Remember, all links in TPEI open up in a new browser window. So feel free to check stuff out, we’ll be here when you get back! Each photo opens up to a larger version as well, and with that out of the way let’s look back at what happened during the past month, starting with…

*Muppet Courtyard RIP

I can’t believe that in a theme park landscape where one company has the so-called “blessing of size,” we are once again discussing beloved attractions being removed. This time it is not just an attraction, but an entire area at Disney’s Hollywood Studios: Muppet Courtyard.

Last week we wrote a love letter to Muppet*Vision 3D, and still can’t believe its going away. We got almost 35 years of this great show, but we could have gotten 35 more because the show itself is one of those rare pieces of art that stands the test of time.

The last day for Muppet*Vision was one for the books as many came to pay their last respects. So many that we actually got to see one of the most rare items in all of Walt Disney World… the Muppet*Vision 3D End Of Line signage!

How big of a draw was Muppet*Vision’s last day? This big…

In a great touch, the last official person to enter the Muppet*Vision theater for the final performance in front of guests was none other than Jim Henson’s daughter, Heather Henson.

Now, one of the most shocking parts about Muppet*Vision 3D’s closure is that there wasn’t a single piece of merchandise created for the occasion. This is a clear case of dereliction of duty for whoever is running the merchandise department over at Walt Disney World. How is this even possible? Universal has merchandise available for the upcoming closing of HOLLYWOOD RIP RIDE ROCKIT and that’s not even happening until September!!

In fact, the only piece of merchandise you could even get related to Muppet*Vision was its E-Ticket pressed penny selection. A machine which has already been removed even though Animal Kingdom was offering pressed pennies for the Jammin’ Jungle Parade for over a decade after that left the park. “Inconceivable!” – Vizzini, The Princess Bride

There were a lot of great testimonials of people who loved Muppet*Vision posted throughout the day it was closing, but this one below may be my favorite…

Andrew Barth Feldman’s tribute video, “Thank You, Muppet*Vision 3D” is a must watch and another example of how talented so many people in the theme park fan community are. My jaw is on the floor.

You may be thinking, “Okay, Derek, so some people enjoyed Muppet*Vision, what’s the big deal?” Well, how many theme park ride closings make the front page of the Wall Street Journal?! Muppet*Vision is the last thing that Jim Henson worked on, and the last time he ever performed Kermit the Frog. Its closure is the equivalent of Disneyland closing something Walt Disney himself had a hand in creating (The Jungle Cruise, Pirates of the Caribbean or The Haunted Mansion) and replacing it with an attraction based on Pixar’s Inside Out.

Let’s take one last look at some other areas in Muppet Courtyard that are going to be bulldozed, including the the Stage 1 Company Store (AKA the Muppet*Vision gift shop) that for some reason has been closed since 2020.

The iconic Miss Piggy fountain.

The beloved (to some) PizzeRizzo quick service restaurant.

I don’t care who you are, using the neon to create “It’s Rat Pizza” is what separates the great theme parks from everyone else.

Longtime readers of this blog series know how much I love references to extinct attractions. and this nod to Pizza Planet (the restaurant which PizzeRizzo replaced) is a fun one.

Before it opened, a big deal was made about the Million dollars that Disney put into the kitchen for PizzeRizzo. That might have been the highest profile case of money laundering in theme park history, because no one knows where a single dime went considering the menu serves the same slop type of “pizza” you can get at places like Catalina Eddie’s in DHS and Pizzafari at Animal Kingdom.

The greatest thing PizzeRizzo ever had on the menu was a dessert selection back in 2021 that did a mashup of the Haunted Mansion stretching portraits with Muppet characters.

I mean, c’mon, how great is this?!!!!!

Gonzo’s Royal Flush were the greatest named bathrooms in Walt Disney World.

We mentioned in last week’s tribute article about how many artists have been inspired by the Muppet Courtyard and let’s look at some more pieces, including this one by our favorite tiny artist Jaime S. that displays many of the memorable elements of the land.

The charming art of SonderQuest looked at one of the most sublime gags in the Muppet*Vision 3D queue (that is LOADED with great jokes.)

Sondy also perfectly captured the wonderful “key under the mat” gimmick that brought a smile to many kids faces seeing that reveal for the first time.

Artist Doug Harding created this terrific “8 bit” version of PizzeRizzo.

While @DanielDBeckwith used several characters and moments from Muppet*Vision 3D in this amazing piece.

The comic strip below “hits me in the feels” as they say, and does a better job of explaining how wonderful the attraction is than I did writing thousands of words on it.

Based on real life events. The feeling of surprise and joy I got seeing Muppet*Vision 3D for the first time is something that has never been matched.” – Waggtoon

We’ll close with this final “Goodbye Muppet*Vision 3D” by Imagination Station Art.

TPEI Score: – 75 I still can’t believe this is happening. Don’t get me wrong, I’m used to losing things I love in the theme parks, but this is different. Or at least it should be different. At the very least Muppet*Vision 3D building should have been granted “national landmark” status, but there is so much unused space already in Hollywood Studios that moves like this make zero sense for a company as profitable as Walt Disney World.

MOVING ON… One of fun gags in Muppet*Vision was at the end of every show with the following exchange:

Do we have time to go to the bathroom before the next show?” – Waldorf

We can’t, you old fool! We’re bolted to the seats!” – Statler

TPEI’s own Digital Maestro – Scott Walker – was able to provide DisTwitter a bit of emotional closure, sort of like when you need to tell children their beloved family pet has “gone upstate to a lovely farm.” In our hearts, we can always imagine a better scenario for our favorite cantankerous couple…

So what’s next for The Area Formerly Known As Muppet Courtyard? Let’s start off by taking a Big Picture look at area along with the Cast Member parking area located directly next to the land.

Blog Mickey has been covering this story thoroughly and recently showed us how everything is going to fit together. First let’s take a look at the Monsters Inc. land concept art.

Next up is a satellite view of DHS, with the Monsters Inc show buildings super imposed over where they are going to be.

A recent aerial photo by blogger-in-the-sky @bioreconstruct shows us that Disney has already started staging for the upcoming project with a significant portion of the DHS parking lot closed off. This is where the Monsters Inc. door coaster will be located.

*Stop Hate Fundraiser

For the last several years, the Permit Princess Alicia Stella has held an annual fundraiser for the LGTBQ+ community that raises money for The Trevor Project, a non-profit that offers suicide prevention and crisis intervention for at-risk youths. The fundraiser takes place throughout the month of June, and features an all-star crew of artists in theme park community pitching in to help. To start off, the spectacular ROB YEO created the logo for this year’s fundraiser (and its a dandy!)

One of the ways that people can donate to the fundraiser is by purchasing prints made by some of the most talented artists around. Let’s check out some of my favorites from this year’s event, including a pair featuring Captain Cacao from Epic Universe’s Moonship Chocolates & Celestial Sweets shop.

Epic Universe in general inspired several of the artists in this year’s Stop Hate campaign, which is not surprising since we recently did an article showing how much of an impact Universal’s newest park has made on artists.

I am constantly blown away by the imagination and talent on display.

Our boy SonderQuest has been creating pieces for the Stop Hate Fundraiser since its inception, and each year has focused on creating drawings for each Walt Disney World park going in the order in which they opened. Instead of the traditional icons of each park, Sondy focused on elements that were memorable for, shall we say, different reasons. He started with the Cinderella Castle birthday cake for Magic Kingdom. This was followed by a Beverly soda tap for EPCOT, the giant Sorcerers hat for DHS, and this year we have the “The InfaMOUSE Cement Sauropod.”

Reaction to the fundraiser was off the charts from the word jump, especially when it came to people purchasing prints from this Murderer’s Row of artistic talent. In fact, they sold over 500 pieces in the first hour, raising $12,000 for The Trevor Project… IN THE FIRST HOUR! The fundraiser’s success continued throughout the month and was even covered by the local Orlando news.

This screenshot above features two of my absolute favorite pieces from this year’s campaign, “A Salute To All 3D Shows, But Mostly Muppet*Vision” by Ava Buric and “Muppet Studios Fun Map” by The Horizoneer. I have been a huge fan of both of these two artists for years and they always deliver in a big way.

Not only were people buying prints, but you could also DONATE DIRECTLY, participate in AUCTIONS, and PURCHASE STICKERS featuring Rob Yeo’s fantastic artwork (with ALL profits going directly to The Trevor Project)

On Friday, June 28th, the fundraiser smashed their goal of $25,000 and has gone over $30,000! Remember, the fundraiser takes place throughout the entire month of June, so if you’re reading this fine blog series on the day it is released, you still have some time to contribute to a great cause by using any of the links above.

TPEI Score: + 40 Social media can be a depressing landscape, with several popular apps designed specifically to feed you negative stories as their algorithms incentivize hate. However, when you cut through the garbage, you’ll find that the theme park community as a whole is filled with some very good people. Alicia Stella, all the artists contributing work, and many others pitching in with behind-the-scenes help for the annual Stop Hate Fundraiser is an example of how great this community really is. I’m proud and humbled by all of them. I hope that one day I’ll be able to do something a fraction as important and meaningful, but until that day we’ll continue with stories such as…

*How Does This Keep Happening at EPCOT?!!!

Not that long ago, EPCOT had in-ground lighting made via fiber optics that everyone loved and worked flawlessly.

This was exactly the type of thing that Ye Olde EPCOT Center was about. Cool and futuristic, along with being something that you just didn’t see anywhere else.

Artist Stephen Christ even made a series of t-shirts featuring these wonderful EPCOT lights.

Then, as we all know, Disney decided to fix something that wasn’t broke and completely redid the center hub of EPCOT. This overhaul took years, was changed halfway through, and the overall result landed with a “what was the whole point of this again?”

However, one of the neat things we did get with the EPCOT central hub overhaul was a lighting package on the ground that is designed to resemble the classic 5 ring EPCOT Center logo. This looked spectacular from the air. These lights made their official debut in December, 2023.

Inside the park, the in-ground lights looked pretty sharp as well… at first.

As you can imagine, many guests traveled over these light strips.

However by early July of the following year, the lights started having some significant issues.

A closer look reveals that there were some major problems with these strips that were installed onto the EPCOT pavement, causing them to become tripping hazards to guests.

This is definitely one of those “Not great, Bob!” situations.

Nothing a little tape can’t fix though, right?

This month, guests were once again blocked from walking on top of these lighting strips.

The new – possibly temporary – solution seems to be screwing in these lighting strips to try and make sure they don’t become tripping hazards.

TPEI Score: – 15 This is truly the gift that keeps on giving.

***QUICK HITS***

*Another Tenant Joins The Collectible Fridge

Big news on the themed 20 ounce soda bottle front over the past month, as Universal released a Coke bottle with Epic Universe branding on it.

This is definitely a sharp looking bottle.

So good in fact, that it joined the collectible fridge. Now, I often get foolish questions such as “why do you refrigerate sodas you are not going to drink?” The answer is obvious. These treasured objects deserve the respect and appreciation that their nobility demands. I mean c’mon, even Lord Voldermort granted dignity to his enemies during the battle of Hogwarts, the very least we can do for these treasured objects is to store them at 35 to 45 degrees!

So, I locked up the collectible fridge, set the alarm, and went about my day thinking that would be the last soda I would need to purchase this Summer. NAY NAY.

Out comes the news that Coca Cola is going to release 30 different cans/bottles featuring one of the true loves of my life: STAR WARS.

Characters will be featured on cans and bottles.

But here’s the cherry on top of the sundae….there will be three designs EXCLUSIVE to Walt Disney World and Disneyland! These designs will feature the Mandalorian and Grogu, a First Order Stormtrooper and Chewbacca.

My first reaction to this news?

*Our Long National Nightmare Is Over…

Earlier this month, people noticed that the menu to Pizza Moon looked a little bit different than it usually does. It seemed a bit smaller.

That’s because several options were removed from the menu. These included the Giant Mushroom, Hala Kahiki Mahina, Space Cowboy and Harvest Moon pies.

Trying to contact Universal about the “new and improved” Pizza Moon menu was fruitless, with generic answers such as “our food menus are subject to change.” No reason was given for the change, nor a timeline if the other options would come back. We’ve heard some Rumors and Innuendo that these pizzas were taken off the menu because the restaurant was having a hard time keeping up with demand. I do understand that, but I also know that its not like Pizza Moon’s menu was as large as The Cheesecake Factory. Let’s be real. Pizza Moon offers less than 10 pizza options, and because everyone is pretty much forced to mobile order on a system that offers extremely limited options for changing anything, its not like the kitchen is being overwhelmed with substitutions.

Regardless, the pizzas came back onto the menu almost as fast as they disappeared, thus ending our National Week of Mourning.

However, the drama at Pizza Moon didn’t end there. On June 17th, Universal Parks News Today posted the following tweet:

This led to a lot of reaction on social media, much of which was pointing out that pretty much none of Universal Orlando’s quick service restaurants offer “To Go” containers, especially when it comes to pizza. I found this out the hard way myself a couple years back. I was sitting in the theater for the Bourne Stuntacular and noticed that Louie’s Pizza would be closing in a half hour. So I mobile ordered a large pizza with the plan that I would just take it back to the Royal Pacific Resort and eat it in my hotel room. I got to the restaurant and was told “we don’t have boxes.”

Now I had never actually seen a pizza box at Louie’s before, but it had also never crossed my mind that they wouldn’t have them. Thankfully a manager went somewhere and ended up bringing back a pizza box. However, while I was in the restaurant waiting to see if they could find anything, I realized that none of the places I went to at Universal offered traditional To Go containers. This is probably for a couple reasons. First, it’s not like quick service locations at any theme park are known for being overly generous with their portion sizes. Look at the size of the PizzeRizzo “pizza” at the top of this article. That’s the size of pizza I’ll eat while waiting in line to order my regular pizza. Secondly, its not like the average person is going straight home after a meal inside a theme park. Most are going back on rides. In case you didn’t know, or happen to be our current Secretary of Health and Human Services, it is not a good idea to travel around a Florida theme park with food considering our average daily weather. Especially during the Summer. Food spoils quickly and you’ll get sick when you finally eat it later.

Anyway, the reaction to UniNewsToday’s tweet sparked a lot of controversy online and the story went viral. There was even a pizza box parody video made by WDWNT.

A week later, the next shoe dropped when the following tweet was posted by Orlando Informer that had a little fun with the story that had been taking over DisTwitter.

Pizza Moon to-go boxes, manufactured prior to the park opening, are a very functional way to transport your pizza throughout your celestial travels! ” – Orlando Informer, June 24th

UniNewsToday was not laughing. In fact, they dig their heels in even deeper and posted an article which revealed that boxes had only recently been available to guests, and even then the boxes reportedly came with restrictions such as customers having to eat at least once slice of the pizza to count as “left overs.”

So I sent a member of the SAT SIX Special Investigation Squad in under-cover to see what’s what. We were able to confirm that Pizza Moon does indeed now offer pizza boxes and they are straight up E-Ticket.

We did *not* have to eat a slice to be able to use the box.

We then took it up a notch by also ordering the Brownie Eclipse dessert. The Pizza Moon menu describes this as a “warm gooey brownie, Nutella, toasted marshmallows, crushed Oreo.” You had me at crushed Oreo.

Turns out, Pizza Moon also offers a smaller themed box for desserts.

HOW GREAT IS THIS?!!!

Before we leave Epic Universe, let’s check out what’s going on with another one of our favorite food items. One of the Must Get snacks in the park is the Mac & Cheese cones in Isle of Berk.

Not only are the cones a spiritual successor to Disney’s legendary Handwich, they also taste INCREDIBLE.

Our favorite? The Goldfish option. Just perfection.

However, look at the price jump we’ve seen from when Epic Universe started selling these cones compared to today!! Has the United States hit the Isle of Berk with the same tariff level that we levied on those islands inhabited by penguins?! I was told there would be no math, but even an idiot like me knows that a four dollar increase on a $12 item is like 33% jump. Although, have to say that I’m perfectly fine if the extra money is paying for the themed boxes at Pizza Moon.

Our pal Bio recently posted a picture of him having one of these delicious mac & cheese cones at work.

This post didn’t didn’t spark much controversy though, because Bio didn’t publicly complain about Isle of Berk not offering To Go containers for the mac & cheese cones. He just brought a Ziploc bag from home.

*What’s Next, Coke Zero in the Wizarding World?

You may remember last month that we posted pictures of the awesome Time Turner popcorn bucket available in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. It was certainly a great popcorn bucket, but it was a little odd because Hogsmeade Village and Diagon Alley are the only two lands at Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios Florida that you can’t buy popcorn in.

That situation changed this very past week, when the Magic Neep cart transformed into one selling POPCORN.

It’s called “Dragon-Fire Popped popcorn” and cost $5.69 per serving (AP discount is available.)

The popcorn is not made fresh at the cart, as each box contains a pre-filled bag.

Once you open the bag, you’ll find it contains regular butter flavored popcorn.

This seems like a missed opportunity, as Marvel Superhero Island has popcorn with green colored seasoning on it to tie into the nearby Hulk Coaster, and Minionland offers banana flavored popcorn. The box that the Dragon-Fire Popped popcorn does look nice, but they probably should have done something a little extra to make it more “magical” to borrow a phrase.

I guess there is some magic involved in that Universal made the total amount of popcorn “disappear” compared to what you get compared to a normal serving of popcorn anywhere else in the park.

*You Learn Something New Every Day

This month @bioreconstruct posted the following gorgeous photo below that consists of Volcano Bay’s Krakatau with a “Strawberry Moon.” This is notable to me because its the first time in my life I’ve ever seen the phrase Strawberry Moon.

Bio added a little context to the photo.

This was the lowest angle Moon (when it was at highest in the sky) since 2006. At moonset.” – @bioreconstruct

That’s not the only great photo Bio got this month that featured the moon. Check out this one taken inside Dark Universe!

Speaking of night, how about this stunner? Just amazing.

I love when Bio posts photos that include a close up of something in one of his pictures. Take for example a Grindylow glaring at guests in Epic’s Wizarding World.

Seeing this photo of the awesome audio-animatronic in the Monsters Unchained queue reminds me to tell you guys that y’all need to follow Jaimee Rowan on social media. She is a member of Universal Creative and has been giving UNBELIEVABLE insight into all the details of the Monsters Unchained attraction. This stuff will blow your mind and remind you just how great that attraction’s queue is (possibly the greatest of all time.)

We here at TPEI specialize in BRANDING and the digital maestro Scott Walker created a logo for a certain type of photo from Bioreconstruct that we particularly enjoy…

This month’s entry features a type of duck I’ve never seen in Florida before.

That’s not the only good duck photo taken in the theme parks this month, as Blog Mickey posted this fantastic tweet below that combined his patented fantastic photography skills with a razor sharp gag.

*Update on BE FAIR TO FLORIDA movement

I’m minding my own business one day earlier this month when the boys over at Inside Universal posted the following tweet about an exclusive Jaws donut at the Voodoo Doughnut in Universal Studios Hollywood.

So we headed over to my beloved Voodoo Doughnut in Orlando’s CityWalk to see what our Jaws themed donut would look like and this is what we saw for specialty offerings available.

My reaction?

Meanwhile, look how mailed in this donut offering for Wicked is. I mean c’mon guys, we can do better than this.

*Hall of Shames Get New Entrants…

A wonderful typo that we can add to the Disney Signage Hall of Shame that includes other signage misspellings such as this quote from Walt Disney…

…and of course the infamous EPOCT sign.

We couldn’t get a single piece of merchandise for the closing Muppet*Vision 3D but we did get this plaque commemorating the 15th anniversary of Hogsmeade Village. Just mind boggling.

This shirt below is the DEFINITION of “busy.” Imagine spending $35 to wear something that it looks like someone literally threw up on you.

Meanwhile at the Disney Outlets in California we have this amazing Pandora: The World of Avatar hoodie that features banshees like they are being hunted by The Predator.

I told TouringPlans’ own Guy Selga to pick me up a couple of these because we are in wedding season and I want to look my best.

The best shirt of the month actually came from Etsy and was posted over on the Orlando Informer Facebook group by Danielle Nowell.  It features a collection of characters and Icons of Universal Studios, but if you look closely you’ll find a fun surprise.

By the way, tickets for the next Orlando Informer Meetup go on sale JULY 3rd. I could not recommend this event any higher and if you are on the fence, be sure to check out my experience at an OI Meetup. I assure you this is the single greatest thing you can do at a Universal theme park, and if I’m lyin, I’m dyin’.

Last month’s Theme Park Enjoyment Index: 128
This month’s net change: – 50
Current enjoyment level: 78

Writer Derek Burgan, when not cleaning Len Testa’s pool, can be found reading comic books, watching professional wrestling, organizing his various Tsum Tsums in alphabetical order, and taking his dog Bacini to Universal and Disney.. He will not, we repeat not, be found at a Disney Outlet Store. An official DisTwitter Influencer, you can interact with him @derekburgan

Digital Artist Scott Walker hails from Scotland and is the fifth most famous person from this country following Alexander Graham Bell, Ewan McGregor, Gerard Butler, and Groundskeeper Willie.