MuppetVision closed until August 2nd for unexpected Maintenance

[JSchnitz]

I am a huge Muppets fan! I believe one of Disney's biggest blunders with them is that they don't know how to use them! And by saying that I don't mean Kermit and Miss Piggy, Fozzie and Gonzo. Sure they are your mainstays but what made the Muppets great was the crazy cast of characters that made up the Muppet Show! The Electric Mayhem, heck Animal is very tame now a days, Beaker, the Swedish Chef, Crazy Harry, Lew Zealand, etc. The only one I feel they have any hold of is Sam the Eagle. Otherwise they "push" Walter and Pepe and Rizzo, which to me aren't the heart of the Muppets. There has always been an edge to them, they weren't meant just to be a kids show. And don't even get me started on merchandising! The little bit they have to offer at the gift shop outside Muppet Vision 3-D is pathetic!

 

[ford91exploder]

Iger is scheduled to leave in the not so distant future so your latest tin foil conspiracy makes no sense.

Iger's not going anywhere while Wall St loves him, Disney at the moment has no succession plan in place.

Trouble is when Wall St turns on him because of declining results The turnaround will be virtually impossible

Iger's not going anywhere till at least 2022-3 unless the stock crashes.

 

[Bender123]

I am a huge Muppets fan! I believe one of Disney's biggest blunders with them is that they don't know how to use them! And by saying that I don't mean Kermit and Miss Piggy, Fozzie and Gonzo. Sure they are your mainstays but what made the Muppets great was the crazy cast of characters that made up the Muppet Show! The Electric Mayhem, heck Animal is very tame now a days, Beaker, the Swedish Chef, Crazy Harry, Lew Zealand, etc. The only one I feel they have any hold of is Sam the Eagle. Otherwise they "push" Walter and Pepe and Rizzo, which to me aren't the heart of the Muppets. There has always been an edge to them, they weren't meant just to be a kids show. And don't even get me started on merchandising! The little bit they have to offer at the gift shop outside Muppet Vision 3-D is pathetic!

It is impossible to find anything except a rare Kermit or Animal plush...I was very happy to see Muppet Mobile Labs is back out in Epcot, though.

 

[FullSailDan]

I like the Muppets. And the Liberty Square show is exactly the way they should be used. Small, on-brand, humorous. My response was geared towards a prior poster who seemed to be lamenting the lack of major Muppet capital investment. People ENJOY the Muppets, but they're not a draw. Not a reason for most people to go out of their way.

Agreed... and it's not the right target demographic for this park anymore. They need things that appeal to kids to counter the heavy thrill rides that currently exist and are being built for SWL. I imagine once TSL opens Muppet Courtyard will be revisited. Of course, they may choose to just let it rot for a long while since the park will be inundated with people and there wont be a financial "need" to freshen it up. I see the courtyard dying a very slow and drawn out death.

 

[WondersOfLife]

It is impossible to find anything except a rare Kermit or Animal plush...I was very happy to see Muppet Mobile Labs is back out in Epcot, though.

I recall seeing plenty of muppets merchandise last week in Muppets Courtyard and the World of Disney store.

 

[Bender123]

I recall seeing plenty of muppets merchandise last week in Muppets Courtyard and the World of Disney store.

There is the Muppet store, but its about 80% not muppets. The only plush they had were a few kermits an animals (maybe a piggy?). For the Muppet store, there certainly was not a wide selection of Muppet items.

 

[Jrn14]

Does anyone actually sit through those extended trailers while at a theme park? I feel like it would only work at One Man's Dream because they kind of trick you into going in there... I don't even like watching trailers because I feel like they usually give too much of the movie away. Unless it's a teaser... Who is wasting park time watching movie trailers! This better not happen. I'd be livid if i was HS and Muppets was offline for some random trailer.

 

[JSchnitz]

I recall seeing plenty of muppets merchandise last week in Muppets Courtyard and the World of Disney store.

All they have in the Courtyard shop is that one little corner with basic stuff I could find at Walmart. Not that impressive to me anyway. Just feel like they could do a whole lot more with it!

 

[JSchnitz]

I

Does anyone actually sit through those extended trailers while at a theme park? I feel like it would only work at One Man's Dream because they kind of trick you into going in there... I don't even like watching trailers because I feel like they usually give too much of the movie away. Unless it's a teaser... Who is wasting park time watching movie trailers! This better not happen. I'd be livid if i was HS and Muppets was offline for some random trailer.

I know I don't! Not only does it feel cheap to me, but also a total waste of my time in the park!

 

[RSoxNo1]

Apparently the projector died...

It breaks every show. I just assumed they get a new one multiple times per day.

 

[RSoxNo1]

Changing topics, slightly. I had heard/read that there was a puppeteer visible in one of the scenes (I believe it was the Muppets Lab scene). Can anyone point me in the right direction?

 

[edrho]

There is the Muppet store, but its about 80% not muppets. The only plush they had were a few kermits an animals (maybe a piggy?). For the Muppet store, there certainly was not a wide selection of Muppet items.

I'm here now and the Christmas shop in liberty square has Kermit, piggy, and animal plush.

 

[PizzaPlanet]

Does anyone actually sit through those extended trailers while at a theme park? I feel like it would only work at One Man's Dream because they kind of trick you into going in there... I don't even like watching trailers because I feel like they usually give too much of the movie away. Unless it's a teaser... Who is wasting park time watching movie trailers! This better not happen. I'd be livid if i was HS and Muppets was offline for some random trailer.

It wouldn't make logical sense to do this either. Muppet*Vision still plays to packed houses during the day, but I don't think I've ever seen more than 10 people (including my group) in one of the movie previews. They are literally dead zones, so I'm not sure why they would take a well-attended attraction offline when they could put the previews in the Sounds Dangerous or Magic Eye Theaters (also dead zones).

 

[larryz]

It wouldn't make logical sense to do this either. Muppet*Vision still plays to packed houses during the day, but I don't think I've ever seen more than 10 people (including my group) in one of the movie previews. They are literally dead zones, so I'm not sure why they would take a well-attended attraction offline when they could put the previews in the Sounds Dangerous or Magic Eye Theaters (also dead zones).

So, here's a use for all those outdated AAs removed when outmoded or broken beyond repair -- sit them in the movie preview audience seats, and have them make outrageous comments or provide alternate dialogue during the trailers, much like MST3000...

 

[RAXIP]

It reopened today. No noticeable changes. The main curtains remained open before and after the show.

 

[peter11435]

The main curtains remained open before and after the show.

This has been an issue for several months now. Unacceptable.

 

[Kman101]

Muppets are such great and comical characters. Wish the old style muppet show would come back. They could be more relevant but Disney has yet to really figure them out and how best to utilizing them completely it seems

This show needs to be redone as well

I don't trust them with a replacement for MuppetVision, though under the right hands something good could be possible. As much as I love the current version, I do think it's time for an update.

 

[JSchnitz]

This has been an issue for several months now. Unacceptable.

Well tell Sweetums to close them before guests can leave the show!

 

[wdwgreek]

I went on it today. The picture looks super crisp. One strange change the curtains now begin open with backlight behind the screen exposing the work lights. Its a little jarring overall though the clean film qauility makes me happy.

 

[BasiltheBatLord]

Does anyone actually sit through those extended trailers while at a theme park? I feel like it would only work at One Man's Dream because they kind of trick you into going in there... I don't even like watching trailers because I feel like they usually give too much of the movie away. Unless it's a teaser... Who is wasting park time watching movie trailers! This better not happen. I'd be livid if i was HS and Muppets was offline for some random trailer.

The only people who go into those things are just clueless families who know nothing about the parks and think "Oh here's something, let's do this". Same people who don't know about FP, see 120 min wait for Space Mountain and think "Well, I came here to ride rides!"