might want to be prepared for one thing in Disney World.

Disney’s new Journey of Water — Inspired by Moana experience is described as a “lush exploration trail” that allows guests to “play with magical, living water” via an immersive walk-through attraction. Here’s a peek at the concept art (at this point, this photo is practically burned into our brains — Disney hasn’t shared many details about this new attraction ahead of its debut).

Journey of Water Concept Art ©Disney

That said, we do know a few things about the new attraction. We know that there will be little Moana-inspired hints all throughout the experience, including some familiar characters and details carved into the rocks and waterways. In fact, Disney shared that there are several hidden characters in the attraction, both on land and in the water.

Te Fiti Model that will be part of Journey of Water

We’ve seen Disney Imagineers start to “teach water how to play” ahead of the grand opening, and we’ve spotted some water effects in action, too! All these little updates point to promising news any day now. But here’s why we’re worried.

Journey of Water — July 2023

When new attractions open (or close) in Disney World, we typically see HUGE crowds show up to check out the changes. Take a look at the crowds we saw on the final day that Splash Mountain was open at Disney World. This wasn’t even a NEW attraction!

A sea of people

Oh, and here’s what we had to deal with on the first day of the 2023 EPCOT Food and Wine Festival. As you can see, it was pretty busy in some areas of the park.

EPCOT Food and Wine Crowds (2023)

Let’s face it. Journey of Water is a highly-anticipated new attraction! We have a feeling LOTS of people will make a special trip to EPCOT just for the grand opening. If you happen to have a vacation planned when Journey of Water opens, you might find yourself dealing with some big crowds.

Heavy crowds at the front of EPCOT on the 4th of July

We’re still waiting for an official opening date, so keep your eyes out for updates! In the meantime, we’re always on the lookout for the latest Disney news, so stay tuned for more.

Are you planning to check out the new attraction when it opens? Let us know in the comments!