I went behind the construction walls of Disney World’s future Monsters, Inc. land, and Monstropolis is already taking shape

On the other side of Hollywood Studios at Disney World in Orlando, FL, across from the future site of the Magic of Disney Animation, is another rapidly developing area that will eventually be Monstropolis – the first ever Monster, Inc.-themed Disney Park.

Since Muppets Courtyard, home of the former Muppet*Vision 3D attraction, closed in June 2025, Disney has been hard at work recreating and ultimately transforming the space into Monsters, Inc.

Now Disney World is sharing a little more information about the history of the land as well as confirming two other large parts of the land beyond the Door Vault slide, but I also got the chance to go behind the construction walls into an extremely active site to get an overview of the land with my own eyes.

So what is the story of Monstropolis?

Disney World Monstropolis City Logo

(Image credit: Disney Experiences)

There, I heard from Imagineers discussing what Disney World has 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 change from monsters that garner screams to ones that garner laughs.

And it makes for a cohesive story as they open the doors to Monstropolis to let us all visit. To make this happen, the city has created the Department of Human Relations – the world team tasked with helping monsters better understand humans as welcome guests and the motivation behind the invitation.

As someone who has re-watched Monsters at Work on Disney+ more than a few times, it’s a really 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 allows 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, front and center at the end of the land will be the Monsters, Inc. company that houses the door coaster. It’s actually Disney’s first ever suspended coaster, and it’s been vertical with the main support bars visible today.

In the run up to that though, you’ll be able to walk through Monstropolis and take a look at the sights, whether they’re apartments or other city buildings. Chances are Disney will work on some stores and even light bite points, but from where I stood I saw it all start to come together with more than a few scaffolding and I saw the future site of Harryhausen’s, the same sushi restaurant from the original Monsters, Inc. movie where Sulley, Mike and Celia end up with a host of other monsters. This 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.

Monstropolis Department of Human Relations logo

(Image credit: Disney Experiences)

Beyond the coast, the Glob Theater can become one of Monstropolis’ most popular experiences near the final entrance to the land. While 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 that makes use of innovative technology.

That has me personally pretty excited considering the rapid development from Disney Imagineering in the world of effects, robot characters and animatronics in general. Remember that the BDX Droids took a year to develop, the HERBIE robot for Fantastic 4 was only 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 may be similar to what we’ve seen from some other shows, mainly looking at Zootopia: Better Zoogether in Animal Kingdom — there, it’s a screen show with 3D elements and a very realistic Clawhauser animatronic participating. The visuals were 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 released media.

Over at the future site of the Once Upon a Studio theater at Magic of Disney Animation, it’s teased that the characters will appear immersively around you, a nod to Disney’s work bringing paintings and photographs to life, à la Haunted Mansion or Haunted Mansion Parlor.

What could Monstropolis really look like?

Disney World Monstropolis concept

(Image credit: Disney Experiences)

All in all, the information shared is a good update, showing that Disney is making pretty quick progress on Monstropolis — we’re still eager to see more details released about these immersive experiences, and more importantly, how the technology can be used here. Could we see brand new animatronics for mainstays like Mike and Sulley on the ship tank? Given Disney’s recent pace of innovation, it certainly seems possible. But could we see walkaround character robots that are new friendly monster friends? If it’s all about immersion and being welcomed into Monstropolis, I’d say yes.

And standing behind these construction walls, it’s already clear that Disney intends for Monstropolis to be truly immersive in the way that the best Disney lands are. The level of facade detail already taking shape suggests this won’t just be a passageway between attractions – the kind of environment that can support characters peeking out of windows, interactive storefronts and other surprises woven around the streets. The goal seems to be that the moment you step through the entrance, you’re not visiting Monstropolis—you’re in it.

Meanwhile, with Monstropolis still some way off, there’s plenty to keep Disney World guests busy – Smugglers Run has been recreated with the 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 fresh experience at Epcot, and at Spin Buzz Kingdom, Ranger Buzz Lightyear has been updated. And of course, all the Monsters, Inc. media is right there on Disney+ to get you hyped for when Monstropolis finally opens its doors.

Disney still isn’t ready to share an opening date, but based on the pace of construction and the scale of what’s already taking shape behind the walls, Monstropolis is shaping up to be much more than concept art. It’s starting to look like a real city.