Walt Disney World

Walt Disney World is a theme park resort in Orlando, Florida. The resort includes four theme parks -- the Magic Kingdom, Epcot (formerly EPCOT Center), Disney's Holluwood Studios (formerly Disney-MGM Studios), and Disney's Animal Kingdom -- in addition to numerous hotels, water parks, and other entertainment offerings.

The Muppets at Walt Disney World
After the Walt Disney Company had announced the deal to buy the Muppet characters from The Jim Henson Company in 1989, the Muppets produced The Muppets at Walt Disney World, a primetime special that aired on The Magical World of Disney, in which the Kermit the Frog and his friends explored the resort.

According to the special, Walt Disney World lies "just on the other side" of Kermit's Swamp. The geography of the resort is also compressed and streamlined for purposes of the plot. For example, even though the Muppets begin their trip by breaking into the Disney-MGM Studios, they don't seem to have the same problem entering the Magic Kingdom or EPCOT Center, even though each park has a separate gate.

Attractions featured or mentioned in The Muppets at Walt Disney World include:

The Magic Kingdom

 * Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
 * Main Street Vehicles
 * Mad Tea Party
 * Space Mountain
 * Country Bear Jamboree

EPCOT Center

 * The Leapfrog Fountains at Journey Into Imagination
 * Wonders of Life
 * The Living Seas (referred to by Gonzo as "The Ocean Thing Over There")
 * World Showcase pavilions: Mexico, Germany, China, France, Morocco, Canada, Italy, and Japan
 * Body Wars

Disney-MGM Studios

 * Hollywood Boulevard
 * New York Street on the Backlot Tour
 * Star Tours
 * Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular!
 * The Chinese Theater (which houses the Great Movie Ride)

Other

 * Grand Floridian Beach Resort
 * The Walt Disney World Pet Care Center
 * Monorail
 * Utilidors (referred to by Gonzo as "Walt Disney's Laundryland")

Theme Park Attractions
Although the Henson/Disney deal fell through in the wake of Jim Henson's death, some of the initial plans for Muppet attractions at Walt Disney World were completed, most of which were located at the Disney-MGM Studios.

The first attraction to feature the Muppets was the Hollywood's Pretty Woman stage show at the Theater of the Stars on Hollywood Boulevard, which included Kermit and Miss Piggy walk-arounds in the surprise finale. The show, which premiered in December of 1989 was the only Walt Disney World attraction that was finished in Jim Henson's lifetime.

In 1990, the Here Come the Muppets stage show, the first full-fledged Muppet attraction at the parks, premiered at the former Walt Disney Theater in the park's Animation Courtyard. The production featured walk-around characters playing to a vocal track recorded by the Muppet performers. A second stage show, Muppets On Location: Days of Swine and Roses, followed in 1991, and played for three years.

Muppet*Vision 3D, an elaborate attraction featuring a 3D film with Audio-Animatronic characters and special in-theater effects, was introduced in 1991, along with the Stage One Company Store, which specializes in Muppet merchandise. Muppet*Vision 3D is still a popular attraction at the park and was recreated for Disneyland in 2001.

Most recently, walk-around versions of Kermit, Piggy, and Sweetums appeared in the park's Disney's Stars and Motor Cars Parade. And Audio-Animatronic versions of Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and Beaker were featured in the Muppet Mobile Lab interactive attraction.

Other Henson properties that were given attractions at Walt Disney World include:
 * Dinosaurs - ''Dinosaurs Live! from
 * Bear in the Big Blue House, which had its own show (Bear in the Big Blue House: Live on Stage) from 1999 to 2001 before being expanded into Playhouse Disney: Live on Stage. Bear and his friends continued to be featured in this show until early 2008.
 * 101 Dalmatians - the Backstage Pass walking tour featured a stop that explained how Jim Henson's Creature Shop developed the animatronics puppies for this film.

Connections

 * Mathew Broderick voiced Simba in Circle of Life: An Environmental Tale at Epcot
 * Chevy Chase starred in The Monster Sounds Show, a former attraction at the Disney MGM Studios.
 * Walter Cronkite was a host of The Magic of Animation film at the Disney MGM Studios
 * Anthony Daniels portrayed C-3PO in Star Tours film and ride at Disney MGM Studios
 * Dave Goelz plays the voice of Figment in the Journey Into Imagination with Figment ride in EPCOT.
 * Charles Grodin voiced the Left Brain in the Cranium Command audio-animatronic show in the Magic Kingdom (1989-2007)
 * Jeremy Irons narrated Spaceship Earth at Epcot (1994 - 2007)
 * Nathan Lane voiced Timon in Circle of Life: An Environmental Tale film at Epcot
 * Jon Lovitz voiced the Right Brain in Cranium Command
 * Rick Moranis played Wayne Szalinski in the "Honey, I Shrunk the Audience" 3-D film at EPCOT.
 * Paul Reubens voiced RX-24 in the Star Tours ride/ film at Disney-MGM Studios
 * Don Rickles voiced William in The Enchanted Tiki Room (Under New Management) in the Magic Kingdom
 * Martin Short starred in The Monster Sounds Show at the Disney MGM Studios
 * George Wendt played the Stomach in Cranium Command
 * Robin Williams was one of the hosts of The Magic of Animation film at the Disney MGM Studios