Monstropolis: The City Frightful now has an official backstory from Walt Disney Imagineering. In this Walt Disney World news episode, we discuss the latest information from Disney about the Monsters Inc. land, the new area inspired by the animated Disney-Pixar film coming to Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Details include the story behind the land and the attractions coming to the park, such as the suspended doors roller coaster and Harryhausen restaurant, along with my personal predictions about what we can expect.
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Imagination Skyway is a Disney Parks and Imagineering podcast. Episodes explore attraction design, recap Disney news, and dive into the stories behind the magic, including interviews with Disney Imagineers, Disney Legends, and other Disney creators. Not affiliated with or endorsed by The Walt Disney Company. Disney is a trademark of The Walt Disney Company.
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Disney just released some key information about Monstropolis coming to Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Let’s dive into the details. It’s Thursday, June fourth, and Disney just released some new information about Monstropolis at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Up until this point, we have received information about what to expect with this new land. We know, for instance, there’s that highly anticipated suspended roller coaster that’s going to take guests into that final scene in Monsters Inc. What famous doors roller coaster that so many fans wanted for so many years? I think including many of the Imagineers working at Walt Disney Imagineering. We also know there’s also going to be this show at something that’s going to be called the Glob Theater, which was the old Muppetvision 3D Theater at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. We saw in the concept art there’s going to be a Harryhausen’s restaurant, and we also know from the concept art can see guests interacting with monsters and walking through this land. But the question that has been on many fans minds, including my own, is why are humans in Monstropolis and how do they end up here? So Disney is answering a few of those questions in today’s latest news, with the development of a backstory for Monstropolis. So let’s talk a little bit about this new backstory for Monstropolis, and what this could mean for some of the specific storylines and pieces of Monstropolis that are coming together. I’ll also tell you a little bit more about what I expect for the timeline, because at this point, Disney hasn’t yet announced an official opening date or opening year for Monstropolis. So let’s first talk about the backstory. As many of you know who have seen Monsters Inc. in the film, Monstropolis is powered by screams. They’re going through this energy crisis. And because of that, there are, of course, things that happen. If you haven’t seen monsters, Inc., well, you might know that there are, uh, there’s this sort of initiative that Randall and even the other members of monsters monsters, Inc., um, are undergoing to sort of extract screams from kids around the world where Mike and Sulley discover that laughter is more powerful than screams. And this leads to a complete shift in the end of the film of how Monsters, Inc. collects energy. And it also led to the development of monsters, Inc. laugh Floor not only in the film, but also at Magic Kingdom, and that’s an attraction you can still enjoy today. So this new storyline for Monstropolis at Disney’s Hollywood Studios is going to take us directly from the events of the Monsters, Inc. film, where now Monstropolis is no longer powered by screams, it’s powered by laughter. And you also might remember from the film that monsters were scared of humans. It wasn’t just humans were scared of monsters and screaming at them, But also monsters were scared of humans, and whenever a monster would encounter a kid in in more a more dangerous situation, they thought that kids and humans were dangerous and toxic. And so you had the incident like the, the sock, um, for, uh, that, that gets on that monster, the twenty three nineteen incident in monsters, Inc. and now that’s no longer the case. So all these preconceived notions that monsters had about humans are wrong. And monsters are now curious about the human race. We’re also discovering that there’s going to be this official newspaper in Monstropolis called the Monstropolis Horn. And in this Monstropolis horn, they are talking about a historic decision to mix things up for monster kind. And this created the because of these preconceived notions now being flipped upside down, there’s a new department that has been created at Monstropolis and it’s the HR department. Well, it’s not the, uh, human resources Department is actually the Department of Human Relations. A different kind of HR department. And this team has been established to help monsters better understand humans as welcome guests and help humans better understand monsters as nice. Not scary, because before monsters and humans were in many ways enemies, they were scared of one another. But now there’s so many reasons for them to come together. Monsters can make humans laugh, and humans can help power monstropolis. So rather than fearing them and making sure that they are behind closed doors, the Department of Human Relations in Monstropolis is inviting humans into Monstropolis for the very first time for a historic celebration called Human Day. A celebration with a purpose and Human Day is an acronym that stands for Humans. Understand monsters are nice. It reminds me a lot of the Summer fest at the frozen Ever After attraction in Epcot, where you’re sort of celebrating the events of frozen. This is a similar idea where you have this historic celebration. Again, humans understand monsters are nice, and it’s going to be part celebration, part cultural exchange, and it’s designed to introduce humans to life inside Monstropolis, while also helping monsters realize that humans are not so scary after all. So it’s meant to bring these two races together. Um, these two types of creatures together and help them to better collaborate. And because of this, humans are going to have guests. They’re going to have the chance to explore the city. They’re going to get to meet citizens of monstropolis. They’re going to taste unique cuisine. I’m very curious to see what the Harryhausen’s menu is going to look like. And of course, they will have the chance to visit Monsters Inc. The details of the Monsters Inc. coaster, whatever that’s going to be called, are still to be determined, but I have some ideas for what might take place. And they also are going to have this Glob theater where they’re going to help bring the city to life, uh, you know, adding more personality and energy and can’t miss moments around every corner. The Glob Theater is going to replace Muppetvision 3D. So that’s a new information that we received this morning from Disney. Now this does tell us again why the human why guests are visiting Monstropolis and what we can expect. So we know that it’s not going to. I think many of us suspected. Right. This was not going to be a a scary land. This is going to be a kid friendly land. And it’s an opportunity for us to encounter monsters who are learning about us as we are also learning about them. I love the educational side of that story. There’s a moral to that story that I think is a really powerful one, and it’s subtle. It’s perhaps a little more subconscious, but it’s those sort of stories that bring Disney to the next level. So I think that one component of it is going to teach a lot of kids a really great lesson about coming together with people you might misunderstand for so many different reasons. And you could take this any direction you want, but that’s a really powerful message no matter what you know. Guest is walking through that door and you know they’re there. It doesn’t seem like there’s going to be this giant door that’s or, you know, entry point into Monsters Inc that’s going to take us through from Grand Avenue into Monstropolis. But perhaps one piece that is missing in the concept art that could be added is this giant door where you sort of walk through the door into Monstropolis, because you have to think about how are imaginaries going to transition guests into that land. There’s not a lot of space to have a tunnel like they do from Grand Avenue to Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge. And if you remember what my courtyard looked like, it’s going to have the same foundation and the entry points, but then it’s going to be expanded into the back to include this new Monsters, Inc. suspended roller coaster. So one potential add on could be that door at the beginning. You know, Disney hasn’t released this in the concept art. And honestly, even if they don’t, I think there’s probably ways to get around it. Grand Avenue kind of blends really well with Monstropolis. They’re both city avenues and so it could definitely work and you could still sort of transition yourself. Um, you know, just going through a gate point into Monstropolis. Now, I also am really curious about the characters we might interact with in monsters or in Monstropolis. Are there going to be animatronics? You know, I probably expect or think that perhaps we might see an animatronic or two in the queue for the Monsters Inc. roller coaster? Um, you know, perhaps if you remember Harryhausen’s, right. There’s these, there were these monsters that are preparing food. So are we going to get that? Like, are we going to get monsters preparing food for us? Whether it’s a like pictures or are they going to be behind in a in a closed kitchen? But Harryhausens had an open kitchen. So I’m curious about how they’re going to bring that to life. They’re also going to, I think, have some similar show to Monsters Inc. laugh floor in the Globe Theater. I’m not quite sure what that’s going to be. I’ve sort of predicted, and this is just me thinking about what could happen if they were to move monsters, Inc. laugh, or create a. At least a similar. Doesn’t have the exact same show, but a similar experience to monsters, Inc.. Laugh floor on Monstropolis in Monstropolis at that Globe Theater. You now have the ability to put something else in Magic Kingdom two, so I. This is just me sort of thinking broad strokes into the future what Disney might do. They have now? Monstropolis being built in Hollywood studios? And yes, it’s great to have monsters Inc. Laugh Floor in Magic Kingdom, but you now have another show that’s in Monstropolis. So is that giving Disney an opportunity to think differently about monsters, Inc.? Laughter at Magic Kingdom and what might go there. Now, the last thing I want to talk about real quick, because there’s. There’s still so much that is unknown about Monstropolis at Disney’s Hollywood Studios is the coaster and the timeline. So I guess the last two things. So the coaster itself, I was thinking about the layout of this coaster and it doesn’t have any inversions. It looks to be kid friendly, and it reminded me of a roller coaster that’s relatively new. If you’re here in the northeast, you might know of a theme park called Dutch Wonderland in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. They have a family friendly, suspended roller coaster, and it has a thirty nine inch height requirement. So I’m wondering if this might have a similar height requirement, whether it’s thirty eight inches, thirty nine inches, forty inches somewhere in that range. So it’s not quite as tall of a height requirement as, say, rock and roller coaster down the other end of Hollywood Studios or Tron Lightcycle run, or even Space Mountain at Magic Kingdom or Expedition Everest, right? This could be a more accessible roller coaster for younger guests. And if I’m just looking at the way it’s laid out, it’s possible that it could have a similar height requirement to Slinky Dog Dash, but I still think it’s going to be, you know, another couple of inches just because of the the ride setup, the car setup, it is a little more restrictive for guests. Um, but I do think that this now tells us a little bit more about the storyline. So perhaps this could be a tour of Monsters Inc. or I’m thinking it might be an opportunity to produce laughter because roller coasters, yes, they make people scream, but they also make people laugh and giggle. And so I’m wondering if this is actually a way for guests to learn more about that transformation from screen power to laugh power, there’s going to be moments where you’re going to be screaming, moments you’re going to be laughing and learning about those two differences and helping to power Monstropolis as well, and a very friendly and fun way. That’s what I’m suspecting. But we’ll have to wait for more details from Walt Disney Imagineering and Disney Parks about what to expect. Now, last thing is about the timeline for Monstropolis. They haven’t announced an official timeline, but if you look at the construction progress for Monstropolis, it’s not too far behind Tropical Americas, which is opening in twenty twenty seven. So I’m guessing that Monstropolis will maybe open by twenty twenty eight could open in phases, but they really are. They’ve gone vertical with the Monsters Inc. coaster. The existing structure of the rest of Monstropolis is existing buildings they need to refurbish. So I think a two year timeline from here is realistic. We’ll have to wait again to see official details. This is just me sort of hypothesizing what might be coming, but this is something that is developing quickly, is being constructed quickly, and I’m excited to see when Disney announces the opening date could be at D23 this summer. Could be a little bit beyond that. Who knows? We’ll have to wait and see. There’s a lot of unknowns with Monstropolis, but I wanted to share the initial news from today and where this might go from my predictions and analysis. Let me know your analysis, your thoughts and questions in the comments of this episode. If you have the ability to comment in the episode itself, or you can reach out on social media or tag me in a post, let me know. I also have a reel out today. You can leave your thoughts in that post as well. Thank you so much as always for listening. Remember, you can get ad free episodes and bonus content at patreon dot com slash Imagination Skyway, and it’s a great way to support the show. And remember, as always, to keep moving forward.