Just in case you didn’t know, Disney World recently announced they would be permanently closing a classic section of Hollywood Studios.
Muppets Courtyard
Yes, we’re talking about the fact that we’ll have to say goodbye to the entirety of Muppets Courtyard! Now of course the main focus since the announcement is our lament over losing the iconic Muppets 3D show, but there’s more to Muppets Courtyard than just that one attraction. There are restrooms, shops, and more that will need to either be re-themed or just permanently shut down. And while we’re at it, how come no one is talking about the fact that with this announcement that Monsters, Inc. land is taking over the soon-to-be-former Muppet Courtyard area, Disney has also confirmed that two (2) restaurants in the area are permanently closing?!
As we were saying, the Muppets Courtyard will be closing in Hollywood Studios so that work on the brand new Monsters, Inc. land can begin. We do know that with this new land, there will be a brand-new ride based on the doors scene in the first Monsters, Inc. film.
©Disney
They’ve also announced that there will be a NEW theater show as part of this re-theme, plus shopping and dining options as well.
©Disney
Speaking of dining options, this means that we are going to see the permanent closures of not one, but two restaurants in Hollywood Studios – PizzeRizzo…
PizzeRizzo
…and Mama Melrose’s Ristorante Italiano.
Mama Melrose’s Ristorante Italiano
Now, at the moment, we don’t have any indication as to what the restaurant will be called that will be replacing PizzeRizzo. When we zoom into the concept art, we can see the building and a billboard with Mike, Sulley, and the logo on it that says, “We’re Monsters, Inc.” So, for now, we have no idea as to what the menu could be, but it would be fun trying to imagine some sort of monster pizza.
©Disney
If we move towards the top of the concept art, close to the new attraction, we can see in the place where Mama Melrose’s currently sits, appears to be Harryhausen’s Restaurant – the very same restaurant Mike Wazowski takes Celia Mae out on a date for her birthday.
©Disney
While we’re sad to see Mama Melrose go, a sushi restaurant would make a great addition to Hollywood Studios! In the movie, you can see the monsters chowing down on eyeballs and sushi. But when it comes to the menu for this spot, it could includes appetizers such as Goo-Tofu, Vegetable Tempuki, Swill and Sour Soup, and Flab Cake.
Harryhausen’s Menu
There could also be a variety of sushi options like a Spider Roll, Carrion Katsu, Howling Hamachi, and more. Only time will tell what will actually make it on the menu.
In the meantime, Disney has yet to announce when these changes will begin or when the new Monsters Inc. land will open, but we’ll keep you updated on all the latest, so stay tuned to DFB!
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Oh no! The Muppets are iconic! I like Monsters Inc but feel they are well represented elsewhere. My husband from Britain has yet to visit WDW so I’m sad to think he would miss this experience.
Also I wanted to see how bad the pizza at PizzeRizzo was for myself. 😅
Muppet Vision 3D and Mama Melrose are what I will miss. At the rate the Disney Company is going, the time will come when there will be no places at all within the whole of Walt Disney World for me to eat. But on the bright side, look at all the money I’ll save! LOL
I expect another restaurant to close down to turn into a new theater for muppet movie, like sci Fi diner. There’s such an abundance of mediocre dining options in this park that they can afford to axe a few.
Mama Meltose
We dropped Mama Melrose from our rotation a few years ago as being just Ho Hum. It’s really hard to beat out The Brown Derby for a big lunch. For a nice cold adult drink, there’s a great cart between the Animation Arch and the Brown Derby. For a drink and a nosh, we like the Ale House next to Sci Fy Drive Inn. We’re planning on trying out the drink spot near BATB.
In our many years of HS we had never eaten at these 2 resturants. Lunch Sci Fi, dinner Prime Time, Hollywood and Vine and Brown Derby are 2 more we no longer go to.
Not a fan of Pizzario nor Mama Melrose, But your suggestions for their replacement sounds awful. Muppet was going downhill because of where it is located, There was nothing else back there. I would like to see an expansion backwards and bring back all the Studio Backlot attractions. It is called Hollywood STUDIOS afterall.
i would like them to make Risso Pizza as a NY style food truck over by Rock’n Roll’n Coaster.
We go to Mama Melrose every visit and we have gone for about 85 visits in25 years. The other restaurants in Hollywood Studios are not that good so we will probably only make this park a half day. Or maybe not go at all
We are really bummed out that Mama Melrose is going! I don’t know why they couldn’t have left the restaurant there! It’s one of our favorites. There are very few restaurants in Hollywood Studios to begin with. The food here was great and the ambience was so wonderful. It seems that Disney is constantly removing what is good to replace it with something not so good. But I don’t believe Disney has ever been guest friendly. The fact that there are no benches to sit on or shade from the sun, lets you know that they just want you to keep moving, and burning, and getting to the next ride! Here’s another reason not to return to Disney anytime soon. You can live without a monsters Inc. world but you can’t live without food! And the idea of eating raw fish on a 95° summer day at Disney World does not excite me at all!. Mama Melrose was a great option for a good meal. Also, the ambience of the area was great with a little snowman and a little Christmas shop there too. Well, there goes another favorite spot being replaced by something else. Disney is an expert at taking away, but not so good at replacing what they took away. The Magical Express; need I say more?
Mama Melrose for a sushi joint. Not a fan.
No great loss with Mama Melrose. We haven’t eaten there in years. The last time we went there the food was practically inedible. I can make better Italian food at home, with 100% less sodium.
I applaud the Monster’s Inc., addition to the park. But couldn’t Disney turn the old Star Wars Hotel into are-themed Monstropolis with shops and eateries inside and plenty of room for the Door attraction outside.
I’m so sorry to see that Mama Melrose’s will be closing. I think it was delicious and was even way better than Tutto Italia Ristorante in Epcot.
Ditto Sue- We really enjoyed our many visits to Mam Melrose…Since we found the “disco dancefloor” on the third level of PizzaRizzo, it had become a go to lunch with all of our crazy grandkids. They loved it and we couldn’t have laughed more at our dancers.
Mama Melrose is one of the best restaurants at Disney, and we’ve eaten at most of them. It’s a very bad decision to close this restaurant. We sat at the bar and chatted with the pizza chef and had a great dinner. We decided we’d eat there every time. Hope they just change the name and not the food.
I would hate to see Mama Melrose replaced by a sushi restaurant. We hate sushi, so this would be another Disney restaurant to cross off our list.
So sad to see Mama Melrose go! Why are all the best things taken away? Rockin Rollercoaster, Pizza Planet, The Great Movie Ride, Backlot tour , Osborne Christmas Lights was the best thing ever, Little Mermaid never reopened and Star Wars took over. Sad it used to be our favorite park.
It will never cease to amaze me how people cannot spell. The names of the restaurants are right there in the article. Reference them before typing.
I have never eaten at either spot but love the idea of a sushi restaurant. And now that I hear about people allowing children to dance in a restaurant where others are eating, I am relieved to see that one go.
Do we know when Mama Melrose is closing? We booked the fantasmic lunch there for January and haven’t received any notification of cancellation.
Not a sushi fan, so I won’t be visiting that restaurant. My 30 something year old daughter brought her then boy- friend, now husband to Disney World and to HS to experience her favorite ride The Great Movie ride. It closed that year. The devastation of sadness was terrible! I was so sad at the happiest place on earth! Yearly visitors since 1985, DVC MEMBERS SINCE 2007; not our best trip! She lives in CA now, so she goes to Disneyland a lot. Not many visits to FL nowadays. Mama Melrose was just ok. The Italian restaurant in Epcot has way better food. The ambience at MM restaurant was nice! The chicken parm was very good!
With all these ideas, open another park. The current parks are overcrowded already. Opening expansions are only going to make it worse. Try finding a spot-on Main Street to view the fireworks and castle projections. Making Magic Kingdom bigger will make it impossible. Put Carsland, Coco, Monsters, and the like in their own park. And quit with all the lounges, there are too many alcohol places. If you want to drink, go bar hopping elsewhere. You are supposed to come to Disney Parks to be entertained. Getting drunk may entertain you, but spoils it for the rest of us.
Ditto David. I’m so tired of seeing the parks being ruined by all the bars, lounges, drinking, and misbehavior of people who drink too much and get drunk and then want to start brawls in the park. Come on Disney! Enough is enough! Whatever happened to family time and since when do you need to be drunk or Have an alcoholic to enjoy yourself? As David said you only ruin it for the rest of us. We want to go and have a good time with our families‘, children and grandchildren. Not watch others get drunk and exhibit bad behavior. I have no idea why Disney’ decided to go that way, except to get more money from people with no thought of how a lot of people cannot control themselves after drinking too much. And DFB – you should stop reviewing EVERY alcoholic drink in the park. I never could understand why anyone needs a cocktail with their hamburger and french fries. We also do not need to know what every alcoholic drink taste like. People who like to drink or get drunk already know. No one has to encourage them to drink more.
I agree about doing away with alcohol. There has been so many more aggressive incidents since it was allowed. People get out of control with drinking and become violent. So many keep saying that the magic is gone and this could be the reason.
I also like the idea of another park with those characters.
I will miss the Antipasto salad from PizzeRizzo.
As a grandparent to a sweet 7-year-old girl, who adored the Muppets, I feel a sense of loss but am hopeful that Monsters, Inc. will prove a suitable substitute.
On a related front, my extended family always found PizzeRizzo to be a great place to stop for lunch. Their personal pizzas were delicious, and the seating on the second floor was very comfortable, in the shade, and usually came with a nice breeze. I will definitely miss that spot.
I’m always had great meals at Mama’s, so sorry to hear it’s closing. But Harry’s will be exciting as long as Disney does it right. I don’t eat sushi but I expect they’ll have other dining options.
Thematically, Mama’s hasn’t fit in since they moved away from the Hollywood theming. For those who will miss it, if you go to Los Angeles, eat at Miceli’s restaurant in Hollywood. It’s the decorative inspiration for Mama’s, the food is better and they have singing wait staff.