Disney has finally given us our first real taste of what will be served when Monstropolis opens at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and the new land’s restaurants are shaping up to be attractions in their own right.
Walt Disney World revealed new culinary details Tuesday for Harryhausen’s and Archie’s Scare Pig Pizza, the two restaurants coming to the Monsters, Inc.-themed land in 2027.
The preview stops short of revealing complete menus, and Disney stresses that some dishes are still being explored. It nevertheless provides considerably more information than we previously had about what guests will actually eat and drink inside Monstropolis.
Harryhausen’s will be the more elaborate of the two restaurants.
The table-service location recreates the upscale sushi restaurant seen in Monsters, Inc., where Mike Wazowski takes Celia Mae on a birthday date before chaos erupts when Boo escapes from her disguise.
Disney previously confirmed that Harryhausen’s was coming to the new land, but we now know Imagineers are recreating one of the restaurant’s most memorable inhabitants as well.
A new Audio-Animatronic figure depicting Harryhausen’s head sushi chef will work in the center of the dining room.
The monster will use eight tentacles to prepare food, turning the restaurant’s kitchen activity into part of the entertainment.
Disney also confirmed that Harryhausen’s will serve more than sushi.
Among the dishes currently being developed are ramen bowls based on traditional Japanese flavors. Disney’s culinary team specifically mentioned tonkotsu broth and alkaline ramen noodles, but the familiar ingredients will be mixed with intentionally strange Monstropolis touches.
One example is fishcake sliced to resemble eyeballs.
Another is green eggs.
Disney’s culinary team describes the overall philosophy as creating food that is playful enough to look as though monsters might actually eat it without making the dishes unappealing to humans.
That balancing act is important because Harryhausen’s is not being designed as an adults-only fine-dining restaurant.
Although the fictional restaurant is positioned as one of Monstropolis’ more fashionable places for a night out, Disney says the real-world version is being developed to appeal to guests of all ages.
The second restaurant takes a completely different approach.
Archie’s Scare Pig Pizza will be a quick-service restaurant inspired by Monsters University.
Disney describes Archie’s as the sort of neighborhood pizza shop where generations of monster college students have gathered after class. The creative team is drawing on the nostalgia of traditional neighborhood pizza restaurants while adding details that could only exist in the Monsters universe.
The biggest new reveal, however, is not pizza.
It is Blort.
Fans of Monsters University may recognize Blort as a popular soft drink in Monstropolis. The fictional beverage has never been clearly defined for human audiences, which gave Disney’s beverage team considerable freedom when turning it into something guests can actually order.
Disney says one concept being explored is a purple frozen beverage topped with what it calls Scream Apple Foam.
The company has not yet confirmed whether that exact formulation will appear on the final menu, so the current preview should not be treated as a finalized Foodie Guide.
What it does establish is that Disney intends to use food and beverages to deepen the world-building throughout Monstropolis rather than simply placing familiar theme-park meals inside Monsters, Inc.-themed buildings.
That approach is particularly apparent at Harryhausen’s.
The restaurant was an important location in the original 2001 film, and its name is itself a reference to legendary stop-motion effects artist Ray Harryhausen.
In the movie, the restaurant features a multi-tentacled sushi chef working behind the counter. Recreating that character as an Audio-Animatronic gives the Disney’s Hollywood Studios version a direct visual connection to the film rather than relying solely on décor.
It also continues a broader Walt Disney World trend of making restaurants part of the attraction lineup.
Space 220 at EPCOT uses a simulated space elevator and enormous orbital windows to turn dinner into an experience. Roundup Rodeo BBQ places diners inside a Toy Story environment. Be Our Guest Restaurant recreates rooms from Beast’s Castle.
Harryhausen’s appears poised to follow that model, but with a working monster chef in the middle of the dining room.
The two restaurants will be part of a much larger transformation underway at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
Monstropolis is replacing the former Muppets Courtyard and surrounding Grand Avenue area. Its centerpiece attraction will be Disney’s first suspended roller coaster, inspired by the famous door-vault sequence from Monsters, Inc.
Disney is also developing Welcome to Monstropolis, a theater production featuring Mike Wazowski and other characters, with original music by Randy Newman.
The land is scheduled to begin opening in phases in 2027.
Disney has not announced opening dates for Harryhausen’s or Archie’s Scare Pig Pizza, nor has it released prices, reservation information or finalized menus.
Those details will come later.
What we know now is considerably more revealing than a list of restaurant names.
Harryhausen’s is getting an eight-tentacled Audio-Animatronic sushi chef and monster-inspired ramen. Archie’s is being designed as a nostalgic college-town pizza shop. Blort is becoming a real beverage. And Disney’s chefs are apparently discovering that when designing food for Monstropolis, there may be no such thing as too many eyeballs.