WDWNT.com is hosting “A Glorious 3-Day Finale”, an unofficial event celebrating the impact and importance of MuppetVision 3D and the Legacy of Jim Henson and the Muppets at Walt Disney World. Celebrate the magic of this incredible Disney classic and learn about its creation from the Imagineers & Muppet performers/luminaries who made it a reality!
The event is highlighted by a meet & greet/autograph signing with the former Imagineers & Muppeteers in attendance, as well as several panels and presentations revealing never-before-seen art and untold stories from the creation of MuppetVision 3D on June 6 (the eve of the closing of the attraction). Guests in person will also be able to get up close with actual props and art from the legendary attraction!
As well, fans can join WDWNT for a farewell gathering at Disney’s Hollywood Studios on Saturday, June 7, and enjoy the attraction one last time. You’ll need park admission and a park reservation for Disney’s Hollywood Studios, but an event ticket is not required.
Guests can find the full special guest list, event schedule, and more information at agloriousfinale.com. A variety of ticket options to attend in person or to stream from anywhere are on sale now. Members of the WDWNT Inner Globe Society (patreon.com/WDWNT) can obtain a discount on in-person registration. Current Disney Cast Members can also get a discount on select tickets.
Here’s everything happening at the event:
- On Thursday, June 5, WDWNT Celebration will host a very special episode of WDW News Tonight celebrating the life and legacy of MuppetVision 3D.
- On Friday, June 6, the event moves to the Embassy Suites by Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista Resort, 8100 Lake Street, Orlando, Florida, 32836. This venue will host an afternoon of special panels and presentations, as well as the mixer & autograph session in the evening.
- On Saturday, June 7, WDWNT will host an unofficial meet-up at Disney’s Hollywood Studios to visit the attraction as a group.
Special guests at “A Glorious 3-Day Finale” include:
Steve Whitmire: Steve Whitmire is best known for his career with “THE MUPPETS” as Kermit the Frog, Rizzo the Rat, Bean Bunny, Ernie, Statler, Beaker, Wembley Fraggle, and Sprocket. Since starting on THE MUPPET SHOW in 1978, Whitmire performed in virtually every Muppet project for nearly forty years including FRAGGLE ROCK, MUPPETVISION 3D, and SESAME STREET, as well as non-Muppet fare such as THE DARK CRYSTAL, LABYRINTH, THE WITCHES, DREAMCHILD, and DINOSAURS. In MuppetVision 3-D, he portrayed Waldo C. Graphic, Bean Bunny, and Rizzo the Rat.
Paul Osterhout: Paul was originally hired in 1980 as a production designer for EPCOT Center, where he worked on all of the Future World pavilions. He was hired as a Production Designer for the Disney-MGM Studio’s where he provided design and art direction for The Great Movie Ride, Superstar Television, and the Monster Sound Show. Before the park was finished, he was promoted to Producer, where he was the lead creative on Star Tours and MuppetVision 3D. He was also the Producer on Rock ‘N’ Roller Coaster starring Aerosmith. Paul also produced New Tomorrowland (and in fact is the voice of the teenage boy in the last scene of Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress) and a number of projects for the Magic Kingdom.
Eric Jacobson: After performing in parades at Disneyland, Eric Jacobson began his career as a Disney Imagineer at WED Enterprises (now Walt Disney Imagineering), building models of attractions for EPCOT Center. He then supervised the creation of Audio-Animatronics figures for Spaceship Earth, Kitchen Kabaret, Universe of Energy, World of Motion, and many other opening day shows at EPCOT as well as Tokyo Disneyland. Eric was Art Director and concept lead for The Great Movie Ride, the first of many major attractions he would lead at the Walt Disney World and Disneyland Resorts. Eric’s creative leadership shaped numerous projects around the world, including New Tomorrowland at the Magic Kingdom, The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, Rock ‘n’ Rollercoaster starring Aerosmith, Toy Story Midway Mania!, Test Track, Mission: Space, Mickey’s PhilharMagic, Blizzard Beach, and New Fantasyland.
Kathy Rogers: Kathy started her Disney career in the Parking Lot of Disneyland in June 1972. After working as a Disneyland Attraction Hostess for almost 10 years, she joined WED/WDI in February 1982 to work on the New Fantasyland ’83 at Disneyland as a Project Coordinator. She joined the Disney-MGM Studios Project Team in the early development as a Project Coordinator for The Great Movie Ride, Superstar Television, and the Monster Sound Show. She ended her over 44 year Disney career as an Executive Creative Show Producer for Muppet-Vision 3D, Blizzard Beach, Expedition Everest and various attraction enhancements like Star Tours: The Adventures Continue, the 2006 movie-inspired changes to Pirates of the Caribbean at Walt Disney World and Disneyland, and the 2007 enhancements of the Magic Kingdom’s Haunted Mansion.
Jim Mulder: Jim is a 30-year veteran of the themed entertainment industry and was a Senior Principal Designer and Principal Special Effects Designer for Walt Disney Imagineering for more than twenty years. In that role, he took the creative lead on developing, designing, and installing special effects for Walt Disney Imagineering projects beginning with the opening of EPCOT Center and continuing up to Shanghai Disneyland. As part of the Disney-MGM Studios project, James contributed extensively to the design, fabrication, and installation of visual effects for The Great Movie Ride and MuppetVision 3-D. For their efforts, James and his team won the TEA award for outstanding achievement in Special Effects for “It’s Tough to be a Bug”. James continues to work at the vanguard of visual effects technology in the themed entertainment industry for a variety of clients, including work on the Shanghai Disneyland project and with Universal Studios Creative.
Fred Buchholz: For 20 years, Fred worked for Jim Henson Productions, designing in building puppet props, puppet mechanisms, and Special Effects. He was most often called upon for technical and special effects, effects rigging of the characters, and pyrotechnic and smoke effects. Buchholz is an Emmy winner for his work on Sesame Street. After leaving Henson, Fred ran Acme Special Effects, providing practical effects for film and television. Fred had the opportunity to work on films directed by Woody Allen, Robert Altman, Jonathan Demme, Nora Ephron, Todd Haynes, Jim Henson, Spike Lee, Gary Marshall, Nancy Meyers, Frank Oz, Martin Scorsese, Colin Trevorrow, and Steven Spielberg.
Rita Peruggi: Independent Producer Ritamarie Peruggi has spent her career producing just about any kind of television production. Throughout her career, she has both produced and overseen primetime comedy, dramatic, and children’s series and specials, direct-to-DVD movies and series, features, and new media. Most recently, Peruggi served as producer on The Jim Henson Company’s Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock for Apple TV+. As a former Executive Vice President of Production, Worldwide Television for The Jim Henson Company, Peruggi was responsible for the development and production of Jim Henson Television’s move into the family films arena, overseeing Kermit’s Swamp Years, a direct-to-video feature. Early in her career, Peruggi’s film experience led her to produce the Jim Henson-directed Muppet Vision 3-D for Disney/MGM Studios Theme park at Walt Disney World, and previously at Disney’s California Adventure in Anaheim. Rita is a graduate of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.
The event will also feature pre-recorded appearances with legendary television writer and producer Bill Prady and Muppets legend Jim Lewis.
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