When Disney Parks Chairman Josh D'Amaro announced that Disney's Hollywood Studios would be home to the very first Monsters, Inc. land, one crucial detail was left unanswered: where exactly will it be built?
While Walt Disney World is known for its vast expanses of available land, Disney's Hollywood Studios faces a unique challenge due to its limited size, constrained by surrounding roadways. As a result, the new Monsters, Inc. land will almost certainly need to replace an existing attraction, with two likely candidates emerging.
Disney even presented two different pieces of concept art that show the Monsters, Inc. Land in what appears to be the two courtyards in question - Animation Courtyard and Muppets Courtyard.
MuppetVision 3D and Grand Avenue
MuppetVision 3D and its surrounding area has emerged as the most likely location for Disney to build its new Monsters, Inc. land and the long-awaited indoor suspended door coaster.
In this scenario, the new land would occupy everything in the former Muppets Courtyard, including the MuppetVision 3D show, Mama Melrose's, Studio 1 Shop, Days of Christmas, and PizzeRizzo.
Building in Muppets Courtyard would be a significant loss for the park, given that MuppetVision 3D is home to the Muppets at Walt Disney World and one of the only attractions in Disney's Hollywood Studios that does not rely on Lighting Lane, a Virtual Queue, a height requirement, or a lengthy standby wait. It is arguably the best 3D movie experience that Disney has ever created for a theme park. It also occupies a place in Disney history as one of the last projects that Muppet creator Jim Henson was involved in before his passing in 1990.
Animation Courtyard
The Animation Courtyard has been a neglected space since the opening of Star Wars Galaxy's Edge, when all interest in Star Wars Launch Bay fell by the wayside, leading many to believe that this area is ripe for redevelopment and a likely candidate for the new Monsters, Inc land.
The area appears to have enough space for the land but faces some challenges in relocating the office space utilization behind Launch Bay in the former Animation building and integrating the adjacent Little Mermaid theater, which will soon host a new version of the show.
Animation Courtyard also appears to be earmarked for another upcoming and so far unannounced project.
While Animation Courtyard seemed to be the early front-runner, our latest information suggests that Disney has selected Muppet's Courtyard as the site for the new Monsters Inc. Land. Unless there are any last-minute changes, an official announcement from Disney is expected in the coming months.
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