Disney World’s Fan-Based Muppet-Based Horror*Vision 3D Is Set to Officially Close
While Disney began teasing a series of incoming updates and theme park upgrades at D23 this summer, during the show, fans began to wonder there all of these new additions would go, even with Disney’s long-term plans to expand both parks over the next decade and beyond. One persistent concern at Disney World was that time was running out for the beloved Muppets attraction Muppet*Vision 3D–and now, that fear has been confirmed.
This morning Disney announced (via The Wrap) that Muppet*Vision 3D will be closing to make way for a new one. Monsters Inc. attraction at Disney Hollywood Studios previously announced at D23, a coaster inspired by the film’s climax, which will now sit in the heart of an entire section of Hollywood Studios themed around the film. Monsters movieverse, including a theater that will replace Muppet*Vision 3D. “As we move forward with these changes, we are having creative discussions and looking at ways to preserve the film and other parts of the experience for fans to enjoy in the future,” a Disney Parks Blog statement about the closure read in part.
One of the rare pieces The Muppets experience at any of the major US Disney Parks, Muppet*Vision 3D opened in 1991 as a mix of 3D film, animatronic puppetry, and live performance—and while it was intended to be the first of several. The Muppets working together in the parks, will eventually be the last The Muppets projects that Jim Henson worked on directly before his tragic passing a year before the opening. Disneyland’s version of Muppet*Vision 3D was shut down in 2014, leaving the East Coast version as the holdover until now, a Disney-like superhero in the big-parks-or-otherwise-struggles-and-what-to-do-with The Muppets.
The closing of Muppet*Vision 3D, however, is not the complete death of the Muppets at Walt Disney World. Part of the Muppet*Vision closing announcement was the confirmation that Electric Mayhem and a few of their muppet friends would be part of the new Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster themed overlay, currently themed around the band Aerosmith, marking a real first. ride in the Disney parks to include the Muppets in some way. Sure, it’s not as original, Muppets-specific as Muppet*Vision 3D, but at least Kermit and friends aren’t completely out of the parks.
work on Monsters Inc. world is scheduled to begin in 2025, so you still have a little time to head over to Walt Disney World in Orlando and say goodbye to both Muppet*Vision 3D and Aerosmith. We’ll bring you more on Disney’s plans for the parks as we learn about them.
Looking for more io9 news? Check out when you can expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe in film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
