Catherine Laga'aia, who plays Moana in Disney's live-action reimagining that hit theaters July 10, recently visited Magic Kingdom to take on a Disney Parks challenge: ride Seven Dwarfs Mine Train without reacting. She predicted she would do "really, really well." The mine train had other ideas.
Laga'aia's composure broke almost as soon as the coaster left the station, with the ride's swinging cars and early turns prompting laughter she couldn't suppress. She rallied briefly in the outdoor stretch, insisting the experience was "light work," but that confidence proved short-lived.
Inside the attraction's diamond mine, she was equally expressive — calling the Audio-Animatronic dwarfs scene "so cute" and "the coolest thing ever," and cheerfully singing along to "Heigh-Ho" as the train prepared to exit. The coaster's faster final section sent her hands into the air and produced some enthusiastic shouting before the ride pulled back into the station.
Asked to grade her performance afterward, Laga'aia declared she had done "phenomenal" — a self-assessment most riders would probably agree with in spirit, if not in the strict terms of the challenge. The live-action Moana, which also stars Dwayne Johnson as Maui, earned $43 million domestically and $95 million worldwide in its opening weekend on a reported production budget of $250 million.
This story was first reported by WDW News Today.
