We’re so excited for the new Monsters, Inc. land coming to Disney’s Hollywood Studios — and we’re especially stoked for a one-of-a-kind coaster coming to the land!
©Disney
We’ll admit this was one announcement we totally did NOT expect from 2024’s D23: The Ultimate Fan Event, after a couple of years (and the closure of Muppets Courtyard), really has FINALLY set in. Our enthusiasm went through the roof when Disney also announced that we were finally getting the ride we’ve been wanting since 2001, when Monsters, Inc. landed in movie theaters: a ride based on the doors scene in the movie. Since the announcement, we’ve been hunting down more ride details, and we think we found some FASCINATING clues.
The first thing — and maybe most important tidbit — is that Disney’s confirmed the new Monsters, Inc. ride will be the first suspended roller coaster EVER in a Disney Park. Newly-appointed Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro said back in 2024, “Remember in the movie how those claws grab the doors and hoist them up into the air to take them away? We’re doing that, too. And you’re going along for the ride.” Disney also shared the ride concept art below:
©Disney
We also know something else: the company Vekoma Rides could very well be the company helping Disney construct the coaster part of the attraction. They’ve worked on some of Disney’s most recent coasters like Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and TRON Lightcycle / Run. The company also helped Disney construct Big Grizzly Mountain Runaway Mine Train at Hong Kong Disneyland, as well as Expedition Everest in Disney World’s Animal Kingdom. This is one of the most celebrated coaster companies in the world, and one Disney has worked with quite a bit when it’s creating a roller coaster.
TRON Lightcycle / Run
The Vekoma Rides website also advertises its work with suspended family coasters, and the new Monsters, Inc. ride certainly fits that bill. Here’s what Vekoma’s website says:
“Our Suspended Family Coaster line offers the excitement of a true suspended coaster in a family-friendly design that fits all age groups. These suspended coasters offer a unique open design seat and restraint system, providing optimal fit and security, and a sensational experience of freedom with your feet dangling free in mid-air. The fully unobstructed view of the ride and surroundings add to the fun.”
©Vekoma
In particular, the description of Vekoma’s upcoming “Suspended Family Coaster Mistral Dark Ride” could very well give us a lot of hints about how the Monsters, Inc. ride will work. The website reads:
“The train departs into the darkness. Feet dangle in mid-air. The riders climb and without warning plummet down the first drop. They fly through the underground tunnel into a high-speed turnaround pulling 3-G. A twisted drop. A final U-turn. A surprise bunny hop back into the station. The Mistral is a true storytelling coaster, combining a unique dark ride with the roaring winds of a thrilling gravity layout.”
Here’s the concept art:
©Vekoma
Well, that sounds a lot like that scene in Monsters, Inc., right? Also, the bit about storytelling is very on-brand for a Disney coaster. It also makes us think this could fit the Monsters, Inc. ride model we saw at D23:
Monsters, Inc. roller coaster
Another interesting development is that Vekoma opened a new office in downtown Orlando, not far from Disney World. According to The Orlando Sentinel, Ricardo Etges, the vice president for sales and marketing for the Americas, said, “This is the place to be in terms of theme parks, even though we work all over the U.S.”
So we think Vekoma’s description of its family suspended coasters could give us an idea of just how thrilling this ride might end up being. Of course, we won’t know anything until Disney shares more about the new ride. We’ll be keeping an eye out for more clues, though, and we’ll share them when we can, so stay tuned to DFB for more.
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PLEASE, DISNEY, have a stand by line. Stop with the virtual and Lightening Lane process. I’m older and can’t afford the extra costs and I don’t have the technology.