In the ongoing saga of the placement of Monsters Inc. Land, eagle-eyed fans have spotted what appears to be an indication that at least one piece of concept art is “old”. The concept art seen below, which many fans (including us) point to as proof that Monsters Inc. Land is taking over Muppets Courtyard, appears to be from 2020.
In the lower right-hand part of the concept art below, Executive Concept Designer at Walt Disney Imagineering Greg Pro signed the work. Greg has officially been with Walt Disney Imagineering for nearly 10 years, but his work with Imagineering goes back decades. Greg is responsible for a large number of concept art pieces going back years and years.
If we zoom in on the full-resolution version of the artwork above, we can see that Greg signed his work in the lower right-hand corner against the pavers. Greg signed his name with the year that the concept art was created: 2020.
For comparison, here’s a look at the Avatar concept art for Disney California Adventure, which Greg signed with the year 2024.
Other pieces of Monsters Inc. Land concept art were not signed, perhaps lending some credibility to reports that Disney has not yet made up its mind about where the Monsters Inc. Land will be placed within Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
I think it’s rather well-accepted by Disney fans that the following two pieces of concept art show two different implementations of Monsters Inc. Land. If that’s the case, and we know that the street view concept art was created in 2020, and the (unsigned) elevated-view artwork is assumed to be a more recent concept, it really seems possible that Disney has floated two different locations to take the temperature of the fan community. Of course, the temperature is running hot, perhaps leading Disney to pump the breaks on providing more details about the Monsters Inc. Land like they did with the Frontierland expansion for Cars-themed attractions.
Even though the street view concept art appears to have been created in 2020, it was presented at the 2024 D23 Expo, presumably as a current concept. Of course, the doors roller coaster concept is more than a decade old at this point, dusted off, and ready for construction to begin next year. Walt Disney World has not responded to a request for clarification about the concept art age, or the location of the Monsters Inc. Land.
For more on the Monsters Inc. Land saga, check out our article below!
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