Climb aboard a Monstropolis City Cab and embark on a wild ride through the streets of Monstropolis. Follow the escapades of Mike and Sulley as they race to return Boo to her bedroom before the trucks, helicopters and the Child Detection Agency find her first!
Climb into a taxi cab as the onboard TV screen announces the city-wide calamity. The Child Detection Agency has spread its tentacles far and wide to find the toxic tot and keep her from infecting the entire city with her humanity. On the TV, multi-eyed-witnesses tell reporters the horrors of the child thing running amok! Follow along with scenes from Disney-Pixar's Monsters, Inc. as you ride through Monstropolis in your taxi cab. Will Mike and Sulley avoid the authorities and get Boo home before their enemy, the creepy chameleon Randall Boggs, can crush their plans?
Ride Experience
The queue area, where guests wait to board the attraction, is themed to a bus station named the Monstropolis Transit Authority, featuring posters and videos of commercials of tourist spots in the fictional city of Monstropolis where the film is set. Posters of Harryhausen's (a restaurant from the film named for an influential early animated filmmaker) foreshadow a scene within the attraction.
Guests board taxis on a journey through the streets of Monstropolis. A small television monitor in each of the three rows of the ride vehicle plays a clip of a tourism video that is interrupted with urgent news that a female human child named Boo has been seen in the city. The news is the subject of consternation as contact with humans is considered deadly to the monsters of the city.
The taxis exit a tunnel through a detour from the welcoming gate and go down the dark streets of the city, passing characters Mike and Celia in Mike's new car as Mike wishes her a happy birthday. Guests proceed to see Randall (an archenemy chameleon-like character possessing the ability by camouflage to disappear at will), who looks around angrily.
Following are news reporters interviewing monsters frightened by alleged encounters with the human, Boo. Sulley pops up from an alley holding Boo, looking to see if the coast is clear. The taxis drive into Harryhausen's sushi joint, where frantic monsters run around as Celia screams angrily at Mike and Sulley who are running across the way.
The taxis enter the Monsters, Inc. factory and are nearly cleansed by the CDA (the Child Detection Agency, a commando-style military force) that fall from nowhere and take pictures. A few workers walk by and the taxis enter the boys' locker room where Mike appears scared and worried again while Sulley waits for Boo to use the restroom. Randall appears then disappears in a nearby corner.
In a giant room where teleportation devices (closet doors) are hanging in storage dry-cleaner-rack style, the guests again see Randall who threatens to destroy Boo's door, preventing her return home, but Mike and Sulley find it again. Boo beats up Randall with a bat, changing his colors as the taxis are passed by hundreds of flying doors. Various doors open showing various monsters like the Abominable Snowman or the character George.
Mike and Sulley say goodbye to Boo as the taxis exit into the factory main lobby. CDA members cleanse exiting guests as a cameraman films them. A giant audio animatronic of Roz remarks on the passing guests (Sometimes singling out the riders by the row they're inb. Exp. -"You guys in the third row! I'm watching you. I'm always watching!").
Touring Tips
- The cabs take a fairly slow ride through darkened areas inhabited by lots of friendly monsters. There are some bright searchlights. The ride is about three minutes long.
- This attraction is designed for guests of all ages, and there is no height requirement. The taxis have no door, though there is a lap bar, and small children should be seated on the inside.
- The "monsters" are designed to be friendly rather than scary, but some children might be frightened by their unusual appearance.
- Characters from Monsters, Inc. make appearances in the Hollywood Backlot area - check the daily Times Guide for times and locations. They also appear in the Block Party Bash parade.
- The closest restrooms are located behind the Hollywood Backlot Stage.
Facts
- It opened January 22, 2006 with a grand Sully-Blue-Fur Carpet Premiere.
- It is based on the 2001 Disney-Pixar film Monsters, Inc. The ride follows, very closely, the story of the film. The attraction replaced the Superstar Limo dark ride.
- The voice actors, including Billy Crystal (Mike) and John Goodman (Sulley) reprise their voice roles for the attraction.
- The taxis have different license plates, like "Peekaboo" and "Monstro". The cab company's phone number is 555-FANG.
- The menu for Harryhausen's restaurant is posted on the wall of the queue, featuring specialties like Swill and Sour soup, Terrible Teriyucki, and Assorted Yukitori.
- In Tokyo Disneyland, there is an attraction called 'Monsters Inc. Ride and Go Seek' which is very similar to California's 'Mike & Sulley to the Rescue'. The attraction utilizes audio animatronics, fully built interior sets, and an interactive "flashlight" system, which allows guests to search for hidden monsters in the dark. The attraction is held in the Star Tours area of Tomorrowland, which has drawn criticism from fans. The attraction uses the same ride system as the Toy Story Midway Mania! attractions at Disney California Adventure Park and Disney's Hollywood Studios.
- The name "Harryhausen" is a tribute to Ray Harryhausen, a pioneer in the field of stop-motion animation and special effects.
- New original music was composed for the attraction by Jonathan Sachs, who had worked with Randy Newman on the score for the movie.
History
This location was originally home to way may forever be one of the most imfamous attractions ever built at a Disney theme park: Superstar Limo. Superstar Limo was a tour through Hollywood and featured likenesses of various celebrities (or at least people who were celebrities in 2001. Jackie Chan, Joan Rivers, Drew Carey, Melanie Griffith and Antonio Banderas were all present in the ride. The response from park visitors was immediate and negative. It seems safe to say that it Superstar Limo is the most ridiculed Disney attraction of the Internet age (if not of all time). Within a year the ride had begun to experience lengthy closures and by January 11, 2002, had closed for good. Rumors swirled that it was going to be reworked but eventually sat dormant until the Monsters, Inc., project was eventually given the green light. Having only opened in January 2006, nothing has yet changed with the attraction. That said, component of the ride have been around since the beginning of DCA. The track layout is identical to Superstar Limo and the ride vehicles have also been reused for the new ride, having simply been given a makeover to convert them from limousines to taxicabs.