Say Goodbye To This Controversial Restaurant in Disney's Hollywood Studios

Are you a fan of Disney World’s infamous puffy pizza?

PizzeRizzo

Over in Muppets Courtyard in Hollywood Studios, you can dine at PizzeRizzo, which serves up Disney World’s well-known quick-service puffy pizza. Whether you love or hate this rat pizza joint, unfortunately, this controversial restaurant is set to close.

At D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event in August of 2024, it was announced that a new Monsters, Inc. Land would be opening in Hollywood Studios. While some concept art was revealed along with one of the rides that will be featured in this new area of the park, Disney did not initially announce where this land would go.

©Disney

Many hoped that it would replace the Animation Courtyard, but in December of 2024, it was revealed that the land would take over what is left of the Grand Avenue along with Muppets Courtyard.

©Disney

While no closing date has been announced for this area of the park, construction is set to begin this year, which means we will be losing Muppet*Vision 3D, Mama Melrose’s Ristorante Italiano, and PizzeRizzo.

Muppets Courtyard in Hollywood Studios

Now we know that not everyone cares for PizzeRizzo, and we can’t lie, a lot of the time, we have recommended skipping out on this pizza joint for other dining options in Hollywood Studios; still, it is sad to see a unique restaurant like PizzeRizzo close.

PizzeRizzo

Believe it or not, it has not even been around for a decade. In 2016, the restaurant was re-themed into PizzeRizzo as it was previously a pizza restaurant themed to Toy Story’s Pizza Planet. AJ has been in the Disney food game for over 15 years and has actually covered PizzeRizzo from its opening!

Check Out DFB’s First Review of PizzeRizzo!

A little nod to PizzeRizzo’s predecessor

Here, you can find different pizzas, sandwiches, salads, and a few desserts. This quick service location is only open for lunch and dinner and typically closes pretty early at 5 PM. This is honestly a bit of a bummer, as Muppet*Vision 3D also tends to close before the park closes. Plus, the Stage 1 Company Store has not been open since the parks re-opened after the pandemic in 2020 (except for special events and the Hollywood Studios 35th-anniversary merchandise.) So Muppets Courtyard really starts to die down at night, except for Mama Melrose’s.

PizzeRizzo Spread

While the menu at PizzeRizzo may not be anything special, it is the atmosphere that will be hard to let go of. While many people choose to eat outside or in the downstairs dining room, there is a whole party that people are missing out on upstairs!

Rizzo’s Deluxe Supreme Banquet Hall

The second floor is home to Rizzo’s Super Deluxe Banquet Room, which hosts an ongoing wedding reception. Yes, it may be tacky, but it is so fun and makes visiting PizzeRizzo worth it, especially if you like puffy pizza.

The banquet hall

So what will PizzeRizzo become after it closes for the Monsters, Inc. re-theme? Well, with the new concept art that Disney shared, we can’t really see what is in place of PizzeRizzo, but we did notice that the current location of Mama Melrose’s seems that it will transform into Harryhausen’s from the film. It is important to note that concept art does not always reflect the final product, and it has yet to be confirmed by Disney. As for the location of PizzeRizzo, we have a feeling that it will still be a quick-service location, just themed to Monsters, Inc. instead.

PizzeRizzo

Make sure to stop by PizzeRizzo and Muppets Courtyard one last time if you have a trip planned in 2025 before this area of the park closes. We will make sure to keep an eye out for any construction updates, so make sure to continue to follow along with DFB!

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Want to see what PizzeRizzo was like when it first opened? Check out DFB’s first video about this rat pizza joint below!

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