Muppet History: Honoring the Anniversary of Muppet Vision 3D

Happy anniversary to Muppet*Vision 3D! The attraction opened thirty-one years ago on May 16th, 1991. It was one of Jim Henson’s final Muppets projects. You’ll see plenty of slapstick jokes and pranks as the Muppets take the stage to perform for you in 3D!

You move from the queue into a big waiting area, where you can grab your glasses and watch the “preshow” on the TV monitors up above as the Muppets scurry around to get ready for their performances, and there’s tons of fun props and decorations to check out in this area too. Then you enter the theater itself for your 13 minute trip through “Muppet Laboratories” – where they have “perfected” the art of 3D vision! The show itself is mostly a movie presented on a big screen, but Sweetums does come through the theater at one point, which is pretty cool, and of course Statler and Waldorf are on hand in the balcony and just *thrilled* to be there as usual!

But wait, there’s more! Besides their theme park attraction, we want to share with you five facts about The Muppets that every fan should know!

Related: Walt Disney World’s Most Underrated Attractions – Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress

Fact 1:

Over the years muppets performers have appeared throughout the Disney universe. Did you know that Dave Goelz, the muppet performer who created and performs Gonzo made his big screen debut in a live action Disney classic? He was an extra in the original Parent Trap!

Many muppets performers also voiced Disney, Pixar and Star Wars characters like Figment and Yoda!

Fact 2:

In 1955, Jim Henson made Kermit from his mom old green coat, he was first a muppet of unspecified species on a local tv show called “Sam & Friends” and didn’t have his iconic collar get. Took a few years but eventually Kermit became the world famous frog we all know and love who had a pretty successful music career as well.

Fact 3:

Kermit’s version of “Rainbow Connection” composed by Paul Williams and Kenny Ascher remained in the Billboard top 40 for seven weeks in 1979! The song also received an Oscar nomination for “Best Original Song.” In subsequent years, three more muppet songs went on to received Academy nominations with “Man or Muppet” composed by Bret Mckenzie winning “Best Original Song” in 2011.

Fact 4:

During his lifetime, Jim Henson reportedly created more then 400 muppets and performed many of them including Kermit, Waldorf, Dr. Teeth, The Swedish Chef and Rowlf the Dog.

Muppets like Rowlf and Fozzie require multiple puppeteers to perform. You’ll also notice that almost all muppets are left-handed because puppeteers use their right hand to perform the head while operating the arm rod with their left hand.

Fact 5:

The finale for The Muppets movie features 250 muppets on screen at the same time using about 150 performers! Jim Henson wanted to use every muppet available which is why you see characters from The Muppets show and other programs.

Among the many puppeteers in the finale scene was a young director named John Landis and a young cal art student named Tim Burton!

Related: The Great Movie Ride: Revisiting A Classic Disney Attraction

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