Rumor Muppets to Take Over The Hall of Presidents

WondersOfLife

Blink, blink. Breathe, breathe. Day in, day out.
I'm gonna say it, in part because I hope I'm right. I recognize that @TheVisionarySoul has a track record on here that is probably only exceeded by Martin. But this feels like an attempt to plug a leak type rumor.
I said it once, and I'll say it again... A rumor can be potential news if you manifest it into existence... LETS DO IT
 

cmwade77

Well-Known Member
To everyone else: can we get back to the topic at hand? The Muppets, a brand Disney has no clue on what to do with is attempting to shoehorn it into probably one of the most patriotic shows in US history, just to make a mockery out of it.
Umm, Sam Eagle actually would be a perfect fit and again the show could be done right with the muppets, especially if the other HoP rumor is indeed true and Lin Manuel Miranda and Weird Al are collaborating to write it. We don't even know for sure that either of the rumors are true or what the final outcome may be, but we do know that the attraction has been becoming more and more problematic for a while with every new president. So, does Disney try to do something like this, do they simply relegate the current president to a very minor role, do they keep things as they are and deal with the massive problems it presents and constantly keep adding more security at every president change or do they scrap the entire attraction?

I think doing something to make it less about the current president is a good idea as I think scrapping it isn't a good idea and keeping things as they are is a major issue, just from the need for security alone.
 
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PaulZ

Well-Known Member
You know how to defuse the political aspects of this show? You revert it back to the original where there’s a generic video updated every so often, all Presidents are introduced, Lincoln gives his old speech, Battle Hymn of the Republic ends the show, and off you go. I’ve always thought it was a mistake to let the current president speak because people are inherently stupid and many believe their political viewpoint is worthy of everyone having to hear it.
 

champdisney

Well-Known Member
Umm, Sam Eagle actually would be a perfect fit and again the show could be done right with the muppets, especially if the other HoP rumor is indeed true and Lin Manuel Miranda and Weird Al are collaborating to write it. We don't even know for sure that either of the rumors are true or what the final outcome may be, but we do know that the attraction has been becoming more and more problematic for a while with every new president. So, does Disney try to do something like this, do they simply relegate the current president to a very minor role, do they keep things as they are and deal with the massive problems it presents and constantly keep adding more security at every president change or do they scrap the entire attraction?

I think doing something to make it less about the current president is a good idea as I think scrapping it isn't a good idea and keeping things as they are is a major issue, just from the need for security alone.
Sam the Eagle is great and I find the character as one of/if not the funniest character in the Muppets. He’s always funny, hardly corny and he’s got the greatest American attitude I have ever seen. He’s a proud bragging patriot who sometimes comes across silly to others, that to me sounds like a lot of us Americans.

However, being said that I still can’t say I like the idea. If they bring Sam along, in comes the rest of em’ and that’s the type of shenanigans I don’t want this attraction to succumb to. To me this is just moving the Muppets street show they had outside of HoP indoors. Weird Al rumored to be one of the writers confirms the lunacy coming to this attraction. I don’t even mind Weird Al, I loved his spoof of “Ridin’ Dirty” back in high school.

All I’m saying is that The Hall of Presidents has been around for 50 years. It’s the most patriotic show in history and I love it as is, a lot of people do. I believe some traditions should be left alone. This is one of them. This show, although in a Disney theme park is meant to be taken seriously. I do think you can enhance it with a franchise tied to it, suppose it be National Treasure. It will still make light years more sense than adding The Muppets. Make the show feel like an adventure. If planned out accordingly by Walt Disney Imagineering, they can convert the stage to something along the lines of what Universal made out of the old T2: 3D stage when crafting the new Bourne stunt show.

Think of having Nicolas Cage as Benjamin Gates beng the narrator here while live performers simultaneously act out the story. As for the story itself, think of it as it being about Ben Gates writing a fictional adventure novel about let’s say, the Presidential Portal. <<< I made that up, there is no such thing as a Presidential Portalfor anybody reading this.

Make it a fun 20-something minute show. Look! The enemies against freedom want access to the Presidential Portal to destroy it from the inside-out. In the end, the heroes enter the portal themselves to come face to face with every sitting US President. Where Nick Cage calls them name by name and every President that was called upon gives a salute to the explorers who protected them.

To me something like this would make sense, probably rework my story pitch but as you can see... it doesn’t really turn the show into something cartoon-y, if anything it complements it. There is also a third installment of National Treasure coming so doing something like this fresh off the heels of NT3 would do this attraction well with guests. Unlike The Muppets, who many seem not to care for as often.

Granted, everything regarding the status of HoP is rumor and speculation but everyone knows it’s inevitable. It’s bound to happen eventually.
 

GimpYancIent

Well-Known Member
Sam the Eagle is great and I find the character as one of/if not the funniest character in the Muppets. He’s always funny, hardly corny and he’s got the greatest American attitude I have ever seen. He’s a proud bragging patriot who sometimes comes across silly to others, that to me sounds like a lot of us Americans.

However, being said that I still can’t say I like the idea. If they bring Sam along, in comes the rest of em’ and that’s the type of shenanigans I don’t want this attraction to succumb to. To me this is just moving the Muppets street show they had outside of HoP indoors. Weird Al rumored to be one of the writers confirms the lunacy coming to this attraction. I don’t even mind Weird Al, I loved his spoof of “Ridin’ Dirty” back in high school.

All I’m saying is that The Hall of Presidents has been around for 50 years. It’s the most patriotic show in history and I love it as is, a lot of people do. I believe some traditions should be left alone. This is one of them. This show, although in a Disney theme park is meant to be taken seriously. I do think you can enhance it with a franchise tied to it, suppose it be National Treasure. It will still make light years more sense than adding The Muppets. Make the show feel like an adventure. If planned out accordingly by Walt Disney Imagineering, they can convert the stage to something along the lines of what Universal made out of the old T2: 3D stage when crafting the new Bourne stunt show.

Think of having Nicolas Cage as Benjamin Gates beng the narrator here while live performers simultaneously act out the story. As for the story itself, think of it as it being about Ben Gates writing a fictional adventure novel about let’s say, the Presidential Portal. <<< I made that up, there is no such thing as a Presidential Portalfor anybody reading this.

Make it a fun 20-something minute show. Look! The enemies against freedom want access to the Presidential Portal to destroy it from the inside-out. In the end, the heroes enter the portal themselves to come face to face with every sitting US President. Where Nick Cage calls them name by name and every President that was called upon gives a salute to the explorers who protected them.

To me something like this would make sense, probably rework my story pitch but as you can see... it doesn’t really turn the show into something cartoon-y, if anything it complements it. There is also a third installment of National Treasure coming so doing something like this fresh off the heels of NT3 would do this attraction well with guests. Unlike The Muppets, who many seem not to care for as often.

Granted, everything regarding the status of HoL is rumor and speculation but everyone knows it’s inevitable. It’s bound to happen eventually.
Agree HoP is a traditional venue that is meant to be serious. That said, the serious core portion of the presentation can remain that way. There is room for a humorous Muppets pre-show and a light hearted close.
 

Animaniac93-98

Well-Known Member
Also, Disney's track record of doing "funny" attractions is kind of terrible. Historically there have been a number of rides that are picturesque, exciting, thrilling etc, but whenever Disney does "funny", it usually ends up as cringe like Under New Management or Stitch's Great Escape. Muppet-Vision 3D may be the last time they did one that was genuinely humorous, but most of the creative team responsible for it is either deceased or no longer associated with WDI or The Muppets.
 

WondersOfLife

Blink, blink. Breathe, breathe. Day in, day out.
Also, Disney's track record of doing "funny" attractions is kind of terrible. Historically there have been a number of rides that are picturesque, exciting, thrilling etc, but whenever Disney does "funny", it usually ends up as cringe like Under New Management or Stitch's Great Escape. Muppet-Vision 3D may be the last time they did one that was genuinely humorous, but most of the creative team responsible for it is either deceased or no longer associated with WDI or The Muppets.
I disagree Great Moments in History was very funny.

(Editing this since I'm not allowed to post here anymore)--

Thought it'd be nice to share this clip my theatre students performed a year ago during quarantine. Go, Muppets!!
 
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The Empress Lilly

Well-Known Member
Also, Disney's track record of doing "funny" attractions is kind of terrible. Historically there have been a number of rides that are picturesque, exciting, thrilling etc, but whenever Disney does "funny", it usually ends up as cringe like Under New Management or Stitch
Now you got me thinking about 'funny' attractions...

Not as many as you'd expect indeed. But the track record is less bleaky than just cringeworthy efforts:


Jungle Cruise (really the Under New Management version, because serious face JC didn't work. Over time, the skippers became the character overlay. A process thzt still continues, their role to intensify even more in the upcoming changes)

Pirates. PotC 1.0 was comedy. With every change the comedy decreased, making the ride feel harsher and the remaining comedy consequently more insensitive, which led to further change. What a downward spiral.

World of Motion. Gag after gag. In the vein of SSE's sleeping monk.

Tiki, Bears, Kitchen Kabaret. Some vaudeville humor. KK gone. Bears stripped to its bear bones. Tiki forever on the chopping block...
Maybe Monsters should be here too.

Muppets 3D. The Muppets are genuinely funny and can bring the house down. Just don't let them destroy the HoP.

Toad? A hoot, but perhaps zany is not the same as funny.

The Studios did a lot of humor, even if no attraction is predominantly humor driven. DAK doesn't mix well with humor.
 

Animaniac93-98

Well-Known Member
Now you got me thinking about 'funny' attractions...

Not as many as you'd expect indeed. But the track record is less bleaky than just cringeworthy efforts:


Jungle Cruise (really the Under New Management version, because serious face JC didn't work. Over time, the skippers became the character overlay. A process thzt still continues, their role to intensify even more in the upcoming changes)

Pirates. PotC 1.0 was comedy. With every change the comedy decreased, making the ride feel harsher and the remaining comedy consequently more insensitive, which led to further change. What a downward spiral.

World of Motion. Gag after gag. In the vein of SSE's sleeping monk.

Tiki, Bears, Kitchen Kabaret. Some vaudeville humor. KK gone. Bears stripped to its bear bones. Tiki forever on the chopping block...
Maybe Monsters should be here too.

Muppets 3D. The Muppets are genuinely funny and can bring the house down. Just don't let them destroy the HoP.

Toad? A hoot, but perhaps zany is not the same as funny.

The Studios did a lot of humor, even if no attraction is predominantly humor driven. DAK doesn't mix well with humor.

I should have qualified my opinion by stating in recent decades. All of your examples are true, but most pre-date 1990 in development.
 

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