Regal Eagle Smokehouse
Barbecue Quick Service Restaurant
EPCOT, Walt Disney World Resort
© Disney / © The Muppets
How do you make an existing brand feel at home in a completely new environment?
PROJECT OVERVIEW
Regal Eagle Smokehouse brought the Muppets into a new guest experience at EPCOT, transforming a dining location into a distinctly American barbecue restaurant with a playful Muppet point of view.
The project called for more than simply introducing a new restaurant concept. It required creating a believable environment for the Muppets—one that felt rooted in American road-trip and backyard-barbecue traditions while remaining unmistakably connected to the characters guests know and love.
The result was a fully themed dining experience where food, storytelling, design, graphics, and character come together to create a uniquely Muppet take on Americana.
DESIGN CHALLENGE
The Muppets have an unmistakable personality and visual language. The challenge was translating that identity into a restaurant environment without losing the authenticity of either the characters or the setting.
Regal Eagle needed to feel like a believable American barbecue destination while also answering a distinctly Muppet question:
What would the Muppets do with Americana?
That idea became the foundation for the experience.
The storytelling needed to work across multiple touchpoints:
IDENTITY
What makes this restaurant feel uniquely Muppet?
CHARACTER
How do individual personalities influence the environment?
GRAPHICS & SIGNAGE
How can visual details communicate humor and story?
ENVIRONMENT
How can the space feel like a believable place within the Muppet world?
GUEST EXPERIENCE
How can guests discover the story while dining rather than simply being told about it?
The goal wasn’t to decorate a restaurant with Muppet references.
It was to create a world where the Muppets belonged.
MY ROLE
DESIGNING FROM THE PLAN
Regal Eagle Smokehouse was a refurbishment of an existing building within the American Adventure pavilion, so the creative approach had to work within an established architectural footprint rather than a new-build environment.
I used CAD drawings, floor plans, and existing-space documentation to understand the building and make creative decisions within its constraints. I considered how the new restaurant story could work within the existing layout, including guest circulation, dining areas, service spaces, sightlines, and opportunities for environmental storytelling.
The existing architecture became part of the creative equation. Rather than treating the building as a blank canvas, I looked at what was already there and considered how the new Regal Eagle identity and story could be integrated into the space while remaining appropriate to the American Adventure pavilion.
I collaborated with design and technical teams to connect the story, guest experience, environmental elements, and physical space as part of the refurbishment.
The goal was to make the new concept feel intentional and cohesive while respecting the architecture and context that were already in place.
CREATING THE STORY & GUEST EXPERIENCEÂ
I led the story development for Regal Eagle Smokehouse in partnership with The Muppets, helping shape the restaurant’s narrative, character-driven personality, and guest experience.
The story centered on Sam Eagle’s take on the classic American barbecue joint, using The Muppets’ humor and personalities to give the restaurant a distinct point of view while keeping it grounded in the American Adventure pavilion.
I translated that story into the guest experience, including creating themed Cast Member greetings that brought the restaurant’s characters and personality into direct guest interactions.
I also developed guest-facing storytelling and messaging that extended the narrative throughout the restaurant and helped make the experience feel cohesive from arrival through dining.
Working closely with creative, design, and Muppets teams, I helped connect character, story, place, and guest experience into a cohesive restaurant concept that felt authentically Muppets while remaining appropriate to the American Adventure pavilion.
RESULT
Regal Eagle Smokehouse became a fully realized Muppet interpretation of an American barbecue restaurant—bringing together character, humor, Americana, food, and environmental storytelling.
The Muppets became part of the identity of the space, while the restaurant itself established a believable setting for their world.
From the overall visual identity to the smaller guest-facing details, the environment gives guests opportunities to discover the characters and their personalities throughout the experience.
The result is a dining destination that doesn’t simply feature the Muppets.
It feels like a place the Muppets could have created themselves.
For me, Regal Eagle showcases the power of IP-driven environmental storytelling: taking an established character universe and translating its personality into a physical place that feels cohesive, authentic, and memorable.
The characters provide the personality.
The environment provides the world.
The details tell the story.