Aerosmith Retire from Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster at Disney World

After over 25 years of playing to full houses (limos?) at Walt Disney World, legendary rockers Steven Tyler and Aerosmith have retired from Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith, which is permanently closed as of March 2, 2026 to make way for the Muppets. Here’s the latest, including how strategy changes in the coming months.

Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith opened back on July 29, 1999 at what was then known as the Disney-MGM Studios as an expansion to Sunset Boulevard. Walt Disney World had never done a roller coaster with a high-speed launch and multiple complete inversions, unexpected twists, turns, and high speed revolutions in the dark.

Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster was unprecedented. The thrill ride started out with a tour of G-Force Records, the music studio where Aerosmith is holding a recording session. When the band heads out to a show, they invite you to travel to the show in a super-stretch limo that speeds from 0-57 mph in just 2.8 seconds. The attraction was the first coaster at Walt Disney World Resort to feature multiple inversions.

Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster felt like the first time that Disney was aiming for Universal’s audience. Although subjective, I’d say that Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster is still the most intense thrill ride at Walt Disney World to this day. Not even Cosmic Rewind or TRON Lightcycle Run surpass it, although the latter does come close.

The opening act was quickly followed up with California Screamin’ at DCA and a second Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith in the Walt Disney Studios Park at Disneyland Paris. Interestingly, both of those rides have been reimagined in the last several years, so the OG RnRC outlasted the rides that followed it.

Here are some other fun facts about Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith:

• The attraction’s grand opening on July 29, 1999 featured a dedication ceremony with Aerosmith.
• The giant electric guitar that serves as the attraction’s icon measures 40 feet tall.
• There are more than 900 speakers throughout the attraction.
• Each limo is equipped with an audio system consisting of 125 speakers, 24 subwoofers and more than 32k watts of audio amplifier output power and each car broadcasts different Aerosmith songs. Each guest is surrounded by five speakers: four around the head and one subwoofer under the seat.
• The attraction’s track measures 3,403 feet.
• Elements of the attraction were manufactured in the Netherlands and Germany.
• Aerosmith band members Steven Tyler and Joe Perry took part in re-recordings for the attraction. The entire band appears in the attraction’s pre-show film.
• In 2016, the pre-show was digitally edited to remove a hand gesture from Steven Tyler that was interpreted as obscene, following guest complaints.
• Tyler took to social media and said the following (jokingly) on Facebook: “WAY TO GIVE ME THE FINGER NOW WALT DISNEY WORLD…17 YEARS LATER.”
• Tyler visited Walt Disney World shortly thereafter.
• The band’s manager who appeared in the preshow was played by actress Illeana Douglas.
• Actor Ken Marino played the role of the sound technician in the original pre-show…and later went on to (accidentally) spread a (false) rumor that Queen was replacing Aerosmith.
• The DJ who was “broadcasting live” from the Aerosmith concert is classic rock DJ Uncle Joe Benson.
• The look of the super-stretch limo was influenced by the 1962-era Cadillac.
• Each super-stretch limo can fit 24 passengers.
• Each vehicle featured a different Aerosmith song or medley. Tracks were: “Nine Lives”; “Sweet Emotion”; a “Back in the Saddle”/”Dude Looks Like a Lady” medley; a “Love in an Elevator”/”Walk This Way” medley; and a “Young Lust”/”F.I.N.E.”/”Love in an Elevator” medley.
• Guests experience a g-force between 4-5 entering the first inversion on the track.
• The attraction went down for two lengthy refurbishments in 2023 and 2024 to extend its useful life and address recurring reliability issues.

Much of this will remain true for Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring the Muppets, which is a retheme or reimagining as opposed to an outright replacement ride. Meaning that the track, layout, ride vehicles, and other infrastructure are remaining the same. It’s the thematic window-dressing and music that’ll change.

In 2024, Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster celebrated its 25th Anniversary, and Aerosmith took to social media to celebrate the occasion.

In late January, Aerosmith bassist Tom Hamilton visited Disney’s Hollywood Studios for one last ride on Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith. “What a day at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, with my new band, @closeenemiesofficial, riding Aerosmith’s Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster one last time before it takes its final lap,” Hamilton wrote on Instagram.

“It’s been an absolute honor to share this ride with our fans for so many years. Huge thanks to the amazing cast members for the warmth, hospitality, and respect for what this moment means. Thanks for letting us all #RideThisWay.”

It’s unknown whether Steven Tyler or anyone else from Aerosmith took farewell trips. Tyler has been spotted at the Disney Parks several times over the years, but he’s also now 77 years old. It’s also possible that he and others might still say their goodbyes at a private Cast Member event.

On the last day of operations as Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith, the attraction consistently had a wait time approaching 2 hours. The overflow queue was used, and social media reports indicated that there was the typical tension as fans “fought” to be among the last to ride.

We were not present for the final weekend of Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith. I said my last goodbye to the real, full attraction, unknowingly at the time, back in November. Sarah said hers, I dunno, in 2020 or so?

That was my last proper ride before Walt Disney World Quietly Closed the Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith Pre-show. The pre-show was walled-off in late November so that Imagineering could get a headstart on reimagining the ride. In the months since, RnRC has not had a pre-show.

With that, the opening act of the attraction before the super stretch limo races through the streets of Los Angeles, ended. From my perspective, that marked the actual end of Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith. I had some bittersweet emotions that I didn’t even realize I was saying goodbye when I was.

The pre-show was the scene that featured Steven Tyler and Aerosmith band members offering backstage passes to guests, along with a ride across town, setting up the roller coaster to follow. That pre-show is what made RnRC an Aerosmith attraction, and an experience I couldn’t replicate in the future by wearing headphones on the ride.

The retirement of the Aerosmith pre-show meant that the most elaborate aspect of the reimagining has been underway since late November. So on the one hand, Aerosmith fans missed a proper goodbye; on the other, the Muppets makeover got more time to be done right.

As a bigger fan of the Muppets than Aerosmith, it was a tradeoff I’d happily take. That’s doubly so given that I believe Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith enjoyed a good, long run. It’s been due for a refresh for a while, and any fan who was paying attention knew the writing was on the wall several years ago. I may not have gotten a proper goodbye prior to the pre-show closing, but I’d been savoring my rides on it for the last couple of years.

Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith has already been removed from Disney’s Hollywood Studios park maps, replaced by a tease for Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring the Muppets. Walls are also up around the giant guitar, and rolling planters in front of the attraction entrance. (Possibly for a final Cast Member sendoff, although that’s not confirmed.) The courtyard remains open at least starting in mid-morning, however, so guests can access Villains Unfairly Ever After.

Walt Disney Imagineering can now begin on the Muppets takeover in earnest. Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring the Muppets will feature Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy and more of their friends. The Muppets will be moving right along to Sunset Boulevard, teaming up with some of music’s biggest stars for a rockin’ music festival.

At Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets, you bet we’ll have rock as we roll across Hollywood on a wild ride with the Electric Mayhem – complete with backstage chaos, high-speed thrills, signature Muppets music & humor, and all-new Audio-Animatronics figures.

Within the last couple of months, Walt Disney World has really started pulling the curtain back on Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets. We’ve learned about the courtyard, backstory, music, Audio Animatronics, and pre-show stage-setting scene.

If you missed any of this, see the first half of this post: Walt Disney World Reveals Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring the Muppets Opening Season. We’re going to forgo the lengthy recap here, but that covers everything we know so far about RnRC: Muppets Edition, complete with concept art.

Given the ride’s 25-year history, enduring popularity, and unprecedented nature, it should be wholly unsurprising that many Walt Disney World fans are mourning the retirement of Aerosmith from Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster.

The good news, as noted above, is that the attraction will not materially change for the most part. The roller coaster track and layout are going to remain unchanged inside the current gravity building. Aside from cosmetically, the ride vehicles are not changing. It’s also likely that the load area, launch, and unload will likely look somewhat similar when all is said and done.

Imagineering will likely create story contrivances that offer considerable overlap with Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith, allowing for a lot of what’s currently part of RnRC to remain unchanged. It’s also entirely possible that the current props in the ride-through don’t really change all that much, or are perhaps given a bit of “Muppetization.” The biggest changes will occur in the queue and pre-show, and as discussed above, work on the latter already started months ago.

You can expect operational impacts at Disney’s Hollywood Studios over the next few months due to the Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster reimagining. “Thanks” to the multi-month closures in 2023 and 2024, we already know what these look like.

Expect the park’s other headliners to see slight bumps as they pick up the slack, with the biggest (unsurprisingly) being to Tower of Terror. It’s also disappointing for guests who always visit during spring break, as this will now be the third closure in 4 years during approximately the same timeframe.

The biggest strategic change from our perspective is that we no longer recommend Sunset Boulevard for regular rope drop. We’ve previously recommended starting in Toy Story Land or Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge during Early Entry and then criss-crossing the park to knock out RnRC and Tower of Terror at official park opening.

The more obvious approach will now be going from one of those lands during Early Entry to secondary attractions in the other (e.g. Smugglers Run, Toy Story Mania or Alien Swirling Saucers), or potentially Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway. The park is also down a Single Rider line now, although RnRC had always been pretty hit or miss for that.

When it comes to the duration of the downtime for reimagining the ride into Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring the Muppets, anything from a 4-week to a 4-month timeline probably makes the most sense at this point given the pre-show closure and what else we know about the overhaul. My expectation is that the project will be on the longer end of that range.

It’s possible–if not probable–that both the reimagined Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster and reimagined Magic of Disney Animation debut at or around the same time. That would mean Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring the Muppets opening in the second half of Summer 2026. Sometime between late June and late July, most likely.

The longer the closure and the more money spent, the longer Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring the Muppets sticks around. By extension, the greater the chances this area becomes the new Muppets Courtyard, and that MuppetVision 3D is revived and replaces Villains Unfairly Ever After once Villains Land opens in Magic Kingdom. (Unlikely, but we’re foolishly optimistic.)

We already know that the New Mission for Millennium Falcon Smugglers Run debuts on May 22, 2026. That will feature Mandalorian and Grogu, a variety of new locations from the Star Wars universe, a new role for the Engineer (babysitting Baby Yoda), and more. It coincides with the opening of the new film.

We also know that Cool Kids’ Summer, which includes the Walt Disney Studios Lot as a whole, starts right after Memorial Day weekend. Our best guess is that Walt Disney World is fine with staggering the openings into two separate phases, so it’d make sense to have one around Memorial Day and another 6-8 weeks later.

Ultimately, it can be tough to say goodbye to anything at Walt Disney World that’s been a fan-favorite for decades. We get that. At the same time, Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster was a pop culture play that was incredibly fortunate to enjoy a run of over 25 years. And it’s not really farewell, just goodbye for now. The same underlying ride will still exist, with the original being more “replicable” with DIY solutions than anything we’ve lost in recent memory.

Beyond that, we’re cautiously optimistic about Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring the Muppets. There are hardcore Muppets fans in Walt Disney Imagineering who fought for this project in the first place, and will likewise work tirelessly to ensure the reimagining is well-done, reusing elements from MuppetVision that would otherwise be discarded, and having as much unique Muppets humor as possible.

I can’t wait to see how Imagineers pull off this ride reimagining, even if it’ll never fully replace MuppetVision. Then again, maybe it won’t have to…if they do such a good job that this leads to a future Muppets Courtyard in this area, we could end up with a windfall and the start of a bona fide Muppet renaissance!

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YOUR THOUGHTS

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