Credit: Inside the MagicFans are beginning to question what exactly is going on with a ride at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
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Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith officially closed down for refurbishment earlier this year on January 8. This popular ride is located in Disney’s Hollywood Studios, which is by far the most stacked Disney theme park when it comes to pure thrills. While ride shutdowns and refurbishments are quite common, this was no ordinary closure. As part of the original announcement, a Disney spokesperson claimed that the ride would be offline for at least six months, with a planned reopening date set for “Summer 2024.”
This is an incredible loss for Disney’s Hollywood Studios, with the roller coaster being one of the biggest draws and crowd-pleasers at the park. Other rides like Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run, Star Tours, and the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror have already felt the effects of Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster being closed, reaching unprecedented wait time in the last few days. Both rides inside Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge at Disney’s Hollywood Studios reached wait times of 300 minutes in the last few weeks, indicating capacity may be an issue for the theme park going into Spring Break.
To make matters even worse, Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster shut down last February and remained closed until May, meaning a lot of guests missed their chance to experience the ride for a large portion of 2023 as well. It’s quite unusual for a large, “E-ticket” type ride to close multiple times for such lengthy refreshments, so what exactly is going on?
What’s Happening?
A new report from Mickey Views details past problems with the attraction, as well as the possible steps Disney may be taking to ensure the safety of future guests when Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster does, in fact, reopen. The roller coaster closed multiple times in 2023 due to fire alarms or other similar situations involving emergency protocols.
Between December 25, 2023, and January 7, 2024, Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster averaged about an hour and 17 minutes of downtime per day, according to data compiled by ThrillData. The primary focus of this current refurbishment targets concerns about Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster’s brake run at the final section of the ride. The attraction is only about 40 seconds long due to how fast guests traverse the track. At the end of the ride, ride vehicles come to a very abrupt stop, meaning the brakes in this area are most likely to warn down.
According to Mickey Views, President of Walt Disney World Jeff Vahle introduced some cost-saving measures when the attraction underwent its previous refurbishment in an attempt to address these issues. However, the budget reportedly did not satisfy the attraction’s high demands, resulting in this most recent refurbishment.
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One of the more troubling issues was a “burning rubber” smell being reported by several guests. This smell reportedly occurred in the final section of the ride during the brake run. Walt Disney World established a policy stating that a ride or attracting must be shut down if a guest reports any type of fumes.
Several Disney rides and attractions are notorious for their various distinctive smells, like the water on Pirates of the Caribbean and the soon-to-open Tiana’s Bayou Adventure in Magic Kingdom, as well as the smoke machines on DINOSAUR at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. However, melting or burning rubber is a safety concern, and this is just another possible issue Disney is attempting to fix as Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster embarks on its lengthy refurbishment. According to another source, a control lever broke.
This lever was used for launching the vehicles, and the incident resulted in a full day of downtime
In November 2023, Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster was abruptly closed and evacuated after a potential fire broke out inside the attraction. Confirmation of actual flames was never made, but all guests were evacuated from the attraction, and the front gates of the ride were closed. A video of the incident was captured by DisneyWorldTom (@disneytiktok), who shared their footage on X (Twitter).
BREAKING: Fire alarm evacuation at Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith closes entire area at Hollywood Studios #Disney #disneyparks
BREAKING: Fire alarm evacuation at Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith closes entire area at Hollywood Studios #Disney #disneyparks pic.twitter.com/WIVlpRScRr
— DisneyWorldTom (@disneytiktok) November 14, 2023
The ride reportedly flashed a fire warning while guests were on board the actual attraction, resulting in a total evacuation. Guests were not aware of what was happening, with operators deciding to immediately close and investigate the ride.
One source told Mickey Views that one day of downtime was actually caused by a loose object flying off and hitting a guest during the ride. This discovery, of course, led to an extensive investigation of the attraction, as well as the closure of the rude for the day. This object was determined to be a screw. The discovery prompted a day of examining the track to find the source of the screw. A records request with the Reedy Creek Fire Department has been submitted.
Mickey Views details plenty more information regarding potential reasons why Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster faced so much downtime during 2023, with multiple sources coming forward. We hate to see such a legendary Disney attraction face so many issues, and we truly hope that Disney engineers and Imagineers can work together to come to a solution.
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This report doesn’t even include the problems Disney is currently facing with Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, with Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler entangled in some very serious allegations. According to a lawsuit that Rolling Stone obtained in 2022, Tyler brought Julia Holcomb– who was 16 at the time– back to his hotel room. They discussed her age as well as her troubled home life. Tyler then allegedly “performed various acts of criminal sexual conduct upon” her before sending her home the next morning. Tyler is now facing another lawsuit, which also claims that he sexually assaulted a minor.
The Walt Disney Company is no stranger to controversy regarding the actors it works with and the artists it employs. It’s just not possible for Disney to anticipate what will happen in the future, but this doesn’t mean Disney won’t or hasn’t taken action.
One of the many theories as to why Disney closed its ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter attraction at the Magic Kingdom comes down to charges placed against the ride’s main character L. C. Clench, played by Jeffrey Jones. Fans may recognize Jones from classic films like Ed Wood (1994) and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986), but Jones also had a starring role in this defunct Walt Disney World experience. ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter closed forever in 2003 in the Tomorrowland section of Tomorrowland, with the most common assumption being that the attraction was simply too scary. However, Jones also gave Disney a pretty good reason to close the experience after being arrested for possession of child pornography in 2004. Jones was accused of soliciting a 14-year-old boy between September 2000 and May 2001, ultimately serving five years probation.
Jones’ career immediately ended, with all ties between the actor and various companies and franchises being severed. This included Disney, who had inadvertently given him a starring role in one of the most talked about attractions at the Magic Kingdom, the world’s busiest theme park. While the true reason will never be known, Jones gave Disney one more reason to shut down this experience, and it’s possible the company will do the same depending on the outcome of Steven Tyler’s lawsuit.
Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster is one of the most popular attractions at the Walt Disney World Resort, only truly competing with other heavy hitters like The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, Space Mountain, and, of course, Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance. The ride reaches speeds of almost 60 miles per hour as guests travel through over 3,000 feet of track. Guests barrel through multiple inversions, with Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster being the only ride at Walt Disney World to go upside down.
The ride’s popularity comes mostly from how fun and thrilling it is and not from its actual theme, meaning Disney could very easily remove Aerosmith as the band and keep Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster as is. For years, Disney fans theorized about potential band replacements that could make their way to the ride, ranging from The Beatles to The Rolling Stones. Nothing has been confirmed or denied regarding the ride’s theming, but it’s safe to say Disney is carefully evaluating its relationship with Aerosmith.
Comedian and actor Ken Marino added fuel to the fire in 2023, on an appearance of “Office Hours Live,” a show hosted by Adult Swim-alumn and certified movie-lover Tim Heidecker. Marino made a guest appearance on the show, discussing past and future projects and, of course, his infamous role in Disney’s Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster preshow.
Marino plays the recording engineer in the recording booth during Rock ‘n Roller Coaster’s pre-show. Marino, who is best known for his work on the cult-classic Party Down series from STARZ as well as Wet Hot American Summer (20010), started out doing small roles, one of which has been immortalized at the Walt Disney World Resort.
Marino jokingly made a reference to the ride, sharing his take on the situation. “Now they’re changing the ride, it’s gonna be a Queen ride.” This offhand comment is just that: offhand, with Disney not having made any announcements regarding the ride or its refurbishment.
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The Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California, is also home to a ride that goes upside down, The Incredicoaster, but it’s quite rare for Disney theme park attractions to feature inversions. The Disneyland Resort recently received quite a few upgrades, with the most significant upgrade coming in 2023 with the overhaul of Mickey’s Toontown. This area is a longstanding section of the resort but was given some great upgrades by Walt Disney Imagineering going into 2023.
Now, guests can enjoy and explore multiple new areas as well as embark on an adventure alongside Minnie and Mickey, thanks to Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway. This trackless dark ride first appeared inside Disney’s Hollywood Studios in 2019 and has quickly become a fan-favorite among both Walt Disney World and Disneyland guests. The ride blends trackless ride technology with stunning projection mapping techniques, all of which work together to create an immersive experience for riders of most ages.
Do you enjoy Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster? What’s your favorite Disney roller coaster?