Disney's Monsters, Inc. Door Vault Roller Coaster: The Toy

The door vault sequence from PIXAR's 2001 film "Monsters, Inc." is just screaming to be made into a Disney theme park attraction.

When the movie debuted, Hasbro made an Electronic Monsters, Inc. Factory toy.

The Factory play set incorporates the door "roller coaster" and "show scenes" from the movie.

Hasbro did a nice job translating the basic idea of the Factory into a mass-market toy.

It probably would have been too expensive to make this a functioning multi-car coaster toy.

Disney hasn't built a Monsters, Inc. roller coaster yet, but it's no secret that one has been in the works for Disney's Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World in Florida (near Toy Story Midway Mania).

I'm sure many Walt Disney World visitors would welcome what would most likely be a tame, inverted coaster-style dark ride experience for Disney's Hollywood Studios.

Hopefully this ride would feature show scenes with animatronic monsters.

Yes, I bet it would be really popular if the characters interacted with riders in some way.

There are currently three Monsters, Inc. attractions at Disney theme parks, but none of them feature a ride on the door vault track.

At the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, the California Adventure Park features a dark ride called "Monsters, Inc.: Mike and Sulley to the Rescue!" This opened in 2006, and replaced the "Superstar Limo" Hollywood dark ride.

In 2007, the "Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor" Comedy Club opened in Tomorrowland at the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World in Florida (replacing the theater that used to house the TimeKeeper attraction). The interactive stage show uses real-time digital animated characters.

In 2009, Tokyo Disneyland opened "Monsters, Inc. Ride & Go Seek" in Tomorrowland (replacing the theater that housed a show called "Meet the World"). This ride is similar to the Monsters, Inc. attraction in California, but it is on a larger scale and incorporates an interactive game of flashlight tag.

With the upcoming Monsters, Inc. prequel, it seems like the Door Vault coaster has a good chance of getting built.

I have no doubt that a Door Vault ride could be one of the most popular attractions in Florida.

The Monsters, Inc. world features some great characters and settings.

In comparison to other PIXAR properties like Toy Story and Cars, Monsters Inc. has sort of been off of the radar for a while. Writing this made me remember how much fun these monsters are.

Hasbro also made some Monsters, Inc. toys with animatronic features.

Sulley's mouth moves! Not too shabby.

Remote control Mike has an animated mouth and eye.

If Hasbro could make a toy version of this, imagine what could be done with a Door Vault ride.

It's time to go back in time and see some more Monsters, Inc. stuff from when the movie debuted.

It's a one eyed monster. It requires a battery. There's a joke there somewhere. And it is a clock. Yes, I wrote "clock."

Before Hasbro launched its popular Disney Theme Park Collector Packs mini figures, they released a Monsters, Inc. set. I love this collection, because it features some very obscure characters, like Flint (voiced by Bonnie Hunt).

Note that the Newscaster figure only has arms. In the movie, the character was behind a desk, so the model did not have legs!

One of these things is not like the other.

The pillow eventually had the eyelash feature dropped. Maybe it just looked too creepy, even for a monster.

McDonald's did a Monsters, Inc. Happy Meal in 2001.

Some Happy Meals get boxes and some get bags. All feature games.

The large toys have glow in the dark features.

Boo's door lights up, too.

Hasbro also made a Play-Doh set.

Give George Sanderson some wild hair, then cut it all off.

Re-create the moment in the film when Mike swallowed a flashlight with this Paper Lamp.

Mike is used to having others walk all over him, so he doesn't mind being a Throw Rug.

Sid from Toy Story was consulted on some toy ideas for Monsters, Inc.

If the Door Vault ride happens at Walt Disney World, there should be a store nearby selling Build Your Own Monsters like these!

The Beanie craze was in full force in 2001.

I think these are the best plush toys I've seen of Mike and Sulley.

What would a snow globe of the Door Vault scene look like? This!

The snow globe "Plays If I Can't Have You." Is that the song by the Bee Gees, or the version of the song by Yvonne Elliman? I think somebody made a mistake, and it actually plays the song "If I Didn't Have You" from Monsters, Inc.

Hasbro and Disney joined forces for Disney's Wild Racers, a 2002 line of die cast cars sold in retail chains across the country. Mike and Sulley were featured in the second wave of the series.
Sulley's car is the "Scary Screamster" or the "Scary Screamer" (I guess they couldn't decide on one name). These cars were eventually re-launched as "Disney Racers" exclusively at the Disney theme parks (without Hasbro, and without names for the cars and without vanity plates).

Monsters, Inc. characters were often featured on merchandise as hand-drawn characters.

I love the 2D designs for the characters, and I always thought there should have been a Monsters, Inc. animated series.

The 2D designs were sometimes used for 3D products, too.

The Denim Plush Sulley is one of the most unique Monsters, Inc. items I've seen.

Kellogg's and Disney teamed up to promote Disney theme parks not long after Monsters, Inc. debuted.

These great Bendy figures of Mike (Billy Crystal), Celia (Jennifer Tilly), Sulley (John Goodman) and Randall Boggs (Steve Buscemi) could be found in boxes of Kellogg's cereal.

Kellogg's also released a line of cloth plush toys.

Sulley was featured in a Disney Parks "What will you celebrate?" Kellogg's promotion.

Monsters, Inc. characters could be found at the Block Party Bash Parade at Disney's California Adventure, which was later relocated to Disney's Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World in Florida.

I got to see this fun Parade (with its animated doors) in November of 2009 at Walt Disney World.

This lively event featured animatronic props and characters.

This was also the place to see some seldom-seen monsters like George Sanderson and Needleman.

Mike and Sulley also made an appearance in PIXAR's Cars.

With a Cars land opening at California Adventure, I wonder if Mike and Sulley could appear there. Or, if Florida gets a version of Cars Land (maybe they could call it World of Cars in Florida) near the proposed Door Vault coaster, could the Monster Truck version of Sulley and Mike appear there?

The Yeti from Monsters, Inc. was also in Cars (as part of a joke about how actor John Ratzenberger voices a character in every PIXAR film). I love the snow cone Yeti logo seen here.

It would be pretty funny if the Yeti appeared in a Cars Land spoof of the Matterhorn at Disneyland or a World of Cars spoof of Expedition Everest at Walt Disney World.

There has to be a Yeti Snow Cone snack location!

*Update on September 7, 2013:

The rumor these days is that a Door Vault Roller Coaster could show up in a Monstropolis for Disney California Adventure in Anaheim, California.

The 2013 hit "Monsters University" prequel introduced a college campus full of new characters to the Monsters, Inc. world, including Greek Council President Claire Wheeler (voiced by Aubrey Plaza, from one of my favorite shows, "Parks and Recreation") and Chip Goff from Roar Omega Roar.

Assisting Claire is Greek Council Vice President Brock Pearson (voiced by Tyler Labine, from the TV show "Reaper").  Most of the monsters in the MU Fraternities and Sororities all look wildly different, with the exception of Britney Davis and the gals of Python Nu Kappa all looking essentially the same.

Did you know that MU has operated a campus in Atlanta, Georgia since 1981?  There, you'll find Brock's distant relative, Big Bertha (a Coach) and a couple cheerleaders who are no doubt Python Nu Kappas.

For some Southern Fried Fun, be sure to check out Monsters, M.I.A.: Six Flags Over Georgia's Monster Mansion And The Big Monster on Campus.

UPDATE:  On October 5, 2013 I finally saw Monsters University.  It was playing at the dollar movie theater, and every single seat was taken!  I was not too sure what I'd think about this being a sequel that is a prequel, but I was shocked at how much I enjoyed the film.  Monsters University is my favorite Pixar movie.

MU is my favorite because it is incredibly fun and well-written.

I love all the characters in Monsters University.  I thought the group of Oozma Kappa monsters (and Mrs. Squibbles) were especially funny.

I've had my eye on the Monster Minis by Spin Master (sold at Walmart) for a while now, and after finally seeing the movie, I had to get them!

I hope to see more of Mike and Sulley.  Maybe someday we'll see "Monsters High School," "Monsters Daycare", "Monsters Retirement Center" and "Monsters Rehab."