Door Coaster Rises at Disney’s Hollywood Studios

Behind the Blueprints: Mapping the Monster Megastructure

The skyline of Disney’s Hollywood Studios is changing rapidly as the high-stakes transformation of the former Muppets Courtyard into Monstropolis moves into its heavy vertical phase. This massive project represents a monumental shift for the theme park layout, highlighting a major commitment to creating highly detailed, fully immersive environments. At the heart of this expansion is the highly anticipated Door Vault Coaster, an E-ticket attraction that will utilize a first-of-its-kind suspended coaster ride system to simulate zooming through the iconic, chaotic door vault from the original Pixar Animation Studios film. Track installation has officially commenced, with the first pieces of steel track and horizontal supports actively locking into place over the newly poured concrete foundation.

Newly released public mapping data from the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District (CFTOD) has revealed the true scale of the upcoming show building. The massive facility will cover approximately 103,000 square feet, measuring 365 feet long by 330 feet wide. At this scale, the structure officially surpasses Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance to become the largest single ride facility at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Within the boundaries of Walt Disney World Resort, it ranks as the second-largest attraction show building on property, sitting behind only EPCOT’s Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind.

The Ground-Level Impact and Logistical Puzzle

Beyond the flagship roller coaster, the land completely reimagines the surrounding area into a living, breathing monster city. Key features include Harryhausen’s Restaurant, the main dining option for the land. Steel framing has already been raised for this venue, expanding the structural building footprint that formerly housed Mama Melrose’s Ristorante Italiano to create the upscale monster sushi spot seen in the film.

Concurrently, the entire brick aesthetic of the old Muppet*Vision 3D theater and surrounding courtyard is being stripped away. Scaffolding lines the area as crews build out an immersive corporate city street that mimics Mike and Sulley’s daily walk to work, complete with local monster businesses and a central transit station. Recent updates even highlight unique concrete formwork at the land’s entrance, revealing a curved pathway that beautifully blends the traffic flow right toward the neighboring Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.

Aerial photographs highlight how construction teams are fitting this massive land into the existing theme park infrastructure. The building itself is eating up what was previously a sprawling Cast Member parking lot located off Cypress Drive. A major operational element to keep an eye on is the active backstage perimeter road that currently runs directly between the edge of the old Muppets area and the new roller coaster foundation. Because this road serves as a critical artery for daily park operations, emergency services, and backstage transit, Disney must navigate how to keep it functional. As vertical construction continues, the rising steel will soon reveal whether Imagineers plan to completely reroute that stretch of road, or if the immersive city facades and coaster building lines will safely bridge over it to preserve the backstage pathway.

Looking Ahead

Progress has been moving at an aggressive pace over the last several months. Heavy rebar and utility conduits were successfully cast into the concrete foundation earlier this spring. Current phases show rectangular framing units being erected at the staging yards, which will serve to isolate individual indoor show scenes within the coaster building. While Disney has not locked down an exact opening day, internal project pacing points toward a grand opening window in late 2027 or early 2028. We will continue to monitor the site as more steel track arrives from manufacturing yards.