Disney’s latest announcement about the Monsters, Inc. land coming to Hollywood Studios has us SCREAMING!
©Disney
After nearly two years of speculation, the company recently confirmed several MAJOR rumored details about the land, including that it will be officially dubbed Monstroplois, set in a world following the first film, host a show in the “Glob Theater”, and – – the part that has us most excited – – be home to Harryhausen’s restaurant!
Over the last decade+, Disney Imagineers have created several eateries that feel like they came right out of the IP universes they were based on, including Be Our Guest, Oga’s Cantina, and Flo’s V-8 Cafe. Harryhuasen’s should be another entry to that list!
Flo’s V-8 Cafe
In the original 2001 Pixar film, Harryhausen’s – – named after legendary Hollywood special effects pioneer Ray Harryhausen, whose creature designs inspired Monsters, Inc.’s design team – – is a sushi restaurant in Monstropolis. Its head chef is a six-armed octopus. Why six instead of eight? Because the character is a reference to the 1955 film It Came from Beneath the Sea, which features a similar six-armed creature created by – – guess who? – – Ray Harryhausen.
©Pixar
We’re really excited to have a real-world version of Harryhausen’s coming to Hollywood Studios. For starters, an upscale sushi-centric menu will add a unique new element to the park’s dining offerings. Plus, we’re absolutely hoping for a massive animatronic chef smack dab in the middle of the restaurant. Interestingly, if that were to come to pass, it would be a neat little easter egg to the park’s history, as concept art indicates that Harryhausen’s will be located in the space formerly home to Mama Melrose, which was originally built to house a Muppet-themed restaurant that was to be home to character animatronics before plans changed due to Jim Henson’s death.
©Disney
Guests’ ability to visit Harryhausen’s will play into the land’s larger theme, which is built around “H.U.M.A.N. Day.” Short for “Humans Understand Monsters Are Nice,” Disney explains that through this event, which is “designed to introduce humans to life inside Monstropolis while helping monsters discover that humans are not so frightening after all”, humans are invited to, “explore the city, meet its citizens, taste unique cuisine, and step into the everyday world of monsters in a totally new way.” That theme in turn explains why humans can make their way through Monstropolis, dine at Harryhausen’s. and likely why they can tour the Monsters, Inc. factory that’s home to the land’s suspended door coaster E-Ticket.
©Disney
We expect to learn more about Monstropolis, and Harryhausen’s in particular, at the D23 Ultimate Fan Event in August. If one looks closely at the Monstropolis Horn faux newspaper that Disney released along with the announcement, as “Local Restaurants Comment on Menu Developments” is advertised as being on Page 8, Column 15. D23’s parks panel is scheduled for August 15th, AKA 8/15.
Look at the top ©Disney
Harryhausen’s is coming to Disney’s Hollywood Studios along with Monstropolis, and we’re practically screaming with excitement. Stay tuned to DFB for more on Disney’s upcoming projects.
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Will sushi really satisfy the masses? If I have sushi, I only eat vegetable sushi. I don’t see me eating it in the heat of Florida.
As a lover of sushi I am very excited to experience this new restaurant. I hope they also have menu items that satisfy those that do not enjoy sushi or I will never get to go, if my family members can’t find anything they will eat there.