6. Muppet Studios
Project: Land
Location: Near New York Street
“Opened”: 1992
“It’s time to play the music! It’s time to light the lights!”
Welcome to Muppet Studios at the Disney-MGM Studios! Yes, This wild and wonderful backlot belongs entirely to Kermit, Miss Piggy, Gonzo, Fozzie and the gang. It’s a kinetic and pun-filled paradise for Muppet fans of all ages to explore. In fact, this sensational land is so incredible, we traced its origin story and what awaits within in its own in-depth Possibilityland: Muppet Studios walkthrough! But here are the basics.
Of course, Muppet Studios is home to MUPPET*VISION 3D, a cutting edge exploration into the newest creations at Muppet Labs… including the world’s first computer-generated Muppet! Naturally, chaos ensues in this “4D” show, completely destroying Muppet Studios’ grand and palatial theater right before guests’ eyes.
But here in Muppet Studios, that’s only the beginning. Guests can dine in THE GREAT GONZO’S PIZZA PANDEMONIUM PARLOR, where (and this is real), food is delivered to the tables by Audio-Animatronic rats (see above). Or, swing by SWEDISH CHEF’S COOKING SCHOOL for a one-of-a-kind interactive cooking class / meet-and-greet attraction.
Still, the biggest draw to Muppet Studios by far is THE GREAT MUPPET MOVIE RIDE. What would happen if the Muppets tried to recreate the most legendary films in history?
This laugh-out-loud tour through the soundstages of Muppet Studios includes all the mayhem and hijinx you’d expect from a production of Frankenstein starring Beaker or Peter Pan with Miss Piggy hoisted high as Tinker Bell. But even cooler, this full-fledge, Audio-Animatronic-packed dark ride gives the Disney-MGM Studios a whole new anchor attraction for families.
7. Monsters Inc. Door Chase
Project: Family coaster
Location: Pixar Place
“Opened”: 2010s
Monsters Inc. is one of those Pixar films packed with such imagination, it feels like a new kind of story. One by one, the employees of Monsters Inc. work their way through a quota of scares, summoning kids’ closet doors as portals to gather screams that power Monstropolis. It’s all in a day’s work for these well-meaning monsters who merely train to be scary… until a human child, “Boo,” sneaks her way back to Monstropolis revealing that the monsters themselves are more terrified of humans than the other way around.
Naturally what follows is a mad race to return Boo, eventually revealing the inner workingsof Monsters Inc.: a cavernous, automated, sunlit warehouse where closet doors are stored and retrieved, sliding, zooming, forking, and dipping along rails. The sensational setting and high-energy scene immediately illicits the idea of a ride… And spectacularly, Disney’s Possibility Studios has one.
Yes, the MONSTERS INC. DOOR CHASE coaster was built in one of the unused soundstages near Toy Story Midway Mania, making the park’s “Pixar Place” a more complete land. Inside, guests get their own tour through the interior of Monster Inc.’s grand lobby before making their way to the Scare Floor and hopping aboard a suspended roller coaster train of hanging doors. As the coaster is lifted up and propelled into the interior of Monsters Inc., it becomes a swinging, sliding, zipping journey through the chaotic warehouse, dipping and spiraling along spinning door carousels, through “portals” and past scenes of Mike & Sully’s rescue of Boo.
The Monsters Inc. Door Chase coaster gives Disney’s Hollywood Studios a family coaster that’s well-themed, bright, and – best of all – indoors! It’s a perfect way to expand Pixar Place and keep the Studios rolling toward the future by keeping fresh, evergreen movies at the forefront.
Back to reality…
Our tour through Disney’s Possibility Studios reveals no less than seven major projects that could’ve been. And trust us, there are plenty more where those came from… from silly asides themed to flavor-of-the-week movies to Villains rides, an entire never-built Star Wars lands, or Cars Land, there’s plenty that Possibility Studios has left in production…
But for now, it’s time to face facts: even if these seven projects could’ve been, they weren’t. Why didn’t each of these could-be-classics make their way to the real Hollywood Studios? We’ll break down the reason for the cancellation of each on the next page…