The very last Muppets project Jim Henson worked on before his death is closing.
That’s been the rumor for months, ever since Disney announced they were adding a whole new land based on Monsters Inc. to its Hollywood Studios theme park in Walt Disney World. But now it’s confirmed. An article on Disney Parks Blog states that “to make way for the monsters, Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy and more of their friends moving right along to Sunset Boulevard!”
In other words, Henson’s Muppet*Vision 3D film will close in order to make room for the new land. The Muppets will instead become the new subjects of the park’s Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, which opened in 1999 and is currently themed around the band Aerosmith.
Muppet*Vision 3D first opened in 1991, and it is one of the oldest attractions at Disney Hollywood Studios (formerly Disney-MGM Studios) still in operation. It is particularly notable among Muppet fans because it was one of Jim Henson’s very last projects before his death.
Although Henson died in 1990, before the attraction officially opened, he directed the film — a 3D movie with additional in-theater effects — as well as puppeteered Kermit the Frog and several other Muppet characters in it.
Disney released this concept art for the new version of Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster:
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Although the Muppet*Vision 3D film was also at Disney’s California Adventure park for a time, it closed there in 2014. When the film closes in Florida, that will be the end of the attraction — and perhaps the last time Muppet fans will be able to watch this very popular and beloved Henson project.
The Disney Parks Blog does say that the company is “having creative conversations and exploring ways to preserve the film and other parts of the experience for fans to enjoy in the future.” That suggests the film could be made available on streaming or home video — although without the various 3D and 4D in-theater effects, I’m not sure it will be quite the same thing. (And if they’re removing the theater where it plays in order to make room for Monsters Inc. stuff, I’m not sure how you could “preserve” the full experience.)
Given that Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster is themed around a band that formally retired from touring earlier this year, it is more than overdue for some kind of update. At Walt Disney Studios Park in Paris, their version of the Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster has already been reskinned to be an Avengers ride. But the deal between Marvel and Universal for the latter’s super hero area at their Islands of Adventure theme park ensures that concept is not allowed at Disney’s Florida parks. Using the Muppets instead sounds like a fun alternative. Whether that lessens the sting of the closure of Muppet*Vision 3D for hardcore Muppet fanatics remains to be seen.
Disney did not announce closure dates for Muppet*Vision 3D or the Aerosmith version of Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster yet, saying only “there’s still enough time to catch a super-stretch limo to the Forum to enjoy Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith and catch Muppet*Vision 3D again before their final curtain calls.”
