Monsters, Inc. Land Update: Uncertainty Persists at Disney's Hollywood Studios, Muppets Future May Be Looking Brighter

Aug 17, 2024 in "Monsters Inc. Land"

Monsters Inc. Land Concept Art
Posted: Saturday August 17, 2024 7:40am ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

Recent developments suggest that Animation Courtyard is gaining traction as the likely location for Disney's upcoming Monsters, Inc. land at Disney's Hollywood Studios.

 

Reports indicate that Cast Members currently occupying the large office space within the former animation building behind Star Wars Launch Bay have been informed they will soon need to vacate the area. This move hints that Animation Courtyard may be slated for redevelopment, addressing one of the challenges that previously made this location seem less feasible for the new Monsters, Inc. land.

While both Muppets Courtyard and Animation Courtyard have been in the running, this latest update strengthens the case for Animation Courtyard. However, there remains no definitive word from Disney on the final decision, and the company has not yet issued any official announcement or further clarification since Parks Chairman Josh D'Amaro announced the new Monsters, Inc. land last weekend.

Some fans speculate that Disney might have floated both locations in early concept art to gauge reactions, particularly concerning the potential loss of the Muppets. By keeping both Muppets Courtyard and Animation Courtyard in play, Disney could be assessing which option would generate less backlash from the fan community. This theory gains some credibility considering Disney's cautious approach to announcing the final site, contrasting with the more decisive reveal when Cars was announced to replace Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island at Magic Kingdom.

As we continue to monitor this evolving story, it remains possible that both areas are still under consideration, but the chances of the Muppets surviving this redevelopment seem to be growing.

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    Jayspency2 days ago

    Why do I have a feeling this will be the premise of the ride

    MrHappy3 days ago

    “Off track,,” you’re good!

    ToTBellHop3 days ago

    Villains. I honestly forgot, too. MI Doors should be 40-42”.

    JackCH3 days ago

    Yeah my bad I was responding to a post about coasters in general and probably got us off track.

    IanDLBZF3 days ago

    And my guess is that this is going to contain at least one or more inversions.

    Disgruntled Walt3 days ago

    Wait, now I'm confused. Too many threads going on at the same time. I was talking about the Villains coaster, which I realize now this is not the thread for. Are you talking about Monsters Inc?

    ToTBellHop3 days ago

    It’s planned as a 48” height requirement coaster AFAIK. Not a kiddie coaster.

    Disgruntled Walt3 days ago

    If they're reusing the Dragon Tower plans from Beastly Kingdom, the exposed track shouldn't be an issue. IIRC this was planned as an intense coaster. I don't know if they're planning to use those plans, but I personally hope so!

    Moth3 days ago

    I kinda expect the opposite honestly depending what coaster intensity they're pinning for. Biased because I'd want Chernabog to be apart of the dark ride more than the coaster but I can picture him apart of the latter....

    BrianLo3 days ago

    No, me neither. I expect the coaster to lean into real scary villainy and the dark ride to skew campy family friendly villains. More Hook, Jafar, Hades and Ursula for the latter.

    TheMaxRebo3 days ago

    Ok, added those in - guess if I was including the Monsters Show I should have included those I think the Villains Dark ride is the one with the most variability - more so in "tone" than thrills. Just know a lot of kids that won't do Haunted Mansion due to that .... Probably would be more realistic for it to be more approachable than the Monsters Coaster, even if that is pretty tame, with it being in a box and potentially darkish and kids that maybe have never done a suspended coaster might be less approachable than the Villains dark ride unless they go really dark with it (which I don't expect)

    Agent H3 days ago

    About space mountain that’s a good point I’d never considered

    JackCH3 days ago

    I'd be totally fine with a truly intense coaster, it's just the exposed track issue. I'm probably one of the few that would be okay with a redo of Space Mountain to be such an intense coaster. One of its main "hooks" was it was sort of a "right of passage" of a first coaster experience, but now with 7DMT, Big Thunder, potentially Villains, not to mention Slinky and Monsters and Guardians and others at other parks, Space doesn't really have that anymore. So have it be a "new" right of passage as being the first truly intense coaster with inversions, etc. I also kind of like having the coasters at MK be a sliding scale of intensity: From "Kiddie" to "Intense": Barnstormer 7DMT Big Thunder Villains Tron Space Not going to happen, but I like it.

    JackCH3 days ago

    And whatever might be in Animation Courtyard really needs to be a more family oriented dark ride of some kind. Or a boat ride.