Disney’s New ‘Monsters, Inc.’ Land Will Let Guests Walk the Streets of Monstropolis in 2027 – Check out the First Look

Disney’s Hollywood Studios has spent recent years quietly rounding out its lineup with immersive, story-driven lands, following the blueprint set by Galaxy’s Edge and Toy Story’s Andy’s backyard. That expansion strategy has clearly worked well enough for Disney to keep leaning into it, with the studio now turning its attention to one of Pixar’s most beloved worlds for its next major addition to the park’s growing roster of themed areas.

That project, first teased back in 2024, has remained mostly shrouded in concept art and speculation until this weekend. Disney used its D23 Ultimate Disney Fan Event to finally pull back the curtain on Monstropolis, a full “Monsters, Inc.” themed land set to open in phases at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Walt Disney World starting in 2027.

Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D’Amaro made the announcement alongside Disney Legend Billy Crystal, the voice of Mike Wazowski, revealing that the land will pick up after the events of the original film. Rather than treating monsters as something to fear, the story imagines a newly formed Department of Human Relations helping guests explore Monstropolis safely, discovering that laughter, not screams, now powers the entire city.

According to Variety, the land’s opening phase will include the city thoroughfare experience “Welcome to Monstropolis,” along with the Harryhausen’s restaurant and a new theatrical show, with a signature suspended roller coaster following at a later date. That coaster, first revealed back in 2024, will send riders soaring through the iconic door vault from Monsters, Inc. headquarters, marking Disney’s first-ever suspended coaster.

Michael Hundgen, Vice President of Creative for the Walt Disney World Portfolio at Walt Disney Imagineering, spoke with Variety about what makes the project so significant. “‘Monsters, Inc’ is right up there in terms of iconic locations,” Hundgen said, adding that the appeal of actually visiting a world where monsters live, work, and play made the scale of this project feel like a natural fit for the studio.

Hundgen also detailed plans for Harryhausen’s reimagined menu, describing sushi dishes inspired by the monster world complete with playful names pulled straight from the film’s universe. The restaurant will reportedly feature a fully animatronic octopus sushi chef cooking and hosting guests throughout their meal, adding a layer of theatrical detail to the dining experience.

The new theater show, also titled “Welcome to Monstropolis,” will star Mike and Sulley as hosts welcoming humans into their world, with Disney confirming that Mike has a few surprises planned along the way. Testing is already underway for the animatronic sushi chef, signaling that the land’s technical elements are further along in development than some fans may have expected.

Hundgen framed the project as an important benchmark for Disney’s future theme park ambitions more broadly, noting that Monstropolis being among the first of several major new lands to open will help set the standard for what comes next. He credited the project’s team for working through what he called some genuinely difficult challenges throughout development.

With construction well underway and testing already happening on some of the land’s more elaborate technical elements, Monstropolis looks positioned to become one of Walt Disney World’s most anticipated openings in years. Between the immersive city streets, the reimagined Harryhausen’s, and the promised suspended coaster still to come, Disney appears determined to make this one of its most ambitious land openings yet.

Have something to add? Let us know in the comments!