In August, when Disney announced a host of huge changes and additions to its theme parks, some of the critical details were left out. Disney was happy to announce what was being added, but was cagey in some cases about what was being removed to make room. They waited about a week before letting it leak through released concept art that its new "Cars" ride would take the place of the Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer's Island in Disney World's (Orlando) Magic Kingdom.
Disney's announcement of a new Monsters, Inc. area in Disney World's Hollywood Studios without any indication of where it would go, and what it would replace, spurred a flurry of speculation that has lasted months. As time went on, many experts suspected that the delay was because the victim would be Hollywood Studios' Muppets area, featuring the MuppetVision 3D movie theater. Who wouldn't fear the wrath of Muppet fans?
On Friday, the shoe dropped. MuppetVision 3D would indeed be closing to make room for the Monsters, Inc. land. A link to an article by Katie Francis in WDW News Today is here.
Here is new Disney concept art showing the upcoming Monsters, Inc. land as it is now planned.
But Muppet fans can rejoice with a corresponding announcement: The Muppets will be taking over the Aerosmith Rock 'n' Roller Coaster ride in the same park.
I don't begrudge any Muppets fan's outrage. But it does seem to me that this is a pretty good tradeoff. The Aerosmith theming of the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster, which is 25 years old, has become more and more puzzling as the rock group ages into irrelevance/retirement and its lead singer becomes problematic. Centering the ride around the Muppets' musical group Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem, as well and the rest of the Muppets gang (as the below concept art shows) should be much more fun. There's also a lot of under-utilized room around the ride in which more Muppets theming can be built.
And MuppetVision 3D, while a beloved attraction (including by me), and one of the last projects worked on by Jim Henson before he died, is 33 years old. While avid fans (including me) were happy to attend the attraction multiple times over the years, movies in general don't have the same repeatability that rides do.
Disney has said that not only will the Monsters, Inc. land feature a suspended roller coaster, but the MuppetVision theater building will remain, re-themed for an additional new Monsters, Inc. attraction.
WDW News Today reports that the MuppetVision film will be preserved by the company:
Disney has already digitized the MuppetVision film (the digital version has been playing for over a decade now) and has assured us that it will be preserved, stating "[…] 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." That being said, this is no way guarantees it will ever be seen in an attraction setting ever again once it closes.
Preserving the digitized film seems to be the very easiest thing that could be done — it's just storing it on a hard drive somewhere. It's the "other parts of the experience" that will be lost when the theater is converted, as there are many physical elements that actually occur in the theater. (Spoiler Alert for a 33 year old attraction that's about to be dismantled.)
Here is a video of MuppetVision 3D, unfortunately somewhat difficult to watch in 2D:
No closing date has been announced for either doomed attraction, but Disney had announced in August that construction for the Monsters, Inc. land would begin in 2025.
