Roof Decking Is Going On the Monsters, Inc. Coaster Building, and Two Tall Concrete Shafts Rise Through the Steel

New aerial photos of the Monsters, Inc. coaster site at Disney's Hollywood Studios show the show building starting to close itself in, with corrugated metal roof decking laid across large parts of the steel grid. They also show tall concrete block shafts standing up through the framing, a pair of them by Blog Mickey's count.

The aerials are by photographer Bioreconstruct. Blog Mickey published its selection on Sunday morning, and WDWMagic ran its own from the same photographer about two hours earlier. Neither outlet dates the flight in its copy, but Blog Mickey's image files are all stamped 0919-2026.

The full footprint on September 19. Metal roof decking covers the bays at one end of the building, a large poured slab in the foreground is still open to the sky, and a pale concrete shaft stands above the framing just right of center. Crawler cranes work the perimeter. Photo by Bioreconstruct via Blog Mickey.

The concrete shafts stand out

Blog Mickey describes them plainly and does not overreach on what they are for: "A couple of tall concrete block shafts also rises through the steel framing. This is likely for elevator access to areas of the ride for maintenance or guest evacuations."

That is a guess on the outlet's part rather than anything Disney has said, and it is worth reading as one. Disney has not said what the shafts are for. The ride does have a vertical lift, but no source ties the two together.

Scale check: Blog Mickey's read on the finished structure is that "This building will end up being one of the largest attraction show buildings at Walt Disney World."

Two kinds of steel, and a curved station

The photos show two distinct framing systems. Blog Mickey describes "A rust-colored, primed steel grid" forming "the bulk of the perimeter and support framing," alongside "A separate system of light gray, painted steel columns and cross-bracing clusters in specific areas."

There are curves in there as well. "Several curved steel segments also appear among the straight framing, set apart in shape from the rest of the grid," Blog Mickey writes, before noting that the load station "features an 'M'-shaped, arched design." Those arches first went in back in August. Separately, Blog Mickey notes that it had run earlier aerials of the coaster's first track section in place, which its own timeline dates to June.

Decking and plywood over the bays at left, and the light gray painted steel columns and cross bracing through the middle of the building. The pale concrete block work toward the right of the frame is still low against the rust colored framing around it. Photo by Bioreconstruct via Blog Mickey.

The roof starts to close in

"Large sections of corrugated metal roof decking now cover parts of the structure, with plywood decking laid alongside it in some areas," Blog Mickey reports. Plenty is still open: the same photos show "A poured concrete foundation slab" sitting exposed "in areas not yet covered by steel," and the wider frames show long stretches of bare slab still open to the sky.

WDWMagic framed the same set around enclosure, writing that "Roof decking now covers large sections of the Monsters Inc flying door coaster ride building at Hollywood Studios, with cranes still active placing steel as the structure moves toward full enclosure."

Work is clearly still heavy. Blog Mickey lists "Multiple red lattice-boom crawler cranes" around the perimeter and "Numerous green boom lifts and scissor lifts" staged inside the building, with the lay-down yard holding "stacks of blue-painted steel pipe, bundled rebar, and lumber."

A closer pass over the framing. Curved steel runs through the straight grid, green lifts are working at height inside, and a run of corrugated decking with plywood alongside it fills the lower right. Photo by Bioreconstruct via Blog Mickey.

What the ride is supposed to do

Disney has not given this coaster a public name. Across two years of its own posts it has been the door ride, the door coaster and, in one headline, the Monsters, Inc. Coaster, descriptions rather than a branded title. Blog Mickey calls it the Door Vault roller coaster and WDWMagic calls it the flying door coaster, so treat every version as shorthand.

The ride system is Disney's own claim rather than an outlet's. Previewing the attraction at SXSW in March 2025, the Disney Parks Blog wrote that "The upcoming door ride will feature the first-ever suspended coaster at a Disney Park, and the first-ever vertical lift." WDWMagic puts it the same way, reporting that the coaster "will be Disney's first suspended coaster, with ride vehicles hanging beneath the track rather than sitting on top of it," and that guests "will glide through the iconic door vault from the film, launched by a vertical lift system." The numbers are the outlets' own. Attractions Magazine says guests "will board the ride vehicle on the laugh floor before being lifted 40 feet in the air in four seconds before venturing into the door vault."

When any of this opens

The only official timing comes from Disney, whose parks blog confirmed a staggered opening at D23: "That's right, while work continues on the door coaster, parts of Monstropolis will open to guests in 2027." WDWMagic reports that the first wave includes the Glob Theater and its show Welcome to Monstropolis. The title song is Randy Newman's, and Disney says it is "the first song that Randy has composed for a Disney theme park."

The coaster itself is a year behind that, and the 2028 date belongs to the outlets rather than to Disney. WDWMagic states it flatly, saying the coaster is "set to open in 2028." Blog Mickey hedges, writing only that it "will likely open in 2028." Disney has not put a year on the ride itself.

Disney's concept art for the finished land, with the factory at the top of the frame, the Glob Theater marquee and Harryhausen's along the street, and the fountain plaza in front. Artist concept only. Image: Disney/Pixar.

Sources

• Blog Mickey, Latest Aerial Look at Monsters Inc. Door Vault Roller Coaster Construction, September 20, 2026
• WDWMagic, Latest Aerial Photos Show Monsters Inc Flying Door Coaster Construction Progress at Disney's Hollywood Studios, September 20, 2026
• Attractions Magazine, "Monsters, Inc." roller coaster construction update, September 9, 2026
• Disney Parks Blog, Monstropolis at Disney World: News from D23 2026, August 16, 2026
• Disney Parks Blog, SXSW: Scary-Good New Monsters, Inc. Coaster Includes Vertical Lift, March 8, 2025

Image credits: aerial photography by Bioreconstruct via Blog Mickey. Monstropolis concept art courtesy of Disney/Pixar.