Is Disney Wrong to Close Muppet*Vision 3D? Lessons in Brand Evolution

It’s not easy being green… or closing a beloved attraction. Is Disney’s decision a hit or a miss? —Wocka Wocka! In this episode, Makaila breaks down Disney's decision to close the beloved Muppet*Vision 3D attraction at Hollywood Studios. What does this mean for Muppets fans, and is Disney making a branding mistake they might regret? We explore how businesses, big or small, can learn from this bold move.

💡 What you’ll learn:

- Why the Muppets' closure is sparking debate among Disney fans.
- The importance of knowing your audience before making big changes.
- Key lessons for small businesses on brand evolution and customer loyalty.

Sutherland Weston Marketing Communications, Maine's Premier Marketing and Public Relations Company, presents The Briefcase—quick, insightful conversations delivering actionable tips for business & marketing success.

Got questions for our team? Connect with us at SutherlandWeston.com!

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
I have always loved the Muppets,and now they're closing the Muppet

(00:04):
section of Hollywood Studios, andI'm not in a good way about it.
This is the briefcase from SutherlandWeston Marketing Communications.
Quick conversations from everydayobservations, delivering practical
marketing ideas you can carry with you.
I'm Mikayla Hickey, and I'mthe digital content strategist

(00:24):
here at Sutherland Weston.
How many times have you been to Disney?
I. A lot.
It's one of your favorite places on earth.
It really is.
And one of your favoriteattractions is soon changing.
I wouldn't say it's my favoriteattraction, but I did the Disney
College program when I was incollege, and fun fact, I was on the
opening team of the Regal Eagle atthe American Adventure in Epcot.

(00:47):
Yeah, it's like the highlight of my life.
You told me that the Muppets featureat Disney is going away, or is it gone?
It's going away.
So that ties back tothe Regal Eagle, right?
Like the Regal Eagle is aMuppets themed restaurant.
Epcot.
So I have always loved the Muppets,and now they're closing the Muppet
section of Hollywood Studios.

(01:08):
What?
And I'm not in a good way about it.
What are they doing with it?
They are putting a Monsters Inc.sort of area in that section.
Everybody knows the Muppets.
Not everybody knows Monsters Inc. And Ilove Monsters Inc. Don't get me wrong.
I love Pixar.
I love Disney.
Is Disney making a mistakethey're gonna regret?

(01:29):
Disney is making a mistake.
I was watching the Disney Christmas movie.
It's one of the ones wherethey're trying to save their
theater from being shut down.
Yeah.
One of the many ones wherethey're trying to save their
theater from being shut down.
Mm-hmm.
Which is so ironic becausethat's exactly what's happening.
Disney World sitting down there, worldis shutting down their theater, shutting
down Muppet Vision 3D and is shuttingdown the surrounding restaurants.

(01:53):
And like that land,it's art imitating life.
It really is.
And like, don't even get me startedon the whole, it was Jim Henson's last
project, but they're replacing it with adifferent ip, so intellectual property.
So they're replacing it with Monsterinc that really doesn't have the
same timeless appeal as the Muppets.
My hunch is that Disneydoesn't do anything unless

(02:14):
it tests it with audiences.
Do you think they tested this?
No.
I'm shocked at the, I'm shockedat your fast answer to that.
Really?
Yeah.
If we look at what they're doingin the Magic Kingdom, they're
getting rid of Tom Sawyer's Islandand replacing it with Cars land.
You can't say that because itworked in Disneyland, that it's

(02:35):
gonna work in Magic Kingdom.
You can't just get rid of all of thatbeautiful water and the bow and Tom
Sawyer Island and just replace it with.
A parking lot.
You can't, that's not a one-to-one test.
That's apples to oranges.
And what is the parallel foranyone who runs a business in
Maine or a small business beforeyou make a big change like this?

(02:56):
What should you do?
I think that brings upa good point because.
So many times we have worked withbusinesses or people from outside of
Maine and they try to, I don't wannasay push an agenda on the people of
Maine, but Mainers are so different.

(03:16):
And if you go onto our website,we have the mindsets of Maine.
You can see there howdifferent we really are.
And you really need to be thoughtfulabout when you're marketing.
To Mainers.
If you're gonna be making a big change,like putting a parking lot in the middle
of your beloved theme park, you better bedoing some testing and you better talk to

(03:40):
some people that know the landscape andyou should talk to some people like us.
You have been listening tothe Briefcase from Sutherland
Weston Marketing Communications.
Got a question for theSutherland Weston team.
Email us at sutherlandweston com.