The Mountain Project
Presented by The Merged Ones
(Except Pi, he’s too busy gaslighting people)
Introduction
With the opening of Toy Story Land and Galaxy’s Edge, Disney’s Hollywood Studios has made significant progress towards becoming a full day park. However, despite these additions it remains in many eyes a half-day park at best in need of continued investment by expanding its catalog of attractions. In keeping with the Disney Company’s stated goals for the World Disney World resort of increasing attendance through expansions to existing gates, this project calls for two additional lands within the park, each adding multiple attractions. Muppets Hollywoodland and Vine St. Backlot will each replace an underutilized and low traffic area of the park; each adding a larger attraction to draw guests to the area with additional experiences as well.
Map of new dhs
Muppets Hollywoodland
Sometimes during the hustle and bustle of a day at a Disney park you need a place to grab a seat in the shade and catch your breath. Muppet Lake Park, loosely based off the iconic Hollywood Lake Park, will give Hollywood Studios some much needed greenspace, as it is very much lacking in that department. Taking the place of the existing Backlot Express; the park features a large water feature in the center with an elaborate Muppets
inspired fountain in the center. The park around us is
filled with lush trees and colorful plant beds but of
course, when the Muppets are involved, there is
always a zany element to it all.
The park is filled with muppet topiaries, flowers…some of which may have been artificially painted their color, and maybe one or two experiments from Dr. Honeydew. In the distance (well forced perspective distance) we see the famous Hollywood sign…although it’s a little different…Gonzo had decided to give it a new paint job. We saw him hanging from a rope with a paint bucket in hand, focused on his latest masterpiece. The area contains two flat rides; adding family friendly options in a park that has often been more focused on thrills.
The Muppet Park Swings
At the center of the park is a classic swinger attraction. The swings are situated among the lush greenery of the area providing guests with a great view of the area. This ride will provide just the right combination of exhilaration and relaxing to be an excellent family friendly addition to the park. The ride’s typical ornate murals and stylings depict Muppet parodies of famous works of art. Miss Piggy in the birth of Venus, Gonzo and Rizzo in the Sistine Chapel Mural, Fozzy as a comedic Mona Lisa.
Miss Piggy’s Swan boats
Located along the shore of Muppet Lake are Miss Piggy’s Swan Boats. This relaxing boat ride through the gardens of the park is an option for all ages. The leisurely boat ride is narrated by Miss Piggy, so proud to welcome us to her immaculately maintained gardens…well…at least that’s how it’s supposed to be…as our boats meander we see the shenanigans the Muppets crew can get into. Miss Piggy’s flowers, topiaries, and statues have become victims to countless gags from Gonzo, Rizzo, Dr. Honeydew, Fozzy, and the gang.
Henson avenue
Located along the western side of the Muppet Gardens Park is Henson Avenue, a stately street carrying the architecture from the Grand Avenue section of Hollywood Studios it serves as an extension connecting Muppets Courtyard thematically to the new area. The buildings are a combination of townhomes belonging to the Muppets stars, designed according to their personal styles. The street is filled with small details like a billboard advertising Miss Piggy’s newest solo project; a bus stop advertising Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem’s latest tour. On the ground floor of some of the homes are storefronts occupied by businesses like “Sam Eagle’s Patriotic Provisions”. The townhomes include windows sets that can be opened to accommodate Muppet streetmosphere like the Liberty Square shows that proved popular. This is a lively street filled with character…and characters.
Børk and Köoking
Joining the likes of Wolfgang Puck and Gordon Ramsay the Swedish Chef has decided to open his own celebrity chef restaurant. Børk and Köoking is what happens when a Muppet tries to open a fancy restaurant; hilarity ensues. This quick service restaurant may be attempting to look classy inside but it’s of course taken a comedic turn. Inside the restaurant is filled with warm yet classy wood floors and beams across the ceiling. The simple off-white walls are only interrupted by muted yet refined fixtures like accent pieces and lights. The back of the restaurant is a large open kitchen framed by brick. It’s comfortable yet the kind of place you’d go on a date…well at least if it weren’t filled to the brim with the Swedish Chef’s mishaps.
The once white tablecloths are marked with attempts at “art” and more than a few paint stains. Across the walls are framed pictures of the restaurant's patrons; Muppets, real life actors, and one or two visual gags. The main focus of the room, adjacent to the real kitchen, is a mockup of the Swedish Chef's kitchen from the show. Guests can hear him working in the background occasionally seeing ingredients flying, something crashing to the ground, or an unexpected animal noise. Every so often an AA Swedish chef will appear to interact with guests and attempt to cook a recipe before it goes to heck in a handbasket.
Entrees:
Swedish Meatballs – The Chef’s favorite; ground beef spiced and pan brown served over pasta in a creamy herb sauce
Roasted Chicken – Roasted chicken breast served with spice apple rice with roasted carrots
Potato Pancake Lox – Potato onion pancakes pan fried serve with fresh caught lox served chilled cucumber salad
Swedish Salmon Burger – Seasoned herb salmon burger patty served on a toasted brioche roll with fresh lettuce in a creamy herb dressing with a Swedish potato salad on the side
Beef Lindstrom Burger – A ground beef, beet, and capers patty grilled to perfection served on a rye bun with a fried egg on top, cheese, and a summer slaw with fries on the side
Chicken Caesar Salad – Seasoned roasted chicken breast fresh greens, parmesan cheese, and croutons tossed in a house made Caesar dressing
Pyttipanna – “Small bits in the pan” in Swedish. Diced onions, potatoes, beets, and peppers sautéed in the pan served with a fried egg on top with a dill dressing
Kids Menu
Cheeseburger; served with fries, potato salad, or fruit side
Chicken tenders, served with fries, potato salad, or fruit side
Dessert
Chocolate Moose– No not that moose! Decadent chocolate mousse top with whipped cream sprinkled with dark chocolate shavings
Swedish Pancakes – Thin pancakes served with your choice of filling; cream, fruit, or chocolate served with whipped cream dusted with powdered sugar
Apple Pie – Spiced apples baked in a buttery crust served with a side of locally sourced ice cream
Star Tours’ fate has long been up in the air with the opening of Galaxy’s Edge. While still drawing guests it sticks out both awkwardly separated from the heavily themed Star Wars land and now sits in the middle of the expanded Muppets land. The natural solution is to retain Star Tours in spirit but re-theme the attraction with a permanent Muppets overlay; Pigs in Space: A New Ride (sort of). Located between Muppet Gardens and Muppets Courtyard, the overlay will be themed more heavily as an active film studio started by Miss Piggy herself. In a page right out of Norma Desmond’s book her studio is making a film written by her and starring her; Pigs in Space: The Movie (one giant Star Wars parody). A tan studio wall will be built around the edges of the attraction with a large elaborate gate opening to where the Jedi Training Academy is now. Much of the attraction’s iconic façade will remain but simply be rethemed to make the Star Wars elements parodies. The AT-AT retains its shape but has been redone to more resemble the villains of the movie; The Gonzo Empire. The Endor Moon set is now home to the Fozzywoks, whose tribal homes are filled with joke books and gags.
Pigs in space: a new Ride
We enter the building which is an active set for the movie. The wall with the Mon Calamari has been turned into an off-stage area with cameras and movie cast. The large screen is now showing a video of “Kermit Lucas' ' giving an interview similar to the Leonard Maltin interviews on the original trilogy VHS. The interview discusses the movie with Missy Piggy frequently interrupting to shame him for not talking up the film enough. Others from the Muppets gang also crash the interview to talk to Kermit about issues with the film. After trying to patiently deal with the problems at first but as they escalate he blows up air hilariously flailing in the air. When the interview is cut short it goes to a video from Kermit welcoming us to the set as new actors for the final scene of the movie; we must board the Pigspeeder 100 and undertake a daring mission led by Princess Piggy herself. The PigSpeeder is bright pink and in this parody Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and Beaker have been cast as C3PO and R2D2 respectively.
The luggage room has been transformed into Miss Piggy’s wardrobe filled to the brim with parodies of Star Wars costumes. Dresses, shoes, hats. The scanner robots are now movie staff desperately looking for the costume for this scene fearing Piggy’s Wrath if they can’t. We walk up to the set where we are given our costumes (3D glasses) and told which vehicle to enter to film our scene. Kermit Lucas comes on the screens above our boarding doors and gives us our direction for our scene. We’re joining Princess Piggy leading her squadron of fighters to destroy the Gonzo Empire main base. Our pilot; Captain Rex (Bean Bunny dressed as Rex) will lead us in an attack to support Princess Piggy as she makes her heroic attack to destroy the base. Simple right? What can go wrong?
We board the Pigspeeder 100 and are told to take our seats, store all hats and carry-on items in the under seat compartment, and to now put on our costume glasses. The barrier in front of us lowers and we find Captain Rex sitting in the cockpit.
“Welcome aboard! I hope you’re all excited for your first scene in this movie…because it's mine too…”
Miss Piggy comes on the screen and yells “All quiet on the set! Thank you. Places everyone…lights…camera…action!”
Grand music starts playing, a clear parody of the Star Wars theme, as our craft takes off into the stars. Keeping with Star Tours: The Adventure Continues spirit of randomization the first scene is one of three parodies of iconic Star Wars battles:
It goes without saying that every single one of these scenes goes horribly wrong as Captain Rex bungles his lines and directions ruining the scenes. Crashing into set pieces and other fighters infuriating Miss Piggy.
After the first scene we receive a distress message from Yoga (Sam the Eagle) informing Miss Piggy’s fleet that we must undertake a patriotic mission to defeat the Gonzo main base. When Fozzy dressed as Han Solo, Animal is Chewbacca, tries to steal the glory before Miss Piggy steps in and throws him on scenes informing him this is her scene.
We immediately jump into whatever the Muppet version of hyperspace to the main base; a giant space station shaped like Gonzo’s head. We speed up for our main attack run into the iconic trench run scene when Emperor Gonzo appears to say we’ll never defeat him as he’s sent his apprentice Darth Rizzo to stop us. He gains on us as we continue down the trench right behind Princess Piggy, being warned not to steal her spotlight. Darth Rizzo overtakes us and as we approach the target his vehicle goes haywire and he crashes into Piggy sending her off spinning. That leaves us and Captain Rex cheerfully exclaims “I’ve always wanted to do this!” We fire a missile at the target and escape just in time jumping to Muppet hyperspace before Miss Piggy yells “cut!” and the scene ends. She marches on screen furious that her big scene was ruined. We depart exiting to a hallway now redone like a studio set with parody posters of Star Wars movies on the wall.
We exit to the gift shop which sells a wide array of Muppet merchandise including Star Wars parody merch only available at this location.
Muppet
Mountain
By Monkey92514 & Brer Panther
Towering over the rest of Muppets Hollywoodland is the gigantic Muppets Mountain. Managing to be both imposing AND goofy-looking at the same time, the mountain takes on a very exaggerated cone shape. There are little crevices that lava tries to spew out of, precarious looking cliffs, and even a likeness of Animal carved into the rock. Most peculiar of all, however, is the Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem’s iconic bus perched on top, its wheels spinning in midair and its windshield wipers occasionally springing to life.
The queue for Muppets Mountain is entirely outdoors, but protected from the elements with a canopy made of stitched-together Muppet bedsheets. Scattered around the queue are televisions, each of which play the pre-show on a constant loop to fill us in as to what the attraction's plot is.
Muppet Mountain:
Exterior
Muppet Mountain- Pre-show
NEWSMAN: Here is a Muppet News Flash! Yet another disaster has occurred in the world of music! That beloved Muppet rock band, the Electric Mayhem, has mysteriously vanished! Dr. Teeth, Floyd Pepper, Janice, Zoot, and Lips went missing sometime this morning! Animal was left behind for no apparent reason. A fact he is not taking well.
ANIMAL: [running around, tearing up set] FOMO! FOMO!
[static]
NEWSMAN: Fortunately, this means Animal can help guide a rescue party that has assembled to search for his bandmates. Let us drop in on the party now. [cut to a birthday party; the Newsman literally drops in from the ceiling]
[interstitial logos]
NEWSMAN: Walter, you were the one who started this crusade, were you not?
WALTER: [remote interview] Of course I was! The Electric Mayhem is a major institution in both Muppet history and music history! We can’t just let them disappear without trying to get them back!
NEWSMAN: And what happens if you fail to find them?
WALTER: Well, uh, it looks like they disappeared inside a deep mountain, so I guess that could be a place for me to hide away in shame forever. But I’d rather get them back.
NEWSMAN: Well now that you’ve told everyone on TV where you’ll be hiding, you may want to rethink that.
WALTER: Ahh! [runs off hectic] C’mon guys, let’s go!
[interstitial logos]
NEWSMAN: I am now joined by another member of the rescue party: Bobo the bear.
BOBO: [remote interview] Hey.
NEWSMAN: Bobo, how do you plan to find those missing musicians, the Electric Mayhem.
BOBO: Uh… well the kidnappers seem to have left a big hole behind them in this mountain. So we’re just gonna follow it and see where it goes.
NEWSMAN: I’m glad you say that, because we have a similar breaking news story! Due to a Muppet Laps malfunction, multiple holes have been appearing around the Muppet News studio. Wait what? [falls through a hole] AAHH!
BOBO: [still in interview bubble] Um, guess it’s just me now. [silence; he tries to fill the void by beatboxing]
[interstitial logos]
Muppet Mountain- Pre-show (Continued)
Muppet Mountain- Pre-show (Continued)
NEWSMAN: Now that the Muppet News studio holes are wholly gone, we can resume our coverage of the Electric Mayhem’s sudden and unexplained disappearance. Reporting to us from the rescue party site is Pepe the Pawn Prince.
PEPE: [remote interview] That’s “King Prawn,” ok!
NEWSMAN: Pepe, how are things looking on the ground?
PEPE: On the grounds? Uh, some grass. A little wormy is crawlings by.
NEWSMAN: No, no, with the rescue!
PEPE: Oh that thing. Well they’re getting Animals on the scent of his bandmates so he can lead us down the tunnels to the Eclectic Maiden. So we go in, bring them back, and Pepe gets all the ladies for taking part in this rescue.
NEWSMAN: That’s not the only reason you’re taking part in this mission, is it?
PEPE: Of course not, ok! It’s also altruisms! The altruisms of giving these guests a Muppets attraction that actually features me, Pepe the King Prawn!
NEWSMAN: As I understand it, you all are going deep into a mountain?
PEPE: I think sos.
NEWSMAN: How does the mountain look?
PEPE: It’s kinda imposing, ok. I don’t think it was heres before. I’m pretty sure this used to be a parking lot. So I wonder where all the cars went.
NEWSMAN: A mystery that may never be solve—[cars suddenly fall on him]
[interstitial logos]
NEWSMAN: The rescue party to find the Electric Mayhem is about to make their way into the mountain where the band may have been taken. Luckily, this rescue party will not be alone. They will be accompanied by volunteers following along through the mountain in boats. The rescue party gets extra members, and the volunteers have a ride to go on between other attractions. Hopefully this will all end in the safe retrieval of the missing musicians. This just in, the rescue party mistakenly went to Big Thunder Mountain instead and are currently taking a bus over to Hollywood Studios. Their estimated time of arrival could be anywhere from 30 minutes to 5 hours—[bus crashes through the wall of the studio]
Muppet Mountain- Pre-show (Continued)
The loading dock is set up by an outer base rim of the mountain. Boats come out of a truck marked EXPEDITION BOATS UNLIMITED (an effect pulled off like a reverse Mighty Microscope) and pull up to the dock. Joe the Legal Weasel is heard giving the safety spiel in both English and Spanish, subsequently remarking, “Yes, I learned how to say it in Spanish. Just to be on the…safe side! HAHAHAHAHAHA!”
Muppet Mountain- Loading Area
Once everyone is aboard the boat, it goes into motion, heading for a large opening in the mountain. Inside, we find Walter, Bobo, Pepe, and Animal.
WALTER: Hi, guys! Thanks for coming along.
PEPE: For those of you who don't know what we're doing... well, you should've paid more attention to the preshow videos, okay.
BOBO: Keep those hands, arms, feet and legs inside the boat. Alright, Animal, which way do we go?
Animal sniffs the ground. Picking up the rest of the band's scent, he lifts his head and points in the direction that we're floating in.
ANIMAL: THEY WENT THAT WAY!
Muppet Mountain- Scene I
As we proceed through the first caverns, we pass below some vegetables that appear to be growing upside down through the ceiling.
CARROT: Hey look, more visitors!
EGGPLANT: Nah, these guys look like they chose to be here.
PEPPER: You'll never make it out alive!
CABBAGE: Why do you keep saying that to people?
PEPPER: What? It's cryptic.
Muppet Mountain- Scene II
Muppet Mountain- Scene III
Going further down, we find ourselves surrounded by diamonds, gems, and crystals of varying shapes and sizes. Some of them are large enough that we can see our reflections in them, distorted a la fun house mirrors. Walter and Bobo peek out from behind one large gem.
BOBO: Wow. There's more diamonds in here than Miss Piggy's jewelry box.
Rounding a corner, we see Pepe. He's wearing a miner's helmet and brandishing a pickaxe, trying to remove one gem (twice his size) from the wall.
WALTER: Pepe, what are you doing?
PEPE: I'm going to mine all these gems and sell them. Rocks these big, they're going to make me lots of monies, okay.
c
WALTER: Well, can't it wait until after we save the band?
PEPE: Let me just get this one out of the wall and we'll get going, okay. (grunts) Bobo, could you give me a hand here?
BOBO: You've already got four. Why do you need one of mine?
Near an opening in the wall, we see Animal. He's sniffing the ground.
ANIMAL: (pointing at the opening in the ground) THIS WAY! THIS WAY!
WALTER: Hang on, guys. I think Animal's picked up the scent!
PEPE: Just a second, it's almost out! I think. Maybe not, okay…
Muppet Mountain- Scene III (Continued)
Now we pass through a cavern filled with glowing mushrooms. Walter is jumping on one like a trampoline. Pepe is desperately holding onto a spinning one.
BOBO: Hey guys, do these things smell a bit weird to you?
Animal stands next to a mushroom with a huge bite taken out of it. His eyes are glowing every color.
ANIMAL: ANIMAL SEE DESERT MERMAIDS.
Muppet Mountain- Scene IV
Heading further into the mountain, the lighting gets darker and the temperature gets slightly hotter - a sign that we're getting closer to the earth's core.
BOBO: I can't see my paw in front of my face. Anybody bring a flashlight?
VOICE: Need a flashlight?
BOBO: We sure do, random voice from out of nowhere.
PEPE: Who said that, okay?
VOICE: I did!
A flashlight turns on, revealing a shady-looking Muppet mole holding a box full of flashlights, reminiscent of a vendor at a baseball game selling souvenirs.
Muppet Mountain- Scene V
Muppet Mountain- Scene V (Continued)
MOLE: Ya want flashlights, I've got flashlights! Only ten bucks. Buy two and I'll throw in a third one for free.
WALTER: (reaching into his pocket) Let me get my wallet…
Turning a corner, we find even MORE Muppet moles, each one sitting at a booth lit up by glowing mushrooms. It's like an underground farmers' market. As we float by, each mole shows off their merchandise in an attempt to get us to buy it.
MOLE VENDOR #1: Fresh insects! Fresh insects for sale! Get 'em while they're still bugging out!
MOLE VENDOR #2: Shovels! Get yer shovels! Make diggin' tunnels a lot easier!
MOLE VENDOR #3: Hawk repellent! Guaranteed to keep the hawks away! You'll feel safe going above ground once again!
MOLE VENDOR #4: Need a map of the Earth's core? I'm your mole! Only five bucks!
MOLE VENDOR #5: (holding up a t-shirt reading "MY FRIEND WENT TO THE EARTH'S CORE AND ALL I GOT WAS THIS STUPID T-SHIRT") Novelty t-shirts! A great souvenir from your trip to the Earth's core!
BOBO: Does that come in extra-extra-large?’
PEPE: We're not interested, okay. Come on, Bobo…
Leaving the moles behind, we climb up a small lift hill before dipping down a tiny waterfall.
Muppet Mountain- Scene V (Continued [again])
A blast of steam hits us in the face as we arrive further underground. When the steam clears, we discover that we're in a prehistoric jungle - the biggest set piece of the attraction. Gigantic tropical foliage surrounds us. Volcanoes in the distance belch smoke. Muppet pterodactyls soar overhead. The roar of a tyrannosaurus rex can be heard in the distance. One might be reminded of the now-defunct Universe of Energy's dinosaur sequence. Walter, Pepe, Bobo, and Animal can be heard talking as we emerge from a clump of bushes.
PEPE: What kind of weird Jurassic World is THIS, okay?
WALTER: Huh. I guess the dinosaurs didn't all go extinct after all.
BOBO: I never really believed that "comet hittin' the earth" theory myself. Hope these dinos are friendly.
ANIMAL: (sniffs the air) ANIMAL HAVE SCENT! THIS WAY! THIS WAY!
WALTER: Animal, wait for us!
Muppet Mountain- Scene VI
PEPE: Nah, let's let him go first, okay. If any dinosaurs want to eat us, he can scare them off.
Our boat heads further into the jungle, encountering some new sort of strange creature at every turn. On a rock, two gigantic Muppet snails are seen, cracking jokes.
SNAIL #1: Did you hear about the snail that finally found his confidence?
SNAIL #2: No, I didn't. What happened?
SNAIL #1: He really came out of his shell.
SNAIL #2: Good for him. Speaking of shells, I misplaced mine the other day.
SNAIL #1: That must've been rough.
SNAIL #2: No, not really. Although I did start to feel a little sluggish.
Muppet Mountain- Scene VI (Continued)
We drift under the long necks of Muppet apatosauruses. One of them has Walter clinging to its neck, looking around.
WALTER: Dr. Teeth? Floyd? Janice? Are you around here somewhere? I wish I had a pair of binoculars...
Nearby, a group of Neanderthal pigs are gathered around an open flame, hooting and hollering. It would seem that they've discovered fire. A small pterodactyl perched on a rock observes them.
PTERODACTYL: Brawk. If they get too close, they're gonna be roast pigs.
A Muppet woolly mammoth guzzles water from a tidal pool with its trunk. Occasionally, it sprays water at the riders. The boat circles a nest of dinosaur eggs, one of which hatches, allowing a baby dinosaur to poke its head out.
BABY DINOSAUR: Gotta love me!
Muppet Mountain- Scene VI (Continued) [It’s still going]
We drift under the long necks of Muppet apatosauruses. One of them has Walter clinging to its neck, looking around.
WALTER: Dr. Teeth? Floyd? Janice? Are you around here somewhere? I wish I had a pair of binoculars...
Nearby, a group of Neanderthal pigs are gathered around an open flame, hooting and hollering. It would seem that they've discovered fire. A small pterodactyl perched on a rock observes them.
PTERODACTYL: Brawk. If they get too close, they're gonna be roast pigs.
A Muppet woolly mammoth guzzles water from a tidal pool with its trunk. Occasionally, it sprays water at the riders. The boat circles a nest of dinosaur eggs, one of which hatches, allowing a baby dinosaur to poke its head out.
BABY DINOSAUR: Gotta love me!
We see Bobo next. He's been chased up a tree by a group of saber-toothed tigers, bearing their fangs at him and digging their sharp claws into the bark.
BOBO: Take it easy, fellas! I'm not very tasty! I know tigers gotta eat, but there are other options! I know a nice restaurant you can head to! Uh, Pepe, a little help here?
Pepe isn't too far away - he's standing on the back of a giant prehistoric turtle, who's attempting to swim across a tar pit.
PEPE: I'll be with you in a second, okay. (to the turtle) Come on, put your shell into it.
As for Animal, he's encountered a tyrannosaurus rex. It roars at him, but Animal isn't intimidated. He raises a gigantic bone (from a nearby dinosaur skeleton) and whacks the t-rex on the head with it, knocking it out. Before we duck into another clump of bushes and leave the prehistoric jungle, we see one more dinosaur - a Muppet iguanodon holding a sign with "VISIT DINOLAND USA" written on it.
Muppet Mountain- Scene VI [Last one i promise]
The next room is... a backstage area for the ride.
WALTER: Oh shoot, we’re in a backstage area! Sorry!
We curve back out into the main in ride.
BOBO: What did you expect? We had a budget.
PEPE: Maybe if you’d let me keep those diamond monies…
WALTER: Shh! We’re here!
Muppet Mountain- Scene VII
Muppet Mountain- Scene VII (THey keep doing this! Just
put it on one slide!
We've arrived at the core of the planet.
WALTER: This is it, Animal?
ANIMAL: PLANET CORE! PLANET CORE!
BOBO: Aw man, it's really boiling.
PEPE: Guess I'm not the only hotstuffs around here for once, huh?
Muppet Mountain- Scene VIII (The Longest yet)
Geysers of lava spew on either side of us. Smoke and ash consume the boats, and when it clears, strange figures come into view. They are alien-like monsters, made seemingly of molten rock (similar in appearance to the lava monster from Tokyo DisneySea's Journey to the Center of the Earth, but much less terrifying and much more Muppety), one of them - presumably their leader - holding a staff of burnt wood. The monsters murmur and whisper amongst themselves in a strange language. Animal, Walter, Bobo, and Pepe are very confused.
WALTER: Uh, hi?
BOBO: Who are these guys?
PEPE: They look like... some sort of weird rock monsters, okay?
WALTER: I wonder if they speak English.
BOBO: One way to find out... hey, fellas, can you understand what we're saying? (turns to the riders) If they don't, maybe one of you can translate for us?
The leader of the lava monsters gestures for us to follow them.
Muppet Mountain- Scene VIII (Keep going)
WALTER: Hey, I think they want us to follow them. Maybe they can lead us to the Electric Mayhem!
PEPE: Yeah, or maybe they want to have us for dinner, okay.
BOBO: I hope so. I'm getting pretty hungry.
PEPE: If they get out the cocktail sauce, I'm making a run for it...
The shadows of the lava monsters are cast on the wall as we follow them to their home turf. Their houses are small huts carved from rock. More lava monsters are seen swimming - and, in the case of one lava monster, surfing - in a large pool of magma. The lava monsters' leader takes Walter, Bobo, Pepe, and Animal over to a stage (which, like the houses, is carved from rock), standing on which are... you guessed it... Dr. Teeth, Floyd, Janice, Zoot, and Lips, attempting to play instruments made of stone - except for Zoot, who's asleep.
Muppet Mountain- Scene VIII (It’s like climbing a mtn)
ANIMAL: (thrilled) FOUND THEM! FOUND THEM!
FLOYD: Animal! You came to save us!
PEPE: What are we, chopped liver?
WALTER: I'm glad we found you guys. Are these lava monsters the ones who kidnapped you?
ZOOT: (wakes up) Huh? Whah? We've been kidnapped?
DR. TEETH: It's cool, guys. These rockin' rock dudes don't mean us any harm. Turns out, they're huge fans of rock 'n' roll music and they wanted us to put on a concert for 'em.
JANICE: Yeah, like, they wanted our autographs and everything.
FLOYD: And now that you're here, Animal, the concert can finally get started!
BOBO: Could you make it a quick one? I'm overheating in this fur coat.
Swinging around the stage (a similar effect to the pirate ship in Peter Pan's Flight), we see the Electric Mayhem, now joined by Animal, playing their stone instruments as the lava monsters dance.
WALTER: You know, this is actually an incredible discovery. There's a whole new species living down here in the earth's core! Do you know how excited scientists would be if they found out about them?
PEPE: I bet they'd pay a lot of monies just for a photo of them, okay. Good thing I brought a camera...
He takes out a camera (which is around the same size as him) and takes a photo of the lava monsters with it. Unfortunately, the lava monsters apparently don't know what a camera is, and when the flash goes off, they all panic and scatter like roaches when you turn a light switch on. The leader of the lava monsters stands atop a rock, pointing at Pepe and shouting angrily.
Muppet Mountain- Scene VIII (It’s the big part)
PEPE: (nervously) What's he saying, okay?
WALTER: Uh, my guess is that they think the camera is some sort of weapon.
BOBO: You mean, now they see us as a threat?
PEPE: And now they're gonna tear us limb from limb or eat us or something?
WALTER: Probably.
PEPE: Me and my obsession with monies... LET'S GET OUT OF HERE, OKAY!
The boat goes into high gear. Walter, Bobo, Pepe, and the Electric Mayhem are seen running for their lives, the lava monsters in hot (no pun intended) pursuit. They pursue them and us back up into another subterranean tunnel (which a sign helpfully points out as the way out of the earth's core). One lava monster pops out in front of us and spews lava out of its mouth.
Muppet Mountain- Scene VIII (It’s the big part cont.)
Muppet Mountain- Scene VIII (Are you even reading the titles?)
BOBO: And they can breathe lava, too! You sure picked the wrong monsters to make mad, Pepe!
PEPE: We all make mistakes, okay!
The action really heats up (again, no pun intended) as we swerve around the lava monster and continue up the tunnel. A hole is up ahead, revealing blue sky - it's a hole back to the outside world! Walter, Animal, Bobo, Pepe, Dr. Teeth, Janice, Floyd, and Lips (who drags a sleeping Zoot behind him) are seen climbing towards the hole, but the lava monsters are gaining on them.
FLOYD: Anybody got something we can throw at 'em?
DR. TEETH: Lemme see what I have here... (he reaches behind his back and pulls out a bunch of random junk, then finds a couple records) Our records! This'll work perfectly!
He tosses the records to the lava monsters.
DR. TEETH: Here you go, fellas! Now you can hear our music whenever you want!
Muppet Mountain- Scene VIII (We should’ve built a site)
The lava monsters murmur amongst themselves again - it would seem that Dr. Teeth's "hear our music whenever you want" claim has them really, really excited. They turn and rush back down the tunnel to the earth's core, eager to start listening to the records.
WALTER: We're saved!
BOBO: I hope those lava monsters have a record player.
PEPE: I don't want to wait around and find out, okay.
We continue towards the hole and finally emerge back outside.
Muppet Mountain- Scene IX (Slides is frustrating)
We're all back outside the mountain.
DR. TEETH: Mmm, that fresh air is de-lightful!
WALTER: We did it!
JANICE: Like, thanks everyone!
BOBO: [to us] Even you all did something somehow.
Johnny Fiama and Sal appear, geared up.
Muppet Mountain- Scene IX (The last one)
JOHNNY: Alright everybody, we're here to help save the Electric Mayhem.
PEPE: You're too late, ok?
SAL: Dang it! I was worried this would happen!
We pull up to an unload dock and disembark.
Land description
Over the last few years, many significant anniversaries had been celebrated at Disney Parks and Resorts. The 50th anniversary of Walt Disney World and the Magic Kingdom, and the 40th anniversary of Epcot had come and gone. Disney as a whole was now preparing to celebrate 100 years as a company and brand.
In the wake of this, Imagineers turned to a park that is often overlooked when it comes to milestones; Disney’s Hollywood Studios. The park had never truly had its own anniversary celebration, as the park was often overshadowed by her older sisters.
The Imagineers decided to correct this and a perfect opportunity arose to have the Disney centennial celebration segue directly into a 35th Anniversary celebration for Hollywood Studios. However as the team began formulating plans for the festivities, one glaring issue became clear; most Disney Parks anniversaries are steeped in nostalgia. Anniversaries are always an alluring factor in families choosing a time for a Disney vacation, and part of the charm for parents is being able to share experiences with their children that they themselves may have experienced when they were younger.
Land description (cont.)
Disney’s Hollywood Studios as a park had been altered and metamorphosed so much over the course of its near 35 year history that in many ways it hardly resembled the park that it was over the course of its first decade.
It was too late to go back, but Imagineers began to dream up a new experience that would act as a callback to a bygone era, while simultaneously connecting with a modern audience. What they came up with was The Backlot on Vine St.
Colloquially known as “Vine St. Backlot”, “Vine St.” or “The Backlot,” this small land would serve as a tribute to the original Studios park, while also offering guests wonderful new experiences to make memories for a lifetime.
An 8 acre area of the park grounds to the west of Sunset Blvd and Animation Courtyard was chosen as the location for this new street. Many Cast Member areas had to be changed or relocated in order to accommodate the new development.
Land description (cont.)
As part of the continued redevelopment of Disney’s Hollywood Studios as a whole, the Star Wars Launch bay would close to become two new offerings, one as part of Animation Courtyard and one as part of The Backlot.
Animation Courtyard would receive a preview center and meet and greet space that would show previews and behind the scenes footage from upcoming Disney and Pixar animated films. The first films to be showcased would be Wish and The Elementals, both coming to theaters in 2023.
Meanwhile the other portion of the former Launch Bay site would become the new home of The Backlot Express quick service, which was displaced as part of the massive Muppets Hollywoodland expansion.
Opening in 2024, just in time for the 35th anniversary celebration, the headlining attraction of The Backlot would be The Great Music Mountain. This Omnimover driven song along experience will transport guests to some of the most memorable, and underutilized locales from Disney films, where beloved characters enchant guests with the magic of music.
Great musical mountain- Ride Vehicles
This attraction utilizes the new LOVE ride system, (that’s Large Omnimover VEhicle), which features three rows of grandstand style seating. Each vehicle is like its own miniature theater. These vehicles are capable of all the same movements as previous Omnimovers, which enable Imagineers to direct guests to every significant detail of every scene.
Guests board in vehicles that are nearly omnimovers of 4 cars each with 2 rows much like Journey into Imagination with Figment. These cars are themed to small theatre seats with fake cup holders, a “now playing” sign mentioning a random Disney movie, and more.
Great musical mountain- Scene one- Mary poppins
The opening scene is an homage to the Great Movie Ride with a reimagining of the famous scene of Mary Poppins floating away with her umbrella.
This time Mary floats all over the scene, while “Let’s Go Fly A Kite” plays. Bert and the Banks family can be seen on the front porch of the Banks home watching Mary in awe.
Great musical mountain- Scene Two- Mulan
Ride vehicles rotate from right to left, passing by cherry blossom trees. A clearing opens and riders find themselves in rural China. Grassy terrain surrounds a small stream, a bridge connects the two sides. And we see Mulan, looking contemplative.
She sings “Reflection” as her animatronic slowly moves away from the bridge toward a statue. Cri-Kee is seen on a lily pad watching her.
The vehicle direction remains focused on Mulan until the ride reaches the transition space for the next scene.
Vehicles enter a small tunnel lined with columns before rotating to the right for the next scene.
A bit of creative liberty is taken for this scene as guests see Hercules with Meg and Pegasus in front of The Parthenon.
Hercules sings “Go The Distance” while a crowd of adoring supporters are seen cheering.
Great musical mountain- Scene Three- Hercules
Great musical mountain- Scene Four- Enchanted
Rotating again from right to left, vehicles pass through a short tunnel filled with sparkling lights. Emerging on the other side, guests find themselves in a park. Trees frame the outside of the scene, in the center is a fountain surrounded by brick paving.
Around two dozen inanimate parade around the fountain repeatedly. Some have elaborate costumes and others hold props such as balloons. Meanwhile a highly animated Giselle animatronic sings “That’s How You Know” while an annoyed Robert occasionally quips “I don’t dance, or sing.” “What are you, crazy?” “We could just walk.”
On the other side of the park, the trees change and guests move through a short tunnel covered in foliage where they are able to see Rapunzel’s tower.
Riders emerge from the wooded tunnel and begin this scene at ground level, looking out over a body of water filled with ships. It’s dusk, and a castle can be seen faintly across the water. And thousands of lanterns fill the sky.
Guests slowly rotate around the scene, faced forward the entire time. Passing by a ship in the foreground, guests suddenly begin to slowly elevate as the track moves up to the upper level of the ride. As the ship moves out of view, Rapunzel and Flynn become visible in their rowboat.
Great musical mountain- Scene Five- Tangled
Great musical mountain- Scene Five- Tangled (Cont.)
These limited motion animatronics are seen catching two lanterns while Rapunzel sings the chorus of “I Can See The Light.”
Riders continue their curved ascent up to the top of the show building as the vehicles rotate to face forward as guests pass through a tunnel filled with a dense fog.
Great musical mountain- Scene Six- Aladdin
Exiting the fog filled tunnel, guests again rotate to the left and are greeted by Aladdin and Jasmine on their magic carpet soaring over Agrabah while singing “A Whole New World.”
The puffy clouds above and the city of Agrabah below are a physical set built to scale to make the scene feel as though it’s moving much faster than it is. Behind the set is a massive screen spanning the entire room, which is where Aladdin and Jasmine are seen flying with an endless diamond sky behind them, soaring up and down and in loops.
As an Easter egg, they occasionally pass by the man carving the Sphinx, who in alarm, accidentally causes its nose to fall off.
The vehicles move through another narrow tunnel filled with fog, and the atmosphere undergoes a drastic change.
Great musical mountain- Scene Six- Aladdin (Cont.)
Great musical mountain- Scene Seven- Fantasia
This scene is built into the mountain facade to allow the sheer height of the mountain fit as the large room is left open hidden within the facade/ show building.
As the ride vehicles approach closer to the mountain, Chernabog appears over the top of the mountain as the music hits it’s climax.
Great musical mountain- Scene Seven- Fantasia (Cont.)
The Chernabog Animatronic swings his arms down towards the guests as well as using projection effects to replicate similar sights from his Fantasia segment. The Ride Vehicles stop once last time in front of the mountain where he lets out a final roar before retreating behind the mountain again. The room starts to fade as doors beside the mountain open leading guests into the next scene.
Great musical mountain- Scene Eight- Cruella
In another dramatic change of atmosphere, ride vehicles rotate to the right as guests now find themselves arriving at the London Fashion Gala circa 1970. Accompanying the scene is the iconic Blondie song “One Way Or Another.”
A highly detailed Cruella animatronic is seen. Taking slight liberties from the film, she is on her motorcycle, helmet in one hand, with her other hand on the throttle of her bike.
A horrified Baroness looks on (another animatronic) as every so often, with a smirk on her face, she lays rubber, sending a plume of smoke everywhere, consuming onlookers who are shown on screens.
Great musical mountain- Scene Eight- Cruella (pt.2)
While this is going on, lights flash and screens illuminate behind Cruella, displaying various newspaper clippings featuring articles about Cruella upstaging various fashion events. At the same time, 180 Strand, home of the British Fashion Counsel, is illuminated with Cruella’s name as a form of graffiti.
This scene and building is part of the inspiration for the ride’s facade, which is also illuminated at night in a similar but much more spectacular fashion.
Great musical mountain- Scene Nine- HSM
Guests pull into an open gymnasium that’s empty and quiet. All of a sudden, the gym fills up with students through the use of screens and the celebration is on!
All the favourite characters from the movie can be seen front and centre doing the “We’re all in this together” dance.
Due to the ride vehicle cars being individual pods in a bigger train, they wiggle back and forth to also dance to the song together.
Great musical mountain- Scene Ten- GotG
Riders enter a hexagonal “jump point” and travel through a version of a star tunnel. Lights throughout the tunnel seem to whiz past guests as they’re transported to Nowhere.
Exiting through another jump point, guests arrive on the surface of the strange world, which is made of the head of a dead celestial.
Great musical mountain- Scene Ten- GotG (Cont.)
On a large set composed of numerous alien looking buildings, the Old 97s are represented in animatronic form, performing the chorus of “I Don’t Know What Christmas Is.” The lead singer and guitarist even does the crazy helicopter strumming motion as seen in the special.
Peter Quill is at the forefront of a crowd, he along with other members of the Guardians of the Galaxy are seen in limited motion animatronic form.
Quill makes numerous quips while the band plays such as “That’s not in the lore!” “You just got these instruments today?” and “Yeah, Earthlings are pretty weird.”
The Backlot Express
Quick service dining with shaded outdoor seating. Overhead monitors play archived footage of the original Backlot Tour, as well as extended trailers for upcoming Disney releases.
Beverages
BB-8, Darth Vader, and Star Lord drink steins
$13.99
Blue Raspberry slushie- $4.99
Fountain Beverages- $3.99
Joffrey’s Hot Coffee- $3.49
Smartwater- $3.79
Orange Juice- $3.49
Chocolate Milk- $2.99
Entrees
Smoked BBQ Pulled Pork Burger
$14.79
Teriyaki Chicken Bowl- $12.99
⅓ Pound Angus Cheeseburger -$11.79
With Bacon- $12.99
Cuban Sandwich- $11.59
Southwest Salad (vegetarian)- $9.59
With Chicken- $11.59
Teriyaki Tofu Bowl (vegan)- $12.79
Vegan chicken tenders (vegan)-$12.79
Sides
French Fries- $4.49
Side Salad- $3.49
Alcoholic Beverages
Rum Island Breeze- $14.50
Frozen Strawberry Daiquiri - $13.50
Goose Island IPA, Chicago- $10.50
Safari Amber- $10.50
Copa Cabernet, Oregon -$10.00
Copa Chardonnay, Oregon- $10.00
Fin
Please keep this slide for attribution.
Intro: @OSUPhantom
Great Music Mountain
Intro: @Tegan pilots a chicken
E-Ticket: @Tegan pilots a chicken and @AceAstro
Muppets Hollywood
D-Ticket: @Brer Panther and @monkey92514
C-Ticket: @OSUPhantom
Restaurant: @OSUPhantom
Star Tours Retheme: @OSUPhantom
Presentation: @Dark PerGron