Construction walls currently block off a significant portion of the Grand Avenue sidewalk in Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
Grand Avenue Construction
Grand Avenue is the section of Disney’s Hollywood Studios containing Muppets courtyard and Muppet*Vision 3D, as well as the street of city façades leading to the main Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge entrance.
Don’t worry — Muppet*Vision 3D is still open. But the walls and scrim surround a large section of Grand Avenue near the Muppets courtyard entrance.
The walls begin right after the Pride Month balloons photo op. We could see the tops of a couple of construction vehicles.
The walls wrap around some trees in the courtyard, in front of the bathrooms.
Guests have to walk around the walls to get to Muppet*Vision 3D and PizzeRizzo.
We don’t know exactly what construction is going on here. It could be a project to ease traffic in the area, or it could just be something like pavement replacement.
As a result of the construction, this snack stand featuring churros and ice cream products has moved closer to the Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge entrance.
Muppet*Vision 3D
Muppet*Vision 3D opened in 1991 as one of the first representations of the Muppets in Disney Parks, and the only permanent Muppets attraction since then. As production began on Muppet*Vision 3D, there was a tentative agreement for Disney to purchase the Jim Henson Company. However, Henson’s death in 1990 ended that agreement and delayed the attraction.
Directed by Henson, it was one of his and puppeteer Richard Hunt’s final Muppets projects. It was the last time Henson performed as Kermit the Frog, as well as Waldorf and The Swedish Chef, and the last time Hunt performed as Scooter, Statler, Beaker, and Sweetums. Hunt passed away in 1992, after the attraction premiered.
Disney never did acquire the Jim Henson Company in full, but purchased theme park rights to the Muppets, and eventually purchased the property entirely in 2004.
Muppet*Vision 3D has run mostly unchanged for 32 years, even as other Muppet attractions are closed and canceled, and as Disney’s Hollywood Studios changed around it. Until 2016, it was part of Streets of America. The area was then officially known as Muppets Courtyard, before becoming Grand Avenue in 2017.
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