Is 'Project La Brea' the Monsters, Inc. Coaster? 630,000 Pounds of Vekoma Parts Under That Codename Have Reached Imagineering Since Mid-October

BlogMickey reported on Thursday, November 12, that U.S. import records list nine Vekoma shipments of coaster parts to Walt Disney Imagineering since mid-October, every one marked "Project La Brea" and together weighing roughly 630,000 pounds. The outlet suggests the codename could belong to the Monsters, Inc. door coaster now rising at Disney's Hollywood Studios.

Disney has not tied the name to any ride, and BlogMickey is upfront that this is a reading of the paperwork, not a confirmation. But a second clue landed the same day: a new Imagineering permit to "install set elements" at a new South Studio Drive address that both outlets believe belongs to the coaster site.

The Monsters, Inc. coaster show building at Hollywood Studios in an aerial photo dated November 7, 2026. Photo: bioreconstruct, via WDW News Today

What the shipping records show

According to BlogMickey's read of the records:

• Nine shipments from Vekoma, arriving from October 16 through November 9, all carrying the "Project La Brea" tag and Vekoma project number 61456.
• About 630,000 pounds combined, listed as amusement ride parts "in knocked down position" (shipping shorthand, BlogMickey explains, for a ride sent in sections and put together at its destination) and classified under the tariff code for roller coasters.
• The heaviest load arrived October 23: about 141,000 pounds across 22 pieces.
• The latest load arrived November 9: close to 70,000 pounds in six 40-foot open-top containers, with Slovakia listed as its place of receipt, entering the country at the Port of Savannah. Morocco appears as the origin on several of the earlier loads.
• The delivery address is in Lake Buena Vista, which BlogMickey matches to a backstage laydown yard behind EPCOT where it has seen the coaster's track staged before installation.

The records also show two Belgian Vekoma shipments to Imagineering, on October 21 and November 3, that carry no project name. BlogMickey says it cannot tell whether they are part of La Brea.

This kind of paper trail has flagged Disney coaster track on the move before. In 2018, BlogMickey found a Vekoma bill of lading for 143,000 pounds of coaster parts headed to EPCOT, track for the ride that opened as Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind.

Why it might be the Monsters, Inc. coaster (and why it might not)

The case for: crews have been installing track for the Monstropolis coaster since June, BlogMickey calls it "the biggest coaster build at Walt Disney World right now," and the shipments are going to the yard where that track has been staged. BlogMickey also rules out another Vekoma project at Walt Disney World, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad: that ride reopened on new track in May, and Vekoma confirmed its work there in August.

The case against: the records do not name a park or an attraction, and as for the name itself, BlogMickey's own verdict on the La Brea connection is "I'm not sure." It floats two possible sources: the La Brea Tar Pits in California, and the Universal Television series La Brea, whose spacetime portals are loosely like the doors in Monsters, Inc.

Steel framing and support structures at the Monsters, Inc. coaster site on October 9, 2026. Photo: BlogMickey

The other clue: a set installation permit

Walt Disney Imagineering recorded a new Notice of Commencement on November 12 naming Mecca Productions of Orlando as the contractor, according to BlogMickey, and WDW News Today reported that the work is to "install set elements" at 253 S Studio Dr. The filing does not name an attraction. BlogMickey says that address does not yet appear in the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District's database, and both outlets say nearby buildings carry similar numbers. WDW News Today places the coaster site next to the former Muppets Courtyard, on land taken from a cast member parking lot beside South Studio Drive.

Mecca has done set work for Imagineering before. Both outlets connect it to the reimagined Carousel of Progress and the Indiana Jones ride, with WDW News Today adding the Encanto ride and BlogMickey adding Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets. Four Monstropolis buildings got set installation permits in April under another contractor, BlogMickey notes, and the outlet suggests this new filing may mark the beginning of theming inside the coaster's show building. Disney has not confirmed that.

When can you ride it?

Neither report gives the coaster an opening date. Disney's timeline, as both outlets relay it, opens Monstropolis in phases: most of the land in 2027, with the coaster arriving at some point after that. WDW News Today says the ride will be "Disney's first-ever suspended coaster and vertical lift coaster." Elsewhere in the land, the former MuppetVision 3D theater becomes the Glob Theater, home to Welcome to Monstropolis! With Sulley & Mike, and PizzeRizzo turns into Archie's Scare Pig Pizza.

Official concept art of Monstropolis at Disney's Hollywood Studios. Artist concept only. Image: Disney/Pixar

Sources

• Is "Project La Brea" the Codename for the Monsters Inc. Coaster?, BlogMickey
• Imagineering Files Permit to Install Set Elements for Monsters, Inc. Door Coaster at Disney's Hollywood Studios, WDW News Today

Image credits: Aerial photo by bioreconstruct, via WDW News Today. Construction photo by BlogMickey. Concept art by Disney/Pixar.