Credit: gardener41, FlickrHeavy construction equipment has arrived at Disney’s Hollywood Studios for Muppets Courtyard’s transformation into a land inspired by Monsters, Inc. (2001). Here’s the latest update on the ongoing overhaul.
Muppet*Vision 3D (and the rest of Muppets Courtyard) officially said their final goodbyes to Walt Disney World Resort guests in June 2025. The closure came nearly a year after D23 Expo 2024, when Walt Disney Imagineering announced plans to build a Monsters, Inc. door coaster and themed land at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Early concept art initially suggested that Imagineers hadn’t decided whether to create the new land in place of Muppets Courtyard or Animation Courtyard, and many Disney Parks fans protested to save the Jim Henson attraction.
However, in November 2024, Walt Disney World Resort confirmed that Muppet*Vision 3D’s time at Disney’s Hollywood Studios was coming. Disney vowed to preserve the 3D show for fans to enjoy sometime in the future, and also revealed that Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith would eventually be rethemed to Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets, inspired by The Muppets Mayhem. The roller coaster will remain open through the end of 2025 before the retheme debuts sometime in 2026.
In our most recent construction update in August, Inside the Magic reported that the former Stage 1 Company Store, the Miss Piggy fountain, and several other outdoor areas had been demolished in the former Muppets Courtyard at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. The Muppet*Vision 3D building remains intact, as Imagineers plan to repurpose it for a theatrical attraction now known as “The Glob.” Outside the perimeter of Disney’s Hollywood Studios, crews bulldozed a Disney cast member parking area to prepare for the Monsters, Inc. roller coaster building, which will take up space beyond the park’s current footprint.
As of September 3, a large foundation drilling rig has arrived at the Monsters, Inc. construction site, towering over Disney’s Hollywood Studios. On Tuesday, BlogMickey shared several photos of the equipment, which appears to be a FUNDEX brand multifunctional foundation rig. Incidentally, the FUNDEX website displays promotional images of this equipment on a roller coaster construction site.
The door coaster will be Disney‘s first-ever suspended coaster. Although it will be an indoor ride, we don’t know whether Imagineers will build the building first, then install the coaster, or build the structure around the completed coaster. At EPCOT, Disney assembled Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind inside its home building. At Magic Kingdom Park, crews built the exterior structure around TRON Lightcycle / Run after completing the ride itself.
Animation Courtyard, which was rumored to be the site of the Monsters, Inc. project, is also getting its own overhaul. The area, including Star Wars Launch Bay and Disney Junior – Live on Stage!, will permanently close in September to make way for a new land called The Walt Disney Studios Lot, inspired by the Walt Disney Studios campus in Burbank, California. The area will feature a revamped Disney Junior show and the return of the Magic of Disney Animation experience.
Do you agree with Walt Disney World Resort’s decision to replace Muppets Courtyard with a Monsters, Inc. land? Share your thoughts with Inside the Magic in the comments!