Disney Files Permit for Monsters, Inc. Land Restaurant at Former Mama Melrose’s Site

Permit Filed as Work Begins on Harryhausen’s Restaurant for the New Monsters, Inc. Land at Disney’s Hollywood Studios

Something monstrous is cooking up in the backlot! Walt Disney Imagineering has officially filed a new permit signaling the start of construction on Harryhausen’s Restaurant, the full-service dining location coming to the all-new Monsters, Inc. Land at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

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According to documents uncovered by WDWMAGIC, the permit lists PCL Construction Services, Inc.—one of Disney’s go-to contractors—as the general contractor for the project. The filing applies to the address that once housed Mama Melrose’s Ristorante Italiano, a fan-favorite dining spot that closed earlier this year after serving guests for more than three decades. The new permit’s scope of “general construction” means Disney is officially ready to gut and transform the space into a sushi-filled slice of Monstropolis.

The upcoming Harryhausen’s will be inspired by the iconic restaurant from Pixar’s 2001 classic, where Mike and Celia’s romantic sushi date gets hilariously interrupted by Boo. If concept art is any clue, guests can expect neon signs, tentacled décor, and the kind of whimsical chaos that only a restaurant full of monsters could provide.

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The restaurant is just one piece of a much larger expansion transforming the former Muppets Courtyard area into Monstropolis, a new Pixar-themed land that will include:

• Harryhausen’s Restaurant – a full-service dining experience straight out of the movie
• The Glob Theater – a reimagined Muppet Theater turned into a Monsters, Inc. stage show
• A Flying Door Coaster – a thrilling attraction set inside the movie’s iconic door warehouse

PCL is also leading the neighboring Glob Theater’s transformation, so it seems the Monstropolis project is ramping up in multiple areas at once. While Disney hasn’t yet announced an opening timeline, visible site work and multiple active permits suggest progress is roaring along.

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