Key Points
John Stamos, Darren Criss, and Yvette Nicole Brown exclusively tell Entertainment Weekly how they feel about being included as cameos in the new Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring the Muppets.
Stamos later crashed an Electric Mayhem band set to play the bongos with Dr. Teeth, Animal, and more.
“I’m over the moon. So grateful,” Stamos tells EW.
It’s a full house over at Disney World, where John Stamos comically crashed a Muppets performance to play the bongos alongside the Electric Mayhem band at an opening celebration for the resort’s new Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring the Muppets — and Entertainment Weekly exclusively caught up with the star for his reaction to the attraction.
The actor shocked attendees with a surprise appearance on stage Wednesday night on a large stage just outside the entrance for the revamped indoor roller coaster at Disney’s Hollywood Studios theme park. The ride was previously themed to American rock band Aerosmith when it opened in 1999.
On stage (in the video below) Stamos attempts to play the bongos with the Electric Mayhem band, which is comprised of Muppets characters Dr. Teeth, Floyd Pepper, Janice, Animal, Zoot, and Lips.
The surprise set included a bit that saw a character shame Stamos’ bongo abilities: “Stop that! Cease and desist! Mr. Stamos, kindly refrain from further bongo-ing at this time!”
Stamos’ involvement didn’t stop on stage at the event. Darren Criss and Yvette Nicole Brown were also on hand at the event, as the trio appear together (alongside other celebrities like Awkwafina, Neil Patrick Harris, Def Leppard, and more) in cameo scenes that play on screens throughout the roller coaster’s queue area.
“I’ve always loved this roller coaster,” Criss exclusively tells EW of filming his scene with Miss Piggy. “Seeing myself? A rockin’ roller coaster is a very appropriate way to explain how I feel. It’s a crazy roller coaster, and it’s rockin’.”
Stamos adds, “If you would’ve told me when I was a kid that I’d be part of a ride with the Muppets, and with Darren and Yvette, my two buddies, I just wouldn’t have believed it. I’m over the moon. So grateful.”
Brown, who’s worked with the Muppets before, tells EW she’s been a fan of the characters since before she rose to prominence as a star.
“We all grew up with them,” she says, calling the new attraction “insane” to experience. “This is my childhood, and getting to be part of something that’s going to live for decades at Walt Disney World, and we get to see it and enjoy it? It’s just amazing.”
The trio also celebrated the numerous Easter eggs inside the attraction’s queue, preshow, and ride experience. In addition to appearances by Miss Piggy, Kermit, Gonzo, Sam Eagle, and more Muppets characters, the attraction incorporates multiple references to the prior Aerosmith-themed version of the ride — including actors Ileana Douglas and Ken Marino reprising their roles as record label staff from the previous preshow video starring Aerosmith.
“My favorite part is the Ken Marino bit,” Criss says, referencing Marino’s small, non-speaking role in the original preshow, in which he played a sound technician working a board inside a recording studio.
“When I was a kid, I remember seeing Ken, going, is that Ken Marino? He became a big old star, and they’ve acknowledge that,” Criss adds, referencing a large portrait of Marino that now hangs inside the attraction’s queue, touting his character as a record label “legend” who went on to do great things.
Jim Henson’s tribute inside Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring the Muppets at Disney World
Credit: Joey Nolfi
But as Stamos points out, “the best thing here” is a tribute to Muppets creator Jim Henson, who died in 1990 shortly before the grand opening of MuppetVision 3D, a prior Disney World attraction that was one of the final projects he worked on before his death.
In the exit area, riders will find a portrait of a Muppet version of Henson hanging on the wall, watching over the experience.
Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our EW Dispatch newsletter.
“Honoring the legacy of The Muppets was really important to us when creating this attraction,” a representative for Walt Disney Imagineering previously told EW of the history preceding the attraction. “None of this would be possible without Jim Henson, and when you visit the attraction, you may just find a tribute to him hanging around — in Muppet form, of course!”
Watch EW’s footage of Stamos, Brown, and Criss at Disney World’s Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring the Muppets event in the videos above.
Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yahoo.com ’
