Did you know at one time that Disneyland was to become the most Muppetational Place on Earth? It's True!! Back in time when Disney had made a deal with the Jim Henson Company to merge, the imagineers came up with tons of idea to spread the Muppets' craziness around the theme parks. They planned to have Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald, Daisy, and Pluto take a vacation for the summer of 1991 and giving the keys to Disneyland to the Muppet crew till they came back on Labor Day. Meaning the whole Disneyland resort would be turned upside-down for the summer. There would be a Muppet parade, a Muppet stage show, signs would be placed all over the place showing who was running the place while Mickey was gone, Kermit would be filling for Mickey to sign autographes, and even the Matterhorn would have a green light shown on it at night. Then plans were to have Mickey and the Gang to return on Labor Day in the Muppet Parade. To return the favor, Mickey would allow the Muppets to take up residence in Toontown with Muppet Vision 3-D. Sounds great, now doesn't it? So what went wrong? Jim Henson's sudden death in 1990.
The imagineers thought that Muppet Vision was too good of a show to wait till 1993 to get into Disneyland. Plus the fact that agreements between Disney and Jim Henson Company began to sour, Muppet Vision was probly the only thing that had to work with. But where could they put it? For the imagineering team, there was one obvious answer: The Main Street Opera House. Though Great Moments with Mr. Lincolin was a crown jewel of Walt's business in audi-animatronics, the crowds just didn't appreciate it like they should have. No refurbishment could bring in a bigger crowd. So Disney thought it best to get ride of the tired old attraction for something fresh and new. The location also allowed people to easily get to refreshments which accourse meant more money. Everything seemed to look great but then.....
This is where the story gets lost for a point because nobody knows who leaked the information but soon all the Southern California newspapers had the headline, "Kermit may Depose President." A huge amount of complaints filed to Guest Relations and letters sent to the Walt Disney Company. Many Republicans (surprisingly there were many in 1991) called Disney unpatriotic. Finally Disney couldn't take it any more and announced that the Muppets were not moving in and Lincolin was there to stay.
It took Disney another ten years to get the Muppets to Disneyland by placing in the Hollywood Pictures Backlot at Disney's California Adventure. Mr. Lincolin is still currently playing to empty shows and seems to have a long future with Disneyland ever since Disney spent several million on a refurbishment of the attraction.
Disney did learna valuable lesson: if you are going to close a classic, do it as quickly and quietly as possible with little advance notice.
Next Time: Timekeeper and Nine-Eye leave and then return and then leave again....for good?
The imagineers thought that Muppet Vision was too good of a show to wait till 1993 to get into Disneyland. Plus the fact that agreements between Disney and Jim Henson Company began to sour, Muppet Vision was probly the only thing that had to work with. But where could they put it? For the imagineering team, there was one obvious answer: The Main Street Opera House. Though Great Moments with Mr. Lincolin was a crown jewel of Walt's business in audi-animatronics, the crowds just didn't appreciate it like they should have. No refurbishment could bring in a bigger crowd. So Disney thought it best to get ride of the tired old attraction for something fresh and new. The location also allowed people to easily get to refreshments which accourse meant more money. Everything seemed to look great but then.....
This is where the story gets lost for a point because nobody knows who leaked the information but soon all the Southern California newspapers had the headline, "Kermit may Depose President." A huge amount of complaints filed to Guest Relations and letters sent to the Walt Disney Company. Many Republicans (surprisingly there were many in 1991) called Disney unpatriotic. Finally Disney couldn't take it any more and announced that the Muppets were not moving in and Lincolin was there to stay.
It took Disney another ten years to get the Muppets to Disneyland by placing in the Hollywood Pictures Backlot at Disney's California Adventure. Mr. Lincolin is still currently playing to empty shows and seems to have a long future with Disneyland ever since Disney spent several million on a refurbishment of the attraction.
Disney did learna valuable lesson: if you are going to close a classic, do it as quickly and quietly as possible with little advance notice.
Next Time: Timekeeper and Nine-Eye leave and then return and then leave again....for good?
