We knew they were coming, but now we have the official closing dates.
Walt Disney World this morning confirmed the final dates for Muppet*Vision 3D, PizzeRizzo, and Mama Melrose’s Ristorante Italiano at Disney’s Hollywood Studios this spring. These locations are closing to clear space for the new Monsters, Inc.-themed Monstropolis land that’s coming to Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
Mama Melrose’s Ristorante Italiano will close first, with May 10 being that table service eatery’s last day. The next month, June 7 will be the final day of operation for the Muppet*Vision 3D show and the PizzeRizzo counter service restaurant next door.
Disney is moving The Muppets across the park for Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem to take over Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster. There’s still no closing date for the current version of that indoor roller coaster, however, much less an official target date for the Muppets version to debut.
The new Monstropolis land will feature its own indoor coaster, with a suspended coaster themed to the door vault from the first Monsters, Inc. movie. We are still awaiting a schedule on that work, too.
But Disney has plenty that is on the schedule already to debut this summer, including a new Villains and new Little Mermaid shows at Hollywood Studios and a new nighttime parade at Magic Kingdom. For assistance in planning a Walt Disney World vacation, please contact our travel agent partner for a free, no-obligation vacation quote.
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Are we taking bets that Muppets never make it to RnR?
@Robert Parker - I think there's little doubt the Muppets will appear on RnR since the announcement almost certainly indicates Disney's intent to sunset their licensing for the Aerosmith IP. However, how much the Muppets actually appear in the renovated attraction is up for debate. My first inclination is that the coaster itself will still be a limo ride through LA, with the only on-ride differences being the songs that are played and perhaps some enhanced scenery/effects along the way. Whether those new songs are from the Muppets or from other musicians, particularly those that have appears in Muppet shows and movies in the past, is anyone's guess. I frankly wouldn't be surprised if much of the experience remains unchanged with Aerosmith swapped out in the preshow with appearances from other musicians and Muppet characters and everything after that is pretty much identical aside from the music.
Honestly, given how much Disney has invested in DHS over the past decade (TSL/Galaxy's Edge) and that they're about to probably plunk down another $200+ million for Monsters Inc, I personally expect this reskinning project to be done on the cheap, which I know is going to upset a lot of Muppet fans out there.
Next up is Indy and Star Tours…
Very little left of the Disney MGM Studios many grew up with.
Star Tours will stay, they can always be adding new locations to it.
I"m amazed Indy show has stuck around so long.
I really thought MuppetVision would get all of 2025 and perhaps go deep into 2026 before closing. It doesn't make sense for Disney to fast track Monsters to 2027 because they have Tropical Americas opening that year, and there's no way they can get it open by 2026, so why close the theater show at least three years before the new land opens? Surely re-skinning the theater will not take that long.
@evanweston
I think you're onto something. Re-skinning the theater will not take that long, and transforming Mama Melrose's & Pizza Rizzo shouldn't either. I'm thinking Disney may want to pull a Galaxy's Edge here and open up the Monster's Inc Land even before the marquee attraction is ready.
Disney Hollywood Studios has improved, and continues to get better, so much in recent memory. Big wins here with the Monsters Inc land and marquee attraction!
I can’t imagine how bad it will be in DHS and DAK once these new lands open. Neither of these parks have enough small rides to help eat crowds. DAK especially will feel the pain with both Encanto and Indy. I hoped they would retheme the spinner ride to help alleviate the pain.
The reason MK works so well is the balance of E tickets with A through C. DHS is so heavy on E that it makes for a rough experience for those that enjoy rides over shows.
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Let this be a lesson to ALL theme parks on how to treat your loyal guests. There is absolutely no reason, other than an emergency or safety hazard, to conceal or delay the announcement of when an attraction will close. Parks that let rumors swirl about the demise of attractions only to quietly stop operating them should take a cue from what Disney has done here and what Universal has done with RRR. In both cases, the attractions being removed are not particularly popular and their removal has been known for a number of months. However, both companies have enough respect for their fans and guests to give those who do enjoy the soon-to-be-closed attractions a chance to experience them one last time.