When new attractions come to Walt Disney World, it almost always means that old attractions must close at Walt Disney World. It’s the circle of life. This means that excitement for new rides is often balanced by sadness that old attractions are going away. I try to always look on the bright side of replacements. Yes, something I enjoyed will be gone, but hopefully the new thing will be even better. This means that even though I am sad to be losing the Muppet Courtyard at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, I’m also looking forward to the new Monsters Inc. land that will take over the space, and that’s happening a lot sooner than I thought.
Today, Walt Disney World announced the closure dates for the three locations inside the Grand Avenue area of Disney’s Hollywood Studios, also known as the Muppet Courtyard. Melrose’s Ristorante Italiano will have its last day on May 10, and it will be followed by fan-favorite restaurant PizzeRizzo and Muppet*Vision 3D, which will see their last day of business on June 7.
Seeing the Muppet Courtyard closing down in less than six months, and specifically Muppet*Vision 3D closing that soon, is certainly a surprise. While we’ve known that Muppet*Vision was closing since November, we’ve also known that the Rivers of America was being replaced at Magic Kingdom for months longer than that, and we still don’t know when that work is starting. Muppet*Vision 3D surviving a bit longer seemed more likely.
I’ve Been Excited By The Monsters Inc Door Coaster For Years
On the one hand, this excites me because it means that the new Monsters Inc. land will be opening that much sooner. While we don’t have an official opening widow, the sooner one ride closes, the sooner its replacement will open. Pf all the things that were announced at last year’s D23 event that I’m excited about, and there was a lot, one of the biggest was the reveal that the long-rumored Monsters Inc. Door Coaster was finally happening.
We sometimes hear rumors about attractions being developed by Walt Disney Imagineering that are never officially announced. One of those in recent years was a roller coaster themed after the door conveyor belt sequence from the first Monsters Inc. movie. At one point, it was believed the attraction might replace the Rock ‘N’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith, but we never heard anything about it.
After enough time goes by, you forget about the things that don’t happen, which is why I, and many others, were shocked at D23 to see Billy Crystal take the stage to announce the land based on Monsters Inc., and then Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D’Amaro confirmed the coaster was part of the land.
The new ride will be the first suspended coaster ever in a Disney Park. It will also include a sequence where ride vehicles are lifted vertically from one track to another. It looks and sounds incredible.
I Probably Won’t See Muppet*Vision 3D Before It Closes
As excited as I am that the Door Coaster is moving forward, I am still lamenting the loss of Muppet*Vision 3D. But my biggest issue isn’t that it’s going away specifically. It’s that because these wheels are turning so quickly, I likely won’t get to experience the show one more time before it’s gone.
I live 3000 miles away from Walt Disney World, and while my job makes me lucky enough to visit Walt Disney World, usually at least once a year, and sometimes more, I don’t expect I’ll be hitting the parks before June. As such, I may never see Muppet*Vision 3D again.
I expected I’d have more time. When Disney World announced that Dinoland U.S.A. was getting replaced, it made sure to plan that construction in a way so that fan-favorite attraction Dinosaur would remain open. The work on the Tropical Americas area of Disney’s Animal Kingdom has begun, but Dinosaur is expected to remain open through the end of 2025.
Doing something similar with Muppet*Vision and keeping it open while the rest of the land went under construction was likely impossible simply due to the geography involved. But considering one land at Disney World is already being worked on, nobody would have been shocked if nothing had happened with the new Monsters Inc. land for even a couple of years. Disney World has a lot of new things planned and nobody expects them all to happen at once.
Along with the closure, Disney World reiterated a previous statement indicating hopes to “preserve the film and other parts of the experience.” It’s unclear what exactly that means. Maybe it means that I will have a chance to watch Muppet*Vision 3D again someday in the future. Even if that day comes, it's probably years away, but who knows, sometimes things happen faster than you think.
