Sesame Street World at Universal Studios Japan Closing Permanently!

According to WDW News Today, Universal Studios Japan is planning to permanently close 

their Sesame Street World mini land. 

The land, which opened in 2012, is set to close on May 10th to make way for new experiences. Universal will honor the land with a farewell celebration, “Forever Friends – Always Together.”

During the event, guests can capture their memories with the Elmo and Friends “Memory Snapshot Card.” The semi-translucent card feature Elmo and other Sesame Street characters. Guests can snap pictures of the card with various landmarks. 

Artwork on the cards will change during the event. The first round will start March 20 and run while supplies last. The second round will begin April 15 and run through May 10.

Guests can also share their memories of Sesame Street Fun World at two “Treasure Boards.” These will be in front of Elmo’s Imagination Playland and Sesame’s Big Drive April 11 - May 10.

However, after the closure, the Sesame Street characters will continue to appear throughout the park, including in parades, meet and greets, and the return of the currently closed "Sesame Street 4‑D Movie Magic” attraction. 

This year also marks Universal Studios Japan's 25th anniversary and with the celebration  comes exclusive commemorative merch featuring the park's stars including a whole line of Sesame Street items including a shirt, towel, bucket hat, a keychain set, a Pen and Note set, and BFF Plush Keychains. 

More info on Universal Studio Japan's website. 

RIP Lyle Conway

Sad news as veteran Creature Shop sculptor Lyle Conway has died. 

Conway began his career at the Henson Company in the Muppet Workshop on The Muppet Show.  

He was later asked design the creatures and be the fabrication supervisor on The Dark Crystal sculpting many Skeksis, Urskeks, and Aughra.

On Dreamchild he oversaw the entire shop making sure The Mad Hatter, March Hare, and Lewis Carrol's other creatures looked as close as possible to the book's descriptions and illustrations. After Dreamchild, he freelanced for other films and returned to The Creature Shop to work on Where the Wild Thigs Are. 

Jim's Red book from 7/16/1984 – ‘Dreamchild begins shooting.’ includes this passage about Lyle:

"Designer Lyle Conway, having followed The Dark Crystal with work on the film Return to Oz, was tapped by Jim to oversee the shop for Dreamchild. Conway’s experience paid off and the build exploited everything he and the team had learned, using it in a much more efficient fashion. The budget was tight and, as Conway described, it “…turned out to be one fourth the work [of The Dark Crystal] at ten times the speed. We had 14 weeks to build everything, which is no time at all for us, and I think we stayed that much fresher as a result.” The film opened in summer 1985 to generally positive reviews, particularly for Coral Browne’s performance as Alice, and the writers made much of the creatures from Jim’s shop. The review in The Guardian noted, “The realization by Jim Henson and his team of the fabled creatures of Lewis Carroll’s imagination is beguilingly original.”

A few of Conway's non-Creature Shop work included 1988's The Blob and Return to Oz, in which he not only worked on the creatures, but also performed the voice and face of the Gump. His most notable post-Henson credit was on Frank Oz's Little Shop of Horrors designing Audrey II in each different phase, which earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Visual Effects.

Below you can see Lyle work brought to life. 

"Sesame Street" wins 4 Children’s & Family Emmy Awards!

The 4th annual Children and Family Emmy Awards were held Monday night with Sesame Street fittingly taking home 4 awards. 

For the first time, the ceremony was held in New York City at Jazz at Lincoln Center. John Tartaglia of Sesame Street, Johnny and Sprites, and Fraggle Rock fame hosted the show while Sesame performers Frankie Cordero, Stephanie D’Abruzzo, and Jen Barnhart presented. 

Sesame Street won:

Outstanding Preschool, Children’s or Family Viewing Series

Outstanding Short Form Live Action Program: Andrew Garfield and Elmo Explain Grief, Sesame Workshop YouTube Channel

Outstanding Directing for a Live Action Series: “A Trip to the Moon"

Outstanding Puppetry Performer: Leslie Carrara-Rudolph as Abby Cadabby & Tango

In addition to these awards, a few long-time Henson-related contributors to family entertainment were inducted into the Academy’s Gold and Silver Circles.

Michael K. Frith was honored into the Gold Circle, while Alan Muroka and Rosemarie Truglio (Senior Vice President of Global Education at Sesame Workshop) were inducted into the Silver Circle. 

You can watch the entire ceremony here. 

Muppet Stuff - The Greater Philadelphia Area Puppetry Guild's National Puppetry Day Celebration!

Join me as I explore the 2025 Greater Philadelphia Area Puppetry Guild’s "National Puppetry Day" Celebration! 

This joyful gathering is packed with creativity, colorful characters, and passionate puppeteers sharing performances, skills, and stories. 

This year's "Day of Puppetry" is April 18th at the Abington Arts Center. The event will be filled with hands-on workshops, puppet performances for families and adults, local vendors, and a special MYSTERY guest.

More info on the Greater Philadelphia Area Puppetry Guild and this year's event at:
https://www.greaterphillypuppetryguild.org/

Muppet Stuff - Toy Fair 2026!

Join me as I scout New York Toy Fair for all the incredible Muppet, Sesame Street, Fraggle Rock, The Dark Crystal, and Labyrinth items coming in 2026. 

Highlights this year include Teeturtle's new Care Bears X Sesame Street collab Oscar and Elmo reversable plush, and Labyrinth plush. 

Super Impulse's Ernie Tator-tot:

Ty's Sesame Street Beanie Babies and Beanie Bouncers:

CreateOn: Sesame Magnetic Titles and QB's block figures:

Super7's Sesame Street ReActioin figures, blind bag figures, Cl!cky Caps, and Super Size Oscar with real sock:

Monogram's Care Bears X Sesame Street, Elmo, and Dinosaurs Blind Bag Figural Bag Clips. The Care Bears X Sesame Street will be out soon, while the Dinosaurs set should be out in May.

Alliance/ Hand Made by Robots' Kermit and Animal coming out by the end of the year. 

Diamond Art Club's Sesame Street Crafts

Insight Editions' Muppet Amisurumi Crochet Christmas Book, Labyrinth VHS style Making of book. 

Teddy Mountain's Fraggle Rock plush:

Rokimoto's Sesame Street ramen noodle blind box figures coming to Hot Topic, Box Lunch, BAM! Newbury comics, and more in May.

Bull Aires' Fraggle Rock, Dark Crystal, and Labyrinth 40th lines:

Kidrrobot's Sesame Street Snuffy, Cookie Monster, Muppets Mayhem Baby Animal plush, and Dinosaurs talking Baby plush. 

and NECA's Sesame Street Ultimate's Super Grover coming Q1 2026, and The Muppet Show Gonzo & Camilla Q4 2026, Mahana Mahna & the Snowths 3-pack, and Miss Piggy & FooFoo Q1-2027. 

You can see even more items and details in our full video report from the convention floor below:

We shared our notes with our friends at ToughPigs, who spotted a few other things including  new additions to Kids Preferred's Sesame line. Click the link to see their full report.

Be sure to check out more videos on our Youtube channel.