Before a single monster takes the stage at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Walt Disney Imagineering is already watching the whole show in virtual reality. A new behind the scenes video shows how Imagineers are previewing Welcome to Monstropolis long before it opens.
Building the Show in a Game Engine
In the video, Francesca, a Media and Art Pipeline Developer at Imagineering, explains how her team builds full previsualizations of attractions in Unreal Engine, the game engine Imagineering uses for this work. Show set designers, show mechanical engineers, ride mechanical teams, and show programmers all bring their work into one place.
She calls Welcome to Monstropolis the team’s biggest project right now.
Seeing It Through Every Guest’s Eyes
This is usually the first time an attraction is seen in its entirety. Lighting, animation, timing, media, and figures all come together at once, and with VR headsets Imagineers can step inside the theater before it’s built.
They check sightlines from a child’s height all the way up to the tallest guest’s, so changes can be made before the team heads out into the field.
About Welcome to Monstropolis
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Welcome to Monstropolis will play in the Glob Theater, the former MuppetVision 3D theater. Mike, Sulley, and other familiar monsters will be part of the show, along with “Welcome to Monstropolis,” an original song by Disney Legend Randy Newman. It’s the first song he has ever written for a Disney theme park.
Disney has confirmed that parts of Monstropolis will open to guests in 2027, while work continues on the land’s door coaster.
Planning a Hollywood Studios visit this holiday season? Check out our Disney Jollywood Nights 2026 review.
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