Do the Muppets Work in Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster?
Walt Disney World has announced the Muppets are taking over Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, replacing Aerosmith. Despite Kermit and co. being a fan-favorite franchise, the response has been rather mixed to this news. One of the surprising sticking points is whether the Kermit, Miss Piggy, and the Electric Mayhem Band belong in the Hollywood Studios thrill ride to begin with.
Before we attempt to answer that titular question, let’s quickly bring you up to speed on the big shake-up at DHS. Walt Disney World has announced that they’ll be opening ‘new doors’ for Muppets and Monsters at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. This means MuppetVision 3D closing to make way for the Monsters, Inc. Doors Coaster and Monstropolis.
However, it also means the Muppets taking over Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster and replacing Aerosmith. This is good news for Muppets fans, like us, and perhaps not-so-stellar news for Aerosmith enthusiasts (also us). Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster recently celebrated its 25th Anniversary, and Aerosmith took to social media to celebrate the occasion.
When the ride opened way back in 1999 at what was then known as the Disney-MGM Studios, Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster was unprecedented. Disney had never done a roller coaster with a high-speed launch and multiple complete inversions, unexpected twists, turns, and high speed revolutions in the dark. It felt like the first time that Disney was aiming for Universal’s audience.
The opening act was quickly followed up with California Screamin’ at DCA (more on this in a bit) and a second (albeit very different) Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith in the Walt Disney Studios Park at Disneyland Paris. Although subjective, I’d say that Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster is still the most intense thrill ride at Walt Disney World.
In any case, between its 25-year history, enduring popularity, and unprecedented nature, it should be wholly unsurprising that a certain segment of Walt Disney World fans are upset about the retirement of Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith. Or, at least, of the last two words of the attraction name. We Walt Disney World fans tend to be a nostalgic bunch, so heartbreak over a ride reimagining comes with the territory.
I’m slightly surprised by the fan reaction. When I first heard this rumor had a strong possibility of happening, my reaction was that losing MuppetVision 3D was the gut punch, but it was at least a silver lining that the Muppets would live on at Walt Disney World via Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster. A suboptimal outcome, to be sure, but better than nothing.
My expectation was that this would be the reaction of most fans. And to be sure, I think that’s more or less the case. There are many Walt Disney World fans mourning MuppetVision, but far more than expected are also lamenting the loss of Aerosmith in Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster.
Part of this, it would seem, is that I came to terms with losing Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith roughly 6 years ago. Back in November 2018, the New York Times did a piece about how much Disney was spending on expansion that included a tidbit about Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster being rethemed. Disney quickly denied it and NYT corrected the piece, but from my perspective, the writing has been on the wall ever since.
In any case, let’s address some of the fan concerns about the Muppets takeover of Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster based on reader comments to the announcement…
The Muppets Are For Kids…
The critique here is that the Muppets are colorful puppets and therefore aimed at children, most of whom are too small for intense attractions. As a result, the target audience won’t even be able to ride Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster with the Muppets, since it has a 48″ minimum height requirement.
This is actually something we’ve addressed in various posts about potential ride reimaginings of Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster over the years. I pointed out this concern, but also that the Incredicoaster at Disney California Adventure is an intense roller coaster that also has a 48″ height requirement.
The Incredibles is about as “adult” of a Pixar movie as there is (save for Wall-E–but that’s not exactly coaster material) and Disney California Adventure definitely has different demographics, but still. It was on this basis that I ruled out almost all Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studio tie-ins to Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster (specifically Inside Out and Zootopia).
The only exceptions to that were the Muppets (not animated, but similar idea) and Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Max Goof as “Powerline.” My basis for this was that neither the Muppets nor Powerline are actually children’s franchises. They’re primarily popular with Millennials and older!
Personally, I greatly appreciate all of you parents who are introducing your kids to culture and have raised Muppets fans. You’re truly doing the Lord’s work. We plan on raising Megatron right and doing likewise. But I’m probably not wrong in saying that none of your kids’ friends are Muppets fans…right?
The height of the Muppets popularity was sometime 30 to 40 years ago. I’m no math expert, but I think that makes most of its fans old enough to meet that minimum height requirement. Muppets enthusiasts are (mostly) elder Millennials to Baby Boomers, not younger generations.
Heck, even those who were kids when the last two Muppets movies were released in theaters to mixed success are now old enough for Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster–those films came out over a decade ago!
One of the big criticisms of Disney’s handling of the Muppets is that they’ve mismanaged them, failing to make them popular with younger audiences. While I’m critical of a lot that Disney has done–and I do think that the Muppets under Disney haven’t done great at nailing their trademark wit and humor–mismanaging the Muppets is not one of those things. The Muppets were fading long before Disney acquired them.
If anything, Disney has given the Muppets chance after chance. This is why I’ve written repeatedly that there must be someone high-up within the company who is a big Muppets fan. It’s because Disney keeps trying, despite repeated failures. (To be sure, some of those failures are self-induced. Disney has had kernels of good ideas with the Muppets that they didn’t give enough time to germinate.)
In any case, this brings us to the next critique…
The Muppets Aren’t Popular…
This is sadly accurate (see above). It’s impossible for me to argue on the one hand that the Muppets aren’t popular with kids under 48 inches and then argue that they are popular on the other hand. The Muppets do not have contemporary popularity on their side. They are not relevant. I’ll be the first to admit this.
What the Muppets have is cultural recognition and significance. As a franchise or brand, they are well-established and have longevity. Characters like Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy are memorable and iconic. They are similar to Mickey Mouse in this regard, and important parts of pop culture history.
What I would argue in addition to this is that even as the Muppets do not enjoy mainstream popularity, they are increasingly influential among key constituencies and tastemakers. Disney Adults love the Muppets. This is an powerful demographic that is only going to grow in the coming years as they enter their peak earning years.
As a retired Childless Disney Millennial, I can assure you that my (former) people will spend big on all things Muppets. I recently bought a couple of overpriced Muppet Christmas Carol shirts, which sold out in minutes to hours depending on the size and style. You better believe that Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring the Muppets will move merchandise.
As a current Child-Having Disney Millennial (not sure that’s a thing…but it is now), I can also assure you that I will be fully indoctrinating our daughter into the ways of the Muppets. I’m sure I’m not the only one. The influence of Millennial parents and purchasing power of Childless Millennials are factors we’ve brought up countless times in the past, usually to justify a revival of Disney Afternoon stuff. Same applies here.
At a time when long-dormant franchises are being revived and rebooted to shocking success, there is something to be said for Disney’s approach in keeping the Muppets in the spotlight. The “bones” of the franchise are still strong, and these characters are one hit away from being big again–and that includes the back catalogue.
I don’t pretend to know what the kids these days find funny (mostly stuff that’s stupid, I assume), but the Muppets’ humor is timeless. They could be popular again. Maybe the Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster ride reimagining will play a role in that. Who knows.
Even if it doesn’t, honestly, who cares?
TRON is not popular. Twilight Zone is not popular. You could argue that many of the older animated movies upon which many of Disney’s dark rides are based aren’t all that popular anymore. It certainly could’ve been said about Splash Mountain, and maybe even Avatar (despite both movies in James Cameron’s franchise–and presumably all subsequent ones–doing gangbusters at the box office).
Something we’ve also said countless times is that a compelling attraction or land can overcome its source material. In fact, we were defenders of Pandora early-on when the land was announced and so many others called it “irrelevant.” Relevancy doesn’t matter when you have quality!
Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster is popular because of the thrill ride at its core. I promise you that it will not be less popular with the Muppets as its hosts. That would be true even if they replaced the rock music with the “Meow Mix” jingle on loop. Wait a minute…I love that idea.
I would also be very careful before going down the “X isn’t sufficiently popular” road. Those of you trying to use that line to protest a Muppets overlay of Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster might be inadvertently making Disney’s point for them with regard to replacing Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island.
Not to mention Hall of Presidents, American Adventure, Spaceship Earth, Carousel of Progress, and any number of other attractions that fans might want to see saved now or in the future. In my view, popularity should not be the only metric used when determining an attraction’s value or placement at Walt Disney World.
In actuality, I think most Walt Disney World fans would agree with this sentiment. If so, I would simply ask that you not embrace it only when it suits your personal preferences. This line of reasoning is either a shield or a sword, not both.
Aerosmith is Irreplaceable…
I hate to break it to you, fellow elder Millennials and older, but Aerosmith also is not popular with the youth. And I say this as an Aerosmith fan! A few of you suggested that Aerosmith should keep the gig because they’re the all-time greatest rock ‘n’ roll band.
This is a highly dubious claim in a world where the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, and the Beatles exist. (I’d personally add a few others to that list above Aerosmith, but my preferences are irrelevant–those are the four bands that own high perches in history.)
Regardless, the commonality among all bands on a ‘greatest of all time’ list is going to be their age. This is why we previously shot down “rumors” about Queen replacing Aerosmith–because it was a lateral move at best. It would require Disney paying for the expense of a reimagining, plus licensing fees all while promoting someone else’s catalogue while not moving the needle on bookings.
Although not necessarily outcome-determinative, there are two additional factors at play with the decision to replace Aerosmith. First, the band just retired from touring, effective immediately. “Peace Out: The Farewell Tour” was already set to be the final tour for Aerosmith, but the retirement came more abruptly due to lead singer Steven Tyler’s vocal injury.
Second, Steven Tyler has been named in two separate lawsuits in the last two years, accusing him of sexual assault, sexual battery, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. We do not seek to assess the merit of the allegations against Steven Tyler. Frankly, the outcome doesn’t much matter.
Regardless of what happens in courts of law, it’s fairly undeniable that showcasing a rock band from the 1970s is a liability for Walt Disney World. Not just Aerosmith…pretty much any rock band of that era! Many did unsavory things, and there are probably closets full of skeletons. Between increased social scrutiny and Disney’s family-friendly image, it’s an unnecessary and imprudent risk.
We’ve previously reported that Disney has contingency plans in place that would allow the company to remove all references to Aerosmith overnight (it’s a similar story with Jimmy Fallon over at Universal, from what we understand). That may be a slight exaggeration–given how long it took to construct CommuniCore Hall, I’m guessing the changeover would take at least a week.
As we’ve also pointed out previously, the only musician it would make sense to showcase in Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster would by Taylor Swift. Before you curmudgeons start grumbling about talent, overexposure, or who knows what else–this isn’t about your personal tastes (I personally prefer Aerosmith to Taylor Swift, but I also live on planet earth and know who is more popular). This is about the one musician who has marketability and drawing power that would actually justify the insane licensing fees.
That list is one entry long, and she’s it. So unless you’d prefer Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster: Taylor’s Version, it was always going to be Disney IP highlighted as part of a ride reimagining.
Imagineering Doesn’t Know What They’re Doing…
This one strikes me as fans not understanding how Disney makes decisions, assuming that Imagineering has the ultimate authority and chose to swap MuppetVision for Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring the Muppets. To quote that one annoying commercial: “that’s not how it works…that’s not how any of this works!”
Think of Imagineering like the culinary team at a restaurant, Walt Disney World management as the guest, and you as a viewer watching on television. Like The Bear, but less stressful. For the restaurant in this example, let’s use Cítricos at the Grand Floridian.
It’s one of the best Disney restaurants anywhere, and the chef (Imagineering) has some truly ambitious and envelope-pushing dishes on the menu. Unfortunately, the guest (Walt Disney World management) keeps ordering the chicken nuggets from the kids menu.
The conclusion you could draw is that Citricos sucks now because it’s a prestigious restaurant that only serves is chicken nuggets. If you didn’t have insight into the full menu thanks to this being televised, that would be a reasonable conclusion. But if watching this on TV, you’d probably conclude that the guest is the problem. The meal can only be as good as what’s ordered.
So many of you are quick to point out that the international parks, Tokyo Disney Resort in particular, get all of the good stuff. Have you ever stopped to ask why? Despite Imagineering being the creative firm for all of them, why does Walt Disney World so often achieve the worst results? Think it through. It’s not as if Imagineering actively hates Walt Disney World and is making bad decisions exclusively for Florida. It’s the executives, not the creatives, who are the primary problem.
To be fair, sometimes the creative is bad or poorly executed. But most of the time, Imagineers are trying to make lemonade out of lemons, or to continue our tortured example, trying to make chicken nuggets that are actually ambitious and delicious.
It’s also again worth reiterating here that the Muppets are under the purview of Walt Disney Imagineering, and have been for the last few years. That’s likely how we got Muppets Haunted Mansion (and why it was so good) and also explains the promotional appearances of the Muppet characters.
Imagineers love the Muppets. They have zero interest in destroying MuppetVision. You had better believe that Imagineering pitched multiple plans on executives that would’ve saved MuppetVision, and pushed hard for leadership to order those. If you want to blame anyone for this outcome, direct your ire at Bob Iger, Josh D’Amaro, and Jeff Vahle.
While I don’t have perfect insight into how this went down, my strong suspicion is that Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring the Muppets was a hail mary by Imagineering to save the Muppets at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in some capacity in the hope that they could eventually build on it and turn this into a new Muppets miniland. It’s a small miracle that they even managed to accomplish this, to be perfectly honest. It’s also gotta be so despiriting for the Imagineers who did everything they could to save the Muppets be subject to backlash from fans who don’t understand how things work.
A Roller Coaster Isn’t Right for Muppets Humor…
Another one with which I mostly agree!
In a perfect world, the Muppets would have a meaty attraction. Say, a 17-minute show with a lengthy pre-show beforehand, waiting area loaded with gags, and theater including tons of effects. In other words, MuppetVision 3D. I would also gladly take a dark ride, perhaps the Great Muppets Movie Ride.
Again, see the above example about menu planning. Over the last few decades, I’d hazard a guess that there have been dozens upon dozens of such meaty attractions on Imagineering’s menu. We even know about a few of them! However, they’ve never been greenlit by the executives.
Ultimately, it’s Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring the Muppets or nothing. Anything else that fans are debating is a false choice, at least from the perspective of Imagineering. Kind of like what happened recently with Country Bear Musical Jamboree, which is pretty far from my favorite attraction but better than the realistic alternative. (As an aside, the reason I’ve refrained from reviewing it is because I know the work Imagineering put into making that happen at all, and I have no desire to knock that. The passion and understanding of the bears shines through, regardless of the end product.)
My hope is that Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring the Muppets will be well-executed. I don’t think there’s any chance it lives up to MuppetVision 3D for me based solely on my attraction preferences and the respective formats, but I think it could be good. If there’s one thing that Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind has shown us, it’s that roller coasters can be meaty attractions with a great sense of humor. If Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring the Muppets ends up being a cross between MuppetVision 3D and Cosmic Rewind, it’ll be a huge win. At the very least, it’ll expose a huge number of new guests to the Muppets, and that alone makes it a distinctly patriotic attraction.
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YOUR THOUGHTS
Do you think Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring the Muppets will “work” as an attraction? Are you upset about the Muppets replacing Aerosmith, Monsters replacing MuppetVision, or both? If MuppetVision were going away regardless, would you still be mad about the RnRC reimagining? Do you agree or disagree with our assessments? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
“Disney has had kernels of good ideas with the Muppets that they didn’t give enough time to germinate”
Revive the ABC sitcom about Up Late with Miss Piggy!
I’ll tell you how we feel: We were in the middle of planning our (practically) annual trip to Disney and we saw the announcement. My husband said “Well, I guess we aren’t going”. He was have joking, but we all actually agreed with him. Once we are at Disney, we have a lot of rides and attractions that we enjoy, and we each have our own favorites, but the rock ‘n’ roll roller coaster is, or should I say WAS, the ride that gets us there.
Great article as always Tom.
Huge muppet fan (46years old for reference) and felt that this fit seemed to be the easiest and most logical. Ideally they go forward with a mini land in that area once the villains show potentially moves to villains land at magic kingdom.
It could work as long as they don’t shortchange the overlay by just slapping in some static muppets next to the track like they did with incredicoaster overlay. If done right it could be a lot of fun. Wouldn’t it also be cool if they did a seasonal overlay with rock n roller coaster much like all the season overlays at Disneyland and do a muppet Christmas Carol overlay for November and December?
I digress. I still felt the best retheme would have been to drop the rock star theme altogether and make the coaster the TVA with an eternal timeline theme to the coaster, and an amazing queue that took you into the TVA. You then could retheme tower of terror to mission breakout and have your avengers campus at Hollywood studios.
I hope for an Animal-the-chosen-one hibachi restaurant outside the updated coaster
Of course I wish for this retheme to be well-executed, however, I can no longer ride RNR (the older I get, the more my body hates it). So, sadly, I won’t even be able to enjoy it. Still hoping for additional Muppets content in the park. They better relocate the fountain! To lose it would be distinctly unpatriotic…
I’m concerned about the update. If we get a Disney Muppet Coaster, will I still be able to pick Muppet songs from the secret menu at Universal’s Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit?
From my part, I’ve known for years that Muppets and roller coasters are a great match!
Also big Aerosmith fan, but I fully understand the update. Regardless of popularity, and even if the band was in a pristine moral situation, it’s the right move to move coaster to IP, because Disney would have more control and longevity (and here I mean longevity not in a sense associated with popularity, if you know what I mean). And this is coming from someone that is very tired of IP taking over everything in the parks, I really appreciate “park-canon” and originals. So I guess I’m just glad it’s not a Frozen coaster.
what a bunch of morons. disney going to hell in a handbasket
Or as Bugs would say, “What a maroon!” I’m sure there’s a well-studdied method to this mess. The question is, will it ultimately pay off for Disney’s stock price? So far, if everything I’ve read and seen is indicative of the results, the answer is a resounding “NO”. But it’s early in the game yet.
What would make everyone happy, in my opinion is take out The Cars show at Hollywood, move muppets 3d in that spot, take monsters inc laugh box out of Magic Kingdom and put it where Muppets were and put The Cars show where Laugh Box was. Maybe add a quick service restaurant where the muppets new area would be.
I know this is pie in the sky, but any chance they could add a smaller theater at the end of Rock ‘n Roller coaster and show a version of Muppet’s 3D there? It would be an optional post ride show. Make the coaster Kermit is running late to the big muppet lab demo and hitches a ride with The Electric Mayhem. Most people would probably walk by the show, but if you wanted to stay and wait you could. The theater could be smaller so maybe it would lose some aspects of the experience (maybe Swetums and the orchestra, but I bet you could get Statler and Waldorf in).
I know it probably will never happen, but just seems like the best of all worlds. They get the space for Monsters. Muppets3D lives on in some form and probably are exposed to new people. I am sure cost and logistics make it impossible, but we can dream.
I am a xennial and I have loved the Muppets since I was a kid. I have two kids that love the Muppets. I guess the love of Muppets got passed on. One of my kids loves coasters and the other doesn’t. So, it is disappointing that they both won’t enjoy this new ride. I am still holding out hope that they will show Muppet Vision again in the future. Also, we are going to try to say our farewell before they close the attraction. Tom, have you heard anything about a closing timeline for Muppet Vision?
I grew up during the height of the Muppet’s popularity. There were not many options available in the 70s and early 80s so the Muppets were all we really had during the week. They WERE tremendously popular, but not anymore. I’m not sad to see Aerosmith go, they had a terrific run. What’s disappointing is that Iger and his team has tied Imagineering’s hands with the requirement to use IP in all of these new rides and re-themes. In this case, one that is completely unaligned with a young adult oriented dark caster. While I agree that execution can make this a great ride, it’s forced. I don’t see this re-themed coaster getting the attention or excitement enough to compel a teenager or young adult who is not a frequent WDW guest to say, “wow!, I need to get to Walt Disney World so that I can ride the Muppet coaster”. Imagineering, I’m sure, could create a new theme that is unique, spectacular, and awesome for what is really one of the only adult oriented fast coasters on property. But again and again, Iger and company loves that chicken nugget kid’s menu.
Why would Walt Disney World want to compel teenagers to visit? They don’t have money.
Drawing teenagers has proven a problem for so many theme and amusement parks around the country. It’s why some have instituted chaperone policies!
Disney is far better off chasing Baby Boomers (still a lucrative demo because they’re grandparents funding trips for the family), Millennials (parents and DINKS entering peak earning years), and children (typically unemployed, but accompanied by one of the above categories).
Maybe this coaster won’t accomplish any of that, but IMO, all of the realistic alternatives would be less-liked by Walt Disney World fans.
Good point! Teens on their own can definitely be a problem. Perhaps I should have said Teens and younger adults. As for not having money, that’s true, yet teens and younger adults with parents do have money to spend. I don’t think my generation made Taylor swift a billionaire. But as an uncle with teen nieces soon to join me on a trip to WDW, they impact where money and time are spent. A lot to think about, but one thing is true, I don’t get to decide and only hope it’s exceptional and does not make your list of replacements that are worse than their predecessor.
Although I’m getting to the point where it’s not a good idea for me to ride coasters anymore, Rock’n’Roller Coaster is one of my favorites, along with another indoor dark ride/coaster combo, Revenge of the Mummy out at Universal Studios. They’re much preferred to coasters with just bare track & the only theming being the name, not set decor or storyline. But it is troubling that Aerosmith was a part of Disney, with raunchy songs like “Rag Doll”. (Just imagine Mickey singing that song to Minnie. “Gee, Minnie, you’ll always be my hot tramp daddy’s little cutie!”) I tolerated it, though, because ever since Eisner, Disney has branched out into stuff that isn’t pure good, clean fun. Those Marvel movies, for example, can also be raunchy in their sense of humor. If I were CEO, I could imagine myself making a move to get Disney solely back to family friendly entertainment, but that would be a controversial move. Many would say profits would plummet, and fans who loved Marvel and such things would also be crying foul. I myself would be torn about getting rid of Indiana Jones attractions, since I love “Temple of Doom”. Oh, well, that’s just me daydreaming. It has no more chance of happening than me winning that big New York lottery (especially as I don’t even play that particular lottery).
those overpriced Christmas Carol Muppets shirts we’re most haves though!!!!
Is there something at Disney that ISN’T overpriced? 🙂
I really like knowing that this version of the ride will exist, even though I will NEVER ride it myself. (10 years ago, maybe…) Can’t wait to watch it on YouTube, though!
Anecdotally, this weekend my two college-aged daughters were begging to go to a Muppets stage show 2 hours away, and definitely were excited about a Muppets coaster. They would see anything Muppet themed. :-). And when I wear my Muppets tshirts to trivia night college kids regularly stop by to discuss all things Muppets.
Certainly I’m not suggesting Muppets are universally loved by this age group, but there appears to be more excitement about a new Muppets ride than you would think.
Congratulations, your daughters are tastemakers! 😉
Seriously though, I’m not surprised that college students are more inclined to like the Muppets. I guess I’d liken them to something like Succession, a show that actually wasn’t that popular, but disproportionately dominated online discourse. Meanwhile, Young Sheldon dwarfed its viewership numbers but no one online talked about it.
Young Sheldon rapidly devolved into a night time soap opera with none of the charm or wry humor of Big Bang. in tbe beginning I had high hopes for it but. . . . . I really can’t understand why it remained popular but that’s just me being a dinosaur I guess.
Mr. Bricker,
Long time reader, first time commenter. Love your site!
The four bands you named were all English, not American.
That being said, I agree with you totally that rock bands of that era are culturally irrelevant and that, apart from Taylor Swift and the massive costs involved in getting her participation, a more modern choice isn’t going to move the needle. Disney IP was going to take over this ride sooner or later, and with Marvel off-limits (the retheme that already happened in Paris) due to the Islands of Adventure deal and MuppetVision going away, the Muppets raking over this coaster is the best possible outcome for Muppet fans.
*taking
Ha, of course I named a bunch of British bands in my list of the greatest American rock ‘n’ roll bands.
In my defense, America has a way of importing other countries’ culture and repackaging it as our own. I’d say that applies to all of those bands, too! 😉
The saddest thing about this, is that a large portion of Muppet fans won’t be riding roller coasters anymore in 15-20 years. Most muppet fans in their 60’s would probably prefer a sit down show featuring them. But Disney never thinks that far down the road….
That’s a good and fair point.
My guess is that the intended shelf life on this is less than 20 years–probably less than 10. I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if this is a placeholder to placate fans for a bit…and until Universal inevitably gives up the Marvel rights. I know that’s been the fan pipe dream for years, but it’s actually going to happen sooner or later.
At 57, I’m still a big coaster fan. But my most favorite Muppet experience recently was sitting in the Grand Floridian lobby listening to the piano player play “Rainbow Connection “.
Great points as usual. I think of 2 things that are key and you mention one- the muppets are better served in some kind of show. After all the Muppets show was them putting on a show. Yes I’ve missed several specials along the way. The ultimate thing for me that I wish all the parks would follow is maintain what you have and build new stuff with new ideas etc. They need desperately need capacity anyhow.
Good Grief Tom! I think I just read War and Peace!
Ok, then Disney, if you’re dead set on trashing the Muppet 3D show and Rizzo’s so you can realize more profit from the venue / area, how about throwing us non-thrill ride people a bone and putting the Muppets little window show back into Liberty square? it costs nothing, you probably still have the animatronics there, it displaces nothing, and gives those of us who appreciate their dry humor something to watch.
Completely agree with you about “The Muppets Present … Great Moments in American History.”
While you and I might think that it costs next to nothing in the grand scheme of thing, it used unionized performers as puppeteers. As we’ve seen countless times in recent years, Walt Disney World is allergic to paying higher labor costs for entertainment. The why of that still baffles me given all the money they waste elsewhere, but that’s their perspective.