Walt Disney World has announced that its popular attraction, Rock’ n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith, will close next month as part of an extended refurbishment, and Guests who love the Disney’s Hollywood Studios thrill ride should take the opportunity to enjoy it while they can.
Located in Disney’s Hollywood Studios Park at the Walt Disney World Resort, Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith allows Guests to “race along the darkened freeways of Los Angeles” with the band to their concert after visiting their Hollywood music studio. Of course, passengers living “life in the fast like” get the full star experience, including three thrilling inversions as they “maneuver past traffic jams” to the tune of Aerosmith songs such as “Walk This Way,” “Dude (Looks Like a Lady),” “Sweet Emotion,” “Back in the Saddle,” and the semi-original “Love in a Roller Coaster,” which the famous band rewrote for the attraction.
Originally, Walt Disney Imagineers designed the concept as part of an ongoing theme for Hollywood Studios to transport Guests into the world of movies and all-star fame. As a result, areas such as the Hollywood Backlot and Animation Courtyard allowed Guests a tour within the cinematic realm of Hollywood backlots and movie magic similar to that of EPCOT’s World Showcase for international destinations.
Disney’s Hollywood Studios tells Guests that the thrill ride includes two rollover loops and one corkscrew, challenging them to “make it to the year’s biggest concert in time.” What’s more, the limousine-style ride vehicle includes a “125-speaker, 24-subwoofer, 32,000-watt audio system,” perfect for jamming along to your favorite Aerosmith tunes in a coaster complement to the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror’s drop ride experience.
However, some Guests worried that soon this jam session with the band would not be possible after Disney added a statement to the webpage for the attraction reading: “Beginning February 20, 2023, Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith will be temporarily closed for refurbishment. This rocktastic attraction will resume its super-stretch limo rides in summer 2023.” Truly, it seemed possible that in addition to continued maintenance for the ride’s technical aspects, a retheme could be underway to “modernize” the ride’s storyline or update the musical artist.
Indeed, Disney’s Hollywood Studios has changed a lot since its inception, now offering full immersion into some of the best cinematic universes like Disney Pixar’s with Toy Story Land and Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, for example. In fact, even Walt Disney Imagineering admits that as Park goals evolve, the theming focus has adapted to include less behind-the-scenes action such as that found in Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster.
In addition, Disney Parks seems to have shifted its focus onto its own intellectual property, utilizing concepts it does not have to license from others, which, combined with the recent controversy surrounding frontman Steven Tyler, could mean curtains for Aerosmith’s run very soon. Even so, as of now, nothing about the statement inherently suggests Disney has plans to retheme the ride… yet.
Guests can ride Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith at Disney’s Hollywood Studios from now until February 20, 2023.
