Muppet Fountain Removed Outside of MuppetVision 3D

Posted on by Mathew Corn Disney Parks, Hollywood Studios

The gurgling, colorful and cartoonish Muppet fountain has been removed from its location in front of MuppetVision 3D at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and some makeshift shrubbery has been added in its place. 

Here’s a look at the original fountain with Miss Piggy standing high atop its highest tier. 

So what’s the cause of this current cover-up in Muppet Courtyard!? We don’t know for certain though it does coincide with the closure of MuppetVision 3D which is going through refurbishment and is slated to re-open the second week in February.

This isn’t the first time the Muppet Courtyard fountain has been hidden from view.  It has faced similar closures over the past few years as Disney prepped for the arrival of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge which sits adjacent to MuppetVision.  Though many fans are hoping that fountain will return in it’s “original ” former glory (some fun water features were removed during the Galaxy’s Edge construction),  it’s hard to say what the future holds for Muppet Courtyard and for MuppetVision in general. 

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Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway TRAIN-ing Milestone

Posted on by Mathew Corn Disney Parks, Hollywood Studios

We are just one month away from the opening of Disney’s Hollywood Studios newest attraction – Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway! Disney is hard at work behind the scenes preparing for March 4. Check out the details and video below from DisneyParksBlog:

Opening on March 4, Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway invites guests to zip away on a zany adventure through a cartoon universe crammed with surprises. But before the train can leave the station, our cast members need to learn how to operate in a world where mouse rules apply.

We recently celebrated a TRAIN–ing milestone with trainers beginning to onboard the opening team cast members for this exciting new attraction. But in a cartoon world, anything can happen and there’s sure to be an unexpected twist or two.

Check out the video below to see who joined the railroad crew for the day and stay “tooned” for more peeks into #DisneyCastLife as they chug along full steam ahead to opening day at Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway.

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Parks Hours Extended in Early March For Hollywood Studios

Posted on by Mathew Corn Disney Parks, Hollywood Studios

Guests visiting Disney’s Hollywood Studios in early March should be aware of a change of park hours. Days with Extra Magic Hours have also seen these times extended as the adjustments move back the closing time at Hollywood Studios.

March 2020

  • March 1, 2, 4-6: Operating hours extended to 8:30 PM (Previously 8 PM)
  • March 1: Extra Magic Hours extended your 10:30 PM (Preciously 10 PM)

Disney Is Surveying Guest About Boarding Group Solutions To Star Wars: Rise Of The Resistance

Posted on by Mathew Corn Disney Parks, Hollywood Studios

Walt Disney World has distributed a survey to guests who received boarding groups to the Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance attraction, according to Twitter user @DrewDisneyDude. The survey asks a variety of questions, but one is particularly worth noting: Disney asks guests their preferred way to wait for their turn on the ride.

The question asks, “which of the following would have been your preferred choice in order to ride Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance?” Guests can choose from these options:

  • The virtual queue system currently used
  • A combination of limited FastPass+ tickets and waiting in a standby line (similar to the current FastPass+ system)
  • Standby lines only
rise-of-the-resistance-survey-01-26-2020-2.jpg

Another question addressed issues with the ride. Guests are asked about any challenges they experienced with “Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance.” These were the options:

rise-of-the-resistance-survey-01-26-2020-1.jpg

There’s nothing worse than being asked your opinion without any followup from whomever asked, so we hope these surveys lead to improvements to the ride. While no system is perfect, there’s room for improvement when Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance boarding groups are gone within minutes and the attraction experiences consistent downtime. 

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Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge Win A Grammy For Best Instrumental Composition

Posted on by Mathew Corn Disney Parks, Hollywood Studios

Dok-Ondar is going to have to make some room on his shelves for a new treasure.

The “Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge Symphonic Suite” won a Grammy Award this Sunday for Best Instrumental Composition. Of course, the recipient of the award is legendary composer John Williams, who brought his trademark style to this new corner of the Star Wars universe.

The award is described as “a Composer’s Award for an original composition (not an adaptation) first released during the Eligibility Year. Singles or Tracks only.”

The nominees for this year’s award were:

  • BEGIN AGAIN
    Fred Hersch, composer (Fred Hersch & The WDR Big Band Conducted By Vince Mendoza)
  • CRUCIBLE FOR CRISIS
    Brian Lynch, composer (Brian Lynch Big Band)
  • LOVE, A BEAUTIFUL FORCE
    Vince Mendoza, composer (Vince Mendoza, Terell Stafford, Dick Oatts & Temple University Studio Orchestra)
  • STAR WARS: GALAXY’S EDGE SYMPHONIC SUITE
    John Williams, composer (John Williams)
  • WALKIN’ FUNNY
    Christian McBride, composer (Christian McBride)

If you’d like to listen to the winning composition from the legendary John Williams, you can enjoy it below!