diff --git a/docs/visualize/vega.asciidoc b/docs/visualize/vega.asciidoc
index 9f88eeefbbb21a..7351cd65ef0907 100644
--- a/docs/visualize/vega.asciidoc
+++ b/docs/visualize/vega.asciidoc
@@ -215,7 +215,8 @@ the graph must specify `type=map` in the host configuration:
       // defaults to true, shows +/- buttons to zoom in/out
       "zoomControl": false,
 
-      // defaults to true, disables mouse wheel zoom
+      // Defaults to 'false', disables mouse wheel zoom. If set to 
+      // 'true', map may zoom unexpectedly while scrolling dashboard
       "scrollWheelZoom": false,
 
       // When false, repaints on each move frame.
diff --git a/src/core_plugins/vega/public/data_model/__tests__/vega_parser.js b/src/core_plugins/vega/public/data_model/__tests__/vega_parser.js
index 1be4c160d075fa..4753101298a82f 100644
--- a/src/core_plugins/vega/public/data_model/__tests__/vega_parser.js
+++ b/src/core_plugins/vega/public/data_model/__tests__/vega_parser.js
@@ -171,7 +171,7 @@ describe('VegaParser._parseMapConfig', () => {
     longitude: 0,
     mapStyle: 'default',
     zoomControl: true,
-    scrollWheelZoom: true,
+    scrollWheelZoom: false,
   }, 0));
 
   it('filled', test({
@@ -180,7 +180,7 @@ describe('VegaParser._parseMapConfig', () => {
     longitude: 0,
     mapStyle: 'default',
     zoomControl: true,
-    scrollWheelZoom: true,
+    scrollWheelZoom: false,
     maxBounds: [1, 2, 3, 4],
   }, {
     delayRepaint: true,
@@ -188,7 +188,7 @@ describe('VegaParser._parseMapConfig', () => {
     longitude: 0,
     mapStyle: 'default',
     zoomControl: true,
-    scrollWheelZoom: true,
+    scrollWheelZoom: false,
     maxBounds: [1, 2, 3, 4],
   }, 0));
 
@@ -207,7 +207,7 @@ describe('VegaParser._parseMapConfig', () => {
     longitude: 0,
     mapStyle: 'default',
     zoomControl: true,
-    scrollWheelZoom: true,
+    scrollWheelZoom: false,
   }, 5));
 });
 
diff --git a/src/core_plugins/vega/public/data_model/vega_parser.js b/src/core_plugins/vega/public/data_model/vega_parser.js
index 8f5784891e67a2..3942a6d46e9dd4 100644
--- a/src/core_plugins/vega/public/data_model/vega_parser.js
+++ b/src/core_plugins/vega/public/data_model/vega_parser.js
@@ -299,7 +299,7 @@ export class VegaParser {
     }
 
     this._parseBool('zoomControl', res, true);
-    this._parseBool('scrollWheelZoom', res, true);
+    this._parseBool('scrollWheelZoom', res, false);
 
     const maxBounds = this._config.maxBounds;
     if (maxBounds !== undefined) {