Walt Disney World has announced several new attractions that will be coming to the resort's theme parks in the next few years. But some of those new rides will come at the expense of existing attractions.
Disney has confirmed that it will be closing Tom Sawyer Island and the Liberty Belle Riverboat in Magic Kingdom. [Walt Disney World will trade its rivers for more mountains] And based upon concept art and rumors, many Disney fans are concerned that Muppet*Vision 3D at Disney's Hollywood Studios might also be marked for elimination.
Some Muppet fans are trying to rally public support to save the Walt Disney World show, which is the last remaining installation of one of the late Jim Henson's final projects. A Disney California Adventure installation of the show closed in 2014 and its theater now shows Mickey's Philharmagic.
This raises the question, how can fans save their favorite Disney attractions from being closed?
If Disney has announced a replacement, it's too late to save a targeted attraction. The time for fans to save their favorite Disney rides and shows lies much earlier in the new attraction development process, when Disney managers and Imagineers are talking about what attractions need a refresh or replacement.
That's when fan support for a specific ride or show must be so great that the possibility of closing it never seriously occurs to anyone with the power to make that happen. So how can fans express their support for the attractions they want to stay open?
First, go on those attractions as often as possible. Rider counts are the first metric in determining an attraction's fate. If Disney does not see continued demand for an attraction, that - more than anything else - puts it in the danger zone.
Second, buy the merch. The enduring popularity of Cars merchandise has helped make the case for new Cars attractions at Disney theme parks, such as the two that will be replacing the Rivers of America attractions at Walt Disney World. Merchandise sales - both for the specific attraction and also for its associated IP - also provide metrics that Disney considers when evaluating the ongoing appeal of an attraction.
What if Disney does not sell merch for your beloved ride or show? That's a danger sign right there. So counter it by making your own, fan-made merch for the attraction. Yes, Disney has a well-earned reputation for its lawyers zealous defense of the company's IP. But respectful fan tributes tend not to attract the company's legal wrath.
If you choose to sell your fan creations, however, and that does capture the attention of Disney, well, that could be a good thing if you have helped make a case for Disney to start making its own merchandise with that theme. Just obey the cease-and-desist letter and know that you have made your point.
Third, be vocal about your love online and in social media. Disney watches what fans are saying. Websites and social media accounts honoring a specific attraction make a case when they draw large followings. So follow accounts themed to attractions that you like, especially if you feel like they are under-appreciated at Disney HQ.
I do not know where Disney is planning to build the Monsters, Inc. Monstropolis land that Billy Crystal announced for Disney's Hollywood Studios at D23 in Anaheim earlier this month. [What's coming next to Disneyland, Disney World, and more] Some observers believe the ride will replace Muppets Courtyard, while others have tipped it for the Star Wars Launch Bay site, across the park. If it is going onto the Muppets site, nothing that anyone says or does now can stay the 3D show's demise. Disney will have spent too much money on its Monstropolis plans by now to make that change.
But if Monsters, Inc. is going into Launch Bay, public support for the Muppets show now might help protect it against elimination in the future.
The case for the Muppets feels more intense because it is the last installation of that show. Tom Sawyer Island and the Rivers of America endure at Disneyland and at Tokyo Disneyland in Japan, which for years has been the best installation of TSI, anyway. So fans who miss those attractions at Walt Disney World will continue to have an opportunity to visit them elsewhere.
Ultimately, Disney makes changes to appeal to its fans and the public, not to alienate them. When managers and Imagineers chose to close an attraction, it's because the data they have at hand suggest that an alternative would make better business sense for the company than keeping the attraction open. A last-minute fan campaign won't change that business case.
But ongoing support for existing attractions does push the data. Do not wait until it's too late to get with other fans and show your love for the rides and shows that you want to see continue at Disney.
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The existing concept art are two competieting ideas: one is clearly Animation courtyard, while the other is Muppets. If Muppets get the boot, they should at least give them the 3D theatre in epcot or make RnR electric mayhem. I don't see Muppet Vision lasting for the next ten years. I really hope I'm wrong tho.
Specifically to Muppet*Vision 3D, the two choices are between:
* Replace a still attended attraction (Muppets) with a comparatively less physically accessible attraction (Monsters).
* Replace a barely attended attraction (a redundant Star Wars meet-n-greet) with a new attraction and larger land for additional attractions/shops.
Replacing Muppet*Vision 3D would remove an attraction immediately and gain a smaller net capacity gain years later.
The Star Wars Launch Bay is physically attached to an operating office building, thus requiring more infrastructure and thus more expensive. That investment would both keep capacity the same during construction and add more capacity when finished.
Well said, Robert.
For those who haven't figured it out already, accountants run the world. With so many publicly traded companies playing a role in our day to day lives, the ability to satisfy shareholders is ALWAYS going to take priority on every other aspect of a company's work. For an entertainment company, every piece of the operation has to continuously justify itself by generating more revenue than it costs to operate. While an attraction like Muppets probably doesn't cost a lot to run (a few CMs and the cost of utilities to power and air condition the building), but it also doesn't directly generate a lot of revenue either, and the overall lack of interest (short lines) doesn't really help advocates inside or outside the Walt Disney Company justify the continued operation of the attraction.
When you're looking to improve a theme park, particularly one with a very limited footprint, underperform attractions (ones that cost more to operate than they directly generate), are obviously going to be the first ones on the chopping block when improvements are considered.
What are some effective ways to create fan merchandise for Muppet*Vision 3D?
While I'm not the world's biggest Muppet fan, I do appreciate and respect what Jim Henson was able to accomplish in the entertainment and education spheres. He's an American icon. A Disney legend! And MuppetVision 3D is the very last thing he touched before his passing (and his last performance of Kermit the Frog). For those reasons alone the attraction should be next to untouchable (alongside attractions Walt himself had a hand in like Small World, Carousel of Progress, and, to a lesser extent, Enchanted Tiki Room).
Unlike the Shrek 4D show at Universal, which played a short film you could stream on Netflix with some theater effects, MuppetVision only works within the confines of its theater designed for a Disney park. I hope if MuppetVision is torn down, the film and all of its effects can be preserved, even if some of the jokes wouldn't make sense if presented in a museum.
While I understand Grand Avenue would be a cheaper option for Monstropolis (with existing bathroom & kitchen infrastructure), I don't think it solves for the fundamental capacity problem in Hollywood Studios. MuppetVision has an hourly capacity of just under 1700 guests. Using other coasters as a baseline, an inverted coaster that seats 2 across probably has less capacity than that. Even if we assume it will have the same capacity as Rock N Rollarcoaster (1800/hour), that's still only a marginal +100 guests/hour of capacity.
Similar to what TheSeg mentions above, does Disney really want to cut more capacity from a park that desperately needs more while they construct Monstropolis in a budget-conscious location? Or do they bulldoze Launch Bay, connect Monstropolis with Toy Story Land and Sunset Boulevard to create better navigation around the park?
I fully expect Disney to choose the option that has a favorable budget.
It does seem like the two concept art images released are of different options for different spaces in the park as Json pointed out. It could be that they are early enough in the design process that they haven't landed on where it would go. At least with the land design- they seem pretty far along with the coaster design since they already have a model built.
They could have plans for both Muppets Courtyard and Animation Courtyard, and wanted to float this out to see audience reaction to getting rid of Muppetvision and Launch Bay. Surprise surprise, no one would be sad to see Launch Bay go, but there would be a lot of people really sad to see Mupppets go, myself included. So I'm hopeful Launch Bay/Animation Courtyard will be the location. If they expand into the backstage area and demolish the old animation building and the CM parking garage, that would be a ton of space- a lot more than Muppet Courtyard. It could also then connect to Toy Story Land for a whole Pixar section of the park.
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I don't know how much pre-emptive support for an attraction will save it either. Even when rumors started about Frozen replacing Maelstrom, Guardians of the Galaxy replacing Tower of Terror, or Tiana replacing Splash Mountain, no amount of fan outcry or support could have saved them.