Walt Disney World has announced the closing date for Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. The attraction has featured the famous rock band since opening in 1999 and will now undergo a quick transformation to feature the Muppets. In this post, we’ll share the closing date for Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith and add our commentary.

If this is all news to you then here’s a little bit of background. Last year, Disney closed MuppetVision 3D to make way for a Monsters, Inc. themed land. While closing that beloved attraction they announced that the Electric Mayhem, Kermit, Miss Piggy and the rest of the gang would be making their way over to Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster. Is Sweetums a part of the coup? Word is that he’s busy putting out fires elsewhere.

To state the obvious, for the Muppets to take over Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster that left Aerosmith as the odd band out. The attraction has featured the rock group for over 25 years, working them heavily into the preshow plot before blasting their songs during the high speed coaster.

That will come to an end on March 2nd, meaning March 1st will be the last chance for guests to experience Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith. The ride will go under refurbishment at that point, until the Muppets version of the attraction opens in the summer of 2026.

News of the closing date isn’t surprising. The attraction’s preshow, the bit that heavily features Aerosmith, has been behind curtains for a few weeks as Imagineering gets a head start on the makeover. Guests now just walk through that portion of queue instead of stopping to watch. Frankly, that makes the current iteration of the attraction a shell of its self.

Having an announced closing date is nice for guests to get one last ride in but I feel for those that loved the attraction and weren’t given a chance to see it in full one last time. There’s still an Aerosmith presence but that’s largely come to an end now as riders don’t ever see the band, they just hear a little dialogue on the ride before the song starts and the coaster blasts into high gear.

I love the Muppets and can’t say that I care much about Aerosmith. But I’m sympathetic to those that love the band and are losing the attraction that celebrates the rock ‘n’ roll legends. Walt Disney World hasn’t made a big deal of this closing and there could be a number of reasons for that. Compared to the Dinosaur closing that’s happening in the same timeframe, there’s been very little made of this ride, that’s about the same age, closing.

We have seen Disney do this in other ways before, although maybe not quite as abrupt. Rivers of America closed last year to make way for the Cars themed expansion. There was a little more noise made about that from the company but they chose to focus more on what’s to come rather than what’s getting replaced. That strategy isn’t difficult to understand at all, selling something new instead of memorializing what you’re replacing is common sense. But I do find what ends up getting a big send off versus what’s put to rest quietly interesting.

I remain bullish on the new version of this attraction featuring the Muppets. Clearly someone (or multiple someones) in Imagineering has a deep love of the franchise and are trying to keep them alive inside of the parks. Villains: Unfairly Ever After is not my favorite show and plays in the theater (Sunset Showcase) right next to Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster so I have dreams of a revitalized Muppets Courtyard coming to Hollywood Studios. They might be far fetched dreams but hoping makes me better for it. While we’re at it, put in a Rowlf’s Piano Bar and a Swedish Chef restaurant!

It will be interesting to see how much Electric Mayhem is featured in the coaster versus the more recognizable Muppets characters. Some news has leaked out about Kermit, Miss Piggy and Scooter (in animatronic form!) taking part in the preshow. I’m eager to hear Dr. Teeth and the band lend their musical gifts to the on-ride experience.

As for an opening date, all we have so far is that this will reopen in summer of 2026. Hollywood Studios will see the new version of Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run open on May 22nd. There’s also the Animation Courtyard project set to open this summer. The could push to have them all done at the same time as a nice way to kick off the Disney World summer.

Personally, and this is pure conjecture, I think the Animation and Muppets additions will be a little later in the summer but with the head start on the Muppets preshow, you never know! I just hope that the makeover is well done and lasting, as I want to see Kermit & friends around for a very long time.

Will you miss Aerosmith at Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster? Let us know, along with any questions you have, in the comments below! Planning a trip to Walt Disney World? Check out our Disney World Trip Planning Guide to help you out. This site offers discount tickets for those looking! If you enjoy what you are reading here on Wandering in Disney please share this post with your friends, as well as our social media pages. You can also subscribe to the blog via WordPress or email. All of those links are on the right side of this page. Thank you for reading, we really appreciate it!