News Disney Confirms Muppets Take Over Rock 'n' Roller Coaster at Hollywood Studios

[LSLS]

The more I've thought about this - the more I'm realizing the big problem with current Disney is the destruction of nostalgia. Killing off a nostalgic show and trying to replace another attraction with nostalgia as some sort of bone to throw demonstrates how a company that peddles nostalgia is actually pretty bad at it currently. (See all the live actions...)

With that, I don't think the IDEA here is bad. For RnRC, it actually could easily be a less is more scenario. If you "muppefied" the current G-Force Records and story-line, it actually works quite well.
-Queue is full of Muppet versions of famous band posters/logos.
-Add some exterior queue elements with lots of Muppet music gags.
-Have the main story be exactly the same, albeit with Electric Mayhem.
-Miss Piggy is a shoe in to replace the current agent (if not better).
-You still need a super-stretch to get across town. That's very Muppets.
-You go through a cartoony version of NY or LA. Again, Muppets works great here.
-Even throw in an Aerosmith song or two as one covered as an Easter Egg.

This doesn't need a convoluted story like Cosmic Rewind to work.

And, if they REALLY wanted to do this correctly...
-Phase 2 is MuppetVision returns to Sunset, anchoring the new Muppets Court.
-The Villains Show kicks Launch Bay to the curb and becomes a longer-term anchor for Animation Courtyard, while we wait for the main redo here and Villainsland.

I know this is all armchair Imagineering. And I'm not saying it's a slam dun. Rather, there are ways to appeal to a much broader fan base if they want to. And, not at the detriment of the core crowd they want. They are playing a very narrow audience game here, and I'm not sure why. The crowd they want is quite fickle.

This is EXACTLY the idea for the ride I have. Hope the run with this.

 

[Nickm2022]

Completely agree! I think Muppets replacing RnRC will go great, especially if they put in the effort and really upgrade the exterior and surrounding area. The interior I think they will nail the Muppets vibe. Only difference is I 1. Hope we also have some modern songs to differ it from Cosmic, and 2. Hope instead of moving the villains show after construction we get a new anchor land on scale of StarWars and Monsters to replace AC and connect that to RnRC so Sunset isn't a dead end. Personally want Avengers Campus or Zootopia, or even a completely new land based around a film like Aladdin or something. (Only reason I am not saying my personal favorites of Walle and Incredibles is I want those in Tomorrowland).

Honestly though I want StarTours to be next. AC is bad but Star Tours sticks out like a sore thumb and having that (and part of the indy show) rethemed to a mainland would really help make the left side of the park of Monsters and that compete to the right said of Toy Story and sunset.

With that, I don't think the IDEA here is bad. For RnRC, it actually could easily be a less is more scenario. If you "muppefied" the current G-Force Records and story-line, it actually works quite well.
-Queue is full of Muppet versions of famous band posters/logos.
-Add some exterior queue elements with lots of Muppet music gags.
-Have the main story be exactly the same, albeit with Electric Mayhem.
-Miss Piggy is a shoe in to replace the current agent (if not better).
-You still need a super-stretch to get across town. That's very Muppets.
-You go through a cartoony version of NY or LA. Again, Muppets works great here.
-Even throw in an Aerosmith song or two as one covered as an Easter Egg.

This doesn't need a convoluted story like Cosmic Rewind to work.

And, if they REALLY wanted to do this correctly...
-Phase 2 is MuppetVision returns to Sunset, anchoring the new Muppets Court.
-The Villains Show kicks Launch Bay to the curb and becomes a longer-term anchor for Animation Courtyard, while we wait for the main redo here and Villainsland.

I know this is all armchair Imagineering. And I'm not saying it's a slam dun. Rather, there are ways to appeal to a much broader fan base if they want to. And, not at the detriment of the core crowd they want. They are playing a very narrow audience game here, and I'm not sure why. The crowd they want is quite fickle.

 

[celluloid]

But that's not the arugment I've made. I'm not trying to say we need things to go away to make gains. I agree we don't. But the original comment was that we are losing a theater for kids to go to just to put in a roller coaster. As of the announcement of Muppets into RnRc, we are not losing a show. You want to argue with me about quality/etc./will it happen, you are picking the wrong person, we agree a lot of the time on that stuff. In fact, you can go back in this thread and see where I put a GIANT asterisk as to if it is done correctly. The only thing I would say is I'm not leaping to how much worse it will be (I'm specifically talking the show replacing MV3D here) til we at least get some idea of what is going there.

And I'm failing to see the logical fallacy. My argument has never been this is the best idea, or that it's great that MV3D is going away, and how amazing everything is (outside of I will continue to say IF DONE CORRECTLY, Muppets makes a lot of sense in place of Aerosmith to me). My entire argument is that we are gaining an attraction. I feel like you are reading into me saying "Net positive" as a great gain, when the context is supposed to be a "Net positive in number of attractions." I'm not arguing quality, I'm saying quantity, it is a gain of 1 attraction in the park. It could be more (it should be more), but it is a GAIN of an attraction. It's not a wash in that context, it is a gain. I'm nowhere close to saying it's an improvement til I know a ton more on what they are going to do, but we are going from one coaster and one stage show to 2 coasters and 1 stage show. The bottom line of everything here, we are not losing a show for a coaster, we are replacing a show kids can go to (again, not saying better or worse) and adding a coaster.

We are losing a show we know is great for most and WDW at its best and we could habe gotten that new coaster and rethemed RnR anyway.

 

[rd805]

now if the muppets could take over the laugh factory and mix in Muppets, space, and laughter...

Makes too much sense, so naturally will never happen lol.

 

[rd805]

Honestly though I want StarTours to be next. AC is bad but Star Tours sticks out like a sore thumb and having that (and part of the indy show) rethemed to a mainland would really help make the left side of the park of Monsters and that compete to the right said of Toy Story and sunset.

Star Tours is such a perfect attraction, it's just a shame that it is disconnected from SWGE.

 

[Bocabear]

Star Tours is such a perfect attraction, it's just a shame that it is disconnected from SWGE.

It is a shame there was not part of the budget that moved Star Tours to the area right outside the entrance tunnels so you could board a ship that would exit you into Galaxy's Edge... Making it an even more immersive location...and would have been some epic storytelling... Like the train between Islands Of Adventure and Universal Studios... It is brilliant storytelling...Seems like a no-brainer to have had that as part of the whole thing from the start...

 

[JackCH]

It is a shame there was not part of the budget that moved Star Tours to the area right outside the entrance tunnels so you could board a ship that would exit you into Galaxy's Edge... Making it an even more immersive location...and would have been some epic storytelling... Like the train between Islands Of Adventure and Universal Studios... It is brilliant storytelling...Seems like a no-brainer to have had that as part of the whole thing from the start...

I always felt that the Hollywood Studios version of SGE should have gone in Indy/Backlot/Parking and been slightly larger than Disneylands to include Star Tours in the starport area. Not quite what you were suggesting, but it did always seem odd to me you have a great Star Wars ride already there, why not integrate it?

The other option was just to push Star Wars Land slightly over Muppets to integrate it that way and maybe use your idea, but based on the current reaction I don't think people would have liked that

 

[Epcot82Guy]

Completely agree! I think Muppets replacing RnRC will go great, especially if they put in the effort and really upgrade the exterior and surrounding area. The interior I think they will nail the Muppets vibe. Only difference is I 1. Hope we also have some modern songs to differ it from Cosmic, and 2.

I agree. One huge benefit of Electric Mayhem is the ability to update. You could do a different track for each decade. You could have them rock out to a mixtape (ala CR). They could add some really silly things. (Manama on the second corkscrew is a personal wish...).

The ability to get creative with the song use/library is a huge plus to this approach... if done correctly.

 

[Lilofan]

I agree. One huge benefit of Electric Mayhem is the ability to update. You could do a different track for each decade. You could have them rock out to a mixtape (ala CR). They could add some really silly things. (Manama on the second corkscrew is a personal wish...).

The ability to get creative with the song use/library is a huge plus to this approach... if done correctly.

I'd be thrilled if Dr Teeth and the Electric Mayhem have rotating special guest stars during different voyages like Ziggy Marley, Tommy Lee who appeared with the musicians back in the day.

 

[donaldtoo]

I'd be thrilled if Dr Teeth and the Electric Mayhem have rotating special guest stars during different voyages like Ziggy Marley, Tommy Lee who appeared with the musicians back in the day.

The problem I see with going retro like that is how many younger folks even know who those two (among others from back in the day) are, without Googling…?
That being said, I am indeed very curious as to how the music for this will be fleshed out, and if maybe they’ll vary it from ride to ride, so you don’t get the same music each time.

 

[Architectural Guinea Pig]

We are losing a show we know is great for most and WDW at its best and we could habe gotten that new coaster and rethemed RnR anyway.

I’m all for losing one good show to get three great ones, Villains, Monsters, and Mermaid, don’t you think? That’s an incredible net gain of quality for the park, as you said

 

[Epcot82Guy]

I'd be thrilled if Dr Teeth and the Electric Mayhem have rotating special guest stars during different voyages like Ziggy Marley, Tommy Lee who appeared with the musicians back in the day.

I actually would love that same idea... but with Rizzo being the famous guest star (as a little throw back to MV3D).

 

[The Leader of the Club]

I’m all for losing one good show to get three great ones, Villains, Monsters, and Mermaid, don’t you think? That’s an incredible net gain of quality for the park, as you said

Well, we did also lose Racing Academy, but nobody cares about that. lol.

Also, calling the new shows “great” is a little premature. There’s definitely potential for greatness, but we still have to wait and see (although I am optimistic since WDW recently hired the DLP entertainment head).

 

[Brer Panther]

-Props from Horizons were in the queue of Backlot Tour as well Backlot Express at DHS
-the Dream Machine from Imagination was repurposed in MouseGear

Yes, but not for replacement as much as minor enhancements to add to what was.alresdy there. World of Motion had figures go to Pirates, Big Thunder and Goofy's Barnstormer

And there were some props from Dreamflight reused in Buzz Lightyear (the chickens, a few cloud cutouts, and, if it counts, the mechanism for the parachuter which was reused for the alien puppet). I'm sure there's more I'm forgetting...

 

[celluloid]

I’m all for losing one good show to get three great ones, Villains, Monsters, and Mermaid, don’t you think? That’s an incredible net gain of quality for the park, as you said

Mermaid was never supposed to go in the first place. So the comment is a little off to say the least. And I habe zero faith in the new ones being to the same caliber as Muppet Vision.
Epcot has still not gotten anything park original in the Honey I Shrunk The Audience spot in 30 years.

 

[JohnD]

Star Tours is such a perfect attraction, it's just a shame that it is disconnected from SWGE.

Is it? It has random scenes that could be OT, prequel or sequel. If attached to GE, the scenes would be sequel only. I like its separation as an indepedent SW attraction and not shoehorned into the GE theme.

 

[WondersOfLife]

I’m all for losing one good show to get three great ones, Villains, Monsters, and Mermaid, don’t you think? That’s an incredible net gain of quality for the park, as you said

One other park has/is getting all three of those already...

 

[Mr. Sullivan]

The more I've thought about this - the more I'm realizing the big problem with current Disney is the destruction of nostalgia. Killing off a nostalgic show and trying to replace another attraction with nostalgia as some sort of bone to throw demonstrates how a company that peddles nostalgia is actually pretty bad at it currently. (See all the live actions...)

See I actually think the opposite, and here's why.

What they're replacing it with is directly playing on nostalgia, just a different group of people's nostalgia. Disney is still absolutely in the business of selling people their childhood, it's just that they're taking aim currently at an entirely different group of consumers. Monsters Inc came out 23 years ago. For many, like myself, it was one of the first movies we ever saw. We are now all adults with our own money and our own means of taking ourselves anywhere we want to go. We are a new customer for Disney.

We likely went to the parks as kids and have fond memories of them, but are not really attached to some of the older attractions in the same way that those who were adults when they opened were. And the reason for that is because when those attractions opened, many of them were playing on the nostalgia of the new audience Disney was trying to court.

The Muppets were not new when MuppetVision opened. Aerosmith was not some hot new band when Rock n Roller Coaster opened. Star Wars was not a new hot property when Star Tours opened. What they were were things that were familiar to an audience who were young when those things were new but now old enough to have families of their own to be bringing to Disney. They were pulled in by their own nostalgia.

Gen Z is notably a nostalgic bunch. We absolutely love to immerse ourselves in things from our childhood. And looking at a lot of the stuff that's coming to the parks in the next few years, a lot of is stuff that Gen Z kids would've grown up with. Monsters Inc, Cars, etc.

Changing RnRC to Muppets yes is a way to appease those who care about the Muppets and a way to keep them in the park, but getting rid of MuppetVision isn't destroying nostalgia. It's creating an all new nostalgic draw for an all new category of customers that Disney is just now getting true access to because we all just recently came to an age where we don't need our parents to take us to Disney.

 

[Marc Davis Fan]

-Have the main story be exactly the same, albeit with Electric Mayhem.
-Miss Piggy is a shoe in to replace the current agent (if not better).
-You still need a super-stretch to get across town. That's very Muppets.
-You go through a cartoony version of NY or LA. Again, Muppets works great here.

I agree wholeheartedly with the rest of your ideas, EXCEPT I hope they replace the “pretend this obvious track doesn’t exist and this obvious roller coaster train is a car pulling up” and “pretend these flat cartoon images are Los Angeles” with something more immersive. They recognized this issue and fixed it in the WDSP version by “auto-theming” it as a roller coaster co-designed by the band—and with a pretty cool light show customized to each song in place of the flats. (Auto-theming is not an optimal solution, to be sure, but IMHO a step up from the cartoon flats and such.)

Even if they don’t fix this, however, I suppose it’ll be less egregious because having the Muppets involved will set us up not to expect something “believable.”

 

[ᗩLᘿᑕ ✨ ᗩζᗩᗰ]

The more I've thought about this - the more I'm realizing the big problem with current Disney is the destruction of nostalgia. Killing off a nostalgic show and trying to replace another attraction with nostalgia as some sort of bone to throw demonstrates how a company that peddles nostalgia is actually pretty bad at it currently. (See all the live actions...)

With that, I don't think the IDEA here is bad. For RnRC, it actually could easily be a less is more scenario. If you "muppefied" the current G-Force Records and story-line, it actually works quite well.
-Queue is full of Muppet versions of famous band posters/logos.
-Add some exterior queue elements with lots of Muppet music gags.
-Have the main story be exactly the same, albeit with Electric Mayhem.
-Miss Piggy is a shoe in to replace the current agent (if not better).
-You still need a super-stretch to get across town. That's very Muppets.
-You go through a cartoony version of NY or LA. Again, Muppets works great here.
-Even throw in an Aerosmith song or two as one covered as an Easter Egg.

This doesn't need a convoluted story like Cosmic Rewind to work.

And, if they REALLY wanted to do this correctly...
-Phase 2 is MuppetVision returns to Sunset, anchoring the new Muppets Court.
-The Villains Show kicks Launch Bay to the curb and becomes a longer-term anchor for Animation Courtyard, while we wait for the main redo here and Villainsland.

I know this is all armchair Imagineering. And I'm not saying it's a slam dun. Rather, there are ways to appeal to a much broader fan base if they want to. And, not at the detriment of the core crowd they want. They are playing a very narrow audience game here, and I'm not sure why. The crowd they want is quite fickle.

Sub in Sweetums for Roadie Chris