
Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith at Disney’s Hollywood Studios is arguably one of the best rides at Walt Disney World Resort. The high-speed thrill ride was also the first Disney Park attraction in the United States that took guests upside down. But it’s come out that Disney will be closing the ride indefinitely starting in 2024.
Related: Facts About Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster You Never Knew
Goodbye Aerosmith?
In the past year, there has been much speculation about a retheme coming to the coaster. Many have suspected Disney would replace Aerosmith as the headliner with a more family-friendly artist. Due to sexual assault allegations against Steven Tyler, the lead singer of Aerosmith, many have expected Disney to drop the band connected with the company altogether.
Related: Aerosmith Singer Accused of Sexual Assault Again, Is It Time For a Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Retheme?
However, this has yet to happen. At least, not officially announced. But the idea of swapping out the rock band for someone else has been brought up again in this recent refurbishment news.
Related: Top Rock Band Rumored to Be Replacing Aerosmith on Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster
Massive Refurbishment?
The roller coaster will close on January 8, 2024, and as of this writing, it has no reopening date. Currently, Disney has not provided any details on what work will be done to the ride during its refurbishment.
But it’s unusual, as the popular roller coaster just had a refurbishment in May of 2023.
Back then, it was expected we’d discover they dropped the band for a different group or singer.
Jeff Yorkes, co-creator of The Muppets Mayhem, implied on X (Twitter at the time) that incorporating the Muppet band Electric Mayhem into the ride was part of the original show pitch. However, considering the Muppets Mayhem show on Disney+ has not been renewed after its first season, it’s unlikely the Muppets would take up residency.
Nevertheless, the “Aerosmith” part of the ride is just a subhead to the actual attraction named the “Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster.” It’s always seemed like the ride was designed to swap out different artists every few years easily.
Related: Three Possible Aerosmith Replacements for Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster
After all, the Aerosmith band members’ presence is pretty minor. Swapping out the pre-show and songs played on the ride with a different band while keeping the queue and ride system almost identical should be a very easy retheme. And if not “easy,” it is definitely a lot simpler than retheming Splash Mountain to Tiana’s Bayou Adventure.
Walt Disney World Resort’s operating calendar, which goes until the end of February 2024, shows the ride closed the entire time.
This post is originally appeared on Disney Fanatic.