Breaking News!! Muppet*Vision 3D to close and Muppets will take over Rock 'n Roller Coaster
Monsters, Inc. land will replace Muppets Courtyard and Muppet*Vision 3D at Disney's Hollywood Studios. The Muppets will take over Rock 'n Roller Coaster.
The day has come. Disney finally announced where the new Monsters Inc. land will go in Hollywood Studios. I was wrong, and this post didn’t age well.
Scott Gustin broke the news on the morning of Friday, November 22nd.
”Monsters, Inc. land will replace Muppets Courtyard and Muppet*Vision 3D at Disney's Hollywood Studios. To make way for monsters, the Muppets will take over Rock 'n Roller Coaster and "team up with music's biggest starts for a rockin' music festival."
Disney Parks Blog also posted about it.
Do you know how they discover you can simultaneously be happy and sad in the first Inside Out? That’s me right now.
Let’s start with the Bad news: Muppet*Vision 3D and Muppets Courtyard are closing.
DisneyParksBlog says:
Get ready to open the door because Mike and Sulley are coming to town!
That’s right, humans will be able to enter the world of Monsters, Inc. when it is added to the south side of Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Building off the exciting announcements from last summer’s D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event, the new land will include the coaster we’ve all dreamed of – a suspended ride recreating the door vault scene – plus dining and shopping and a whole new theater show.
So say goodbye to PizzaRizzo and Mama Melrose's Ristorante Italiano, too. They will retheme these areas to Monsters Inc. Perhaps a Sushi restaurant like MIke visits in the first movie? It looks like the roller coaster will be new construction, and the Stage 1 Company Store, which never re-opened after the pandemic except for parties, will be demolished.
Disney says this Monsters, Inc. land will include "a whole new theater show" in the current Muppet*Vision 3D theater. I expect the Imagineers to make some excellent references to the Muppets in the theater and show itself.
It would be interesting if they moved Monster’s Laugh Floor from Magic Kingdom to here, but that seems unlikely. If you look at the concept art, there is a billboard for Laugh Floor, but I think this is just decoration as all of Hollywood Studios has billboards, but you never know.
So why here and not Animation Courtyard/LaunchBay?
Disney wants to build a whole land. There's already infrastructure in Muppets Courtyard for a shop, a sit-down restaurant, and a quick-serve restaurant. All of that would be new construction, meaning more money spent. I hope Disney does something new with Star Wars Launch Bay soon. It’s a waste of space, especially since Galaxy’s Edge opened.
Some good news regarding Muppet*Vision 3D
Disney says: "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."
I’m guessing we’ll see the film, Jim Henson’s last project before his death, on Disney+ at the very least.
The Good News: The Muppets will take over Rock 'n Roller Coaster.
Disney Parks Blog states:
To make way for the monsters, Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy and more of their friends will be moving right along to Sunset Boulevard! But there’s more to the story: The Muppets will be taking over Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, teaming up with some of music’s biggest stars for a rockin’ music festival!
We know so many of you share our love for The Muppets and know their energy will be a perfect fit for this coaster. Plus, as the first Disney ride ever to feature The Muppets, there’s sure to be laughter, screams and new tunes for this attraction for fans to enjoy throughout the adventure and plenty of Muppets-themed merchandise on Sunset Boulevard!
In June of 2023, one of the creators, Jeff Yokes, of the Disney+ show “The Muppets Mayhem”, said on Twitter that he pitched a retheme of Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster at Disney’s Hollywood Studios with the Muppets. That post has been removed.
I’m very excited about this. Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster is a great ride, and this theme will work well, especially if they can bring in and update songs from other artists over time. Part of “The Muppets Mayhem” series was that the Electric Mayhem band knew everyone in the music business, so this opens the door to changing the music. This might be like Guardians of the Galaxy | Cosmic Rewind, with random songs!
Some extra good news
Disney has not announced closing dates for either ride, so they’ll be open for a bit longer. Be sure to catch your last rides.
What are your thoughts?
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I personally think this is a great compromise. Hollywood Studios still keeps the Muppets and there is a brand new, exciting land, that is from a beloved movie. I'm all for it.