If you’ve been to Disney’s Hollywood Studios in the last 25 years, there’s a chance you’ve
gotten to enjoy Muppet*Vision 3D, the 15 minute show in the back the park.
Did you know that the attraction was meant to be part of an entire Muppet themed land?
That’s right.
In 1990 Michael Eisner and Disney had plans to purchase The Jim Henson Company, which
would have included the Muppets.
Part of that acquisition plan included an entire section of Disney’s Hollywood Studios
(formerly Disney MGM Studios) dedicated to them, which would called “The Muppet Studios”
The area was to include multiple attractions and restaurants.
There were plans for a stage show, a parade, a 3D film, and a ride called
"The Great Muppet Movie Ride”.
It was essentially going to be a parody of the Great Movie Ride.
Guests would enter a hollywood set made to look like a monster’s castle.
On the ride they would be taken through famous scenes throughout cinema history, similar
to the Great Movie Ride.
However this time each scene would be populated by Muppets and, as expected, things wouldn’t
be going too well.
Each scene would also feature Statler and Waldorf off to the side to provide the colorful
commentary they’re usually known for.
For dining experiences, there were plans for a restaurant called The Great Gonzo’s Pizza
Pandemonium Parlor, which was going to be run by Gonzo and Rizzo the Rat.
Having the two at the helm meant that often times diners would find things going wrong,
including an occasional gag in which there would be an explosion from the kitchen complete
with smoke and chicken feathers.
On top of that, meals were going to be delivered to guests by rat animatronics on a track.
Elsewhere, Swedish Chef’s cooking school would be another restaurant where guests would
be able to witness the Swedish Chef as he struggles to cook while they were dining.
So what happened?
Well before the deal was even finished, Disney and The Jim Henson company began to work on
some of the planned concepts.
Jim Henson personally directed the 3D movie, which would become Muppet Vision 3D.
Sadly in 1990, while still in negotiations for the acquisition as well as development
for the land, Jim Henson unexpectedly passed away.
Disney continued to negotiate for the acquisition of the company, however Henson’s children
put a stop to the deal.
They originally planned to call it off completely, which would have left MGM Studios without
any Muppet attractions, but at the request of Frank Oz, who argued that the world should
see the last project Henson worked on, Jim’s children allowed the continuation of Muppet
Vision 3D.
Instead of purchasing and owning the Muppets though, Disney would now license the IP from
the Jim Henson Company.
With the plans for a full Muppet themed land shuttered, The Great Gonzo’s Pizza Pandemonium
Parlor would be rethemed to what we know today as Mama Melrose’s, and Swedish Chef’s
cooking school would eventually become a Studio Showcase featuring film props, until eventually
becoming Pizza Planet a few years later.
The Muppets also did get a stage show, called Here Come the Muppets.
It features full sized walking versions of the Muppets and ran for about a year, before
being replaced by another show called Muppets on Location: Days of Swine and Roses.
That show would only run for three years before closing.
And so ultimately, long-term, it would appear that the Muppets would only see representation
through Muppet Vision 3D, which is still open today for guests to enjoy.
Disney would once again make an attempt at purchasing the Muppets in 2003, this time
from it’s new German owners EM.TV, who had purchased the company back in 2000.
However at the last second the media company would instead sell the Muppets back to the
Henson family for just under a hundred million dollars.
A year later though, in an unexpected twist, the Hensons would sell the Muppets to Disney
for an undisclosed sum, that some say was up to two hundred million dollars
and so in 2004, after nearly 15 years of trying by Eisner, Disney
finally owned the Muppets.
Today, besides Muppet Vision 3D which is still open, we’ve got The Muppets Present Great
Moments in American History over in Liberty Square in the Magic Kingdom as well as the
Muppet Mobile Lab over in Future World in Epcot.
Over in Hollywood Studios Pizza Planet eventually closed to be re-themed to PizzaRizzos, an
idea borrowing from the original Great Gonzo’s Pizza Pandemonium idea.
While it’s likely we won’t ever see the original Muppet Studios concept come to fruition,
especially now that Hollywood Studios is getting two new lands, we’re at least getting a
little bit more Muppets in the parks-
Just a taste of what could have been.