Credit: Patrick McGarvey, FlickrDisney is wasting no time turning the page on one of its most recognizable locations.
At Disney’s Hollywood Studios, transformation is underway. From the closure of one of the Walt Disney World Resort’s most thrilling attractions to the retheme of multiple areas into Monstropolis from the Monsters, Inc. franchise, Hollywood Studios–like Magic Kingdom and Disney’s Animal Kingdom–is part of Disney Experiences’ broad overhaul of its flagship Central Florida resort.
The legendary Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster officially closed on March 1, 2026, marking the end of its nearly three-decade run featuring Aerosmith.
Almost instantly after the final riders exited, the attraction disappeared from park materials, including updated maps distributed throughout the park. While the refreshed maps included several minor adjustments—such as revised entertainment labels and updated graphics—the removal of the coaster’s Aerosmith branding carried the biggest emotional weight for longtime fans.
For years, the high-speed indoor coaster had been one of the park’s defining experiences. Guests would enter the fictional G-Force Records studio, encounter the band in a preshow, and then blast off in a stretch limousine through a neon-lit Los Angeles night. The ride itself isn’t going anywhere, however. Instead, Disney is reimagining the experience entirely.
When the attraction reopens in summer 2026, it will become Rock ’n’ Roller Coaster Starring the Muppets, bringing characters from The Muppet Show—including the Electric Mayhem band—into the storyline while retaining the same coaster track and launch system.
With one of Hollywood Studios’ biggest thrill rides now closed for refurbishment, the park is bracing for heavier crowds across remaining headliners as guests visiting during spring break redistribute to other attractions. The coaster had long been a cornerstone of the Sunset Boulevard lineup, meaning its absence is expected to shift wait times and guest traffic patterns while construction continues behind the scenes.
Meanwhile, Disney has already begun physically transforming the ride’s exterior.
The iconic upside-down limousine displayed at the attraction’s entrance—long painted in blue with Aerosmith branding—has started receiving a bold new look. Crews have been adding bright red flames over the vehicle’s original paint job, hinting at a new visual style inspired by the Electric Mayhem band.
Concept art suggests even more dramatic changes ahead. The giant guitar that towers over the attraction entrance is expected to receive a psychedelic makeover inspired by the Muppets’ colorful aesthetic.
Recent images from the park also show how extensive the work has become. Large sections of the attraction are now completely hidden behind scaffolding and scrim, effectively covering parts of the entrance and surrounding structures as Imagineers continue the transformation out of sight. A Bioreconstruct post from this past weekend shows the current state of the ride.
Current scrims around the guitar outside of Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster.
Current scrims around the guitar outside of Rock 'n' Roller Coaster. pic.twitter.com/M8ScrXzJPp
— bioreconstruct (@bioreconstruct) March 15, 2026
The rapid pace of work underscores Disney’s strategy: move quickly, reshape guest expectations, and build excitement for what comes next. For many fans, the closure of the Aerosmith-themed coaster represents the end of an era. Since opening in 1999, the ride has delivered high-speed launches, inversions, and a soundtrack of classic rock that helped define the identity of the park’s thrill lineup.
If everything stays on schedule, guests returning to Hollywood Studios this summer may find that the same high-speed ride system is still there—only now, the music blasting through the speakers will belong to the Muppets’ house band instead of Aerosmith.
How do you feel about the current transformations happening at Disney’s Hollywood Studios? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!