The Fate of Muppetvision 3*D

[Was Once Ernie]

Well, I'm just gonna miss "Maliboomer", "It's tough to be a Bug", and of Course, "Muppet-vision 3-d". I've never been on the Grizzly Rapids thing, though.

P.S. What about the monsters ride?

As I said in an earlier post, they are keeping "California Screamin'", the roller coaster, so not everything on the pier is a goner. My guess, and this is only a guess at this point, is that they're basically going to retheme the Pier area. Although, I also think that means that the "off the shelf" rides that they just bought, like the Maliboomer and the Orange thing with the swings in it (I forget what they call that ride, I so rarely even walk over to that part of the park) will probably enter Yesterland.

Monsters, Inc. is so new, I can't imagine them getting rid of that. And the fact that they're adding a lot of new Pixar based attractions bodes well for its continued existence, too.

 

[IgorPonweed]

Monsters, Inc. is so new, I can't imagine them getting rid of that. And the fact that they're adding a lot of new Pixar based attractions bodes well for its continued existence, too.

I meant are they going to move it to "Pixar Land", or just keep it there and say that the Hollywood Area is the "Closet".

 

[Fozzie Bear]

From what I heard, it sounds like that might be going, unless they're planning to convert it into a "Toy Story" themed coaster.

Maybe a Cars themed roller coaster?

I hate that they're closing the MuppetVision 3D show. Seems they could find a way to update it and make it different and that would pull the masses back in.

They just bought the franchise--it just seems silly to me to close something they NEED to be trying to relaunch!

 

[IgorPonweed]

I found some stuff on wikipedia.

The major retheming of the entrance will turn Sunshine Plaza into Walt Disney Plaza, a street representing Los Angeles in the 1920's, when Walt Disney first arrived in Los Angeles, and a second "Partners" statue, featuring a young Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse will stand. At the end of the street will be the new visual icon of Disney's California Adventure, a model of the Carthay Circle Theater, which showed the world premierr of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937. Inside will be a modern version of The Walt Disney Story, sitting right in front of where the current sun sculpture stands. Red Car trolleys will travel up and down the main street of the new plaza. The entrance gates will be moved forward to where the postcard letters presently stand, and the new plaza, renamed Walt Disney Plaza, representing his personal California Adventure, will feature many new shopping and dining experiences. In addition, a new version of Mickey's PhilharMagic will replace MuppetVision 3D and the replica of the Hyperion Theatre will be fully enclosed.

The new "Cars Land" will feature three new attractions. The first, Radiator Springs Racers, will take guests through a breifing with Doc and Lighting McQueen. Suddenly, guests will find themselves in the middle of a race which includes hairpin turns and steep banks with guests eventually racing another guest vehicle with random race results. This attraction is an indoor/outdoor attraction and is supposed to be similar to Epcot's Test Track. The other two attractions are going to be smaller family attractions featuring Mater's Junkyard Jamboree and Luigi's Roamin' Tires, a revival of the 1960's Tomorrowland "Flying Saucers" ride. Cars Land will also feature a life size model of Radiator Springs and several dining and shopping opportunities.

Paradise Pier will receive an elaborate theming makeover and it will become a romantic Victorian boardwalk. The theming changes will begin with the opening of Toy Story Midway Mania. The sun's face on the Sun Wheel is to be removed and replaced with a huge Mickey Mouse face, while the Mickey silhouette will be removed from California Screamin' and replaced with a Paradise Pier logo. Across the bay, Golden Dreams is to be removed and replaced with the long-rumored attraction "Voyage of The Little Mermaid." The bay itself will be home to a new nighttime spectacular called "Walt Disney's World of Color." To accompany seating for this show, a new 9,000 person standing-room only viewing area will be added. Also included in this retheming will be new midway games, Goofy's Sky School, a newly rethemed Mulholland Madness and the removal of the Maliboomer.

The expansion project is expected to be completely finished by 2011.

Wow. It seems like a way to make the park more popular... But Muppet*Vision?... Hyperion Theater (Which has a GREAT Aladin Show)...

And Like Fozzie Bear said,

They just bought the franchise--it just seems silly to me to close something they NEED to be trying to relaunch!

If you wanna see a design, click here.

 

[Was Once Ernie]

Wow. It seems like a way to make the park more popular... But Muppet*Vision?... Hyperion Theater (Which has a GREAT Aladin Show)...

Actually, they're not taking out the Aladdin show. It says they're enclosing the theater, which I don't understand, since the theater is already enclosed.

I didn't even read that press release carefully enough (I had seen the one they sent around to studio employees). It confirms the end of MuppetVision.

One of the "Cars" rides looks to me like a retooling of the "Test Track" ride from Epcot. And "Voyage of the Little Mermaid" is also a show that's been playing at Disney/MGM for many years already.

As for "Monsters, Inc.", I'm sure they won't move it. It's not going to be just one "Pixar Land". Those attractions will be spread out all over the park. My guess for where the "Cars" land will be is an area that's currently outside the boundaries of the park. There's a small piece of the original Harbor Blvd. parking lot still left... unless they already ate it for Tower of Terror, which I'm not sure about. Anyway, if it's still there, that might be where "Cars" is going. The other possibility is all that wasted space where the farm exhibits are. They'd even have more space if they killed the bread factory tour and the tortilla factory tour as well as those little food stands outside of those tours. That would give them a huge piece of ground.

 

[Drtooth]

I still wonder when a certain someone will deny it and say how great Disney's not really caring about the license they bought and can't find anything to do with is.

This is pretty bad. If the one in Florida closes, that's it. no more Muppet projects. they clearly don't know what they're doing with the license. They really ought to sell it back to the Hensons or something. This is annoying.

 

[frogboy4]

I have chosen a state of denial about this. When it's actually done and I see it, I'll believe it and grieve.

I do wonder sometimes why they don't have some sort of space where you can puppeteer characters. I remember an old Art of the Muppets exibit where they had Koozebanians set up and secured in a little plexiglass stage with live cameras pointed at them. The user would put their hand in a thick (puppet-protective) glove and maneuver the character. I know that would be a bid draw. Bigger than many of the rides I've attended at themeparks. Setting up a room of such booths would be very cool!

 

[Was Once Ernie]

Okay, I have to apologize for furthering rumors. Everyone should know by now to take anything they read on Wikipedia with a grain of salt.

I just reread the official press release from Disney Parks and Resorts and nowhere in it does it mention Mickey's Philharmagic replacing MuppetVision 3*D. That is a rumor that I heard weeks ago and it's still a rumor.

The last time I was at the park, I asked the attendants at MuppetVision if they knew anything about it closing. They said they weren't allowed to discuss it. As I walked away, one turned to the other and said that's the third person that's asked that today.

As others have said in this thread, we will have to wait for some official word. There is going to be a Preview Exhibit set-up in the San Francisco area, but even that won't open until late 2008. That leads me to believe that no other work is going to start before that time, either.

One thing I was correct about, though, is that the "Cars" land is a major expansion. It says that this will expand the park grounds by 12 acres, so it is going in an area that is not currently open to the public.

I will try to get more definitive answers when they are willing to talk about it and will post them at that time.

And one other thing, whatever happens at California Adventure, no one on the inside has ever said anything about MuppetVision closing in Florida.

 

[BEAR]

There's a big article in the LA Times about the rebuilding of California Adventure. The basic reason for the project is to make it more fantasy and imaginative like how Disneyland is. People go to Disneyland to escape to a special world. DCA just didn't really have that same effect. People thought of it as just another amusement park type place. Someone was quoted saying something like...why go to a theme park to see fake Californian mountains and trees when you can do that outside the theme park already? Why go to a park about California that is already in California? Know what I mean. I didn't read anything about the closing of Muppet Vision, but Mickey's Philharmagic is definitely in the planning. They are taking out Maliboomer and reworking the Sun Wheel. They are adding a Cars themed area as well as putting in a new Toy Story attraction. There was also something about a Little Mermaid ride, which I am guessing will be like the one featured on the recently released Little Mermaid DVD.

 

[The Count]

Well... Yes, I can understand why someone living in California would make those comments. But remember that it's a theme park where though the majority of the people visiting it regularly are from California, it gets visitors from the rest of the USA and across the world who don't have California mountains or landscapes to look at every day.

Rully hoping for the best, that Muppet*Vision 3D stays as part of the magic.
And Drtooth, please let talk about PK die. That member has been dealt with, so please don't keep beating a dead horse and just move on. Thanks.