Why We’re Worried a Dreaded Ride Rule Is Coming to Disney’s Hollywood Studios

Don’t get us wrong, we’re BEYOND excited for the new Monsters, Inc. Land coming to Disney’s Hollywood Studios (though we do still miss Muppets), but there’s something we’re a little concerned about.

Okay, we’ll be honest — we’re A LOT worried about this potential rule coming to this new ride, not just a little. The coaster itself will be something we’ve never seen before in Disney parks, but that’s not at all what we’re worried about. No, since this coaster is so different, we have a feeling you won’t be able to bring anything on the ride with you (similar to TRON Lightcycle / Run), and that means (*sigh*) lockers.

A New Type of Coaster Is Coming to Hollywood Studios!

In case you haven’t heard, the new coaster coming to Disney’s new Monsters, Inc. Land will be Disney’s first-ever hanging coaster! Take a look at how people’s legs are dangling from the seat in the concept art, and how the seats are guided by an arm from above — that’s what we mean by hanging coaster.

We’ve seen a few rides like this over at Universal Orlando — Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey and Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment most notably — but we’ve also seen hanging coasters over at SeaWorld and in Six Flags parks as well. This certainly isn’t a new type of coaster, but it just so happens to be Disney World’s first.

The Dreaded Rule

TRON Lightcycle / Run was also a new coaster of its kind for the domestic Disney parks, and since the ride vehicles are so interesting (and have you leaning forward so far), you’re not able to bring any bags with you on the ride. You are able to bring something small, like a phone, and put it in the secure front pocket of the ride, but that’s it. Instead, you put your bags in a locker before you ride, and you must use your physical ticket/card or MagicBand to open it. 

For TRON, when you reach this section of the queue, you’ll be directed to a certain number of lockers by a Cast Member, and if you see one that’s lit up, that means it’s open, and you can use your MagicBand or ticket to open it up and put your stuff inside. This also means that you CANNOT leave your ticket or MagicBand inside the locker, as you need to use them to reopen it again. However, if you do accidentally lock your things inside, you can ask a Cast Member for help (but you’ll need to remember which locker number is yours!).

When your ride is complete, you’ll return to the lockers, and if you’ve forgotten which one is yours, you can head to a separate area where you can scan your MagicBand or park ticket that will then give you your locker number. Now, if you don’t have a physical ticket or MagicBand (for example, if you’re only using your ticket on the My Disney Experience app, which does not work on the lockers), Cast Members can give you a card to use solely for the lockers.

These lockers are free, which is fantastic, and they’re relatively large. So what are we concerned about, you ask? Well, as smooth as this process sounds, we’ve seen firsthand how backed up it can get if people are struggling to open lockers or find one available, or just aren’t exactly listening to the Cast Members, which can mess things up for a second. Additionally, from the concept art, we don’t know if there will be any safe place to keep those few additional items (like your ticket or your phone if you don’t have pockets), which could pose a bit of an issue as well.

However, there is a slim possibility Disney could adapt the way Universal does its locker system in Epic Universe, which uses biometrics. For these rides, you scan your FACE at the lockers, which is what will open it originally, and when you return to get your items. While we haven’t seen this from Disney before, we would be interested to see if they’d use lockers with a finger scan, just like they do when you enter the park. This would mean that you don’t need anything other than your fingerprint to reopen a locker, but we can only imagine how much that would cost!

Regardless, we are looking forward to this new coaster, but we’re curious to see how the locker situation will work out, because we’re pretty sure there WILL be lockers (otherwise, can you imagine a backpack falling to the ride below? Yeah, no — nightmare fuel).

More on the Highly Anticipated Monsters, Inc. Land

So, what else is coming to Monsters, Inc. Land at Hollywood Studios? Well, Disney is keeping things pretty quiet, but we do know it will pick up after the events of the original movie!

Inside the factory is that unnamed coaster we’ve been talking about. “The first time I saw Monsters, Inc., all I wanted to do was ride on one of those doors like Mike and Sulley,” Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D’Amaro said when announcing the land in 2024. “You’ll go into the factory and experience the first suspended coaster ever in a Disney park. Remember in the movie how those claws grab the doors and hoist them up into the air to take them away? We’re doing that, too. And you’re going along for the ride.”

We’re still waiting for more information about the restaurants and shops. If it’s anything like the concept art, we’ll get to have some ice cream (please call it Ice SCREAM, Disney), and we have our fingers crossed for a Harryhausen’s restaurant!

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Are you looking forward to this new coaster? Tell us in the comments!

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