Update On Rumors Of A Moana-Themed Roller Coaster Being Built At Magic Kingdom

As the D23 Expo inched closer earlier this summer, a lot of random rumors started popping up regarding new movies, new merchandise, and new rides heading to Disney Parks. There were a number of big announcements made at the convention, but a lot of things were left on the back burner without a word being spoken. One of those was a rumored Moana-themed roller coaster at Magic Kingdom, but will it ever really happen?

The rumors of different possible announcements at D23 started a couple of months before the event took place in mid-July. One of the bigger rumors was that of a new roller coaster being built at Magic Kingdom and it was going to be themed after Disney’s Polynesian princess, Moana.

It was on the Unofficial Disney Dish Podcast with Jim Hill where the rumor first started earlier this year, and it was centered around the ride landing somewhere in Adventureland. The ride would essentially take guests on a harrowing journey through a volcano designed much like the antagonist in the hit film Moana.

Seems like a great idea, right? It seems like something that would make for a great new ride and it would give Moana a lot of deserving attention, but it isn’t exactly original.

You see, this roller coaster idea is something that first came about back in 2001 when it was going to be called “Fire Mountain” and based on Atlantis: The Lost Empire. It was going to be built between Pirates of the Caribbean and Splash Mountain or possibly between Pirates and Jungle Cruise.

There were some huge plans for this attraction, which would have had it on a regular track most of the time, but also dangling from a track above it for the rest. The high price of creating such an attraction eventually had the idea put away, seemingly for good.

That was until Moana was released and the movie raked in more than $643 million worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo. Fast forward a few months, and the rumors started swirling that the Fire Mountain concept was being brought back, but this time with a Moana theme instead.

At the same time that Fire Mountain was rumored to become a big E-Ticket ride, Disney was also looking at creating one called “Bald Mountain.” That attraction would have been based on the evil Chernabog from Fantasia, but it was tucked away before too long as well.

The rumors earlier this year had a lot of fans excited as it seemed like things were moving in the right direction for a big announcement at the D23 Expo. Then, the convention came and went without so much as a peep about a Moana attraction, but Magic Kingdom is getting the TRON Lightcycle coaster sometime in the next few years.

Now, the rumors of this new volcano roller coaster didn’t seem as far-fetched as originally thought. Orlando Weekly reported that it could have been Disney’s response to Universal Studio’s brand new water park, Volcano Bay, which opened in late May.

Since the D23 Expo ended, there has been not a peep said about this.

Yes, all of this talk about the new Moana roller coaster turned out to be nothing more than just speculation and for now, it simply isn’t happening. So many people said it was definitely happening, but they said the same thing about a Wreck-It Ralph attraction replacing Stitch’s Great Escape, and that isn’t taking place either. One never knows what the future will bring to Magic Kingdom, but for now, a Moana ride is not in the cards for Walt Disney World.

[Featured Image by Disney]