MuppetVision 3D, PizzeRizzo, and the rest of Muppets Courtyard have permanently closed at Walt Disney World. This offers the latest updates on the Hollywood Studios construction projects, and what’s next as the Muppets are opening a door for Monsters and moving right along to Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster.
To start with the positive, it looks like MuppetVision 3D received a glorious 13-hour finale, with Walt Disney World sending off the attraction mostly on a high note. Unfortunately, we couldn’t be at Disney’s Hollywood Studios for the final day of MuppetVision 3D, and had to say our farewells earlier.
We nevertheless followed along enviously on social media, from final show wristband distribution during Early Entry to daytime meet-ups for one last meal of rat pizza to watching as none other than Heather Henson was the last guest to enter the last public demonstration of MuppetVision 3D. I kept it together up until that point, but that last video broke me a bit.
All in all, it seems like Disney did right by MuppetVision on its last day of operations. Well, minus the whole closing it in the first place part. But that decision was made at a higher level than the Cast Members on the ground who made the day special. I’ve been to many closing days at Walt Disney World and Disneyland, and they’re always emotional for both the fans and the Cast Members, past and present, who have worked the attractions.
It’s like saying goodbye to a childhood home. There are few attraction closures during my adulthood that have been more ‘childhood home’ to me than MuppetVision 3D. The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights, Great Movie Ride, Universe of Energy, and IllumiNations all “got to me” during the last development cycle, but no single one of those closures hit the heart quite as hard as MuppetVision.
I still think it’s a mistake not just to have some ‘story excuse’ for keeping MuppetVision in Monstropolis and saying the Muppets have been invited into the Monster world to make you laugh or whatever. It wouldn’t be Disney’s worst narrative contrivance. (Sorry, just feel like I need to ‘register’ this grievance with each post on this topic.)
As for the MuppetVision farewell tour, my one complaint is the lack of merchandise. Even when I said my goodbye to MuppetVision, it was playing to relatively packed houses. The Muppets have a passionate fanbase, and ‘final demonstration of MuppetVision 3D’ merchandise would have flown off the shelves. It would’ve been a perfect opportunity to reopen Stage 1 Company Store to also say goodbye to that, and I’m surprised/disappointed Walt Disney World didn’t do this.
Back when Ellen’s Energy Adventure closed, there was a great line of hats and shirts, but I don’t recall any farewell merchandise for anything since then. In my view, this is a mistake. One thing Tokyo Disneyland does really well is farewell seasons for its beloved attractions, and there’s always an “[attraction name] Forever!’ product line that sells really well, along with photo ops and special food.
I’m only mentioning this because Walt Disney World is going to have a couple of more opportunities for this in the near future, and it’d be nice if they availed themselves of those. I’m not a big merchandise guy or DINOSAUR fan, but I’d absolutely scoop up a ‘Countdown to Extinction’ hat with a cheeky line from Dr. Seeker on it!
If someone from Disney happens to be reading this, it’s still not too late for MuppetVision merchandise! It’s not like this fanbase is going to evaporate overnight now that the demonstrations are done. Release a product line and many of us will buy every single item in it. But we’re tourists, what do we know?!
Suffice to say, both MuppetVision 3D and PizzeRizzo are now officially closed at Disney’s Hollywood Studios as of June 8, 2025. The Muppets Courtyard area is set to be replaced by the Monsters Inc. Door Coaster and Monstropolis miniland, with an unannounced show taking over the MuppetVision 3D theater and new restaurants replacing the existing ones.
With MuppetVision 3D, PizzeRizzo and everything else in the area closed, Muppets Courtyard has been wiped from all park maps of Disney’s Hollywood Studios. These locations plus Mama Melrose’s Ristorante Italiano have also been removed from the My Disney Experience app and all other online maps.
Likewise, the pages for PizzeRizzo and MuppetVision 3D have now been completely scrubbed from the Walt Disney World website. When clicking any old links that led to the old URLs of any defunct Muppets Courtyard offering, you’ll either see the tried and true Stitch “Someone Ate the Page!” error message or be redirected to a generalized DHS landing page.
Grand Avenue is still on the map, but shown as a single street between Commissary Lane and Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. Remaining open are Ice Cold Hydraulics and BaseLine Tap House, both of which are on the other side of the courtyard. Even though the whole area was/is Grand Ave, Muppets Courtyard was a distinct subsection of that. A miniland of a miniland, if you will. On the maps, it appears as if Disney planted a forest overnight, with thick greenery replacing Muppets Courtyard:
This is sort of the case. As of June 8, the whole area to the left side of the guest walkway is now blocked by rolling planters. So not quite a thick forest, but in the same universe.
These basically block what would be the gateway into the mini-miniland, if it had a gate in the first place. A Cast Member is stationed by the planters to keep guests from passing them, with trash cans also doing some heavy lifting as access-obstacles. No visible work is taking place in the courtyard just yet, nor will it for at least the next few days.
There are a couple of possible reasons for these rolling planters. First, because Muppets Courtyard just closed and guests said a long goodbye even after the published park closing time last night. There might’ve been insufficient turnaround time for a proper construction wall to go up overnight.
Second, there’s still a Cast Member send-off to Muppets Courtyard coming up. Walt Disney World confirmed that Cast Members will be the final people who get to experience MuppetVision 3D during a party on June 10, 2025. That’s right: Gonzo still gets one last royal flush!
During that final farewell to Muppet Courtyard, Cast Members will have access to showings of MuppetVision 3D, PizzeRizzo, and even the long-shuttered Stage 1 Company Store. As part of the special CM event, there will be fun, food & games, and other activities. Think of it as a salute to all things in this courtyard, but mostly MuppetVision 3D.
This is great to hear. We appreciate that Cast Members at Disney’s Hollywood Studios will be the last people to experience MuppetVision–it’s nice to see Disney honoring the people who make the magic with this type of offering. And this explains why a proper ‘progress wall’ might not be up yet–because there’s going to be that event on Tuesday, so it’s not like any demolition is starting until June 11, 2025 at the absolute earliest.
What we’re likely to see happen in Muppets Courtyard first is the demolition of Stage 1 Company Store. The permit was already filed for that, and it was previously scheduled to occur before MuppetVision even closed. This is very obviously the first step of the project, as its the one venue that’s not in the Monstropolis concept art.
After that, we’d expect to see transformation of the exteriors. As a reminder, we’re getting one-for-one replacements of these restaurants and a new show in the MuppetVision theater. There’s no reason to believe they’re being fundamentally transformed–these are refurbishments and reimaginings.
Although unconfirmed, it’s likely that the table service Mama Melrose will become the table service Harryhausen’s. It’s likely that PizzeRizzo is going to reimagined into a counter service restaurant with an identical footprint. Walt Disney World has already officially announced that MuppetVision will be replaced by a new show. There’s nothing in the newest Monstropolis concept art (below) to suggest any major layout changes to Muppet Courtyard/Grand Avenue.
For reference, the reimagining of Toy Story Pizza Planet into PizzeRizzo started in January 2016 and was finished in November 2016. While the end result was an upgrade, it was a fairly low dough project that didn’t change that much. We’d expect a more meaningful update for both of the Monstropolis restaurants, but there’s every reason to believe they could be open by late 2026 given the lead time.
Then there’s the transformation of MuppetVision 3D into a different stage show. For this project, we can use the Lightning McQueen Racing Academy to Villains Unfairly Ever After transformation as comparison. That reimagining took less than 8 months, and completely repurposed that space.
Monstropolis is a more permanent land, so all of the additions should be more ambitious than what they’re replacing. As such, let’s give Imagineering 18 months for the front half of this miniland to reopen. As demonstrated above, that’s more than enough turnaround time given comparable projects at DHS. That means the first phase of Monstropolis should be open by December 2026. Just in time for Christmas. Maybe it misses that target given demolition and exterior work needed on Harryhausen’s, but surely it can be ready by Spring 2027.
I’m highly skeptical this will actually happen. My biggest fear is that we won’t see much work in Muppets Courtyard for a while, aside from the aforementioned Stage 1 Company Store demolition. That’ll undoubtedly begin before the end of summer. Hopefully we also see work on the Monsters, Inc. Doors Coaster backstage, but that’s really its own separate thing since it’s being built on the parking lot.
Although there are no rumors to support this, my suspicion is that Muppets Courtyard is being closed early. That Walt Disney World management feels that Disney’s Hollywood Studios doesn’t need the capacity offered by the restaurants and MuppetVision over the course of the next couple of years and is opting for the longer closure to save operating expenses. RizzeRizzo routinely closed early and Mama Melrose was never all that popular. On top of that, two stage shows just opened at DHS on May 27. (Never mind that both venues plus MV3D all operated simultaneously as of February 2020.)
It’s common practice for Walt Disney World to find ways to save on operating expenses at times when capital expenditures are increasing. On top of that, it’s unlikely that there will be any organic growth this year at Walt Disney World, so the company will resort to cost-cutting to achieve whatever targets it might have.
Despite the absence of rumors to corroborate this, there’s also the absence of construction–and that speaks volumes. The most involved aspect of this project is going to be building the gravity building and laying track for the Monsters, Inc. Doors Coaster. Ground has yet to be broken on that attraction. It’s going to be located entirely backstage, so work on that could occur without regard for the front half of the miniland. Nothing needed to close for work to start on the roller coaster.
This is somewhat similar to Tropical Americas at Animal Kingdom, and precisely why Dino-Rama closed first–because it’s being replaced by the fresh build of the Encanto ride. Meanwhile, DINOSAUR and everything else is “only” being reimagined, allowing it to stay open longer since it won’t take as long to complete. (Not to dismiss the work needed to transform DINOSAUR into Indiana Jones Adventure–it’s going to be a herculean task of much greater difficulty than anything in Muppets Courtyard.)
If the front half of Monstropolis opens in late 2026 or even in 2027 before the Monsters, Inc. Doors Coaster, I will gleefully admit I was wrong, and this was all about turning around the project as quickly as possible. But if it all debuts at once in 2028, it will be patently obvious that the closure of Muppets Courtyard occurred prematurely out of cheapness on Disney’s part. I guess we shall see.
Finally, there’s the Muppets movin’ right along to Sunset Boulevard. The positive part of this! Walt Disney World has now announced that Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith is officially set to close in 2026 for its ride reimagining. At the same time, they’ve revealed that the reimagined Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring the Muppets will open in 2026. Our full post offers speculative closing & reopening date ranges, but the bottom line is that we expect that project to take 6 months or less. (I’d love to be wrong and it take a full 11 months!)
Whenever this corner of the park comes up, fans inevitably express optimism about it eventually becoming the new Muppets Courtyard once Villains Unfairly Ever After ends its run. I’ve been a debbie downer about this, saying it’s more likely that both that show and the Muppets takeover of Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster are stopgaps for Marvel or something else. I’ve said that because I’ve believed it’s the most likely outcome–and still do.
However, the end of this story still isn’t written. The saving grace of all of this is that Imagineering has creative control of the Muppets, and there are hardcore Muppets fans at WDI. That’s how PizzeRizzo ended up punching above its weight in 2016 and it’s probably how the RnRC reimagining–a fairly unexpected overlay and olive branch–got greenlit in the first place. I would be absolutely shocked if Imagineering didn’t pitch Sunset Showcase as a new Muppets Courtyard including MuppetVision 3D, and lost that bureaucratic battle–with the Villains show winning out.
Losing the battle doesn’t mean they can’t win the war. Fights like this are constantly being fought within Disney, and every bit of ammunition helps. So rather than feeling dejected that your letter or feedback or whatever “failed,” take heart–maybe it didn’t. Maybe it will. Maybe Disney has already taken notice of the fan reaction to MuppetVision 3D, and there’s more to come.
The best we can do in the next ~5 to 7 years is giving all things the Muppets as much love as possible. And maybe if Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring the Muppets has higher guest satisfaction scores than its predecessor and the Monsters, Inc. show yields lower numbers than its predecessor, we’ll get a new Muppets Courtyard. It’s unlikely and far-fetched, but isn’t that dogged determination and dare to dream attitude exactly what the Muppets are all about?!
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YOUR THOUGHTS
Thoughts on the closure of MuppetVision 3D and everything else in Muppet Courtyard? Expect the first phase of Monstropolis to debut by late 2026 or 2027, or think it’s all being slow-rolled into 2028? Do you agree or disagree with our assessments? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
