good morning, america. it's our second hour. breaking overnight, retired pope benedict xvi dying at the age of 95. the pontiff who made history by breaking almost 600 years of tradition resigning in 2013. this morning, his life and legacy. also this morning, celebrating the life of a legend. barbara walters passing away at 93. a trailblazer, the most important woman pioneer in the history of television news, breaking barriers as the first female network evening news anchor. >> in those days, nobody thought it was possible. >> a famed interviewer, one-on-one with many of the world's most famous people of the last 50 years. this morning, we remember the

cherished member of our abc news family. a look at the moments that made television history. >> can i ask you something very directly? >> her longtime executive producer david sloan and "20/20" colleague deborah roberts joining us live as we say, good morning, america. good morning, america, on this new year's eve. we have several major stories as we come on the air. breaking overnight, the vatican saying pope emeritus benedict xvi, the first pope to resign in 600 years, has died at age 95. >> this as tributes pour in for barbara walters, the trailblazing journalist passing away at 93 friday. her career spanned more than five decades, many of those years spent here as part of our abc news family. tributes including her "view" co-hosts and robin roberts who writes an incredible life and woman, a trailblazer in every

sense of the word. fearless and brave are two words that immediately come to mind. she was also generous and kind. and, janai, she sent me an email when i first started at abc. i nearly fell on the floar. i was so excited. >> i can only imagine. she is known for interviewing everyone from presidents and prime ministers to superstars of stage and screen. and this morning we are paying tribute and talking to a few of her friends and colleagues, those who are part of her legacy as we all are sitting here. we'll get to that in just a bit. >> we are looking forward to that conversation. first, we start this hour with the death of retired pope benedict coming just days after pope francis said his predecessor was very sick. we are learning about the final arrangements for him so let's go to ines de la cuetara in vatican city with the latest. ines, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, whit. we are learning more about funeral plans for the former pope. the vatican saying he passed this morning here on vatican grounds.

he was 95 years old, but this really un-charlotteschartered t. we know what happens when a reigning pope dies but not when a former pope passes. the vatican saying his funeral will be held on thursday here in st. peter's square and it will be presided by pope francis, a spokesman for the vatican saying the funeral will be held in sim simplicity, saying that's what benedict wanted. seems he may have left instructions there. we know his body will lie in state at st. peter's basilica on monday for the faithful to pay their respects. meanwhile, tributes are pouring in from around the world. the archbishop of chicago saying he showed catholics what it means to love god with your heart, mind and soul. and all eyes also on pope francis to see what he has to say. we know the two men had a special relationship and that francis would often go to benedict for advice. whit? >> they sure did. ines, thank you. let's bring back abc's senior national correspondent terry moran who has been on the papal

plane with pope francis and is also repting on benedict's departure as pope nearly ten years ago. terry, good morning to you. let's start with how towering of a figure was benedict in the life of the catholic church? >> reporter: he was a towering figure, whit, in a different way, intellectually. a cardinal in rome once said to me that john paul ii, benedict's predecessor, was the pope of the soul, the cardinal said. this enormous mystical spiritual force in the world. pope francis, he's the pope of the heart. he leads with his heart and his emotions. he said pope benedict was the pope of the mind. a profound thinker, a very good writer, great writer and that legacy will last. his attempt to shore up the traditional doctrines of the church, that's all in writing and that lasts. >> terry, we talked about the history he made, that benedict xvi was the first pope to step down in nearly 600 years. what did his resignation introduce to the modern papacy? >> reporter: it changed it.

no question about it, whit. pope francis has called benedict's decision to resign church and he said, popes the - resigning should be something normal now. it changes the nature of the transition. it really makes it a more modern institution. gives the vatican, gives the people of the church time to prepare and a more normal transition. pope francis himself has said when asked if he will resign, he says benedict has opened the door. >> terry, one thing that ines noted too, this unique moment in history where for the first time we saw two living popes interact with each other. how did they get along and what was that relationship like? >> reporter: they got along great actually. pope francis has said that having pope benedict in the vatican was like having a wise old grandfather in your house to whom you could turn to for advice and benedict said he really appreciated the emotional warmth that francis brings to everything. there's an old saying in the

church that every new pope corrects the mistakes of the last one and benedict said maybe he was a little bit distant and he appreciated francis' warmth and it didn't have to go that way. there have been times in the long history of the catholic church where there have been two popes and they were rivals. benedict made sure scrupulously he would not be used by the church's conservatives to go after pope francis and setting that precedent too is a gift to the church. >> terry, we know you've covered the papacy for many years. we appreciate your insight this morning. thank you. eva? coming up in our "gma" morning menu, much more on the extraordinary life and legacy of our colleague, barbara walters. and the art of the interview. how she prepared for those epic one-on-ones. >> truly epic. plus, her longtime executive producer david sloan and colleague deborah roberts are joining us live to talk about what it was like to work alongside the legend herself. >> later on in the broadcast, how barbara kept a good sense of humor throughout her legendary

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welcome back to "gma" and barbara walters, the legendary newswoman, passing away friday. when she retired from abc news in 2014, she gave us all a glimpse of her process including putting together those memorable moments in those interviews. take a look. >> well, the first thing i tell anybody who is going to be doing interviews is homework. i do so much homework, i know more about the person than he or she does about himself. >> at one point you had terrible anxiety attacks. >> uh-huh. oh, you did do your homework. >> i did. >> i don't know when i talked about that. how did you find out about that?

>> how do you know that? >> 2002 you told me you wanted to wait to have sex until after you married. >> i said that? >> you said you were a momma's boy. she wanted you to be a minister. >> you really are thorough with your research. >> then i write, i can write 50 or 100 questions on little 3x5 cards and put them in order. then i throw some away. then i put others in. then if anybody comes in, if you've come in to deliver the soup i say do you by the way have any questions you'd like to ask so and so and i'm not kidding. most politicians try to dodge questions. you have to push. you will hear me ask the question again and again. >> okay, here it comes. when will you if you do decide whether or not you are going to run for president? >> well, it's such a difficult decision, and it's one that i am not going to rush into. >> will you consider running for president in 2016? >> well, that would be fascinating to me as well as everyone else. >> i have to push for the answer

about whether or not you might run for president. >> i'm flattered that people are talking about it, but i haven't made up my mind. >> you really haven't? >> i have not. >> what would it take to convince you to run? >> that's all hypothetical. >> does your husband want to you run? >> he is very respectful. he knows that this -- >> but he doesn't want you to run? >> he wants me to do what i think is right. >> i can spend hours, days changing the order of questions, but here's the important thing, you got to know your questions so you can throw them all away if you have to. i tried to ask questions that people are not asked all the time that make them think, that tell me something i haven't heard before. >> what do you think is the biggest misconception about you? >> that i'm flaky. but i am a little flaky, so that's okay. >> what do you think is the biggest misconception about you? >> no misconception. >> brooding. i'm difficult. >> that i'm not a real person. >> that i'm a bitch maybe if i

think that. >> now why do they think that? >> because i'm just like you. i have standards. >> i very often ask people do you have a philosophy by which you live? it's a provocative question and a thoughtful question and sometimes very surprising answers. >> do you have a philosophy by which you live? >> doesn't everybody? >> do you have a philosophy? >> staying hungry. that's it. >> do you have a philosophy by which you live? >> life is a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death. >> i don't embrace negativity. i don't allow myself to be angry or bitter. >> do you and the president have a philosophy? >> that everybody is put here for a purpose and there is a reason for their life. >> i'm not a great planner. i try to take each moment as it comes, you know, and try to be as truthful to myself in that moment as i can be. >> do you have a philosophy?

>> i guess. >> what? >> unto thine own self be true. >> when i do an interview, i want a strong beginning and strong ending. in order to get that, i often ask, finish this sentence for me. >> finish this sentence for me. will ferrell is -- >> funny, but -- but honest and devilishly handsome. >> that'll do it. >> usher is -- >> here. [ laughter ] >> anne hathaway is -- >> very, very, very over the moon happy. >> mariah carey is -- >> a nice girl. >> donald trump is -- >> a good person. >> chris christie is -- >> a leader. >> kanye west is -- >> black.

that's the first thing that popped in my mind. >> finish the sentence for me. bill gates is -- >> well, i think that's, you know, sort of an oversimplification for anybody to say somebody is just one thing. >> right now sharon stone is -- >> really, really tired. >> yeah, i knew you were going to say that. >> well now that it's over can i see your cards? >> wow, going through these moments in history one after another. joining us now is david sloan, the senior executive producer of abc news studios. he's the former executive producer of "20/20" and also joining us this morning abc's "20/20" contributing anchor and senior national affairs correspondent, deborah roberts. they both worked alongside barbara during some of her most memorable moments and her years at abc news. good morning and welcome to both of you. david, i would like to start with you because we're talking about the art of the interview. and we saw the preparation and

even during the break, we talked about how she went through planning these interviews out. you had a front row seat. what was it like to experience her craft? >> it was exhilarating to watch. it was terrifying because you had to be as good as she was, which was really difficult, and the preparation changed depending upon who the subject was. if it were a white house interviewers only 30 minutes long. there would be a shorter schedule of questions. if it were a celebrity trying to promote a movie, it would be longer, but it would sometimes be weeks. we'd start with 100 questions. whittle down to 75, 50. we would fight and argue about questions, and she would win. [ laughter ] sometimes i would. because she always knew better and i've learned so much from her. >> aww, david, it's so cool to have you here and hear about the inner workings behind the legend that she is. deb, i want to bring you in for a moment here.

what did it mean for you to work with barbara? i heard you talking on the special report last night about it, and you had so much admiration for her and then got to work alongside her. >> reporter: she was journalistic royalty. i mean, you know, you could not sit in the room with barbara walters and not sit there in awe. but, as david said, it was exhilarating. it was terrifying. i've told the story a few times about sitting on the set with her for the very first time and i'm shaking inside and you heard her there in the interview say she knew as much about a subject as the subject did. well, she would know as much about your interview as you did. i sat with my papers ready to talk and debrief with her and she took them during the piece and threw them on the floor. i thought what is this some crazy ritualistic hazing at "20/20" and barbara said, you know this story, i know this story. let's sit and have a

conversation. barbara was always about moving the dial, making, you know, as she said, hearing something she doesn't know, exploring a subject. so barbara never ever rested. she wanted to always make something a little better, even if she terrified you in the process of doing it. >> and, david, what made barbara's interview style so special? america tuned in in droves to watch these interviews. >> she asked the question that you probably wouldn't ask in a regular conversation. asking vladimir putin had he killed someone and he, we think, lied to her, her -- a killer's eyes looked back at her and felt she had nailed that one. she asked chris christie why he was overweight. she asked the kardashians, you know, you have no real discernible talent. why are you so famous? these are questions people wanted to ask then they were probably timid about.

>> and wouldn't. >> she wasn't timid. she had a way of disarming people. some of us, if i asked some of these question, not so true, they would go over the same way, right. she had a way about conducting that interview. and, deborah, i'd like to bring you back into the conversation. you were talking last night in the special report just about how much you learned from her throughout the process of working alongside her. but was there a lesson specifically or a conversation that you had with her about the art of the interview that you'll take away and remember forever? >> reporter: oh, my gosh, so much. well, first of all, i have to say just listening to her just now telling her own story, it was just as i said a master class really in how it's all done. it was an honor for me, not only to sit on the set with her, but to sit down the hallway from her in my office. i would walk by barbara's office hoping she might wave me in and occasionally she did and it was such a wonderful pleasure to get to hear her talk about stories. she wanted to know what i was working on, what intrigued me. sometimes i was worried to tell her because i was afraid she'd steal the story. barbara was very competitive, as

you know, but she also taught me something as a woman too. i remember telling her that i was pregnant with my daughter and i was sort of nervous. i didn't know how barbara would take this news that i would be taking off from the show at some point. she sat me down and said, you know, this is so important for you to spend a little time and think about your family. i wish i had paid a little more attention to my personal life early in my life. and the idea that this legend, not only wanted to talk about news and stories, but she also wanted to talk about me as a woman and to impart a little advice there on that level. and so barbara was sort of the whole thing and, as you heard david sloan say there too, that she prepared. she was relentless. to watch her in her office driving her producers crazy with every detail, i soaked all of that up and i drive my producers crazy today, i think, too, because of what i've learned from barbara walters. i want to push more. i want to know more and i want to be more because of barbara walters. >> aww. and that is the truth for so many of us, deb. i love you telling that story about when you were pregnant

because joan lunden last night talking about barbara waltga si ata,shwanant with neoranthat barbara came she o th biness. a male-dominated field and that is why she is such a trailblazer for what she was able to do. david, she really struggled to be heard in the newsroom and in the workplace and she took on a lot of assignments early on so she could eventually do what she wanted to. >> well, she was a warrior. i mean, when she began at the "today" show she had to fight the management and her colleagues to be called a co-anchor. she got here at abc and she had to fight for air time with harry reasoner, her co-host on "the evening news." he did not like her. he did not like women in the workplace. even in the '90s when roone arledge was president, she had to fight to do "the view" because he thought she would lose her news credibility.

every step of the way when she's called a trailblazer you have no idea what that required. it was a constant uphill battle of proving herself and that was what you really didn't see. but she was also -- she knew she was a cautionary tale. she would often say to working women, don't let what happened to me happen to you. spend more time with your children. just dovetailing off what deborah just said. >> we were talking about -- we talked about that legacy and not only bursting through the glass ceiling but the legacy for all of us, women and men, whenever we walk into this building that is named after her, when we walk into this studio, we feel the gravity of that legacy every day and the responsibility that comes with it and we are just so grateful for all that she has taught us, both in person and from a distance over the years. and, deborah, before we wrap up this segment, any final thoughts that you'd like to share about barbara walters? >> reporter: what i loved about barbara and i will always cherish her for is that her work

ethic was so strong. she never ever rested on her laurels. she always felt that next story was going to be the best story. so she worked on every story. even when she was a legend, she worked on it like it was her last and i think that we can all take that from her, that work ethic of always giving it your very best because that was what barbara demanded. she was the gold standard, and i will always, always cherish her for that. >> she set that high bar. we're all trying to keep up. thank you so much, deborah, david, we appreciate you joining us this morning. of course, don't miss that two-hour special edition of "20/20" airing sunday at 8:00 p.m., "our barbara." her friends and colleagues and barbara herself reflecting on her life and legacy. we are going to switch it up a little now and turn to danielle breezy in times square at the ball that will be 32 good morning to our strong

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welcome back t welcome back to "gma" on this saturday morning. it is new year's eve. as we prepare for 2023, we are celebrating the life and legacy of our colleague, barbara walters. >> so cool to get to call her a colleague. >> really, really truly. >> in her more than 50 years in journalism barbara was the subject of parody for decades on "saturday night live." here's a look at some of those portrayals and barbara getting the last laugh. she was parodied by cheri oteri. >> the sangria was flowing. >> reporter: rachel dratch too. >> still, it's progress.

>> reporter: and by the great gilda radner. >> i'm barbara wawa. >> reporter: then the saturday night before retiring from abc news in 2014, barbara walters herself live from new york. >> please welcome barbara walters. [ cheers and applause ] >> reporter: turning the tables on "saturday night live" which turned poking fun at the legendary newswoman into an art form. >> this is my real voice. hello. i'm barb wawa. [ laughter ] >> reporter: spilling the secrets on her signature focus. >> an interview with the president. an interview with a kardashian, yeah. president, kardashian. you get it? >> reporter: and the key to all those great interviews, great questions. >> if you were a tree, what kind of a tree would you be? or your place or mine, brokaw? >> reporter: plus, her signature skill, faucet flowing tears. >> nothing brings in the viewers like seeing a celebrity reduced to tears. you may think, aww, i'm feeling

bad for them, but all i'm thinking is ca-ching. [ laughter ] >> there it is, barbara walters. [ cheers and applause ] >> love her getting that last laugh there and she really did, so did all of us. coming up here on "gma," it is the final countdown to 2023 and we are taking you high above times square. we'll be right back. cozy. how many rooms are in there? should we go check it out? yeah. we get to stay here all weekend! when you stay at a vrbo... i call doing the door code! ...the host doesn't stay with you. it looks exactly like the picture. because without privacy in your vacation home... it's a full log cabin guys. ...it isn't really a vacation... we can snuggle up by the fire. ...is it? wow, oh my- [birds chirping] one role of a lifetime... one sore throat. but she had enough. she took mucinex instasoothe sore throat lozenges.

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♪ all right, back to "gma" with hours to go before the ball drops here in new york city in times square. a little bit from here, it'll be a gathering watched worldwide. since the start of the pandemic. abc's phil lipof joins us from the ball. you were amazed being up there, phil, with how the city is getting ready. good morning, again. >> reporter: hey, janai, good morning. and now that we have some daylight you can really see the ball. won't be able to pan up to the 130-foot pole above it -- oh, wow, look at that. show-off. i didn't think you would be able to do it. this is amazing. it feels like i'm at disney world to be this close to the ball and my first time as close to this ball is amazing. crossroads of the world.

it's estimated 1 million people will show up tonight. but let's talk about security first before we bring in an expert on what's happening tonight. security will be tight. mayor adams says he's working with the nypd closely. it's important to note that he says there are no known credible threats right now. law enforcement will be out there. there will be bomb squad personnel, heavy weapons, dogs that can sniff out explosives, uniformed presence, undercover officers as well including 477 rookie cops who just graduated from the academy on friday. their first assignment, a big one, kind of baptism by fire, new year's eve security at the ball drop. organizers testing the ball on friday with a practice run to make sure this 12,000-pound ball and its 2,688 crystals, plus lights are ready to go. i want to bring in jeff straus, president of countdown entertainment. jeff, thank you so much for joining us. i can't tell if you're excited or haven't taken this off since last year. >> i'm ready. >> talk to me about the

excitement. you heard janai mention this is the biggest since 2019. i was actually here in 2020 when nobody was allowed but the media. that was weird. but people are really gearing up for a huge event. so many people are here just yesterday. >> oh, my god, the ball is lit. we're ready to celebrate. we were downstairs rehearsing and i was meeting people from all over the world. they're coming back to new york city and there's so much energy down there. >> it's like people are ready to go. >> i think we are ready to party. >> some of the entertainment we'll see tonight? >> we got amazing acts tonight so the people here, i mean the star is the ball. but we bring in duran duran, new edition, j-hope, jax, chelsea cutler is doing her rendition of "imagine" right before midnight. >> it will be beautiful. >> it will be beautiful. >> jake will be down there and then all kinds of entertainment. cska, ava max. great mix of talent that reflects all the people from around the world who make the pilgrimage to times square.

>> and duran duran, i thought we were going back to the '80s. >> we got everybody from just yesterday to way back when. >> all right. just last week, i said 2,688 crystals on this, waterford crystals. you happen to have one with you. >> i do, please, check this out. please. >> so this is one. how many designs are there? >> ten different designs, different gifts, gift of wisdom, but this is my favorite, gift of love. it is a circle of overlapping hearts entwined together bringing love to our friend, family, community in 2023. >> that's beautiful. since you say it's a gift of love, i assume it's a gift and put it in my bag. you said it was a gift of love. i want to mention before we go tonight and thank you, jeff. it's going to be -- there's rain in the forecast. so bring a warm raincoat because the one thing you can't bring tonight among other things into times square for safety sake, you can't bring an umbrella. >> bring your energy. >> reporter: bring your energy and bring your glasses, guys. i was going -- they had a tiara for me and a hat. i figured i'd go with the glasses. >> that waterford crystal is the

only thing that wasn't for you. give that back to that man. >> return the crystal. >> yeah. >> reporter: i'm not stealing it on television, am i? >> thank you so much, phil. you can ring in 2023 with "dick clark's new year's rockin' eve with ryan seacrest" kicking off tonight, tonight at 8:00 p.m. eastern, 7:00 central on abc. all right, turning to another story this morning, now to the new year and your kids as they head back to school. concerns remain about covid, rsv and the flu. joining us now is abc medical contributor and physician from children's health, dr. alok patel. he's here to give us tips on how to help keep our kids and families safe. dr. patel, always great to have you. many families are coming back from traveling for the holidays after being in close quarters with friends and family. what's the most important thing to remember as we send our kids back to school? >> well, good morning, whit. i think the most important thing for people to remember is the combination of the fact that there's a lot of respiratory

viruses out there and we all just got done with traveling, gathering with families and we're going to put all our kids back into an in-person learning setting, which is great for them, but parents need to be aware of the fact that there might be sickness spread. there might be local outbreaks and to be cognizant, especially if you have high risk children or your children or yourself are living with anyone else who is vulnerable. >> obviously that is so important to remember, dr. patel. there was a huge spike in rsv cases in the fall, the winter. we heard a lot about them but we've heard lately flu and rsv cases seem to be on the decline with covid up. where are we in this tripledemic? >> fingers crossed that decline stands. you are correct. according to the cdc data influenza and rsv do appear to be peaking in some parts of the country but here's an asterisk, is covid-19 cases are rising and rsv and influenza are coming down from a place that was astronomically high, the worst

rsv season we've seen almost ever and influenza is high in the majority of states. so with all that being said people need to still pay attention to the fact as we mentioned at the top that there's a lot of virus out there and we still have full hospitals, overrun emergency departments and a pretty bad situation although it's hopefully going to be better in 2023. >> as parents, we often feel anxious about the viruses out there. you have responded to many of my panicked text messages. so i'm curious, should parents be worried right now? >> eva, i'm always here for you. and as a doctor and parent, i'm not about the worry and the panic. i'm about awareness and preparation. parents need to be aware of what's happening in the local communities and risk factors of teir children and anyone around their children. when it comes to preparation and planning, make sure your children understand hand hygiene, vaccinations all up to date. and planning is be prepared to keep your kids home from school or you yourself may have to stay home with symptoms. talking to doctors early and not waiting for symptoms to get worse or for a child to be in

respiratory distress. >> i've heard from parents considering sending their kids back to school wearing masks, and some schools are implementing mask mandates for the first couple weeks after the new year. do you think that will help? >> you know, whit, in a specific setting, masks absolutely can curb the spread of respiratory viruses, especially with rising covid cases or if kids are symptomatic. but you know it's hard to gauge how much masks can do, and if it's just in a school setting and people aren't adopting it elsewhere such as in other crowded places or on planes. but i think it is a big signal to realize, hey, we're not in a place where you'll realistically have zero covid, rsv or flu, and we have to pay better attention to our own individual risk factors and we have to be better to protect the community. protecting the community is where we need to be in 2023. we'll have a much better year and have learned a lot about protecting ourselves. it will be a more selfless year directed towards public health. >> i love it. one prop after another. >> nicely done.

>> dr. patel, the glasses and tiara. thank you so much. we truly appreciate it. great advice. have a great and safe party tonight, dr. patel. thank you. >> likewise, all my best. we'll get a check of the weather now and send it back to danielle breezy, once again high above times square. danielle, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. i am feeling the energy out here, guys as we get ready to ring in the new year. phil gave me his glasses. aren't they fun? if you are coming down to new york city tonight, be prepared for the wet weather. as that ball drops, we are going to have rain showers around for sure. and it is going to be very mild. in fact, we are forecasting 54 degrees when that ball drops. just to let you know that could be in the top five warmest at midnight temperatures in new year's eve in new york city. can you believe that? now let's talk a little about what's going on across the country. we are going to be dry and warm in the middle of the country. northeast will be wet for new year's eve festivities and also will be wet in so cal at the midnight ball drop. now, here's the thing about what's going on out west, we

actually have an atmospheric river that has been set up and 15 states now are under storm alerts due to that atmospheric river which will bring heavy rain and snow. in fact, we got to talk about the amounts that we could see here. the bay area could see two to four inches. l.a. could see up to an inch of rain if you can believe that through the day today. that's not out of the question and also we're talking about mountain snow. these mountains have already seen a lot of snow. we could see anywhere from one to three feet of snow in addition as we head through the upcoming weekend. so that's a look at what's happen >> reporter: and, guys, i heard you got a chance to go to disney. well, so did i. i got a sneak peek at something you'll want to see coming up.

i'll send it back to you. that's a good tease, danielle. i just realized after the 2000s they really had a time with those glasses. >> it's hard to see through them. >> the 1, the 2. >> the 23, uh-huh. >> stick around. we'll be right back. ♪ i need you all night ♪ ♪ (upbeat music) ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ with the most 5 star cruise reviews on tripadvisor, your gorgeous vacation at sea awaits. ♪ hurry to kohl's biggest clearance event... for savings you don't want to miss. save up to 70% starting now... on must-haves like home essentials... active favorites... jeans... sweaters... boots... and pjs! kohl's.

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♪ ♪ welcome back to "gma." that oscar-nominated song "moana" making waves back in 2016 now set to become one of walt disney world's newest additions. >> yes, the "journey of the water" inspired by "moana" is due to open in late 2023 and first on "gma" we are getting a sneak peek of the walk through attraction at epcot. still under construction but danielle breezy got to put on the hard hat to get the details. good morning, again, to you, danielle.

>> reporter: oh, good morning. i mean, it was so awesome. i got to watch that movie on the plane ride down. i'm a fan. you got to take a look at all of this. there's so much going on, i'm already seeing it. >> epcot is going through one of the biggest transformations in its history and journey of water inspired by "moana" is part of that. we have artisans working on rock work, special effects going in. music is a huge component of the film and will be a component of this experience as well. ♪ you're welcome ♪ ♪ i guess it's my way of being me ♪ >> as guests enter into the experience, we want them to be surrounded by this kind of lush polynesian environment surrounded with water and a few familiar characters from the film. we have probably a dozen characters that are hidden in nooks and crannies throughout the experience and within the waterways. there is one very recognizable character and very present character and that's te fiti. she'll be at the heart of the

experience greeting guests as they travel through. >> which is awesome. i know you have a lot of engaging elements with this. >> part of engaging with water is seeing how it responds to us and one way you greet your friend is by waving. ♪ so i would imagine one way to greet water would be doing a similar thing. so we'll have to wait and see when the experience opens, how the water reacts to when we do that. >> i like that. a wait and see. >> our goal is to make a connection between water and the guests and one way we're doing that is through these effects that respond to your presence. so as guests travel through, they have a sense that water has a personality. water can be their friend and water is worth protecting. >> reporter: i am so excited to see this when it is actually open. by the way, i hope you like that hard hat look of mine. did you notice how the height difference between the two of us? very interesting, guys.

>> you did an excellent job. we were at disney world recently and saw the construction under way. we did have to wear hard hats, no question about that. looking forward to it. thank you so much, danielle. and we'l - life is uncertain. everyday pressures can feel overwhelming

it's okay to feel stressed, anxious, worried, or frustrated. it's normal. with calhope's free and secure mental health resources, it's easy to get the help you and your loved ones need when you need it the most. call our warm line at (833) 317-4673 or live chat at calhope.org today.

just reminder that you can catch the two-hour special edition of "20/20" airing sunday at 8:00 p.m., "our barbara." her friends, colleagues and barbara herself reflecting on her legacy. >> in the building named after the barbara walters. thank you for watching and joining us this morning and we will see you right back here tomorrow morning. the first day of 2023. happy new year.

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