Moana 2’ Is a Hit, so Why Isn’t Disney Moving Forward With More Moana in The Parks?

It’s official: Moana 2 (2024) is a massive hit. Disney Animation’s latest offering earned more than $225 million at the domestic box office over Thanksgiving weekend, breaking the all-time record held by Frozen 2 (2019).

This means that Moana 2 is well on its way to becoming Disney’s third billion-dollar film of 2024, joining Deadpool & Wolverine (2024) and Inside Out 2 (2024). With the original Moana grossing $643 million at the box office, this means the Moana franchise will make Disney more than $1.7 billion, and that’s before the live-action Moana (2025) hits theaters.

This makes Moana the third highest-grossing franchise in Disney history behind Toy Story and Frozen. So, that begs the question: Why doesn’t Moana have more of a presence at Disney Parks?

Both Toy Story and Frozen have their own dedicated lands at Disney Parks worldwide, but all Moana has is Journey of Water, Inspired by Moana at EPCOT. Disney also recently announced that Encanto, Cars, and Monsters, Inc. will be getting their own lands at Disney World.

However, according to rumors, Disney considered giving Moana her land during this round of renovations. Disney is considering bringing more Moana to Adventureland in Magic Kingdom or Animal Kingdom. This would include at least one ride or possibly even more.

Despite discussing bringing Moana to Disney World, Disney ultimately decided to go with three other IPs. That doesn’t necessarily mean Moana won’t be coming to Disney World in the future.

Disney will spend $17 billion at Disney World over the next decade and won’t come close to that with its current projects. Disney has also shown a strong desire to bring its much-loved properties to its parks, which means Moana could be in the next round of expansion plans.

While Moana would fit into Adventureland, that would mean removing or changing the beloved Jungle Cruise, which no one would like to see. However, with an expansion at Animal Kingdom, which has more than enough space, a South Pacific land would work nicely and could include a Moana water ride and possibly a Maui roller coaster.

So, while there aren’t any plans to bring more Moana to Disney Parks, it’s only a matter of time before the idea strikes, and Disney and another ride and sequel will be in the works.