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What the Fort?

I've never heard of this.

I went looking for an official announcement from Disney about it, and can't find anything.

Here's what Wikipedia has to say about it:

Muppet Mobile Lab is a free-roving, audio-animatronic entertainment attraction designed by Walt Disney Imagineering, that has been tested at Disney California Adventure Park in Anaheim, California, at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida and at Hong Kong Disneyland in Hong Kong.[1]

Implemented on a Segway platform, the Muppet Mobile Lab is a two-wheeled science-lab vehicle that resembles a small rocket ship. Two Muppet characters, Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and his assistant, Beaker, pilot the vehicle through the park, interacting with guests and deploying special effects such as foggers, flashing lights, moving signs, confetti cannons and spray jets.[2]

The two animatronics characters and the special effects aboard the vehicle are controlled remotely by puppeteers, thanks to an advanced control system that allows the controllers to be located up to several miles away from the show location. On-board cameras, microphones and speakers allow the puppeteers to see and hear guests and interact with them.[1] Muppeteers Dave Goelz and Steve Whitmire assisted in the development of the project.[3]

The project began as a continuation of Disney's "Living Character Initiative," a program that has generated other interactive shows at Disney theme parks including Lucky the Dinosaur, Turtle Talk with Crush, Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor, and Stitch Encounter.

In 2009, the attraction was honored with the Thea Award for Outstanding Achievement (Technical) from the Themed Entertainment Association.[4]

In October 2016, the Muppet Mobile Lab returned to Epcot.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muppet_Mobile_Lab

I am intrigued about the statement that the puppeteers can be several miles away from the show location.  I want to see this and scan the crowd for a mysterious tourist with his hand stuffed in a bag, like they used to do for PUSH and R2D2.

TCD

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Oh I meant to say I saw the full video on YouTube. There are 2 CM's with it but they just seem to be there to keep people from getting too close. It does interact with the audience. I did watch the whole 12 min video and it wasn't all that interesting to me, but I'm not a huge muppet fan, so mY opinion may not be valid. 

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  • 11 months later...

Well, it took us nearly a year, but the TCD Gang was finally able to stumble upon the Muppet Mobile Lab yesterday at Epcot.

When they asked for a volunteer from the audience, Twin #1's hand shot up (like it always does), and she was selected to be interviewed for a job as Professor Honeydew's Lab Assistant.  I am proud to say that she was hired (but then was promptly fired when Beaker complained).

MML.2_zpswvlmjv2q.jpg

MML_zps8kxedtth.jpg

The show was a lot better than I expected, and I scanned the surroundings very carefully to look for any suspicious person who might be controlling the animatronics and dialog.  I couldn't spot anyone.  But, this thing interacted with Twin #1, and asked her questions and responded to her answers.  I think the operator is hiding out behind one of the dark tinted windows on the back of Spaceship Earth. 

TCD

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We caught this a couple of times on our last trip and it is seriously good.  We haven't been able to spot the controller either  but the interaction with the crowd are excellent and no sense of "delay".

Since I am always the "faithful assistant" for all my hubby's projects I love Beaker!!

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