The ride follows, very closely, the story of the film.

The queue area, where parkgoers (Disney terms "guests") wait to board the ride ("attraction"), is themed to a bus station 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 characters (monsters) depicted in the film.

The taxis exit a tunnel and go down the dark streets of the city, passing characters Mike and Celia in Mike's new car as Mike (protagonist in the film) 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 (another protagonist and principal character of the film) 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 sharing an acronym for a US law being debated at the time the film was released) 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 (in the film taking the shape of common wooden 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 appearance of passing guests (for example, if a guest is wearing Mickey Mouse ears, she tells them they have nice ears).

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