Disney announced the Hollywood Studios park news on Friday, saying the Muppets would be “moving right along” to Sunset Boulevard to take over Rock ’n’ Roller Coaster. In the new iteration of the coaster, the Muppets will team up with “some of music’s biggest stars for a rockin’ music festival.”
Alongside the revamped coaster will be “plenty of Muppets-themed merchandise on Sunset Boulevard.” OK, but you could just reopen the Stage 1 Company Store in the Courtyard that’s been closed for years.
Disney said there’s still plenty of time to enjoy the Muppets and Rock ’n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith before they close.
“As we move forward with these changes, we are having creative conversations and exploring ways to preserve the film and other parts of the experience for fans to enjoy in the future,” Disney said in a release.
It’s nice to see the Muppets won’t be gone for good, and Rock ’n’ Roller Coaster is long past due for an upgrade in this century (sorry, Aerosmith). But closing Muppet*Vision 3D and the courtyard irrevocably taints the legacy of Hollywood Studios as a once-great park themed around the magic of Disney moviemaking.
The pending closure of Muppet*Vision 3D isn’t a surprise. Back in August, outlets reported that the Muppet area of the park was on the chopping block following the announcement of a Monsters, Inc. land. At the time of the D23 parks panel, we didn’t know where Monsters, Inc. would be built in Hollywood Studios.
Sure, the Muppet-filled Grand Avenue courtyard seems like a great place for it. But what about the numerous areas in Hollywood Studios that are largely empty? Looking at you, Animation Courtyard, Pixar Plaza and Sunset Showcase building. Oh, and Star Wars Launch Bay.
Again, what is Disney even doing at Hollywood Studios? Tell us you’re using the park as a place to dump random IP properties you don’t have anywhere else to put without telling us.
As the worry over the Muppets grew in August, I lamented the decline of Hollywood Studios — a park that used to have The Great Movie Ride, a Studio Backlot Tour and a satellite Disney Animation studio.
At the risk of sounding like a grumpy, out-of-touch millennial, I will emphasize that I believe Monsters, Inc. will make a great addition to Disney World. I’m all for incorporating more Pixar properties in the parks, especially in Hollywood Studios alongside Toy Story Land.
But at what cost? The price is pushing a historic cultural phenomenon into obscurity — one that best encapsulates a core tenet of Disney theme parks: nostalgia and childhood whimsy.
Oh, and closing Muppet*Vision 3D means destroying the last project Jim Henson directed before he died in 1990. The immersive, hilarious theater show is also one of the last times Henson performed as Kermit the Frog, Swedish Chef and Waldorf. Muppet*Vision 3D should be designated a historic landmark, not overhauled to make room for a franchise that hasn’t had a new movie in over a decade.
Will my thoughts and the outrage of other Muppet-loving fans make a difference? Probably not. But let us have our time to grieve the pending loss of an irreplaceable piece of entertainment magic.
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This article appears in Nov 20-26, 2024.