Monsters, Inc. is a huge family favorite filled with fantastic laughs, thrills, and spills. With lovable characters and a great storyline, it is the perfect franchise for a ride conversion so we expected a lot from the Disney California Adventure Ride when Monster, Inc came to Anaheim. Found out if it’s a hit or a flop in our Monsters, inc. Mike and Sulley to the Rescue Review.
- Location – Disney California Adventure – Hollywood Land
- Type – Dark Ride
- Duration – 3.50+ Mins
- Height Restriction – None
- Average Queue time – 30 mins – 50 Mins
- Genie+ LL – Yes
- Single Rider – Buddy Pass
- Additional Info – a fun trip around Monstropolis!
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Thrill Rating
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Fun
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Uniqueness and Theming
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Smoothness And Comfort
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Value For Time
What is Monsters, Inc. Mike and Sulley to the Rescue
Based on the ever-popular Monster, Inc. Film Franchise this dark ride takes riders on a “Taxi” ride through the crazy world of Monstropolis. The ride loosely follows the events of the first movie when Boo enters the monster’s world and chaos and hijinx follow.
Queue And Theme
The queue line is quite fun, which is fortunate as you are likely o spend quite a while here. The theming is strong right from the off with a recreation of a transport hub in the mythical Monstropolis. There are posters, vending machines, platform announcements, and information videos all themed to make you feel you have arrived in Monstropolis and are waiting in line in the world’s slowest Taxi line. It is all quite fun really.
The ride is very popular. The Franchise is much loved and the ride appeals to multi-generations as the film really cut across the age divide. It is far more than a kid’s film so people of all ages want to experience the ride version. Expect queues to be long.
Genie+ Lightning Lane
The ride has now been added to the Genie+ system which is great news as this was a bit of a chore to get on. Adding it to Genie+ Now means you can easily grab almost walk-on Lightning Lane slots, pretty much all day. It’s well worth checking out if you are nearby as often the return times are straight away, so you can book a slot, jump in the queue and then book your next ride straight away.
Single Rider
There is no Single Rider line here but they do occasionally operate the Buddy Pass System. For groups of 1 or 2, you can receive a pass and enter the Buddy Pass Line. While not guaranteed to be shorter the line took us around 8 minutes versus a 40 min standby line so well worth asking about if the queue is long and you are willing to take spare seats. The System does not operate all the time but we assume it will be up and running whenever the queues are long to improve ride throughput.
Ride Experience
Really we found the whole ride experience a real let-down. There is no ride at all and this is a pure Dark Ride Experience, similar to the type of ride found over in Disneyland, but even Winnie the Pooh and Pirates of the Caribbean have more “action” in the ride than this.
The ride car simply meanders through the different sets with no impetus or interaction with what is going on at all. It is a real shame as a monster’s ride has the potential to be excellent.
To be fair the ride is not all bad. Yes, if you removed the sets this would be pathetic, but that is not the point, the aim of the ride is the sets and they are fantastic! The Sulley, Mike, and Randall Characters are all brought to life in fantastic detail, but they are a little static and Wax Work-like rather than the Disney Animatronic standard. They are however wonderfully detailed.
The Climax scene sees the door vault brought to life in a wonderous fashion as doors fly all around and overhead. There are some clever lighting tricks and the final Roz model is brilliant.
Overall
The ride, however, is an overall disappointment. We know it’s a kid’s ride and young fans of the show will be delighted by the fantastic life-size re-creations of their favorite monsters. We can’t help thinking it could be so much more. The Story is old hat and add’s nothing to the film and the ride mechanics are seriously bland, almost none existence. The Imagineers have done a great job with the recreations and detail but the feeling, in the end, is “was that it?”
Still, the queue lines are large as most people love the franchise and the story and it is still great to see a life-size Sulley and Mike up close, doing their thing, but we just can’t help feeling Disney missed several tricks here. Young fans of the films are not going to be persuaded to avoid this ride though, so sorry parents, get queueing!
Have Yor Say
Let us know your thoughts on Monsters, Inc. Mike and Sulley to the Rescue. We often find our negative reviews get more pushback than when we are positive so if you disagree with Our Mike and Sulley review let us have it! We know the Franchise is well-loved and people just like seeing the characters but we really wanted more. Let us know if you agree or not. Also, how did your kids find it? Most kids are happy with the sets but the simplicity of the ride doesn’t even make it past some kids’ standards so let us know how they found it!