It’s been just over two months since Disney culled The Muppets from Hollywood Studios, but it’s already teasing their return.
While diehard Disney fans are rarely placid about the closure of a classic attraction, Muppet*Vision 3D sparked a new level of outrage. The immersive show – in which Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, and friends demonstrated their new 3D technology – performed its final show on June 7 to make way for a new land inspired by Monsters, Inc.
With the closure of Muppet*Vision 3D came the end of PizzeRizzo (which replaced Pizza Planet back in 2016) and other Muppet-themed features, such as the iconic Miss Piggy fountain and the long-closed Stage 1 Company Store. Disney also previously axed The Muppets Present…Great Moments in American History from Magic Kingdom.
For the most passionate fans of the Muppets, this closure was a move of disrespect from The Walt Disney Company, considering the fact that Muppet*Vision 3D was one of the final Muppets projects for both Jim Henson and veteran Muppets performer Richard Hunt. Its final days saw lengthy lines for the show, with guests flocking in Muppet-themed fits to say their farewells.
That’s what makes today’s move from Disney so significant.
Disney Welcomes ‘The Muppets’ Back to Hollywood Studios
To celebrate National Roller Coaster Day, Disney has shared a video of Fozzie Bear visiting The Muppets’ future home at Hollywood Studios: Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster.
Fozzie Bear told a series of roller coaster-themed jokes to mark the occasion (including “Why is Space Mountain such a good secret keeper? Because it keeps everyone else in the dark”), but didn’t offer much in the way of new information about the ride itself.
As previously confirmed by Disney, the indoor roller coaster is set to axe its Aerosmith theme in 2026 and instead embrace a Muppets theme featuring Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem. So far, all we’ve received is a poster for the attraction, featuring some colorful redesigns for the ride vehicles.
This joins a string of other major additions heading to Disney World. Disney’s Monsters, Inc. land will feature a new roller coaster – Disney World’s first suspended roller coaster – along with a new show, shops, and dining. Elsewhere, Star Wars Launch Bay is finally leaving the park to make way for a new Burbank studio-inspired experience, The Walt Disney Studios.
Over at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Disney is gradually closing DinoLand U.S.A. to replace the much-maligned land with Tropical Americas. This will feature areas inspired by both Encanto and Indiana Jones. In the park’s icon, the Tree of Life, Zootopia: Better Zoogether will arrive later this year in place of the nostalgic (but, let’s be honest, terrifying) It’s Tough to Be A Bug!
Meanwhile, Magic Kingdom Park has ditched the Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island in order to create a new Cars Land. Disney is also set to construct a new Disney Villains area nearby, having recently started polling Disney parkgoers about their favorite villains.
Exciting though the concept of a Muppets-themed Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster may be, there are plenty of Disney fans who would prefer to have retained Muppet*Vision 3D. While Disney has archived the attraction’s film and animatronics – meaning it could theoretically return somewhere in the future – it seems unlikely that we’ll ever be able to enjoy the show in the same way at Disney’s Hollywood Studios again in the future. Still, a Muppets mega fan can dream.
Do you miss Muppet*Vision 3D?
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