The Muppets Are Taking Over Hollywood Studios, One Poster at a Time

Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets Dresses Up Its Queue

The transformation of Rock 'n' Roller Coaster at Disney's Hollywood Studios has been one of the most closely watched projects at Walt Disney World, and this week the overlay finally started showing its personality. BlogMickey reports that new Electric Mayhem posters have been installed throughout the queue, joining nine previously revealed designs with additional artwork now visible beyond the rolling planters that still block the entrance. The posters are bold, colorful, and unmistakably Muppet, giving the first real sense of what the queue experience will feel like when the attraction opens.

The timeline is tightening fast. According to BlogMickey, Cast Member previews begin May 16, with Annual Passholder preview dates set for May 21, 22, and 23 using a virtual queue with distribution windows at 7:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m., and 3:00 p.m. DVC Members receive what Disney is calling "Priority Access" on May 24. For anyone who has been refreshing their feed waiting for a soft opening window, the next two weeks are the ones to watch.

Meanwhile, WDW News Today reports that the theming extends beyond the queue. Muppets branding has been added to the attraction entrance itself, along with a new upside-down car license plate, a playful detail that suggests Imagineering is threading humor into every surface of this project. The original Rock 'n' Roller Coaster was always about spectacle and speed. The Muppets version seems determined to add personality at every turn, literally and figuratively. For a franchise that has struggled to find its permanent home in the parks since the closure of Muppet*Vision 3D's cultural moment, this attraction feels like a genuine commitment. It is a headliner coaster carrying the Muppets name rather than a meet-and-greet addition or a seasonal overlay. That matters.

The Parks

If Hollywood Studios is getting the headline attraction, Disney Springs is getting the infrastructure for a full summer season. The Disney Parks Blog laid out the full slate this week, and the two biggest additions are Level99 and Six Ravens, both opening this summer.

Level99, according to Disney Parks Blog, will be the company's fourth and largest venue to date, featuring more than 60 life-sized mini-games, 63 Challenge Rooms, Player-vs-Player Duels, and over 40 original works of art. The description leans hard into physical and mental challenges, such as dodging axes, cracking puzzles, and outsmarting cleverly designed rooms. A two-story bar anchors the space with Detroit-style pizza, wagyu burgers, and handcrafted cocktails. The location sits next to the Drawn to Life theater at Disney Springs West Side. For a district that has historically leaned toward shopping and dining, Level99 represents a genuine shift toward experiential entertainment. Disney Tourist Blog also confirmed the summer opening for Six Ravens, the savory spinoff from Gideon's Bakehouse.

Six Ravens, as detailed by Disney Parks Blog, specializes in grab-and-go hand pies called Coffyns, house-made yeast rolls stuffed with savory fillings inspired by Medieval European pastry cases. Pair them with smashed potatoes and dips like sweet heat and homemade honey mustard, alongside local beers crafted in partnership with Orlando favorites like Sideward Brewing and The Ravenous Pig. Disney Parks Blog notes that Cool Kids' Summer officially kicks off May 26, and the AdventHealth Waterside Stage will host DescenDANCE Party x Camp Rock Jam nights celebrating upcoming Disney+ original movies, including Descendants: Wicked Wonderland and Camp Rock 3.

Across at EPCOT, the Flower and Garden Festival continues drawing guests, but the more interesting story this week is at the Japan Pavilion. Disney Food Blog reviews the Yuzu Pineapple Punch at Garden House, a $14 cocktail created for Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. The verdict: strong yuzu citrus up front, subtle pineapple that builds, and solid value by EPCOT drinking-around-the-world standards. The drink is assumed to be available only through the end of May, so the window is narrow.

Over at Magic Kingdom, Thursday delivered one of those days that tests a guest's patience. Lightning Brain's Daily Park Report documents a mechanical marathon: Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, freshly reopened, went down at 9:02 a.m. and stayed offline until 2:37 p.m., consuming the entire peak touring window. Tiana's Bayou Adventure followed three minutes later and was out for nearly three hours. Enchanted Tales with Belle, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (twice), Space Mountain, Haunted Mansion, and Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover all experienced significant downtime throughout the day. Lightning Brain rated Magic Kingdom a 4/10 (Moderate) for the day, with a park-wide median wait of 14.6 minutes, well below the 30-day average of 20 minutes. That low number tells its own story: the crowd volume was genuinely light, and guests either adapted, shifted parks, or spent the day hitting refresh on My Disney Experience. EPCOT came in at 5/10 (Average), the busiest park on Thursday by relative terms, with a 19-minute median against its 30-day baseline of 20 minutes. Clear skies and a high of 95.6 degrees made it one of the hotter May days on record for the resort.

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The labor story at EPCOT also continued to develop. MickeyBlog reports that Patina Restaurant Group employees, who staff Space 220, Tutto Italia Ristorante, Via Napoli Ristorante e Pizzeria, and Tutto Gusto, have unanimously voted to call on Disney not to award Patina any additional business. The core of the dispute is a wage gap: Patina worker Jennifer Quinonez told MickeyBlog that a Patina cook earns over $2 an hour less than a Disney cook doing the same job, a gap that widens to $3.47 in October and adds up to $7,217 less per year. "We are tired of working second-class jobs," Quinonez said. "We serve the same guests as Disney employees." The union is now specifically asking Disney to consider other operators if restaurants at Hollywood Studios or Disney's Animal Kingdom reopen. Many Walt Disney World guests may not realize that not all Cast Members work directly for Disney. Patina Restaurant Group is a branch of Delaware North, and this dispute highlights the sometimes invisible seams in the guest experience.

At Disneyland Paris, the Rainforest Cafe at Disney Village is reportedly scheduled to close permanently on September 15, 2026. According to @DLPRescueRanger, the announcement was made recently to restaurant staff, though there has been no official confirmation from Disney. The closure, if confirmed, fits within the broader modernization of Disney Village, which has already seen the addition of Brasserie Rosalie, a redesigned Sports Bar and Lounge, a new McDonald's described as the largest in France, and the upcoming Casa Giulia Italian restaurant. Employees have allegedly been told they will be relocated to Casa Giulia if it opens by year's end. For longtime fans of the district's eccentric 1990s personality, the changes continue to reshape a familiar landscape.

Also at Disneyland Paris, Disney Experiences published a detailed look at how Cast Members were trained to open World of Frozen. The piece describes a 15-month recruitment effort that included internal mobility, targeted recruitment, and a European casting tour to welcome more than 1,200 Cast Members into new roles. Of those, 350 were selected as Arendelle "villagers," each receiving what became known as a "letter from the village," an invitation styled as a royal summons from Fredrik, emissary of Queens Anna and Elsa. Cast Member Dorine Hermier described being chosen for the opening guest flow team as a "heart-stopping surprise." The detail here is striking. Three weeks after the March 29 opening, the preparation is already paying dividends in how the land feels to guests.

The Screen

The Walt Disney Company confirmed this week that the fifth and final season of FX's The Bear premieres June 25 at 9 p.m. ET on FX and Hulu, with all eight episodes available to stream at debut. Internationally, the season arrives on Disney+. The announcement came alongside a surprise: "Gary," a flashback episode co-written by and starring Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Jon Bernthal, dropped without warning on Hulu and Disney+. The episode follows Richie and Mikey on a work trip to Gary, Indiana. Per the official synopsis, the final season picks up the morning after Sydney, Richie, and Natalie discover that Carmy has quit the food industry, leaving the restaurant to them. With no money and the threat of a sale looming, the new partners must band together for one last service, hoping to earn a Michelin star. The half-hour series also stars Lionel Boyce, Liza Colon-Zayas, and Matty Matheson, with Ricky Staffieri, Oliver Platt, Will Poulter, and Jamie Lee Curtis in recurring roles. The FX premiere will air the first two episodes, followed by one new episode airing weekly. For a show that has become one of FX's signature achievements, the surprise episode drop is a confident move, treating the audience like insiders rather than making them wait for a marketing cycle to unspool.

The Vault

D23 announced that Heroes and Villains: The Art of the Disney Costume opens May 23 at The Durham Museum in Omaha, Nebraska. The exhibition, curated by the Walt Disney Archives, showcases nearly 70 ensembles spanning nearly five decades of Disney film and television. Original film-worn costumes from Cinderella, Maleficent, Mary Poppins, Captain Jack Sparrow, and Aladdin are on display, alongside interviews with Emmy and Academy Award-winning costume designers and an exclusive video produced for the exhibition. Guests can also step into "Cinderella's Workshop" to see how the character has been interpreted across different television and movie iterations. The exhibition runs through the summer of 2026, with the museum open Mondays from Memorial Day through Labor Day and extended hours until 8 p.m. on Tuesdays. Related programming includes Sunday matinee screenings of Cinderella (2015), Beauty and the Beast (2017), National Treasure (2004), and Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003), plus a Behind the Seams event on June 4 that offers a look at how the exhibition was curated, including new additions from Cruella (2021) and Peter Pan and Wendy (2023). Costume design is one of those disciplines that sits at the intersection of storytelling and craftsmanship, and the Walt Disney Archives has consistently done excellent work making it accessible to audiences who might never set foot on a studio lot.

Sources

BlogMickey · WDW News Today · Disney Parks Blog · Disney Tourist Blog · Disney Food Blog · Lightning Brain · MickeyBlog · Disney Experiences · D23 · The Walt Disney Company · Inside the Magic