Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Easter Eggs!

Today’s the first day people who have gotten special sneak peaks of the upcoming Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster starring The Muppets are allowed to share photos and videos of the attraction. 

Walt Disney Imagineering posted the following video of Muppets Studio producer Danny, Iglesias, and Walt Disney Imagineering producer Bette Lombardi exploring all kinds of hidden Easter eggs.

As you can seem there are tons of things for fans to find sprinkled throughout and they reused many props the late, beloved, Muppet Vision 3-D including Gonzo's stunt school supplies and  the penguin's canon. 

Fans expecting to see the Muppet Mobile lab in the parks any time soon might be disappointed as it’s now sitting in the attraction, as is a repainted version of Muppet’s Most Wanted's Interpol car.

There's also nods to now closed restaurants Mama Melrose and PizzeRizzo. 

There’s also a few actual Muppet props mixed in with replicas on display. 

Rizzo and the rats get a new hangout, "The Sqeakeasy", 

and they reused the tribute to Jim!

The que features all kinds of celebrity cameos and a ton of Muppets, which to be fair, was the one thing Muppet Vision was lacking. 

Are you exited for Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster starring The Muppets? Strap in, as we're bound to see a lot more as the build up to the opening has just begun!

Here's a few more details from Disney Parks Blog. 

Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster starring The Muppets opens May 26 at Disney Hollywood Studios. 

Muppet Labs Epcot Food and Wine Fest Merch!

Walt Disney World's International Epcot Food and Wine Festival opened today and a few new Muppet Labs items were revealed. 

Last year, Muppet Labs was featured in Brew-ing area with limited merchandise without the Muppet Labs logo on it. It looks like the higher-ups at Disney heard our plea and put out a few official Muppet Labs items this year.

UPDATE: We now have some additional photos and pricing info.

There is a Muppet labs shirt with a fake pocket complete with a fake patch, pen and pencil on the front and the Muppet Labs logo on the back and retails for $39.99. 

There is also a youth shirt with the Muppet Labs logo on the front with the Food and Wine Festival 2024 logo on the left sleeve that retails for $21.99.

A Muppet Labs stemless wine glass designed to look like a beaker with the Muppet Labs logo on one side and the Food and Wine Festival 2024 logo on the other.

There is also a Muppet Labs Epcot International Food and Wine Festival pin that retails for $17.99

All the Muppet Labs merchandise was designed by The Muppet Studio's Dani Iglesias and is available exclusively at the International Epcot Food and Wine Festival.

EPCOT's International Food & Wine Festival runs August 29 to November 23, 2023

More information about the event can be found here.

Muppets at D23!

If you followed our social media accounts over the weekend you know there were a few Muppet happenings at the D23 convention. 

There were two Muppet specific panels, "The Making of Muppet Clue", hosted by Nina West, where the weapons for the game were officially reveled. 

They cover a wide array of Muppet productions including a Pigs in Space zapper and a skillet of signing food from The Muppet Show, Marley & Marley's chains from The Muppet Christmas Carol, Kermit's sword from Muppet Treasure Island, Gonzo's Plumbing Artise Statue from The Muppet Movie, and a floating candelabra from Muppets Haunted Mansion. 

and who the Muppets are playing in the game. Miss Piggy as Miss Scarlett, Kermit as Mr. Green, Gonzo as Professor Plumb, The Swedish Chef as Chef White, Sam the Eagle as Solicitor Peacock, Fozzie Bear as Colonel Mustard, Uncle Deadly as the victim, and
Animal as a “wild card."

The Muppet Studio's Dani Iglesias also announced that The Muppets 70th anniversary campaign starts August 23 and will runs for 70 weeks using the hashtag #themuppets70. 

The social media campaign will spotlight one Muppet character each week, including some relatively obscure ones, and encourage fans to say what they love about the characters.

Moderated by Yvette Nicole Brown, the seconds Muppet panel, "The Muppets 70: A Glamorous Miss Piggy Retrospective" showcased our favorite diva.

It featured Walt Disney Archives Director Becky Cline and Muppets Producer Dani Inglesias, the event showcased various archival props, costumes, and puppets relating to Miss Piggy including her pageant sash from The Muppet Movie, her bicycle from The Great Muppet Caper, her Benjamina costume from Muppet Treasure Island, her engagement ring from Constantine in Muppets Most Wanted, and her Kermit Halloween costume from Muppets Haunted Mansion. 

In was also revealed that the original Foo Foo puppet from The Muppet Show was also recently donated to the archives as well. 

Miss Piggy herself appeared during the show via a pre-recorded video about not having been named a Disney Legend and complained that some nobody with a name as absurd as “Frank Oz” would.

We got a special message from a guest who could not be there #TheMuppets @TheMuppets #D23Expo @DisneyD23 pic.twitter.com/q2DbO10f5n

— Tee/ThatsITLA (@ThatsITLA) August 9, 2024

The voice of The Little Mermaid's Ariel Jodi Benson, closed the program with a performance of The Muppet Movie's "Never Before, Never Again."

Over on the convention floor, Disney Archives hosted "A Great Big Beautiful Car Show" which featured The Electric Mayhem's van from Muppet Mayhem, Beuregard's Taxi From The Great Muppet Caper, and Le Maximum from Muppets Most Wanted.

The door was open to show the how the bottomless vehicle accommodates the puppeteers.

There was also a selection of exclusive merchandise designed by The Muppet Studio's Dani Inglesias with shirts, postcards, tote bags, prints, and magnets celebrating The Muppet Movie's 45th anniversary, 

coffee mugs with the Muppets in the classic Muppet Show arches, 

and limited edition, double sided, enamel standees with Kermit, Miss Piggy, Gonzo, Scooter, and Sam Eagle in The Muppet Show arches that reveal the view from the back on the other side. 

The convention concluded with the Disney Legends ceremony in which Frank Oz was officially named a "Disney Legend."

You can watch Frank's speech below and the entire Disney Legends ceremony on Disney+.

As we wrap up our look at this year's D23 Convention we leave you with end of Frank's Disney Legend speech. 

“Many of you people here look at me as a success, and I guess I am, but I used to have very low self-esteem as a kid, a teenager and into adulthood. I hid myself. I was frightened to be who I was. It has taken me a long time to allow myself to be who I am. And I don’t want you all to wait until you are 80 years old. I want to give you a jump start. Don’t hide who you are.”

         

          - Frank Oz

Special thanks to Scott Joy for many of the images and info.