Hi, ho, everyone: Kermit, Muppets gang to debut in the Magic Kingdom
A Mom and The Mouse, Kristin Ford — By Kristin Ford on January 5, 2010 at 1:40 am
Fozzie Bear's remote control Banana Cream Pie has guests ducking in the "Jim Henson's Muppet*Vision 3D" at Disney's Hollywood Studios. (Photo by Walt Disney World)
Since The Walt Disney Company bought Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy and the rest of the Muppets in 2004, it has been searching for ways to make the characters relevant to a new generation.
In their heyday, and my youth, the Muppets were hugely popular. I remember the anticipation of going to see The Muppet Movie at the theater with my cousins in 1979, and the weekly television show featured top celebrities of the time. The hit song “The Rainbow Connection” plays in the background of many of my happy childhood memories.
But now? My children know who the fuzzy friends are only from Jim Henson’s Muppet*Vision 3D at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. They find the attraction amusing, but they don’t clamor for the merchandise because they don’t really know the characters.
That’s about to change, though. Disney has been re-introducing the Muppets by linking them to causes that today’s youth care about, such as the environment and volunteering. Who’s more green than Kermit, right?
More merchandise is showing up in stores, including Once Upon A Toy Store at Downtown Disney. We noticed quite a lot displayed up front by the registers when we were shopping during Christmas week.
And now visitors will be able to see the characters in the Disney parks. Beginning Friday (Jan. 8), each afternoon Kermit, Miss Piggy and Sweetums will be part of a pre-parade celebration at Disney World’s Magic Kingdom and at Disneyland in California. Muppets characters and parade dancers will join special floats and vehicles celebrating volunteerism and presenting honorary VoluntEARS as grand marshals of the parades. Can meet-and-greets be far behind?
Expect to see more of the Muppets, as marketing gears up for a feature film that is slated to be released this year.
Tags: Disney World, Disneyland, Hollywood Studios, Jim Henson's Muppet*Vision 3D, Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Sweetums, The Muppets
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6 Comments
This is very exciting! I’ve loved the Muppets since the 70s too. When you heard Kermie say “It’s the Muppet Shoooooow!”, you knew something wonderful was about to happen. Can’t wait to see more of them at Disney World.
The Muppets actually USED to have a meet and greet at their store right next to Mama Melrose’s a few years ago.
We saw them twice and got their autographs. We always hated that they discontinued it. It was Kermit and Miss Piggy.
I hope they start the M&Gs back up again, and it’s so awesome to see the Muppets being “used” again….now, on to the refurb of their little show!
It is funny the author has brought up The Muppet Movie. Anytime I go into the shop next to the Muppet 3-D Show I can hear the soundtrack. But when I ask the castmembers if I can buy the soundtrack to the movie they say it is not out on CD. That would be an easy way to get another 15 bucks out of me. I am very surprise the mouse I mean the company hasn’t thought of that yet.
My 7 yr old daughter absolutely LOVES the Muppets. She has all of the seasons relased so far on DVD of the Muppet Show. She would love nothing more than to have a meet and greet with Kermie and Miss Piggy. Her first toy she bought at Disney at the age of 2.5 was a Miss Piggy doll. She is a super fan