NEWS: Disney Is Testing Moana’s REAL-LIFE Boat in Hawaii

We’re so excited for the next installment of Moana’s adventures!

©Disney

Moana 2 hits theaters on November 27th, Thanksgiving weekend, and the new movie looks like it will be just as exciting and wonderful as the first. What’s even more exciting about a sequel to Moana is that ANOTHER Moana movie is in the works. Disney announced that a live-action Moana film will come out in 2026 (July 10th, 2026). We know Dwayne Johnson will reprise his role as Maui, and Catherine Laga’aia will play Moana, but other than that, no new updates have been shared. However, we recently spotted some testing going on thanks to Reel News Hawaii on X!

Disney has created Moana’s boat for the new Island Tower at Disney’s Polynesian Resort. The boat and Moana sculptures are seriously impressive and will be part of the water play area for kids to enjoy.

Artist rendering of “Moana’s Voyage,” a whimsical new splash area featuring life-size sculptures of Moana and her iconic canoe. © Disney

But what’s even more exciting is that Moana’s REAL boat has now been seen undergoing testing on the ocean before filming of the live-action movie begins!

Live action Moana crew testing Moana’s Canoe before filming begins this week. pic.twitter.com/OHQYkdFFDP

— Reel News Hawaii (@reelnewshawaii) November 11, 2024

It is seriously so COOL getting to see her boat in real life! The first movie showed us how iconic and epic it is that Moana learns to sail it across the ocean, so now getting to see it real life makes us very excited to see the live-action movie and watch this amazing story come to life.

Here’s the first look at Moana’s canoe with the iconic sail. Live Action Moana starts filming this Tuesday on Oahu. They’ve spent the past week preparing and testing the boats. pic.twitter.com/k0UiR4e7gF

— Reel News Hawaii (@reelnewshawaii) November 10, 2024

The sail is so iconic; it’s easy to identify as Moana’s very own canoe. We’re so happy she became a wayfinder and joined up with Maui for the exciting adventures. Seeing this come to life is lots of fun! We can’t wait to see the new movie later this month and the live-action in 2026.

We’ll be keeping our eyes out for any new updates, so keep following DFB!