A lot of people who are fans of both Walt Disney World and the Muppets have been in a funk ever since Muppet*Vision 3D closed at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. However, when fate closes a door on the Muppet Theater, it opens a window that Gonzo will probably try and jump through. A new Muppet attraction is already on the way in the form of Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets.
The current version of the attraction, which stars rock band Aerosmith, had been rumored for an update for years. A few months back, it was announced that the ride would close early next year for a Muppet makeover. Disney World recently dropped some new details on the upcoming Disney World attraction, and as an old-school Muppet fan who has wanted to see the Muppets take over the Rock 'N'Roller Coaster for years, I love it.
Scooter’s Uncle Owns G-Force Records In The Rock ‘N’ Roller Coaster
By and large, the setup for The Rock ‘N’ Roller Coaster isn’t changing just because the musical act at the center is. The storyline will still see guests visiting G-Force Records, where they find a major musical act is there, but late for a gig. The only difference is that now the band in question is The Electric Mayhem instead of Aerosmith, and instead of character actors like Ken Marino and Illiana Douglas, we’ll have Muppets, including penguin engineers and Scooter.
However, my favorite new addition to the story is that we now know what the G in G-Force Records stands for. The reason the Muppets are now running the record label is that it is owned by J.P. Grosse, the same man who owned the Muppet Theater during the days of the original Muppet Show, and who is also canonically Scooter’s uncle.
Scooter Was The Original Muppet Nepo Baby
Back during The Muppet Show, it was established that Kermit was basically forced to give Scooter a job because his uncle owned the theater where the show took place. Scooter would sometimes passively-aggressively threaten Kermit with his uncle’s wrath if Kermit didn’t do what his uncle wanted.
The uncle, J.P. Grosse, would make his first actual appearance during the second season of The Muppet Show, but his appearances were rare. To my knowledge, he hasn’t been an actual character on screen in decades.
It’s unclear if we’ll actually see the character as a functioning Muppet. I expect his portrait will be on a wall in the queue if nothing else, but I love that this absolute deep cut Muppet reference is becoming part of this story.
While I'm as sad as anybody that Muppet*Vision 3D is gone, I'm looking forward to what is to come. Although I have to ask, has J.P. Grosse always owned G-Force Records? Was he the boss when Aerosmith was there? Because if he was… that actually answers a lot of questions about that limousine.
