On the other side of Disney World’s Hollywood Studios in Orlando, Florida, across from the future location of Magic of Disney Animation, is another rapidly developing area that will eventually become Monstropolis – the first-ever Monsters, Inc. themed land in a Disney park.
Since the Muppets Courtyard, home to the former Muppet*Vision 3D attraction, closed in June 2025, Disney has worked hard to reimagine and ultimately transform the space into Monsters, Inc.
Now, Disney World is sharing a little more information about the history of the land and confirming two other major parts of the land beyond the Door Vault roller coaster, but I also had the chance to go behind the construction walls at an extremely active site to get a view of the land with my own eyes.
The goal seems to be that the moment you walk through the entrance, you’re not visiting Monstropolis – you’re there.
We’re probably still months, if not years, away from Monstropolis opening to guests at Disney World, but hammers, drills, and active items are being moved by countless workers on site. I donned PPE and headed to a gutted building that was likely the former home of the soon-to-be-another restaurant PizzeRizzo.
From the second floor I had a vantage point across the main street to see the facade work on several buildings and up to the start of the Door Vault roller coaster.
So what is the story of Monstropolis?
There, I heard from Imagineers talking about what Disney World finally announced today: The Monstropolis Land at Hollywood Studios will be a celebration of a new day called “HUMAN Day,” which stands for Humans Understand Monsters Are Nice. Fans of the Monsters, Inc. universe – the original film, Monsters University, and Monsters at Work – will know that this represents the shift from monsters collecting screams to laughing.
And it creates a cohesive story as they will open the doors to Monstropolis for all of us to visit. To achieve this, the city created the Department of Human Relations – the global team responsible for helping the monsters better understand humans as welcome guests and the driving force behind the invitation.
For someone who has re-watched Monsters at Work on Disney+ multiple times, this is a truly exciting story for the country. And it fits with the overall theme of Hollywood Studios: you can become one of Andy’s toys alongside Buzz, Woody and Jessie in Toy Story Land or live out your Star Wars fantasy in Galaxy’s Edge.
Monstropolis will allow you to enter the world of Monsters, Inc. to see people like Mike and Sulley, but also other characters, and even explore other parts of the city. Yes, in the foreground, at the far end of the land, will be the Monsters, Inc. company that hosts the roller coaster. This was actually Disney’s very first suspended roller coaster, and it went vertical with the main support poles visible today.
However, before that, you can wander around Monstropolis and take a look at the sights, whether apartments or other buildings in the city. Chances are Disney is working on some stores and even some light bites spots, but where I stood I saw it all start to come together with more than a few scaffolding, and I spotted the future site of Harryhausen’s, the same sushi restaurant from the original Monsters, Inc. movie, where Sulley, Mike, and Celia end up alongside a whole host of other monsters. It will likely be an immersive dining experience, at least that’s the hope. It will also add a permanent nod to Ray Harryhausen, a pioneering stop-motion special effects artist.
Beyond the roller coasters, the Glob Theater could become one of the most popular experiences in Monstropolis, near the eventual entrance to the country. Although not much is known about the attraction beyond the fact that it will occupy the former home of Muppet*Vision 3D, Disney has indicated that it will be an immersive experience using innovative technology.
Now this excites me personally, given Disney Imagineering’s rapid developments in the world of effects, robotic characters, and animatronics in general. Remember, the BDX droids took a year to develop, the HERBIE robot for Fantastic 4 only took 90 days, and Olaf only took 4 months.
The Glob Theater will help “bring the city to life,” according to the Disney Parks Blog post, and I suspect it might be similar to what we’ve seen in other shows, mainly when watching Zootopia: Better Zoogether in Animal Kingdom – there, it’s a screen with 3D elements and a very realistic Clawhauser animatronic taking part. The visuals are the result of a partnership between Imagineering and Disney Animation, so here it could be Imagineering and Pixar… in fact, they’re already working together to figure out what other parts of Monstropolis look like beyond what we’ve seen in published media.
At Magic of Disney Animation’s upcoming Once Upon a Studio theater site, it’s announced that characters will appear immersively around you, a nod to Disney’s work bringing paintings and photographs to life, a la Haunted Mansion or Haunted Mansion Parlor.
What could Monstropolis actually look like?
Overall, the information shared is a good update showing that Disney is making fairly rapid progress on Monstropolis – we still wish more details were released about these immersive experiences and, more importantly, how the technology could be used here. Could we see all-new animatronics for mainstays like Mike and Sulley on the roller coaster? Given Disney’s recent pace of innovation, it certainly seems possible. But could we see robot characters who would be friendly new monster friends? If it’s all about immersion and being welcomed into Monstropolis, I think so.
And behind those building walls, it’s already clear that Disney wants Monstropolis to be truly immersive in the way of the best Disney lands. The level of detail in the facade already taking shape suggests that it won’t just be a passage space between attractions – the kind of environment that could accommodate characters peering through windows, interactive displays and other surprises woven into the streets. The goal seems to be that the moment you walk through the entrance, you’re not visiting Monstropolis – you’re there.
In the meantime, with Monstropolis still a ways off, there’s plenty to keep Disney World visitors busy – Smugglers Run was reimagined with Mandalorian and Grogu at Galaxy’s Edge, Rock ‘N’ Roller Coaster is back with a Muppets makeover right here at Hollywood Studios, Soarin’ has a new experience at Epcot, and Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin has been updated at Magic Kingdom. And of course, all the Monsters, Inc. media is here on Disney+ to keep you in suspense when Monstropolis finally opens its doors.
Disney still isn’t ready to share an opening date, but given the pace of construction and the scale of what’s already taking shape behind the walls, Monstropolis is becoming much more than just concept art. It’s starting to look like a real city.
Follow TechRadar on Google News And add us as your favorite source to get our news, reviews and expert opinions in your feeds.
