I began mourning Muppet*Vision 3D at Walt Disney World’s Hollywood Studios before the Mouse House even announced its closure. The attraction appeared a likely candidate for the chopping block when Disney shared plans for some major new additions. And that’s ultimately what happened. I at least got to say goodbye to one of my favorite shows in the best way possible. Unlike other lost great theme park attractions, though, my fellow fans and I will soon get a new way to enjoy an experience we never wanted to lose. Muppet*Vision 3D is coming back via virtual reality. And it will let us watch from in any “seat” we want.
The Daily Dot reports Muppet*Vision 3D is coming to the Apple Vision Pro and other VR headsets. The virtual reality rendition of the show, which Disney filmed ahead of its shuttering, will (almost) recreate the real thing. The show was actually a 4D experience, as it involved not only animatronics but a live action performer and bubbles. While we’d still like to see it return in a new recreated Muppet Theater someday, as Brian Henson recently said during a Q&A, this version is “better than it not coming to VR.”
According to Henson, the virtual reality show will also let users “sit” anywhere they want while watching. That will matter when we turn our heads around to look behind us. (As the kids say, IYKYK.)
This is a way for fans of Muppet*Vision 3D, which ran for 35 years at Hollywood Studios (it also ran at Disneyland from 1991 to 2013) to still get to see the show. But maybe even more importantly it’s also a great way to keep a piece of history alive. The show is the last Muppets project Jim Henson worked on.
That alone should have been enough to keep it a part of actual reality, but a virtual lifeline truly is better than none.