Disney Legend Josh Gad Voices Support for Muppets Amid Monsters, Inc. Land Rumors at Disney's Hollywood Studios

Aug 14, 2024 in "Monsters Inc. Land"

Monsters Inc. Land Concept Art
Posted: Wednesday August 14, 2024 12:50pm ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

Disney Legend Josh Gad has taken to social media to express his concerns over the future of the beloved Muppets at Disney's Hollywood Studios. With recent announcements hinting at a new Monsters, Inc. Land potentially replacing the Muppets Courtyard, Gad's comments have added a significant voice to the ongoing discussion among Disney fans.

Gad, best known for his role as Olaf in Disney's Frozen franchise, posted on Threads today, stating simply, "The Muppets must be protected at all costs."

His support for the Muppets comes at a time when speculation is rife that MuppetVision 3D and its surrounding area could be on the chopping block to make way for the new Monsters, Inc. Land, which was recently announced by Disney Parks Chairman Josh D'Amaro.

The announcement of a Monsters, Inc. Land has been met with excitement, but it also raised immediate questions about where the new attraction would be built. Disney's Hollywood Studios, unlike other Walt Disney World parks, faces significant space limitations due to surrounding roadways and existing attractions. As a result, speculation has centered on two possible locations: Animation Courtyard and Muppets Courtyard.

While both courtyards have been presented as potential sites, recent information suggests that Muppets Courtyard is the frontrunner. This would mean the removal of MuppetVision 3D, an iconic attraction that has been a fixture at Disney's Hollywood Studios since its debut in 1991. The show, which was one of the last projects Jim Henson worked on before his passing, holds a special place in Disney history and the hearts of fans.

Disney's Hollywood Studios: Will Monsters, Inc. Land Replace Muppets Courtyard or Animation Courtyard?

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Fox&Hound17 minutes ago

The placement of that gift shop really is wild. The area will feel so much bigger when it is removed.

danlb_20002 hours ago

One, the new coaster. Also a stage show.

Garyjames2204 hours ago

How many rides is this monster inc land meant to have

The Mom17 hours ago

Monster Inc Land Coming to Disney's Hollywood Studios This is not a thread about AK attractions. Thank you.

doctornick18 hours ago

I tend to think that a big part of the NRJ wait time is that Pandora is just so isolated and annoying to travel back and forth from. FoP is awesome and a must do for the park so you are already going to that area. Once you are there it seems pointless not to just not wait for the other ride. Especially as you are probably less likely to return to Pandora later that day so you kind of “suck it up” and just wait even if it’s longer.

GoofGoof19 hours ago

I don’t think it’s disliked. Probably more just average popularity. If people disliked it they wouldn’t likely wait even 30 mins. I feel like for WDW the magic number is closer to 20 mins where people view that as “walk on” and wouldn’t hesitate to wait for pretty much anything. At AK there are only 6 rides and they average under a 60 min wait each so in a 10 hour day it’s easy enough to do all 6 (which not everybody can) and still have 3+ hours to eat and do shows or animal exhibits. If you moved this ride to MK where it’s impossible on most days to do anywhere close to everything I think the wait would drop a lot as more people would skip it. Giving up 60 mins in the line at MK would be a much bigger sacrifice than 60 mins at AK. At AK there’s really no benefit to skipping it unless you really want to spend a long time on animal trails or you plan to leave early or split the day which I know some people do.

UNCgolf20 hours ago

I do think the lack of height requirement is a factor, along with capacity etc., but that still doesn't really add up to it having the longest wait in the park on some days. The other thing is... the wait time is the wait time. People are still seeing a 60 minute wait for NRJ (sometimes an 80-90 minute wait) and getting in line for it, so they're willing to wait that long to ride. A disliked ride wouldn't get waits like that regardless of the capacity, because no one would be willing to wait that long to ride. I'm not suggesting it's considered a beloved classic... but I do think the data indicates it's more popular with the general public than people here think.

GoofGoof21 hours ago

I think you are still discounting the fact that it’s the lowest capacity ride in a park with very few rides. The other rides with less wait times have higher capacity. It’s also 1 of 2 rides in the entire park with no height restriction at all which impacts not only families with little kids but a lot of people with issues around motion, size (FoP and EE) and the general roughness of rides like EE, Dino and FoP. Even the safari and/or rapids could be a no go for someone with a bad back for example. Navi is really not restricted for almost anyone and it’s a park without any other of those rides (maybe safari). There is plenty to do at AK without riding the rides; between shows, animal exhibits and restaurants/shops but most guests want to ride too. So my explanation for long lines is more around the other offerings at the park then the popularity of the ride itself. Here’s the list of AK rides with their height restrictions and also with Operational Hourly Capacity I found online so who knows how accurate. I also got the average wait times from Touring Plans for August 23, 2024 which was a 5 crowd day for the park and a day I happened to be there so I can confirm it was a pretty normal day :). Trying to show an average crowd day when Kali was still in play: FoP - 44 inch - 1,440 OHC - 71 mins Navi - none - 1,080 OHC - 61 mins Safari - none - 1,260 OHC - 41 mins Kali River - 38 inch - 1,620 OHC - 59 mins Everest - 44 inch - 1,620 OHC - 42 mins Dinosaur - 40 inch - 2,160 OHC - 32 mins So Navi did have the second longest wait time on average that day, significantly higher than EE and Dino and probably Kali for first half of the day before the sun began melting us 😎. Those attractions have 50% more capacity or in the case of Dino double the capacity and they have mobility and height limitations. It seems to me that FoP wait times are lower now that it’s on LLSP. I don’t have the math to back it up and maybe it’s just that the “newness” wore off but something is driving down waits from a few years back. It’s a little harder to explain the Safari. It has more capacity than Navi but a much lower wait time not proportional to the higher capacity. It’s also the headliner of the park (co-headliner now maybe with FoP). It also has no height restrictions and is generally pretty mild (at least compared to Dino or EE). Maybe the heat impacted that day a little since the ride is all outdoors but I think Navi consistentlyhas longer waits even when temps are more mild.

flyerjab23 hours ago

I’ve always enjoyed this ride for its more intimate setting. Not everything needs to be FoP or the Safari in scale. Obviously, I love those rides also. But having a more beautiful, quiet experience is enjoyable to me. There’s something very natural and real to the experience on that ride. It isn’t bombastic and over the top experience. It is a quiet ride through an alien world, themed to the rafters. Both subtle and exquisite.

UNCgolf1 day ago

I'm repeating myself, but this doesn't really work logically as an explanation for the wait. It would be incredibly difficult for NRJ to regularly get the waits it does, especially compared to other attractions in the parks, if this was true. The first time visitors would be lining up for Kali, Dinosaur, etc. in the same way and yet they are almost never even close. It's not that those things aren't a factor, because they are, but they just can't explain the wait times on their own when you look at the big picture. Any park that's full of locals is going to generally get shorter waits, but Mermaid isn't a very good example because it's usually a walk-on at the Magic Kingdom too (or at least it has been every time I've been there). NRJ is also a much, much, much better ride from an Imagineering/design perspective than Mermaid. I don't think the general public considers it one of the best attractions from a design standpoint that's been built at WDW this century like I do, but they definitely seem to have a higher opinion than the people that post here. I'm also always surprised by the relatively negative reaction it gets here since it's much closer to a classic Disney dark ride in feel/design than most of the other things they've built recently... which is probably the reason I like it so much.

sedati1 day ago

Using the same directional sound tricks like the ghost host in the stretching room could make for an intimate experience where voices could be both around us and right in our ear.

IMDREW1 day ago

This would be perfect and feel much more of a finale and worthy trip

rle4lunch1 day ago

I think the wait times relate to first time visitors and Pandora rather than actual ride quality. If this was a DL attraction, visited repeatedly by locals, it'd be walk on like mermaid is out there

sedati1 day ago

I adore the ride and love how unique it's tone is. The end to me just needs a simple change. After the Shaman, we should pass into one of the tree of souls to commune with Eywa. We should be enveloped in light and the sound of voices both familiar and familiar.