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Saturday, September 24, 2011

Disney's Animal Kingdom Thinks Outside Pandora's Box: James Cameron's AVATAR Land

I think the shocking, exciting announcement of James Cameron's AVATAR Land expansion for Disney's Animal Kingdom at Walt Disney World is a stroke of genius, and an incredibly smart strategy for the growth and life of the park. Animal Kingdom is, after all, a Disney park that usually closes down by 5 or 6pm in the summer, while the others stay open late. The world of AVATAR, which was first brought to life by Fox Filmed Entertainment and James Cameron's Lightstorm Entertainment, should begin construction at Disney's Animal Kingdom by 2013.

AVATAR is a game-changer for Disney's Animal Kingdom, and should generate interest that the park has never seen before. I can already imagine seeing the AVATAR Animal Kingdom ads at the Orlando International Airport. Many people already know about the world of AVATAR, and want to go there, so it's a "pre-sold" property. Disney partnered with Fox and James Cameron for this expansion because Disney doesn't have a property that could boost Animal Kingdom's attendance and attraction idea options like AVATAR could. Oh, and they'll have James Cameron guiding the project, too. Why put AVATAR in Disney's Animal Kingdom and not Disney's Hollywood Studios? Because Disney's Animal Kingdom needs it more, and has more land to work with.

The AVATAR Land will bring the lush world of the leonine Na'vi people and the exotic creatures of Pandora to life. Perhaps park Guests will get to pilot their own AVATAR and see their own customized character (and get a souvenir photo). Maybe we'll get to fly through the sky on a Mountain Banshee. We'll surely have an encounter with the panther-like Thanator, and the rhino-like Hammerhead Titanothere, too. Pandora is especially beautiful in the evening, so there should be a nighttime spectacle to watch. Could Sigourney Weaver be featured in two different Walt Disney World parks? Right now, you can find her in the Alien section of the Great Movie Ride at Disney's Hollywood Studios.

For years, Disney fans have been waiting for more mythical creatures at Disney's Animal Kingdom. After all, there's a Dragon in the park's logo. The original plan for Animal Kingdom included Beastly Kingdom, a land that would have been home to dragons, unicorns, and other fictional characters. In 2006, Disney's Animal Kingdom finally got a fantasy element when it opened Expedition Everest, home of the legendary Yeti.

Disney's Animal Kingdom had a small roster of attractions when it opened in 1998.

The big focus was on the Kilimanjaro Safaris Ride in Africa. This was a massive, expensive attraction, about the size of the Magic Kingdom theme park.

From Day One, Disney's Animal Kingdom has had whimsical elements.

On my November 2009 visit to Disney's Animal Kingdom, I took pictures of the beautiful artwork throughout the park. Many of the signs here are works of art.

Dinoland U.S.A. is home to the Dinosaur ride (formerly Countdown to Extinction).

Originally, this section was supposed to get a roller coaster called The Excavator.

Camp Minnie-Mickey is the place to find Disney Character Meet and Greets.

This section sits in front of a large parcel of land where Disney Imagineering planned to build Beastly Kingdom.

Asia was the first expansion of Disney's Animal Kingdom in 1999. This was originally planned to have a boat safari. Instead, the park got the Kali River Rapids ride.

Asia is the home of the park's big roller coaster, Expedition Everest.

Disney's Animal Kingdom has lots of details that may go unnoticed.

Flame Tree Barbecue has a clever predator/prey theme.

Guests enter and exit the park through a lush jungle called the Oasis.

I know they were trying something different here, but on this trip, I wished the entrance was more like Main Street at the Magic Kingdom. It could be a Village with shops, and instead of Main Street's animated Emporium windows, there could be small animal displays in the windows.

On my August 2011 Walt Disney World trip, I stayed at Disney's Yacht Club Resort. This 1998 map shows how close I was to the parks (the Yacht Club is #9 here).

It's time for my trip report!

Day Three (Saturday, August 27th, 2011): Disney's Hollywood Studios, Disney's Animal Kingdom and Epcot.

Part Two: A Rainy Day at Disney's Animal Kingdom

I spent the first part of the day at Disney's Hollywood Studios. To read about that, check out Disney's Hollywood Studios (AKA Disney MGM Studios) And A Muppet Twist.

I had spent a beautiful, sunny morning at Disney's Hollywood Studios. When I got to Disney's Animal Kingdom, it looked like a storm was brewing.

The park's logo features an elephant, triceratops and dragon. You can find these animals on the three ticket booths at the front of Disney's Animal Kingdom.

The elephant represents living animals, the triceratops represents extinct animals, and the dragon represents imaginary animals.

I would suggest that Disney could license the Ice Age movies from Fox for Dinoland, but they can already be found at a theme park in Europe.

Here is Animal Kingdom's legendary dragon, at the ticket booth closest to the Rainforest Cafe.

In a few years, Animal Kingdom should see something similar to a dragon (a Mountain Banshee) in the AVATAR Land.

Before entering the park, it was time for lunch at the Rainforest Cafe.

Because there is usually a storm going on inside the Rainforest Cafe, I was unaware that an actual rainstorm was going on outside.

If you don't want to wait in a long line for a table, go sit at the bar and eat.

I had the Awesome Appetizer Adventure, which featured fried cheese sticks. It's tough to go wrong with fried cheese.

By the time I finished lunch, the rain had stopped, but it was still cloudy.

It was time to visit Disney's Animal Kingdom with the threat of a storm.

The Tree of Life is this park's version of Cinderella Castle.

The tree trunk and limbs feature carvings of animals.

I took a picture of this shirt at the Walt Disney World store at the Orlando International Airport.

I had planned on visiting the Dinosaur ride first, but the storm shut the ride down.

From Dinoland, I headed to Asia to ride Expedition Everest. I didn't hear any screaming. That's not a good sign. The storm closed Everest down, too.

I visited the shop near Expedition Everest and found a new Disney character.

There was no information about this character on the tag. I think it is a Snow Leopard.

Maybe this is supposed to be the Yeti's pet. I don't think there's a Snow Leopard at Disney's Animal Kingdom.
I only saw the Snow Leopard plush at Serka Zong, the Expedition Everest shop.

You can also find a friendly Yeti plush here, too.

I believe this character is on some merchandise at Disneyland in California, too (representing that park's Matterhorn ride).

Serka Zong also had Pook-A-Looz plush toys of the Yeti.

You could find these at the World of Disney in Downtown Disney, too.

Not sure what to do next, I started walking towards the front of the park. A friendly Cast Member named Adam asked me to participate in a Disney character game.

Adam's game involved matching Disney characters to their home countries. I won, of course!

I got to choose a Disney pin as a prize!

I picked this crazy Vinylmation pin.

After the game, I overheard someone say that Expedition Everest had reopened, and to get there fast before the rain and lightning returned.

I got on Everest pretty quickly using the Single Rider Line.

Expedition Everest is rather eerie when there's a storm brewing.

One of Expedition Everest's big selling points was its advanced Audio Animatronics Yeti.

I have never seen this figure working the way he was designed. As it is now, he is like some of the animals on Big Thunder Mountain at the Magic Kingdom. However, the coaster goes by him so quickly, you may not even know he's there in the first place.

The Yeti on the merchandise has white fur, but the Yeti in the attraction is tan.

This large, articulated Yeti plush was sold when Expedition Everest first opened.

The "scary" Yeti doesn't seem to be on much merchandise anymore.

I'm pretty sure I've seen a Matterhorn version of this pin from Disneyland.

The "Cute" Yeti seems to be on more souvenirs these days.

Does this character do Meet and Greets? Maybe he should.

I got this keychain plush on my 2009 trip.

It seems like all kinds of ideas for merchandise are tested, and only the strong survive. I did not see this item this time.

I also got a Yeti Bobble Head in 2009.

This was the only flocked bobble head that I have seen at Walt Disney World.

The Yeti also lives at the Matterhorn at Disneyland in California. He's not the same as the one in Florida.

Years ago, Disneyland had a great Yeti design that showed up on some "Retro" merchandise, including this fantastic Bobble Pen.

This Winter 1993 Disney Magazine artwork features the Matterhorn, the Yeti, Mickey Mouse and Pete. The Matterhorn opened at Disneyland in California in 1959 (the Yeti was not around in the those days).

The Matterhorn is very similar to Florida's Space Mountain.

This die cast car with Mickey and the Yeti on the Matterhorn was sold years ago.

I love the Yeti's expression here!

Animal Kingdom's single Yeti is seen as the more realistic, "advanced" figure (though he has been motionless for some time now). Disneyland in California has three Yetis!

Ironically, Disneyland's simpler figures have been roaring at Disneyland without many problems since their debut in 1977. And they actually move, unlike the one in Florida.

Back to Expedition Everest...

It started raining lightly when the coaster train returned to the load station.

I got back in the Single Rider line to ride Everest again, and a major storm hit Disney's Animal Kingdom.
The problem is not the rain, it is the lightning. Expedition Everest's mountain peak is nearly 200 feet tall, so you don't want to ride it in lightning.

There was a merciless downpour that immobilized the many people that had scrambled for precious shelter.
I gave up and made a break for it, and ran to the Serka Zong store. This store was filled with wall to wall people. I bought one of those ponchos and headed for the exit. It rained so heard that the walkways were flooded. My brand new Sketchers shoes, with their soft cushions, filled with water.

This is where the Main Street-style entrance to Animal Kingdom would have been nice. I probably would have lingered in the park a bit more. Instead, I Park-Hopped back to Disney's Hollywood Studios. There, I rode Star Tours, the Great Movie Ride, and Toy Story Midway Mania. I then went to Epcot, where I rode Spaceship Earth and Test Track, and had dinner at the Land's food court. After that, I walked "home" to Disney's Yacht Club to change my soaking wet shoes (glad I brought some sandals on the trip!) and rested a bit before exploring the shops of Disney's Boardwalk Resort.


On this Walt Disney World trip, I spent the least amount of time at Disney's Animal Kingdom. The only attraction I experienced was Expedition Everest. The tone of my trip report took a totally different direction once I found out that this park has such a bright future with the AVATAR addition and the world of Pandora. Fantasy is what Disney does best, and when I'm on vacation, it's nice to escape from reality.

For more Disney's Animal Kingdom fun, check out Disney's Animal Kingdom McDonald's Happy Meal.

Up Next: A Blast to the Past with Epcot!

Saturday, September 17, 2011

Disney's Hollywood Studios (AKA Disney MGM Studios) And A Muppet Twist

I bought Disney Vinylmation figures for the first time during my August 2011 visit to Walt Disney World in Florida. This Disney's Hollywood Studios figure is part of the Park Series 6. This particular set is sold blind-boxed, so you can't choose the design you want. For the sake of this trip report, I'm glad I got the Disney's Hollywood Studios one.

Day Three (Saturday, August 27th, 2011): Disney's Hollywood Studios, Disney's Animal Kingdom and Epcot.

Part One: Disney's Hollywood Studios: Let's Do Launch!

On this vacation, I stayed at Disney's Yacht Club Resort, which is so close to Epcot that I felt like I was staying at the park's World Showcase. The Yacht Club has a boat to Epcot, but it's faster to use the walkway to Epcot's International Gateway. Check out the map from 1991 to see how close everything is, and how things have changed.

Disney's Yacht Club also has a boat launch to Disney's Hollywood Studios, which I got to experience for the first time on this visit. It was a wonderful way to start the day. If you've got lots of energy, there's also a walkway to Disney's Hollywood Studios.

The transportation boat also stops at the Walt Disney World Dolphin and the Walt Disney World Swan. The Swan is topped with two giant Swan statues, and the Dolphin has two Dolphins (as in the fish, not the mammal).

For more of the Swan and Dolphin, check out Winnie the Pooh and the Swan and Dolphin, Too!

The boat also passes by Disney's Boardwalk Resort. I visited the shops there later that night. You can see the tower from Disney's Beach Club in the background (with scaffolding, as it was getting refurbished).

Early announced plans for Disney's Boardwalk included the possibility of midway rides, and it sounded a bit more like Disney's old Pleasure Island nightclub district. The Boardwalk has shops and restaurants that serve Epcot Resort Guests and visitors. Perhaps the concept was scaled back because it would have been in competition with Epcot.

The boat finally reaches Disney's Hollywood Studios!

I've never seen the park from this angle before.

Disney's Hollywood Studios has changed quite a bit over the years. A big new change for this park, which opened in 1989 as Disney MGM Studios, is the new name.

Disney MGM Studios used to be a real working film production facility. Many visitors will remember watching animators at work at The Magic of Disney Animation, or seeing The New Mickey Mouse Club being taped at one of the park's Sound Stages. Note the gangster getting gunned down in this artwork. This place sure ain't The Magic Kingdom!

Another big change to the park is obvious right when you walk in. The "Cinderella Castle" of Disney MGM Studios used to be the Chinese Theatre, home of The Great Movie Ride.

The Chinese Theatre is still here, as is the ride inside. Considering how short the line for the ride was, maybe people just don't know about it. It could be due to the fact that there's a giant Sorcerer's Apprentice Mickey Mouse hat sitting right in front of the Chinese Theatre now.

The first stop of the day was to pick up a Fast Pass for Toy Story Midway Mania. This 3D interactive ride had a 60 minute wait. Yikes! It seems like the only way to avoid a long wait for the Toy Story attraction is to get a Fast Pass, which "sells out" quickly. We'll discuss this later. Toy Story Midway Mania is located behind The Great Movie Ride at Pixar Place, which used to be home to the working Sound Stages on Mickey Avenue.

After picking up a Fast Pass for Toy Story (for 4:35 pm) I walked through the Streets of America on my way to catch a ride on the new version of Star Tours. The Streets of America used to be called New York Street, and it used to be off limits to Guests. It was part of the old Backstage Studio Tour, and the Trams used to weave past the fake city and Residential Street. New York Street would become a home for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in 1991.

Yes, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles had a mobile show and meet and greet at the Disney MGM Studios.

The Turtles joined the ranks of quite a few licensed non-Disney characters appearing at Disney MGM Studios.

When you see the giant AT-AT Imperial Walker, you know you've reached Star Tours.

Here one of those Robot Camel things chases after one of those Snow Kangaroos (yes, I know it's called a Tauntaun, because I had the action figure, which had a trap door on its back so the characters could ride it). This image is from the Marvel Comics The Empire Strikes Back Comics Adaptation, which is huge!

The New Star Tours is my favorite ride at Disney's Hollywood Studios.

This is my favorite ride for a number of reasons. The first is that the line for this moves very quickly. The Starspeeder 1000 vehicles can handle large crowds of people. I never waited more than five minutes for Star Tours.

The new ride is quite humorous. Our pilot is now C-3PO, who sort of stumbles into his new job. R2-D2 is on board, too.
The original pilot in Star Tours was RX-24 (Rex) voiced by Paul Reubens (Pee Wee Herman). Rex can still be found in the queue, but the line moved so quickly that I could not get a picture of him.

The New Star Tours is in 3D, and features a mix of destinations and character encounters.

The queue for Star Tours has hidden surprises everywhere.

The Pre-Show to the ride is quite comical, though I did not really get to soak it all in. The G2 Droids from the original Star Tours are back. This one is voiced by Patrick Warburton.

There's also a new Star Tours agent in the Pre-Boarding video named Aly San San (voiced by Allison Janney).

I rode Star Tours three times, and each ride was different. On one trip, we were part of an AT-AT battle on Hoth. On the next ride, we were in a podrace on Tatooine. The last trip was my favorite, as we flew through Kashyyyk, the Wookiee planet, and one of Chewbacca's friends landed on our Starspeeder windshield.

One element that was the same on all three trips was an Incoming Transmission from Yoda. Other riders may get the transmission from Princess Leia or Admiral Akbar. This transmission involves the new "Rebel Spy" interactive element of the New Star Tours, and Yoda's dialog changed to reflect the spy's gender.

Star Tours empties into a gift shop, which sells a wide range of merchandise. In the early 1990s, when Star Tours was still new to Disney MGM Studios, you could find these PVC Star Wars figures in the Star Tours shop.

These figures are based on the 1985 animated Ewoks/Droids Saturday Morning cartoon. There was another version of C-3PO sold with the paint scheme used in the Droids cartoon.

There really should be a Star Wars Land expansion at Disney's Hollywood Studios. It would be insanely popular.
Just think of all the cool shops, rides and restaurants they could have in a Star Wars Land (or Lucasfilm Land, or Skywalker Ranch).

Up next, it was time for a visit to MuppetVision 3D, my favorite Disney theme park 3D show.
The film itself got a digital upgrade, and it looks fantastic. The attraction opened in 1991 and was one of the last projects that Jim Henson worked on.

Look up during the Pre-Show and you'll find some "Easter Eggs."

These Soldier Puppets are seen during the MuppetVision 3D film.

They are part of Sam Eagle's "A Salute to All Nations, But Mostly America."

MuppetVision 3D was going to be just one component of a Muppet Studios "Land" at Disney MGM Studios. This included a Gonzo Pizza Parlor and a Muppets Movie Ride (a spoof of Disney MGM's Great Movie Ride).

In the Pre-Show, you'll also find the USS Swinetrek from the "Pigs in Space" sketch from The Muppet Show.
The sunblock I was wearing ran down my face and into my eyes just in time to watch this. Ouch!

MuppetVision 3D is not just a film. You'll also see a Live Muppet of Sweetums, plus Audio Animatronic versions of Statler, Waldorf, the Swedish Chef and an Orchestra of Penguins (they took the job for the halibut). Bringing the Muppets to life with Audio Animatronics was one of the big reasons that Jim Henson teamed up with Disney.

The Penguins are supposed to rise up from the Orchestra pit and back down. On my visit this time, they were visible during the entire show, and motionless when they weren't in performance mode.
I got this Vinylmation Muppets Series 2 Penguin on this trip. The artist for this figure gave the Penguin orange feet, but the Muppet itself has no feet! The Mystery Chaser for this set is Waldo, the 3D Muppet from the MuppetVision film (that's the one I wanted, but you don't get to choose the figure in a blind-boxed set like this one).

Disney MGM Studios was pretty small when it opened. The place had to expand.

This is what the park looked like before there was Sunset Boulevard, home to the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, Rock 'N' Roller Coaster and Fantasmic!

This map from 1994 shows the new section under construction.

The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror was so popular that it was eventually added to Disney's California Adventure, Tokyo DisneySea, and The Walt Disney Studios at Disneyland Paris Resort.

I've also been to the Tower of Terror at Disney's California Adventure. I know for a fact that some of the creators of the original Tower of Terror think that the California version is an improvement over the original, but I think Florida's is better.

Tower of Terror has been reprogrammed over the years. The elevator car used to only have one big drop, but now the ride has random multiple drops.

This great Tower of Terror Pin is from 2004, which was the first time I got to ride the attraction.

Goofy is blissfully unaware that he is in danger. Ignorance is bliss.

Mickey and Goofy catch a ride on a Resin version of Tower of Terror, too.

This was sold at Walt Disney World in the late 1990s.

After my ride on the Tower of Terror, I had to get a pressed quarter from the Hollywood Tower Hotel.
A Haunted Hotel was rumored at the time of Tower of Terror's construction. I'd love to see this someday, or maybe a Haunted Mansion hotel.

Up next, it was time to visit Twilight Zone Tower of Terror's neighbor, Rock 'N' Roller Coaster. Here's a picture of the Tower of Terror from the Rock 'N' Roller Coaster queue.

Rock 'N' Roller Coaster is one of my favorite rides at Walt Disney World and I think it has the best queue line I've ever seen for a roller coaster. Visitors enter G-Force Records, and see (via film) Aerosmith working in a recording studio.

Aerosmith invites us to their concert across town as VIPs, and their manager (played by Illeana Douglas) orders up a stretch limo to get us there.

We then leave the recording studio and find ourselves outside, at night, at a parking garage.

We then get a look at the super stretch limo coaster cars, which are equipped with speakers.

We then watch as the limos count down to their launch into the ride's massive enclosed show building.

The launch itself is thrilling, and the ride is much more intense than any other roller coaster at Walt Disney World. This is Walt Disney World's first and only looping roller coaster. This pin, which I got in 2004, has a looping coaster car feature.

As the coaster trains hurtle through darkness and past road signs, Aerosmith music (specially recorded for this ride) blasts in our ears. The combination of the coaster and the music is invigorating. When I got home from my trip, I dug out my Aerosmith CDs and have been listening to them constantly. Rock 'N' Roller Coaster won a Golden Ticket Amusement Industry Award, and it is easy to see why.

After Rock 'N' Roller Coaster, I went to Disney's Animal Kingdom. I had lunch there, and rode Expedition Everest. My visit to Animal Kingdom was cut short, and it will have a trip report explaining why.

After Everest, I went back to Disney's Hollywood Studios. After my third trip on Star Tours, I went to the Chinese Theatre, home of the Great Movie Ride.

My last time on The Great Movie Ride was way back in 1994. This attraction features Audio Animatronic figures of many film properties, including The Wizard of Oz, Tarzan, Casablanca, Mary Poppins, Alien, and Indiana Jones.

No pictures were allowed, and since the ride has a live guide, it's tough to break that rule. So here's a picture of an Indiana Jones toy from Burger King.

This toy is from the promotion of the Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull film.

Tokyo DisneySea in Japan has a ride called Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Crystal Skull.

The ride in Japan is not based on the 2008 movie starring Harrison Ford and Shia LaBeouf.

Tokyo DisneySea's ride opened in 2001, and is based on Disneyland's Indiana Jones Adventure attraction. For more about this ride, check out Disneyland's Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Forbidden Eye.

The Indiana Jones Adventure attraction has been rumored for Walt Disney World in Florida for years. I would love to see the ride at Disney's Hollywood Studios, as part of a Lucasland expansion, or its own Indiana Jones mini-land.

It was finally time to ride Toy Story Midway Mania. Because I had a FastPass, I missed seeing the Audio Animatronic Mr. Potato Head in the queue. This attraction had the longest wait in the park, for a number of reasons. It's new, it's fun, it's family-friendly, it's interactive, and it can't handle large crowds like most of the other attractions at Disney's Hollywood Studios. The Stand-By Line can get really long because of all the FastPass riders.

There have been rumors swirling for years about Holiday themed versions of Toy Story Midway Mania. This would be so much fun.

I wanted to see the Voyage of the Little Mermaid show nearby, but it wasn't operating on my visit. This features actors, puppet and animation, and opened in 1991.

After my ride on Toy Story Midway Mania, I left Disney's Hollywood Studios and went to Epcot. There, I experienced Spaceship Earth and Test Track. After eating dinner at the Land, I left the park to explore Disney's Boardwalk. I'll cover the Epcot visit in another trip report.

On my Walt Disney World vacation, I did get this Vinylmation Disney Villains Series 1 Ursula. This series is blind-boxed, and has some great characters. I wanted Prince John from Robin Hood or a Pink Elephant from Dumbo (which is the Mystery Chaser, and has multiple variants).

Before Voyage of the Little Mermaid was at Disney's Hollywood Studios, the location of the attraction housed "Here Come the Muppets."

This was a live show, and the Muppets had mouths that moved. I believe they were imported from a traveling Muppet arena show. This was the first Disney/Henson theme park attraction. This closed once MuppetVision 3D opened. Bean Bunny was really getting a push at this time, getting a starring role in MuppetVision 3D. He made his debut in a 1986 TV special called "Tale of the Bunny Picnic." Bean was also added to the Muppet Babies Saturday Morning cartoon. Bean was performed by Steve Whitmire, who took over the role of Kermit the Frog after Jim Henson's death. Steve Whitmire also performs Rizzo the Rat.

For many years, Miss Piggy and her pals appeared at Walt Disney World as licensed characters, but now they are officially part of the Disney family. The Muppets have been a part of Disney MGM Studios/Disney's Hollywood Studios since 1990.

Hollywood loves a good scandal, a twist ending, mud-slinging, and starlets with "pictures from their past."

Here's Miss Piggy at Universal Studios Hollywood!

This was from 1988. Miss Piggy was young, and needed the work. She would not team up with Disney until 1990.

Muppet Magazine sent Miss Piggy to Universal Studios Hollywood, where she met Conan the Barbarian.
Much more scandalous is Miss Piggy's friendship with Universal's biggest star ever, King Kong!

Miss Piggy dates a frog, so why not a gorilla?

Sadly, this awesome King Kong animatronic from Universal Studios Hollywood's Tram Tour was destroyed by a fire in 2008.

The Sesame Street Muppets, including Elmo and Big Bird, can be found at Universal Studios Japan (there is a 3D Sesame Street movie there).

Be sure to see My Sesame Street Adventure With Big Bird, Mr. Hooper and Snuffleupagus.

This King Kong Poster was available in the Winter 1988 Muppet Magazine.

The Muppets shared this cover with Jason Bateman, who at that time was the star of Teen Wolf Too.

This old school Walt Disney World shopping bag features a vintage image of the Disney MGM Studios (there's that gangster again!).

As usual, I had a great visit to Disney's Hollywood Studios, and I can't wait to see what they do next!

For more Muppet Mayhem, check out The Muppets Take Indianapolis.

Muppet fans may also want to see the Gonzo Land Theme Park Muppet Magazine Map and Punknocchio: A 1985 Muppet Magazine Story.

Up Next: A Rainy Day At Disney's Animal Kingdom, and an Evening at Epcot.