Walt Disney World has shared new details about the Monstropolis mini-land and Monsters, Inc. Doors Coaster replacing Muppets Courtyard at Hollywood Studios. This covers the latest announcement on the upcoming DHS project, plus our reaction and how this expansion plan has developed.
Let’s start with the latest news from Disney’s feature presentation, “The Future of World-Building at Disney,” during South by Southwest (SXSW) in Austin, Texas on March 8, 2025. Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D’Amaro and Disney Entertainment Co-Chairman Alan Bergman took the stage, along with some special guests, to share insights about the future of storytelling at Disney Parks and beyond, focusing on the intersection of imagination and innovation.
Among those on stage for the Pixar portion of the presentation were Michael Hundgen of Walt Disney Imagineering and Pete Docter, Chief Creative Officer of Pixar Animation Studios. One of the projects they provided an update on was the new Monsters, Inc. mini-land coming to Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
The two shared that Imagineers are hard at work bringing the world of Pixar Animation Studios’ Monsters, Inc. to life — and that includes its monster inhabitants, James P. Sullivan, Mike Wazowski, and more. While getting to walk through the streets of Monstropolis is exciting enough, the land will include a signature attraction where guests embark on a thrilling roller coaster ride through the Monsters, Inc. door vault.
“Imagineers have been itching to turn that moment into an attraction ever since we saw it for the first time,” Hundgen teased.
While many details about the attraction are still locked up in a laugh canister, the Imagineering team is ready to reveal the load area for the attraction. The upcoming door ride will feature the first-ever suspended coaster at a Disney Park, and the first-ever vertical lift. Get ready to scream — not out of fright, but fun.
Here’s a new animatic look at the Monsters, Inc. doors suspended coaster coming to Disney’s Hollywood Studios. The new animation shows the lifting ride mechanism at the load and unload area of the attraction:
NEW: Disney shared a new animatic look at the Monsters, Inc. Doors suspended coaster coming to Disney’s Hollywood Studios. The new animation shows the ride mechanism and the load/unload area of the attraction. pic.twitter.com/JVNr5B7onD
— Scott Gustin (@ScottGustin) March 8, 2025
Guests will board the vehicle before being hoisted into the air (just like in the movie!) to zoom into the door vault. It’s going to be, “an experience that’s as memorable and fun as the film,” Hundgen continued.
“I can tell you that everyone at Pixar is excited about how this is coming together,” Docter told the crowd. “It really is like a dream come true for us.”
I think the animatic pretty much speaks for itself, but in case you care for my thoughts: this looks awesome.
This is an undeniably great scene that lends itself perfectly to a roller coaster–there’s a reason why the idea has been bouncing around Imagineering for the last two decades. But as with everything, its quality will come down to execution, and how well the ride puts guests into the story.
And I don’t mean that in the sense of typical Disney marketing fluff. The big reason that TRON Lightcycle Run punches above its weight is because of the unique lightcycle seating style. Sure, the traditional cars at the back are still fun and it’s an enjoyable coaster regardless, but the hook that makes it something special is the lightcycles. Without those, it’s a fun-but-short roller coaster in the dark and under the cool canopy.
I had (and have) similar fears about the Monsters, Inc. Doors Coaster, so it’s really heartening to see this unique load and launch that is a pitch perfect fit for the ride. If this is going to be another short roller coaster, it’ll need this type of unique hook to make it something special. Of course, going inside the doors vault and zooming past an endless inventory of doors–and familiar characters–should also be really cool. Here’s hoping we get a Expedition Everest-style near miss with an awesome Sulley Audio Animatronics!
The Monstropolis saga has been a real roller coaster thus far–below is a rundown of everything we know so far. The highs and lows, closing dates & details, what the Monsters, Inc. land will entail, when it could debut, and much more…
What Was Announced During D23?
By way of recap, Walt Disney World announced during last year’s D23 Expo that a brand-new land themed around Monsters, Inc. will come to life at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Picking up after the events of Pixar’s beloved film, humans have now been invited to visit the world of Monsters, Inc.
The concept of Monstropolis is that the monsters need laughter to power the city and keep it running smoothly. You’ll be able to visit the Laugh Factory, hear the laughs and zoom through the building just like Sulley and Mike Wazowski, via a door. The Monsters, Inc. Doors Coaster will put you right in the middle of the monster action.
One thing Walt Disney World did not reveal at D23 was where Monstropolis would go.
This has led to a lot of speculation and fear, especially after Disney revealed that the Cars area in Magic Kingdom will replace the Rivers of America, resulting in permanent closures of Tom Sawyer Island and the Liberty Square Riverboat.
Based on a mix of rumors and speculation, it seemed like even Walt Disney World and Imagineering hadn’t settled on a spot for Monstropolis. Further fueling this was that Disney released two pieces of concept art for Monstropolis, showing conflicting locations for the land. From that, a couple of competing candidates emerged: Animation Courtyard and Grand Avenue or Muppet Courtyard.
Following months of speculation (and lots and lots of arguing among ourselves), we learned last November that the loser in the Monstropolis sweepstakes is Muppet Courtyard. Walt Disney World has announced that they’ll be “opening new doors” for the Muppets and Monsters at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
Disney also further clarified that the new Monsters, Inc. mini-land will feature the suspended doors roller coaster recreating the door vault scene, as well as dining, shopping, and a whole new theater show.
Here’s aerial concept art of Monstropolis:
What’s in the Monsters, Inc. Land?
The concept art strongly suggests we’re getting one-for-one replacements of existing restaurants and a new show in the MuppetVision theater. It does not seem like the existing buildings are being fundamentally transformed.
The table service Mama Melrose is expected to become Harryhausen’s, which will likely be a table service restaurant. For those who are unfamiliar with it, Harryhausen’s is the restaurant in Monsters, Inc. to which Mike Wazowski takes his girlfriend Celia for her birthday. Sulley and Boo show up, as does the CDA, ruining dinner. It was a whole thing.
Anyway, Harryhausen’s is a popular Japanese restaurant serving sushi, as well as a bunch of in-universe dishes: Goo-tofu, Vegetable Tempuki, Swill & Sour Soup, Flab cake, Spider roll, and Terrible Teriyucky. Harryhausen’s sounds perfect for a theme park restaurant–it should be a lot of fun.
It’s also likely that PizzeRizzo is going to reimagined into a counter service restaurant with an identical footprint in a manner similar to the conversion of Pizza Planet into PizzeRizzo. The concept art shows an almost identical building to what’s there now, and we can’t imagine Disney is going to break the bank on that retheme.
MuppetVision will likely become a new show. Some fans have speculated that Monsters Laugh Floor will move from Tomorrowland at Magic Kingdom, but that is not what Walt Disney World announced.
Monsters Laugh Floor is starting to show its age, so we expect something all new–and then Laugh Floor to be sunset at some point soon as part of a separate reimagining of Tomorrowland.
Finally, there’s the Monsters, Inc. Doors Coaster at the end of the corridor. This is the bona fide expansion in the land, with the gravity building for the new roller coaster being built backstage on what’s currently Cast Member parking.
The entrance and queue will also be backstage, but could be within the current perimeter of the park. A bit in the weeds, but the question right now is whether Cypress Drive, a road that runs backstage, gets rerouted or if the coaster is connected to the gravity building above the existing road (similar to Cosmic Rewind at EPCOT).
There’s nothing in the newest Monstropolis concept art to suggest any major layout changes to Muppet Courtyard/Grand Avenue. Stage 1 Company Store is probably being demolished, but otherwise, the existing spaces are going to be repurposed and reimagined, with the new Monsters, Inc. Doors Coaster being built backstage and connected to Monstropolis at a point that’s currently just a wall.
When Will MuppetVision Close & Construction Start?
To make way for Monstropolis, the Grand Avenue or Muppets Courtyard area at Disney’s Hollywood Studios will begin a phase closing in May 2025. (With the exception of BaseLine Tap House on the opposite side of the corridor leading to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.)
The last day to dine at Mama Melrose’s Ristorante Italiano will be on May 10, 2025.
Following that, Muppet*Vision 3D and PizzeRizzo will close, with the last day to experience both locations on June 7, 2025.
Construction on the Monstropolis land project is slated to begin sometime in 2025. It can theoretically begin ASAP, as the gravity building and roller coaster will be built backstage, and that can start before anything closes in Muppets Courtyard at Disney’s Hollywood Studios?
What’s Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster’s Future?
Walt Disney World has also announced that the Muppet foolishness doesn’t stop with the closure of MuppetVision 3D. Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy and more of their friends will be moving right along to Sunset Boulevard!
On a positive note, the Muppets are taking over Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster and replacing Aerosmith, teaming up with some of music’s biggest stars for a rockin’ music festival!
Walt Disney World has not provided a closing date for Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith (here’s our speculation about that), nor opening dates for anything.
What About MuppetVision’s Future?
Additionally, Walt Disney World stated this: “as we move forward with these changes, we are having creative conversations and exploring ways to preserve the film and other parts of the experience for fans to enjoy in the future.”
It’s unclear what, exactly, that means. Personally, I’d love to see MuppetVision moved to the Mickey Shorts Theater and presented there. Obviously it’d be very different and without much of what makes the show special and more than just a passive 3D film, but it’d be better than nothing.
Failing that, getting MuppetVision 3D on Disney+ (with the pre-show) or relocated and preserved would be fantastic. There’s gotta be somewhere in Hollywood that would love to have the show. Tons of celebrities are Muppets fans–public preservation of MuppetVision would be worthy endeavor!
For its part, the Jim Henson Company has released a statement that they are looking forward to the “next act” of MuppetVision 3D after it vacates its current location at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
When Will Monstropolis Open at DHS?
As noted above, construction on Monstropolis is slated to begin sometime in 2025.
Walt Disney World has not indicated when the Monsters, Inc. land will open, but they have announced that Tropical Americas will open first of the upcoming additions, in 2027. As discussed in the 5-Year Construction Plan for Walt Disney World, they’re going to return to a cadence of opening one major addition per year, which would put Monstropolis in 2028.
Given that, we didn’t expect Muppets Courtyard to close until 2026 at the earliest, which is when DINOSAUR in Animal Kingdom is going extinct. There are a few ways to explain the much earlier closing for Muppets. The first possibility is that this project is more involved than previously thought, and it’s not a simple repurposing of the existing restaurant, retail, and attraction spaces. We doubt this.
The second is that it’s a simple cost-cutting measure; Disney doesn’t need the capacity, especially with two new stage shows opening in Summer 2025. It’s normal for Walt Disney World to find ways to cut costs and reduce spending elsewhere during and ahead of big projects.
A final possibility is that Walt Disney World has fast-tracked Monstropolis and it has leapfrogged Tropical Americas for a 2026 opening. Maybe both will debut in 2027, but with Monstropolis in the first half of the year and Tropical Americas in the second half. Or maybe they’ve realized Tropical Americas is too complex, and it has slipped into 2028, so they want Monstropolis for 2027.
Disney fast-tracking projects would defy recent trends, but it certainly is possible, especially if the company anticipates construction costs rising. So there might be motivation to frontload some of this work, as opposed to backloading everything. This coupled with the operational cost-savings of shuttering Grand Avenue venues during a timeframe they won’t be “needed” strikes me as the most plausible explanation.
The entirety of Monstropolis opening in 2026 strikes me as impossible–and Walt Disney World has likely learned its lesson about doing phased openings after this area’s next door neighbor, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, fell flat upon its partial opening in mid-2019. My best guess is that Monstropolis is still coming after 2026, with the only question being whether it’s now a 2027 project or still 2028.
Monstropolis is the simplest project of the major new lands coming to Walt Disney World in the next 5 years, and the Monsters, Inc. Doors Coaster (largely a roller coaster in the dark) will be much simpler to construct than the elaborate Encanto dark ride and the Tropical Americas land around it. On top of that, they’ve already announced DINOSAUR will close in 2026, and that’s a pretty quick turnaround time for reimagining it into Indiana Jones Adventure.
Our Commentary
Most of our commentary about the Monstropolis mini-land has revolved around what it’ll replace. This should come as little surprise, since we’re huge fans of MuppetVision 3D, and view it alongside the OG Country Bear Jamboree as one of Walt Disney World’s candidates for UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
MuppetVision still stands the test of time and I think Walt Disney World is making a mistake by replacing it. MuppetVision is not just a simple 3D film, it’s truly an attraction and the funniest at Walt Disney World. The artistic significance of MuppetVision 3D is almost immeasurable. It owns a special place in both Walt Disney World history and American culture. It’s one of the last projects that Muppet creator Jim Henson was involved in prior to his passing. It is widely regarded as an exemplar of Muppet humor and storytelling; a true masterpiece and work of art.
By 3D film standards, MuppetVision is also still pretty popular and offers nice counterprogramming to the top-heavy ride roster at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. This type of attraction has a low ceiling, and the same will be true of whatever the Monsters, Inc. show ends up being. I still think Disney would’ve been just as well off to create a framing device (e.g. “the Monsters have invited the Muppets into their world to generate laughs!”) to explain-away the thematic inconsistencies of MuppetVision.
The new show will draw bigger crowds, no doubt, but that’s more due to a roller coaster anchoring this land and that increasing foot traffic. In the same scenario, I’d imagine the decades-old MuppetVision would perform comparably, without the costs of developing a brand new show. But I digress. The point here is to offer commentary about Monstropolis, which I haven’t done much of.
Setting aside what it’s replacing, I love the idea of Monstropolis.
I loved this idea for a land over a decade ago when it was first rumored to replace the Hollywood Pictures Backlot at Disney California Adventure, and I still love it today. Stepping into the Monster world sounds awesome, and there are endless opportunities for easter eggs, visual gags, puns, and details that fans and casual guests alike will find amusing. It should be a lot like Toontown in that regard, which is an excellent and underappreciated little land.
I also like the idea of the Monsters, Inc. Door Coaster. I liked this idea back in 2006 when I first remember reading rumors that it was a “done deal” for the spot next door to Toy Story Mania in Pixar Place (long before Toy Story Land was a thing). I still like it today. The door vault scene is iconic, and lends itself perfectly to a suspended family-friendly “story” coaster. I’m glad it’s finally being built.
With all of that said, I’m not so sure I’m glad it’s being built at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
If you ask me, what this park needs is more all-ages dark rides, not another roller coaster–even a family friendly one. Part of this is likely driven by the existing Monsters, Inc. rides at DCA and Tokyo Disneyland, both of which punch above their weight. I’d love to see Imagineering try its hand again at Monsters, Inc. Ride & Go Seek, which is already very good–but could be even better with a trackless ride system and newer tech.
I’m also slightly concerned about the length of the Monsters, Inc. Doors Coaster. Based on the model Imagineering showed off, it also looks like this coaster is going to be really short–perhaps 70 to 90 seconds. Perhaps I’ll feel differently if that ends up being incorrect and it’s actually more on par with Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, which is a meatier coaster and one of the best all-encompassing attractions at Walt Disney World.
Maybe I’m being too greedy, but what I would’ve preferred is Monsters, Inc. Ride & Go Seek and this Monsters, Inc. Doors Coaster and a flat ride or two, plus the restaurants, back in Animation Courtyard. And I’m not just saying that because that would’ve saved MuppetVision (for now). It’s because I believe that Monstropolis is a concept to go all-in on, and it’s deserving of a DCA Cars Land-caliber area. (I would’ve even “traded” the Cars Land coming to Magic Kingdom for this more robust Monstropolis if it required the reallocation of resources.)
Ultimately, the Monsters Inc. Doors Coaster is a brilliant idea for a family-friendly suspended roller coaster and Monstropolis has a ton of potential as a miniland. Harryhausen’s isn’t getting enough attention from fans, but I think that’s going to be the sleeper hit of this whole reimagining and expansion.
It seems like Monstropolis is one of those good ideas that never really dies in Imagineering. Which we obviously now know is true, given that it managed to hang around for ~15 years and is now going to be built. So based on longevity of the concept alone, it must be pretty good!
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YOUR THOUGHTS
Are you looking forward to the Monsters, Inc. Doors Coaster? What about the rest of the mini-land? Excited to eat at Harryhausen’s, try the new counter service restaurant, or experience the new show? What do you think of Monstropolis replacing MuppetVision? Do you agree or disagree with our assessments? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
