Could “Muppet Vision 3D” Be Saved Via Disney+?
Earlier today, Disney announced that as part of its redevelopment of Disney’s Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World in Orlando, it would be making some major changes to make way for a new themed area based on the popular Pixar film, “Monsters Inc”.
During the summer at the D23: Ultimate Fan Event, a new themed rollercoaster and area was revealed, but it wasn’t confirmed where it would be, and unfortunately for Muppet fans, that area is going to be in the Grand Avenue area, which will see the popular “Muppet Vision 3D” attraction closing down.
The 3D show lets viewers experience the magic of the Muppets during a hilarious film and live-action extravaganza. Guests take a seat in a perfect replica of the Muppet Theater from the classic television series, “The Muppet Show”. As the curtain rises, Kermit, Miss Piggy and the whole Muppets menagerie appear in eye-popping 3D. They’re taking you on a zany tour of their lab and showing off their new movie-making invention: Muppet*Vision 3D. Things go haywire when Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and Beaker set a disastrous string of events in motion!
The attraction opened on May 16th 1991, and was one of the final Muppets projects with the involvement of the Muppets creator, Jim Henson, who sadly died before the film was completed.
Because of that rich history, the attraction is considered by many fans to be of major importance, and the initial reaction to the closure of the attraction hasn’t been positive.
Disney has stated that the Muppets characters won’t be leaving the theme park. Instead, the Aerosmith-themed rollercoaster will be getting a retheme to the Muppets, with one of the stores on Sunset Boulevard also being converted to selling Muppet merchandise.
This retheming of the Aerosmith coaster has been rumoured for some time, especially when the “Muppets Mayhem” series debuted on Disney+ a couple of years ago. In Disneyland Paris, the Aerosmith coaster was rethemed to the Marvel Avengers, but due to a longstanding licensing agreement with Universal, Disney can’t do the same in their Orlando theme parks.
In Disney’s official post about the closure of “Muppet Vision 3D”, there was a line about how Disney isn’t just getting rid of the classic film,
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.
This has led to lots of speculation, as my first thought was that the way it’s worded about preserving the film could indicate a potential release on Disney+, maybe with some 3D effects available on compatible devices, though that would be tricky to keep updated. Simply making the film available on Disney+ would mean people could enjoy it (though I’m sure some people would prefer it available on physical media like a Blu-Ray, given Disney’s tendency to delete things from Disney+ occasionally).
I wouldn’t be surprised if the film and experience were moved to another theatre within the Walt Disney World theme park instead of being released on Disney+. The attraction has many real-life elements, including bubbles, air and Sweetums running around the theatre, plus Statler and Waldorf heckle from a balcony, which can’t be replicated through Disney+.
Disney’s already brought many of the episodes of the classic “Muppets Show” to Disney+, though some have been edited or missing completely due to a variety of reasons. So, they have data to highlight if people are interested in these classic characters.
Roger’s Take: This news certainly has caught a lot of attention, and I think Disney isn’t helping themselves with how vaguely they’ve worded their announcement. Moving “Muppet Vision” to another theatre within the theme park, i.e. in Epcot or somewhere else within Hollywood Studios or even confirming it’ll be available on Disney+, would have likely helped soften the blow unless Disney is trying to gauge the interest in the attraction, so it has options. Ultimately, Disney knows they have to be careful with “Muppet Vision 3D”.
What do you think of the news of “Muppet Vision 3D” closing? Let me know on social media!
Roger Palmer
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