Credit: gardener41, Flickr / Pixar Animation StudiosDisney’s Hollywood Studios is getting a massive new land in 2027, but Disney fans shouldn’t necessarily start planning their vacations around an early-year opening.
At D23, Disney confirmed that Monstropolis will use a phased opening strategy. Most of the Monsters, Inc.-themed land will welcome guests first, while the massive suspended door coaster will follow during a later phase.
That certainly sounds like Monstropolis is opening “early,” at least compared to the land’s biggest attraction.
However, new aerial photos from Disney’s Hollywood Studios provide an important reality check.
Construction crews have made visible progress throughout the former Muppets Courtyard, but the area remains a sprawling construction site. Buildings are covered in scaffolding, utilities are being installed, façades remain unfinished, and heavy construction continues across the land.
Disney says Monstropolis will begin opening sometime in 2027. Looking at where construction stands right now, though, fans may want to keep expectations in check about exactly how “early” that opening will happen.
Disney Confirms Monstropolis Will Open in Phases
The biggest update surrounding Monstropolis came at D23.
Instead of waiting until every piece of the new land is finished, Disney plans to open most of Monstropolis in 2027. The highly anticipated door coaster will then open separately during a later phase.
That gives Disney an opportunity to start welcoming guests into the new land before its biggest attraction is ready.
The strategy also makes sense considering the scale of the coaster project.
Disney is building an enormous Monsters, Inc. factory behind the existing buildings, which will house the suspended roller coaster. The attraction will send guests into the famous door vault and become Disney’s first suspended coaster. It will also feature Disney’s first vertical lift on a coaster.
While work continues on that massive project, Disney can theoretically finish the front portion of Monstropolis and begin welcoming guests.
The question is how soon that can actually happen.
New Aerial Videos Show Disney Still Has Plenty of Work Ahead
Fresh aerial videography from bioreconstruct gives us one of the clearest looks yet at the scale of construction.
And there is still a lot happening.
The former Muppets Courtyard barely resembles the finished land Disney has shown in concept art. Scaffolding covers large portions of the existing buildings, while construction equipment, dirt, trenches, materials, and unfinished surfaces dominate the central area.
That doesn’t mean Disney is behind schedule. Nothing in the latest photos suggests the project has suffered a major delay.
Instead, they offer some perspective on how much work remains before guests can actually walk through Monstropolis.
Aerial video of work in Monstropolis.
Featuring a full circle look at the Monsters Inc suspended door roller coaster construction.
Also construction in the City. pic.twitter.com/GF9YYhoulD— bioreconstruct (@bioreconstruct) September 5, 2026
Disney has installed four tall concrete columns near the entrance. Interestingly, those columns stand where an earlier set had previously been constructed and then demolished for an unknown reason.
Beyond them, crews continue transforming buildings that once belonged to Muppets Courtyard.
This isn’t simply a matter of replacing signs and adding Monsters, Inc. decorations. Disney is dramatically changing the appearance of the area.
The Heart of Monstropolis Is Still Taking Shape
One particularly interesting development involves the future central fountain.
Crews are currently installing plumbing beneath the courtyard where the water feature will eventually stand. A network of white pipes is visible inside an excavated section near the future Glob theater, while trenches and utility lines stretch through the surrounding dirt.
That gives us a good indication of where Disney currently stands.
The company isn’t simply finishing cosmetic details around an otherwise completed land. Crews are still working on infrastructure that guests will never see once Monstropolis opens.
Meanwhile, construction continues along Dark Avenue.
Disney is transforming the existing buildings with deeper overhangs, unusual rooflines, ledges, arches, and monster-inspired architectural elements. Scaffolding continues to cover those façades as crews reshape the former Muppets area into something completely different.
From above, you can finally start to understand how everything will eventually connect.
The remodeled buildings will surround the central courtyard, while Dark Avenue draws guests farther into Monstropolis. Behind everything sits the enormous Monsters, Inc. factory and the future door coaster building.
The bones of the land are becoming much easier to recognize.
Finished, however, is another story.
The Former Muppet*Vision 3D Theater Is Becoming The Glob
One area that has already undergone some noticeable changes is the former Muppet*Vision 3D theater.
The building’s brick clock tower has been repainted, while its working clock face remains in place. Disney is transforming the theater into The Glob, which will eventually house Welcome to Monstropolis! With Sulley & Mike.
Disney has also revealed more about what guests will find inside.
Randy Newman composed an original song for the production, which will feature Mike, Sulley, and additional monsters.
Elsewhere, Mama Melrose’s Ristorante Italiano is being transformed into Harryhausen’s. Disney plans to include a tentacled sushi-chef Audio-Animatronic inside the restaurant.
Other announced locations include Archie’s Scare Pig Pizza, the Monsters University Alumni Club, and the Scareporium.
Those experiences could become especially important during the first phase of Monstropolis.
If the door coaster isn’t ready when the land initially opens, Disney will need the restaurants, shops, entertainment, atmosphere, and other experiences to give guests enough reasons to explore the area.
“Opening Early” Doesn’t Necessarily Mean Early 2027
This is where Disney fans should be careful with expectations.
Disney has confirmed that most of Monstropolis will open in 2027 before the door coaster. That means the land itself is technically opening early compared to its headline attraction.
But Disney hasn’t announced a specific opening date for that first phase.
And based on the current state of construction, there is no guarantee that we’re talking about the beginning of 2027.
The latest aerial photos show extensive work remaining throughout the area. Disney still has façades to complete, infrastructure to finish, landscaping to install, pathways to prepare, interiors to complete, and countless finishing details to handle before thousands of guests can safely enter the land.
Some of that work can move surprisingly quickly once the heavy construction phase ends. Disney can also work on multiple parts of the project simultaneously.
Still, we’re now in September 2026. A 2027 opening could mean many different things.
January 2027 and November 2027 both satisfy that announced window.
At this point, Disney hasn’t narrowed it down.
Monstropolis Could Become a Huge 2027 Addition
Whenever that first phase opens, Monstropolis will represent one of the biggest changes Disney’s Hollywood Studios has seen in years.
Disney is taking an established section of the park and rebuilding it around Pixar’s Monsters, Inc. franchise. The story will take place after humans and monsters have learned to coexist, with guests entering Monstropolis for H.U.M.A.N. Day, short for “Humans Understand Monsters Are Nice.”
Eventually, the suspended door coaster will become the land’s centerpiece.
But Disney isn’t waiting for that attraction to finish before opening the gates.
That’s great news for guests eager to see Monstropolis.
Just don’t confuse a phased opening with an imminent one.
Disney still says 2027, and the first phase will arrive before the coaster. The newest aerial photos make something else equally clear: Disney has a long way to go before Monstropolis is ready for its first human visitors.
