Good morning from Disney’s Hollywood Studios where the Muppets are out and the monsters are in! Yesterday marked the final day of operation for MuppetVision 3D and Muppets Courtyard – not for guests, but for a Cast Member farewell party. As you may know, MuppetVision 3D had its final day of operation for guests back on June 7th, but Disney held a farewell party exclusively for Cast Members yesterday. Today, work begins on transforming the area from Muppets Courtyard into Monsters Inc. Land. Here’s the latest.
Construction Walls Fully Block Muppets Courtyard
After utilizing temporary hedges over the past few days due to the Cast Member farewell party, Disney has now fully blocked off Muppets Courtyard with proper construction walls. This marks the handover from park operations back to Walt Disney Imagineering as the creative branch of the company looks to breathe some new life into the area.
While the theme park area is now fully blocked off, a backstage area and portion of the Hollywood Studios Cast Member parking lot were blocked off early. As per our earlier reporting, roughly 10 acres of the parking lot is blocked off right now, likely to be used as a staging site during the early phases of construction. Eventually, a portion of the parking lot will be used for the construction of the door vault roller coaster. The facade and roller coaster building will extend the footprint of Disney’s Hollywood Studios, into the Cast Member parking lot.
Over the coming weeks, and perhaps months, we’ll watch as Disney strips the area of theming, likely preserving some elements and tossing others in the trash. The biggest work that we hope to see this year is the demolition of the Stage 1 Company Store. If “Stage 1” doesn’t ring a bell, it was sort of the Muppets gift shop for a while before being shuttered. In recent years, it was only open for maybe a few days per year as a merchandise location during special events. It was also used as a photo op spot during Disney Jollywood Nights.
As seen in the concept art below, Stage 1 will be fully demolished to make way for a central park area. This walkway will lead to an all-new suspended roller coaster that will take guests through the door vault at Monsters Inc. The rest of the buildings in the land will remain standing, including the former MuppetVision 3D theater, Mama Melrose’s Ristorante Italiano (rethemed to Harryhausen’s), and the PizzeRizzo location. The existing buildings will receive new theming to make them feel like they are part of the Monsters Inc. world. Disney has been light on any details beyond the door vault coaster.
For more on the upcoming Monsters Inc. Land, including the latest news, photos, and info, check out our dedicated page for the project below!
As always, keep checking back with us here at BlogMickey.com as we continue to bring you the latest news, photos, and info from around the Disney Parks!
