D23 Brazil featured a presentation by Disney Parks Chairman Josh D’Amaro who offered an update on the upcoming projects coming to Disney’s theme parks around the globe. This included a quick update on the Monsters Inc. land coming to Disney’s Hollywood Studios, but it once again omitted an important detail.
D’Amaro displayed the two pieces of concept art that fans previously saw at the D23 Ultimate Fan event this summer. And, more importantly, D’Amaro didn’t add any clarity about where the new Monsters Inc. land will be built. The concept art is puzzling as it shows the land built in either Animation Courtyard or the Muppets Courtyard.
Disney has received a lot of backlash about the potential decision to remove the Muppets. Animation Courtyard feels like the no-brainer decision as it retains the lone area of Muppets representation at Walt Disney World. It could also add true capacity rather than once again replacing an existing ride with something new.
Why hasn’t Disney ripped the band-aid off and announced where Monsters Inc. is going? Assuming it’s bad news for Muppets fans, it’s possible they want to distance themselves from another recent announcement (Cars attractions replacing the Rivers of America at Magic Kingdom) that was criticized and ridiculed across Disney fandom. Disney may want to spread out or try to hide more bad news.
Or, it’s possible – yet unlikely – they still haven’t figured out where they want to build Monsters Inc. They might be figuring out a new location for the Muppets (Hall of Presidents is an old rumored spot) before committing to Monsters Inc. in Hollywood Studios.
We want to be excited for this area (the door coaster! finally!), but it’s difficult when Disney remains quiet on some crucial details.
