Walt Disney Imagineering has lifted the curtain on the narrative framework for Monstropolis, the Monsters, Inc.-themed land under construction at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.
Disney released the backstory for Monstropolis on 4 June 2026, centring the land’s experience on H.U.M.A.N. Day – short for “Humans Understand Monsters Are Nice.” The concept frames the land around a citywide celebration that invites human guests into the monster world for the first time. It is a narrative device with clear operational purpose: giving the park’s story team a reason to place visitors inside a world that, in the source film, was closed to them entirely.
Construction is ongoing at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, with steel now visible rising behind the hoarding walls as the land takes shape. Monstropolis occupies the former Muppets Courtyard site, replacing attractions that had stood there for more than three decades.
Three confirmed destinations anchor the land: the Harryhausen’s restaurant, the Glob Theater, and the headline ride within the Monsters, Inc. facility itself. The coaster is the most significant of the three from a hardware perspective. Disney confirmed it will be the company’s first-ever suspended-and-vertical-lift roller coaster – a ride technology that does not currently exist anywhere in the Disney parks portfolio. Track manufacturer Vekoma is indicated by the support column design visible at the construction site, where work on the coaster commenced in April 2026.
Harryhausen’s will be a Japanese sushi restaurant, based on the upscale dining venue seen in the original 2001 film. It is being built within the former Mama Melrose’s Ristorante Italiano space, which closed permanently in May 2025. The Glob Theater occupies the former Muppet*Vision 3D building. Programming details for the venue have not yet been confirmed by Disney.
Disney’s in-world announcement material – a fictional newspaper called the Monstropolis Horn – teased that menu details for Harryhausen’s and show programming for the Glob Theater would be revealed on “page 8, column 15”, widely interpreted as a reference to the Disney Experiences showcase at D23 on 15 August 2026.
No opening date has been announced. Industry observers expect Monstropolis to open in the 2027-2028 window, with a fuller reveal anticipated at D23 in August.
