The Single BIGGEST Announcement Disney Made This Month

Not all announcements are created equal.

Hollywood Studios

Disney makes a lot of announcements – – take it from us, keep track of them all – – but some are much larger than – – with much wider-reaching effects. This past month, Disney released a double-doozy of an announcement that promises to change the face of one of Disney World’s theme parks forever!

Back at August’s D23 Ultimate Fan Event, Disney announced that the long-rumored Monsters, Inc. door coaster was coming to Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Furthermore, they confirmed there would be a full Monstropolis land built, including restaurants, merchandise locations, and meet & greets building out the Monsters, Inc. world.

While many were happy about this announcement in concept, Muppet fans were somewhat dismayed to see that one of the pieces of concept art seemed to indicate that the Monsters, Inc. land would be replacing Muppet*Vision 3D and the Muppet Courtyard area of the park.

Disney went months without confirming where the Monsters, Inc. land would go, nor what the future of The Muppets would be at the park.

That changed on November 22, 2024.

Disney made a double announcement. First, the company confirmed that the Monsters, Inc. land will be coming to the “south side of Disney’s Hollywood Studios”, with new concept art 100% confirming that the land will be replacing Muppet’s Courtyard. In addition, Disney confirmed that a previously unannounced “theater show” would be joining the door coaster in the land.

©Disney

However, that wasn’t all. Disney also announced that the end of Muppet*Vision 3D didn’t mean the end of the Muppets at Hollywood Studios. Instead, the characters will be “moving right along to Sunset Boulevard! But there’s more to the story: The Muppets will be taking over Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, teaming up with some of music’s biggest stars for a rockin’ music festival!”

©Disney

That’s right, Aerosmith is out, and the Muppets are in, making the new coaster their first ride ever, which promises “laughter, screams and new tunes for this attraction for fans to enjoy throughout the adventure.” According to Disney, the characters will have a large presence in the Sunset Boulevard area of the park, with “plenty of Muppets-themed merchandise” available.

While these announcements have answered the biggest questions open since D23, they have led to slew of new speculation. On the Monsters, Inc. front, some are wondering if the the “theater show” is going to be something new or the long-running Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor show moving over from the Magic Kingdom. A billboard for the latter attraction present in the concept art has only intensified this line of thinking.

Laugh Floor

Meanwhile, on the Muppet side of things, several questions have emerged. For starters, many are wondering how the comedic/character-driven Muppets will merge with the high-speed, thrill-ride elements of the coaster. Furthermore, many are wondering if Disney will find some way to either continue playing Muppet*Vision 3D, or release the film to streaming or home video, since it represents the final Muppets work of legendary creator Jim Henson.

Kermit!

In addition, we’re curious if Disney will be able to salvage any props or other physical elements like the Miss Piggy fountain for the new Muppets area.

Miss Piggy Fountain

While the double Monsters, Inc./Muppets announcement was the biggest news to come from Disney this month, there was other news and events of note, including the launch of 2024’s Jollywood Nights and Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, a massive media event celebrating the launch of the Disney Treasure, and a big change to Disney’s recently launched Lightning Lane Premier Pass.

Disney Treasure

Disney rocked the theme park world with their announcements of Monsters, Inc. replacing Muppet Courtyard and the Muppets, in turn, taking over the Rock ’n’ Roller Coaster. Stay tuned to DFB for more on these changes.

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