Hollywood Studios marks 35 years with 1989 cast, live Muppets
Disney’s Hollywood Studios celebrated its 35th anniversary with a ceremony attended by original cast members and in-person Muppets.
Disney’s Hollywood Studios at 35
Disney-MGM Studios opened May 1, 1989 at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. This week, the park now known as Disney’s Hollywood Studios commemorated 35 years of “the Hollywood that never was and always will be,” as former Disney CEO Michael Eisner described the park on opening day.
Disney hosted an anniversary ceremony open to the public May 1, 2024 in the Theater of the Stars, the venue of “Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage.”
Miss Piggy, Hollywood Studios Icon
In a surprise appearance, Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy kicked off the 35th anniversary ceremony. While the Muppet stars are no strangers to Hollywood Studios — their 3D show is one of the oldest attractions in the park, and the characters starred in a holiday show on this very stage during last year’s Disney Jollywood Nights — their presence at the 35th birthday was a special occasion. This was the “real” Kermit and Piggy. That is a very big deal.
Photo by Christian Theriot
Rather than appearing as limited-range puppets with restrictive movements and lip-syncing to a prerecorded track (as is typical for their regular theme park appearances), Kermit and Miss Piggy seemed to be their legitimate, screen-used puppet selves, with their dialogue performed live (assumedly). If this was indeed the case, then Kermit and Piggy were likely performed at Hollywood Studios by Matt Vogel and Eric Jacobson, respectively, the same puppeteers who portray the characters in every high-profile Muppet project.
During the ceremony, Miss Piggy was shocked to discover that the official icon of Hollywood Studios is the Hollywood Tower Hotel, home of The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. She had believed the park’s icon was the fountain of herself located outside of Muppet*Vision 3D (pictured below, back when other Muppets surrounded Miss Piggy; now she’s alone, as she probably prefers).
The Past, Present, and Future of Hollywood Studios
The 35th anniversary ceremony also included remarks from Jackie Swisher, vice president of Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Serena Arvizu, one of the Walt Disney World 2024-2025 ambassadors.
They noted some of the milestones in the park’s history, like the tenured run of The Great Movie Ride (met with a round of applause from the audience), and praised some of the park’s newer additions, like Toy Story Land and Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.
Photos courtesy of Disney
Photos by Blake Taylor
Hollywood Studios just debuted new scenes in Star Tours: The Adventures Continue featuring Din Djarin, Grogu, Ahsoka Tano, and Cassian Andor.
Images courtesy of Disney
“I can’t wait to see what this park has to offer for the next 35 years and beyond,” Swisher said.
While not specifically mentioned during the ceremony, “The Little Mermaid – A Musical Adventure” will open this fall as a reimagining of the former “Voyage of the Little Mermaid” live show. The production has been closed since the onset of the pandemic in 2020.
Image courtesy of Disney
Original 1989 Cast Members
“The future of Disney’s Hollywood Studios is bright, thanks to the stars of our show: our cast,” Swisher remarked.
Arvizu added, “Disney’s Hollywood Studios is what it is today because of the cast members that show up to make magic every single day.” She continued, “From leaders to Imagineers to front-line cast, these people shape the memories that we continue to make here.”
To that end, Arvizu recognized 32 cast members in the audience who have worked in the park since opening day 1989. These cast members represented a variety of departments, including operations, attractions, custodial, food and beverage, and more. Also present was Bob Weis, former president of Walt Disney Imagineering, who led the creation of Disney-MGM Studios in the ’80s.
Photo by Christian Theriot
These cast members joined Swisher, Arvizu, Kermit, and Piggy at the front of the theater as Disney characters, including Sorcerer Mickey Mouse, flooded the stage to the tune of the “Fantasmic!” theme song.
Photo by Christian Theriot
Miss Piggy’s Thoughts on PizzeRizzo
As Kermit and Miss Piggy headed offstage at the end of the ceremony, Piggy remarked that she had a lunch meeting with her manager.
“PizzeRizzo again,” Miss Piggy lamented with disdain.
“What’s the matter with PizzeRizzo, anyway?” Kermit inquired.
“Seriously?! They’re rats! In the kitchen!”
“Who else is gonna make the pizza?”
Video of Hollywood Studios 35th Birthday Ceremony
Watch the full video of the Hollywood Studios 35th anniversary ceremony on our Attractions Magazine YouTube channel:
More Live Muppets at Disney World
Vogel and Jacobson — along with fellow Muppet performer Dave Goelz — appeared at Disney World last fall during Destination D23 2023, a Disney fan convention. The livestream feed of this event concealed the performers from view, but we captured video in the room of the talented puppeteers at work. Take a peek behind the Muppet magic on the Attractions Magazine YouTube channel:
Back in 2014 during a one-night-only Disney villains event at Hollywood Studios, Vogel performed as Constantine — the world’s most dangerous frog and the bad guy from “Muppets Most Wanted” — for an extremely rare character greeting opportunity. This appearance marked one of the only times (if not the only time) a live Muppet has greeted guests in person at a Disney theme park.
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