A Salute to All 3D Films, But Mostly Muppet*Vision 3D

After years of whispers, rumors, and anxiety, the bell has finally tolled for Muppet*Vision 3D.

At this point, there is no need to debate the merits of Disney’s decision to replace Muppet Courtyard with Monstropolis or wonder whether Disney could have done more to save Jim Henson’s final Muppet project.

The dye has been cast, and the genie is not returning to the bottle.

So, instead of bemoaning the loss of an iconic piece of Disney history, I want to celebrate what we had.

For one last time, let’s play the music, light the lights and get ready for the Muppet’s final show at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

The History of Muppet*Vision 3D

Before we head to Muppet Courtyard to say goodbye to Kermit, Fozzie, and Waldo, I want to discuss the history of Muppet*Vision 3D.

The genesis of what would eventually develop into Muppet*Vision 3D began in 1989, when Disney was closing in on an agreement to purchase the Muppet franchise from Jim Henson.

As part of the deal, Henson would have joined Disney in numerous roles and the Muppets were to be integrated into the Disney parks.

Specifically, Disney planned to create a Muppet Movieland in the newly opened Disney-MGM Studios.

This new Muppet area would have included a Rizzo-themed restaurant (sound familiar), a gift shop, and two major attractions — The Great Muppet Movie Ride and a 3D Muppet film.

Before Henson’s deal with Disney was even finalize, Jim began to throw himself into the 3D Muppet project.

“Jim was very involved with the project. He was genuinely interested in doing theme park attractions. I think Jim liked that it would be something people could see for a long time in an environment like a Disney theme park. I think he also liked doing something new, unique, and groundbreaking,” show producer Mark Eades would recall later.

With filming on the new Muppet movie underway in California, Disney broke ground on a theater for the attraction at the Disney-MGM Studios. It looked like Henson’s motley crew would soon be the biggest stars of Disney World’s third theme park.

Then, tragedy struck. On May 16, 1990, Jim Henson unexpectedly passed away at 53.

Tributes, Trials, and Termoil

Following Henson’s death, Disney’s merger with the Jim Henson Company fell apart. Without the creative force behind the franchise, Disney’s interest in Henson’s company waned, and the Henson estate balked at Disney’s offer to purchase the Muppets outright. The fallout of the cancelled merger would eventually lead to a bitter lawsuit between the two entities.

Despite this animosity, plans for Muppet*Vision 3D continued to forge ahead.

Henson’s friend and frequent collaborator Frank Oz (who was named a Disney Legend last year) assumed directorial duties on what would now be Henson’s final Muppet project.

However, when tensions flared between Disney and Henson’s estate, all Henson employees were asked to step away from the film.

This left Walt Disney Imagineering to finish the movie.

“We had to finish the film, including all the Waldo CGI, much of which was added as a result of the new stuff, without them, including all the performers,” Eades recalled. “We had already done the looping so we had all the dialog.”

Thankfully, on May 19, 1991, Disney and the Henson estate reached a settlement that allowed the production of Muppet*Vision 3D to continue and gave the company merchandising rights for 18 months.

Renamed Jim Henson’s Muppet*Vision 3D in tribute to the late visionary, the attraction would be the last Muppet project Henson directed and the final time he performed as Kermit.

Muppets Courtyard Is Born

While Muppet*Vision 3D was the only attraction that would come out of the ill-fated Disney-Henson partnership, Disney still decided to give the iconic troupe their own mini-land at the Disney-MGM Studios.

Eventually named Muppets Courtyard, the area was a slimmed down version of the original Muppet Movieland idea.

What Muppets Courtyard lacked in substance, however, it made up for in character.

Muppet Fountain

The courtyard was centered by an intricate Muppets fountain that drew inspiration from the Muppet*Vision 3D finale.

Here, guests could see numerous sight gags, including Gonzo directing the scene, Fozzie filming, and Animal holding a valve.

In the water, two rats were depicted fishing for coins.

Here is a closer look at the Fozzie statue.

Finally, when the fountain debuted, Miss Piggy would actually spin.

For posterity, here is a look at the fountain four months after Muppet*Vision opened.

The Fire Truck, Hot Air Balloon, and Hanging Gonzo

While the Muppets Courtyard fountain was the centerpiece of the area, it was far from the only memorable vignette.

Outside of Muppet Theater, guests could find the back end of the firetruck that crashes through the building during the show’s finale. It was a fun Easter egg and a great photo opportunity.

Turning our attention to the theater itself, the building was a Muppet fan’s dream.

The large clock on the front of the theater featured Gonzo hanging off its hands and doing his best Harold Lloyd impersonation.

Elsewhere, guests could see this iconic mural of Miss Piggy and Kermit spoofing Gone With the Wind.

Finally, there was the Kermit the Frog hot air balloon.

As a subtle nod to The Great Muppet Caper, the Kermit hot air balloon flew high above Muppet Courtyard from 1991 until 2017.

One of the park’s most recognizable icons, the balloon would draw guests back to the remote Muppet Courtyard and add a sense of kinetic energy to the area.

Overall, Muppets Courtyard had too many inside jokes and Easter eggs to recount. There was the Statler and Waldorf cutout..

…. and Sweetums.

And finally, a really fun Fozzie directional sign.

Before we discuss the rest of Muppets Courtyard’s history, let’s visit the area during its final days of operation.

Muppets Courtyard on Its Final Day

The Muppets Courtyard of June 2025 is a radically different area than it was in 1991.

Over the years, many of the statues in Muppet Fountain were removed. By the end, only Miss Piggy, the rats, and the fish remained. 

In the last decade, Disney has shown either an inability or indifference to preserve the parks’ water features. The Muppet Fountain was a victim of this apathy.

As previously noted, the Kermit hot air balloon was removed from the Muppet*Vision theater in 2017. At the time, the prevailing notion was that the balloon would interfere with the sightlines of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.

This is how the theater looked in its final days.

If you look closely, you can see that Gonzo was still hanging from the clock.

The Gone with the Wind Mural was painted over in 2019.

Nevertheless, even at the end, Muppets Courtyard had a lot of character. Muppet advertisements even lined the walls.

Now that we have explored the Muppet*Vision 3D building, let’s head inside, shall we?

The Preshow Lobby

The Muppet*Vision 3D lobby was themed as a Muppet Labs storage room, with crates, boxes and decorations scattered throughout the area.

The lobby also featured a ton of visual gags, inside jokes and Muppet, Easter eggs.

On the way through the queue hallway, guests passed by Muppet Labs doors that read. “Division of Fashion Technology – making tomorrow a prettier place to be,” “Institute of Advanced Chronology – Staying ahead of the times,” and “Institute of Heckling and Browbeating, Statler and Waldorf Curmudgeons in Chief”

Perhaps most famously, a note at the unattended security desk had a sign reading “Back in 5 minutes, key under the mat.”

Guests who lifted the mat could find the key!

Elsewhere, a net hanging overhead contained boxes of Jell-O. This was a fun visual pun on Annette Funicello!

Other crates throughout the preshow area included Gonzo’s Stunt Props (and Really Weird Stuff), Bunsen’s Inventions (Tongue Inflator, etc.), and Miss Piggy’s costumes.

Finally, it is time for the preshow video.

An Iconic Preshow Film

A Muppet work of art in its own right, that played out across three interconnected scenes, the Muppet*Vision 3D preshow video was immediately memorable.

The video opened with a construction crew causing chaos, featured The Three Ds- Dorothy, Dinah, and Max (a last-minute replacement for Debbie, who’s sick), Rizzo impersonating Mickey Mouse (“Rat, schmat, besides…they’re tourists…what do they know?”), and a comical confrontation between Miss Piggy and Bean Bunny.

For Muppet fans, the preshow video was worth the price of admission in its own right.

After the series of Muppet mishaps, it was finally time end to enter the theater.

As guests made their way inside, Sam the Eagle warned them to move all the way down the row.

“First, when entering the theater, please move as far to the end of the row as possible. Stopping in the middle is distinctly unpatriotic,” he said.

Jim Henson’s Muppet*Vision 3D

The theater itself was a recreation of the Muppet Show auditorium and was decorated with Muppet flourishes.

Notably, the penguin orchestra appeared in Audio-Animatronic form, the Swedish Chef manned the projector, and Statler and Waldorf sat in the balcony.

Now, let’s sit down and watch the show!

The conclusion of Muppet*Vision 3D was pure Muppet mayhem and was perhaps the greatest in-theater experience that Disney ever created. By the time that the penguins, Swedish Chef, and Waldo begin firing at eachother, guests found themselves in the midst of the kind of chaos that only the Muppets could create.

While the show holds up on video, there will never be anything like the theater experience.

The Rest of the Story

While the announcement that Muppet*Vision 3D was closing devastated fans of the franchise, it was not overly surprising 

For decades, rumors swirled that Disney would do away with the Muppet area. While Muppet*Vision got some much-needed love following the release of 2010’s The Muppets, the attraction seemed to constantly be on the chopping block.

Then, in November 2016, a miracle occurred, Disney decided to expand the Muppet area of Disney’s Hollywood Studios and officially christen the land Muppet Courtyard. With the addition of PizzeRizzo and the Gonzo’s Royal Flush bathrooms, the Muppets were more prominent than ever.

Unfortunately, the Renaissance was short-lived. In August 2017, Disney announced that Muppets Courtyard and the adjacent Streets of America would be rethemed into Grand Avenue.

Suddenly, the Muppets seemed to be back on the chopping block. When Stage 1 Company Store closed in 2019 and never reopened, the area’s situation grew even more precarious.

Now It’s Time To Say Goodbye…

As any Disney fan knows, change is inevitable at Walt Disney World. Some changes, however, are more impactful than others.

Saying goodbye to Muppet*Vision 3D means that Muppet fans will no longer have a place to congregate, laugh, and celebrate Jim Henson’s final film.

For fans of the Disney-MGM Studios, it means that the park has now lost another attraction that was fundamental to its ethos. It was also the closest thing the park had to a legacy attraction.

Muppet*Vision 3D may not have been as relevant as it was 34 years ago when the show opened, but for the lovers, the dreamers, and me, it was the last vestige of what Disney’s Hollywood Studios stood for, a beacon of good old fashioned Vaudevillian humor, and a place to celebrate the Muppets.