Monstropolis Opening 2027 — Randy Newman Song and Harryhausen’s Announcement

Reading Time: 5 minutes

Monstropolis has a year. Walt Disney Imagineering confirmed at D23 that parts of Monstropolis open in 2027 at Disney’s Hollywood Studios — and revealed the Glob Theater show name, three dining locations, retail, and an original Randy Newman song.

Neil Patrick Harris brought Michael Hundgen, Vice President Creative, and Chris Beatty, Vice President of Walt Disney Imagineering, to the stage to share the details.

Quick Summary

• Parts of Monstropolis open in 2027
• The Glob Theater show is called “Welcome to Monstropolis”
• Randy Newman wrote an original song of the same name
• Mike and Sulley host the show
• Harryhausen’s Restaurant is confirmed as a full restaurant
• Archie’s Scare Pig Pizza and the Monsters University Alumni Club join it
• The Scareporium is the land’s retail location
• The flying door coaster is still under construction

“Welcome to Monstropolis”

The Glob Theater show has an official name — “Welcome to Monstropolis” — and it comes with an original song of the same name written by Disney Legend Randy Newman.

It marks the first time Newman has composed a song specifically for a Disney theme park attraction.

Mike and Sulley will host the show. Beatty described the premise: Sulley has been working on a small, homespun show, but Mike — ever the showman — has a few surprises up his sleeve. “Hopefully not literally,” Beatty added.

The show introduces human guests to Monstropolis and highlights how similar monsters and humans really are.

The Newman Detail Is the Real News Here

This is easy to skim past. Don’t.

Randy Newman scored Monsters, Inc. — “If I Didn’t Have You” won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 2002. He also scored Toy Story, A Bug’s Life, Monsters University, and Cars. His music is a substantial part of how Pixar sounds.

He has never written a song specifically for a Disney theme park attraction before. Existing Newman music appears in the parks constantly, but that’s licensing. Commissioning new work is a different level of investment, and it’s the kind of thing Disney does when it wants a land to have a signature.

It also solves a specific problem. Theater shows in theme parks live or die on whether you remember them. An original Newman song gives “Welcome to Monstropolis” something the Muppet or Frozen sing-along formats had to build over years.

Harryhausen’s Restaurant

The iconic dining location from the original Monsters, Inc. film — the setting of one of Mike and Celia’s most memorable dates — is confirmed as a fully realized restaurant.

It will feature a new Audio-Animatronics figure of Harryhausen’s famed sushi chef, with multiple tentacles preparing monster-worthy creations.

The menu was described as “unlike anything else we offer at Walt Disney World,” with more than just sushi on offer. Hundgen teased it as “a great place to bring your Schmoopsie-poo for a romantic meal.”

Why Fans Have Wanted This Specifically

Harryhausen’s is one of the most requested Pixar locations in the parks, and it’s because the scene it comes from does something unusual.

The restaurant is the setting for the film’s best comic sequence — Mike’s ruined anniversary dinner, Celia’s hair snakes, the “Hey Mikey!” moment, and the CDA raid that follows. It’s a location with a full comedy set piece attached, which makes it memorable in a way most animated background restaurants aren’t.

The multi-tentacled sushi chef is the payoff. He’s a visual gag in the film — a chef who can prep multiple orders simultaneously because he has the arms for it. As an animatronic behind a real sushi counter, that gag becomes something you can watch.

The “more than just sushi” note is worth flagging. A sushi-only restaurant at Hollywood Studios would be a hard sell for the average family. Broadening the menu while keeping the sushi-chef centerpiece is the sensible version.

Archie’s Scare Pig Pizza

The land’s pizza destination is Archie’s Scare Pig Pizza.

Archie is Fear Tech’s beloved six-legged mascot, made famous after years of being borrowed by mischievous Monsters University students.

Next door, the Monsters University Alumni Club will also open to human visitors dining at Archie’s, featuring a tribute to the school’s student clubs, fraternities, and sororities — including the elite Scarer’s Club, honoring MU’s legendary scarers from years past.

Deep-Cut Sourcing

Archie is not a main character. He’s the mascot pig from Monsters University, and the running joke is that MU students keep stealing him from rival school Fear Tech.

Naming the pizza place after a stolen rival mascot is exactly the kind of detail that makes a land feel lived in rather than assembled from the film’s greatest hits. It’s the same instinct behind Batuu’s obscure Star Wars references or the Jock Lindsey backstory at Disney Springs.

The Alumni Club as a themed space adjacent to the pizza counter also gives the area somewhere to put the Monsters University material, which otherwise doesn’t fit a land built around the original film’s city.

The Scareporium

The Scareporium rounds out the confirmed locations, serving as the land’s retail destination.

Opening Timeline

Disney confirmed parts of Monstropolis will open to guests in 2027, while construction continues on the flying door coaster.

The full expansion will include:

• The flying door coaster
• The Glob Theater
• Harryhausen’s Restaurant
• Archie’s Scare Pig Pizza
• The Monsters University Alumni Club
• The Scareporium

All set within a fully realized monster city designed around the H.U.M.A.N. Day storyline.

Read the Phasing Carefully

“Parts of Monstropolis will open in 2027” is not the same as “Monstropolis opens in 2027,” and the difference matters.

The coaster — the land’s headliner — is explicitly still under construction when the rest opens. Aerial photos from this weekend show track staged both at Hollywood Studios and at a BoardWalk-area delivery lot, with the ride building’s steel framework going up. That’s real progress, but it’s not a ride that’s close to finished.

Phased openings have a mixed record. Toy Story Land opened complete. Galaxy’s Edge opened at Disneyland without Rise of the Resistance and took nearly six months to get it, and the land felt thin in the meantime.

Opening the city, the theater show, and three food locations without the coaster is a more defensible version of that — there’s a show and multiple restaurants, so there’s a reason to be there. But guests arriving in 2027 should know the flying doors won’t be running.

The Bottom Line

Parts of Monstropolis open at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in 2027, with the flying door coaster arriving later.

Confirmed: the Glob Theater’s “Welcome to Monstropolis” show with an original Randy Newman song, Harryhausen’s Restaurant with a multi-tentacled sushi chef animatronic, Archie’s Scare Pig Pizza, the Monsters University Alumni Club, and the Scareporium.

The first Newman song written specifically for a Disney attraction is the standout.

---

---

Looking To Book Your Dream Disney Vacation?