Unbuilt Muppets Restaurant Concepts: The Swamp & Buzz Price's Reservations

Unbuilt Disney Concepts and Epcot's Festival of the Arts

• 💡 The show discusses unbuilt Disney concepts, including a Muppet-themed restaurant, with details from Buzz Price's archives.
• 🎨 Epcot is launching a new Festival of the Arts, an innovation festival that will feature visual and performing arts, with potential culinary elements.
• 🚀 Bob Iger has announced a major transformation for Epcot, aiming for significant new attractions by Disney World's 50th anniversary in 2021, though skepticism is expressed about the timeline.

Rivers of Light and Avatar Land Delays

• 💧 The Rivers of Light show has been repeatedly delayed, with a current planned debut in Summer 2017, coinciding with the opening of Avatar Land.
• 🏞️ Avatar Land is expected to feature advanced animatronics, including a 10-ft tall shaman figure, and a bioluminescent forest.
• ⚠️ Concerns are raised about potential cost-cutting measures, similar to Frozen Ever After, leading to unthemed areas.

Magic Kingdom's Private Cabanas and Revenue Streams

• ⛺ Magic Kingdom is testing private cabanas in Tomorrowland, offering a family-sized tent for $650 per day, with potential for fireworks views and food delivery.
• 💰 The test aims to gauge willingness to pay for premium experiences, with projections of significant annual revenue.
• 😠 Critiques include the cabanas' aesthetic not matching Tomorrowland's theme and the perception of a class distinction.

Concept 1: Kermit's Swamp-Themed Restaurant

• 🐸 A 1997 concept for a Kermit-themed restaurant called "The Swamp" was proposed, with potential names like "Lily Pad Cafe" and "Kermit's Bayou Beastro."
• 🌳 Interior art direction included options like a Mississippi delta shack, an old mill with log furniture, or a treehouse overlooking the dining room.
• 🛶 Exterior concepts featured a circular pond with a swampy island and fan boats, or a river approach with rat-captained crawfishing boats.
• ⚠️ Buzz Price's handwritten notes express strong reservations, notably "no rats in a restaurant," though he found the crawfish specialty idea brilliant.

Interactive Elements and Buzz Price's Objections

• 🐠 The restaurant would feature interactive elements like seafood tanks with talking Muppet fish, singing animatronic crocodiles, and fiber optic fireflies.
• 🛶 Rat-themed river boats and a kitchen shack with video monitors showing Muppets cooking were also proposed.
• 🍳 A "big weenie" attraction involved a steaming gumbo cooker that explodes into a fountain show, with Muppet crocodiles and rat boats.
• 🚫 Buzz Price's notes show a simple "no" next to the concept of Muppets planning an escape on "surveillance video cameras."

The Fate of the Muppet Restaurant Concept

• 🐭 The proposed Muppet restaurant at the Fireworks Factory was ultimately not built, with Disney opting to lease the space to a third party.
• 🎬 The decision was influenced by the financial performance of recent Muppet movies and a desire to avoid investing company funds.
• 📺 Disney acquired The Muppets in 2004, driven partly by the success of Henson-produced shows like "Bear in the Big Blue House."