Vulture writer Rebecca Alter is calling for Muppet*Vision 3D at Disney’s Hollywood Studios to be classified as a heritage site of cultural significance on the National Register of Historic Places.

Muppet*Vision 3D

In her editorial “Muppet*Vision 3D Should Be a National Heritage Site,” Alter describes the show as a “really delightful attraction” that “encapsulates what makes the Muppets, and theme parks, so special.” She goes on to explain that the attraction is worth preserving because it was Jim Henson’s final project before his death in 1990, as well as one of his final performances as Kermit, the Swedish Chef, and Waldorf.

“It’s already accepted practice for landmarks related to great artists and writers to be registered as official historic places,” Alter writes, “from Walden Pond to the Florida Keys’ Hemingway House to James Baldwin’s Upper West Side apartment building to, naturally, Walt Disney’s childhood home and the small garage that he used as his first makeshift animation studio.”

She states Henson is “one of the most culturally significant creators of the 20th century” and is “as worthy of a landmark as any of our great auteurs.”

Alter addresses the question, “Can a theme park attraction even be a Historical Place?” She cites several fairgrounds, almost 50 carousels, five roller coasters, various rides, Rye Playland, and Kennywood as historic attractions already in the National Register of Historic Places.

I’d argue that the special ways a nation gets its jollies throughout history do more to define its unique character than, say, its battlegrounds and war monuments. Rides and themed amusements, though, are more likely to be treated as transient, disposable, unimportant, and not marked for posterity. It’s built into the terminology: They’re “sideshows,” “diversions,” and “pastimes.” These places need this kind of designation to be legitimized and preserved in the annals of history lest they be torn down like a common circus tent!

Alter adds that Muppet*Vision 3D needs to be classified as a site of cultural significance to ensure Disney preserves the attraction. “The reason why I thought of this campaign in the first place,” she writes, “is that I do not trust The Walt Disney Company as far as I can throw it. The only way to ensure that this precious gem of a theatrical experience is protected is straight-up government intervention.”

She pans the new Country Bear Musical Jamboree as “asinine little-kid shit,” using it as an example of what could happen to Muppet*Vision 3D. She also cites the Great Movie Ride being replaced with Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway.

“What happens when Disney decides that Muppet*Vision 3D is also too old and strange for iPad kids?” Alter asks. “Will they just bulldoze Henson’s last great project, or will they rightfully treat him the way they do Walt?”

She adds, “The only thing that would ensure we protect this living palace of Muppet entertainment from a similar fate would be to register it as a government-recognized site of historical value.”

Alter also notes that because of the unique nature of Muppet*Vision 3D, it couldn’t just be preserved as a movie on Disney+. It has effects and interactions built into its theater that could not be recreated elsewhere.

Regarding the actual process to get the attraction registered, Alter acknowledges that most of the time, a location is at least 50 years old before being registered and Muppet*Vision 3D is only 33.

“I do think Henson’s contributions to 20th-century education and entertainment qualify this property, which fuses his art and his legacy, as being worthy of exceptional status,” she writes. “A case could even be made that this nomination would bring the National Register of Historic Places positive press and public interest, since it would be such a high-profile and widely appealing entrant (versus yet another old church or schoolhouse).”

The bigger challenge, Alter says, would be convincing Disney. The owners of a property don’t have to be the group that nominates it for registration but they do have veto power. Here is Alter’s plan for convincing Disney that Muppet*Vision 3D should be registered as a historical place:

• “Point out how this helps its “legacy” branding: Disney is a legacy media brand and loves to play into that. For example: its sepia-toned 100th-anniversary production logo of Steamboat Willie and the “Partners” statue in a number of its parks showing Walt and Mickey holding hands. As long as it can coast on legacy, or at least point back to it, it has some wiggle room to do things that are less creatively ambitious and more nakedly cynical in the present. The Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco is another site where Disney reinforces its cultural legacy, despite not owning or operating it. It’s an example — like the National Register — of how an outside organization can symbiotically serve Disney’s reputation and brand identity.”
• “Appeal to its hunger for prestige: Disney has long chased prestige in nearly every sector in which it operates, from the lofty classical aspirations of ‘Fantasia,’ to its courting of Julie Taymor in their theatrical division, to its numerous Oscar nominations over the years. This extends to its Parks and Resorts division, where, under Michael Eisner, it sought out acclaimed architects with distinct aesthetics to design its properties. To have an attraction recognized by the National Register of Historic Places would be to give one of its theme parks a true imprimatur of cultural significance in a sort of high-falutin’, self-flattering way.”
• “Convince Disney it’s a cheap park improvement: Disney’s Hollywood Studios park is in a bit of a tough position at the moment. Crowd dispersal is a huge issue, with new attractions like Toy Story Land and Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway not adequately eating up massive influxes of crowds, particularly when the malfunction-prone [Star Wars:] Rise of the Resistance is down. The Star Wars area, [Star Wars:] Galaxy’s Edge, is not fleshed out as lavishly as was planned, because so much of it was kept behind the [Star Wars:] Galactic Starcruiser paywall, which is now closed. The media cycle surrounding the registry of one of the park’s least-busy attractions as a site of National Historic significance would be an extremely cheap and cost-effective way for Disney to give the park a boost: Host an unveiling ceremony for the plaque; perhaps air a live ABC special surrounding it; launch new, nostalgic, ’90s-tinged merch to tie into it; and maybe introduce a “streetmosphere” Muppets show in the courtyard to eat up crowds. All for millions less than it would take to actually build a new attraction or overhaul an existing one.“

What do you think of Alter’s suggestion? Let us know in the comments.

If you need a Muppet*Vision 3D refresher, watch our video of the show below from when new projection mapping effects were added.

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