Walt Disney World has finally announced the end date of the 25-year-plus concert series for Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith, which will permanently close in Spring 2026. This covers dates & details about when you can expect the old coaster to close & new attraction to debut.
As basic background, Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith will soon embark on a Muppets takeover featuring Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy and more of their friends. The Muppets will be moving right along to Sunset Boulevard, teaming up with some of music’s biggest stars for a rockin’ music festival.
At Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets, you bet we’ll have rock as we roll across Hollywood on a wild ride with the Electric Mayhem – complete with backstage chaos, high-speed thrills, signature Muppets music & humor, and all-new Audio-Animatronics figures.
Within the last couple of months, Walt Disney World has really started pulling the curtain back on Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets. We’ve learned about the courtyard, backstory, music, Audio Animatronics, and pre-show stage-setting scene.
If you missed any of this, see the first half of this post: Walt Disney World Reveals Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring the Muppets Opening Season. We’re going to forgo the lengthy recap here, but that covers everything we know so far about RnRC: Muppets Edition, complete with concept art.
The more recent development occurred within the last couple of weeks, when Walt Disney World Quietly Closed the Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith Pre-show. This was done so that Imagineering could get a headstart on transforming the pre-show.
With that, the opening act of the attraction before the super stretch limo races through the streets of Los Angeles, ended. This means that it’s already too late to say your goodbyes to the full Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith.
The pre-show was the scene that featured Steven Tyler and Aerosmith band members offering backstage passes to guests, along with a ride across town, setting up the roller coaster to follow. Now, once the doors to the RnRC pre-show open, guests now walk straight through to the loading area without waiting.
The retirement of the Aerosmith pre-show also means that the most elaborate aspect of the reimagining is already underway, and has been since late November. The rest of the transformation could be accomplished in anywhere between a few days and a few months. We now know that it’ll be closer to the latter length…
The latest development is that Walt Disney World has officially announced that Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith will close on March 2, 2026. The last day to experience the original version of the Aerosmith attraction is March 1, 2026.
Really, though, all you’ll experience at this point is the Aerosmith songs and a bit of light decor in the queue. The aforementioned pre-show, that closed without advance warning, was the “meat” of the Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith experience. Without that, the attraction is already more generic and (arguably) is more like Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Featuring Songs by Aerosmith.
With it being unlikely that there will be material changes to the scenery on the roller coaster itself (maybe some light ones), you could probably more or less replicate today’s ride-through experience in Summer 2026 with a pair of earbuds (or perhaps wired headphones since it’s a thrill ride–but you get the idea).
All of this news is good for Muppets fans like us, but not-so-stellar news for Aerosmith enthusiasts (also us). Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster celebrated its 25th Anniversary just last year, and Aerosmith took to social media to celebrate the occasion.
When the ride opened way back in 1999 at what was then known as the Disney-MGM Studios, Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster was unprecedented. Disney had never done a roller coaster with a high-speed launch and multiple complete inversions, unexpected twists, turns, and high speed revolutions in the dark.
Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster felt like the first time that Disney was aiming for Universal’s audience. Although subjective, I’d say that Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster is still the most intense thrill ride at Walt Disney World to this day. Not even Cosmic Rewind or TRON Lightcycle Run surpass it, although the latter does come close.
The opening act was quickly followed up with California Screamin’ at DCA and a second Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith in the Walt Disney Studios Park at Disneyland Paris. Interestingly, both of those rides have been reimagined in the last several years, so the OG RnRC has already outlasted the rides that followed it.
Given the ride’s 25-year history, enduring popularity, and unprecedented nature, it should be wholly unsurprising that a certain segment of Walt Disney World fans are upset about the retirement of Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith. Or, at least, of the last two words of the attraction name.
The good news, as suggested above, is that the attraction will not materially change for the most part. The ride probably is not getting a new facade or any structural changes to the exterior. The roller coaster track and layout are going to remain unchanged inside the current gravity building. Aside from cosmetically, the ride vehicles are not changing. It’s also likely that the load area, launch, and unload will likely look somewhat similar when all is said and done.
Imagineering will likely create story contrivances that offer considerable overlap with Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith, allowing for a lot of what’s currently part of RnRC to remain unchanged. It’s also entirely possible that the current props don’t really change all that much, or are perhaps given a bit of “Muppetization.” The biggest changes will occur in the queue and pre-show, and as discussed above, work on the latter has already started.
Back when the pre-show closed, we tried to reverse-engineer a permanent closing date for Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith. What we arrived on was April 6th based on how long Walt Disney World would like to keep the ride operational (until after Easter) and how much time would be needed for the rest of the transformation.
That could, at least conceivably, still allow for Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring the Muppets to open in the second half of Summer 2026. I also noted that I hoped it would be longer, because I wanted the ride reimagining to be as ambitious as possible, and Imagineering to be given time to do it right. That would mean that Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring the Muppets will be a better attraction, and also increase the likelihood that the thrill ride will stick around for at least a decade.
The longer the closure and the more money spent, the longer Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring the Muppets sticks around. By extension, the greater the chances this area becomes the new Muppets Courtyard, and that MuppetVision 3D is revived and replaces Villains Unfairly Ever After once Villains Land opens in Magic Kingdom. (Unlikely, but we’re foolishly optimistic.)
In actuality, Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith is permanently closing on March 1, 2026. A little over a month earlier. A couple weeks after the Presidents’ Day rush ends, but before Spring Break starts. A somewhat interesting choice from the perspective of crowds, but as we’ve seen, those don’t always dictate closing/opening dates.
More likely, Imagineering has indicated how long the reimagining will take and Walt Disney World has a date by which they want Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring the Muppets to open. They’ve worked backwards from that to determine a closing date for the Aerosmith version.
When it comes to the downtime, anything from a 3-week to a 3-month timeline probably makes the most sense at this point given the pre-show closure and what else we know about the overhaul. It’s also possible–if not probable–that both the reimagined Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster and reimagined Animation Courtyard debut at or around the same time.
As part of Walt Disney World’s Full Calendar of Dates & Details for Reimagined Rides, Areas & Attractions Coming in 2026, the company revealed that Cool Kids’ Summer is returning and the Walt Disney Studios Lot will debut in Summer 2026. (They further suggested the area itself will debut in the first half of Summer 2026 by indicating that “The Magic of Disney Animation” will debut later in the season.)
We also know that the New Mission for Millennium Falcon Smugglers Run debuts on May 22, 2026. That will feature Mandalorian and Grogu, a variety of new locations from the Star Wars universe, a new role for the Engineer (babysitting Baby Yoda), and more. It coincides with the opening of the new film.
I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if the aim is to have everything at Disney’s Hollywood Studios debut on that same Friday before Memorial Day, and have that be the big kickoff to Summer 2026 at Walt Disney World. It would be similar to what was done this year with the Little Mermaid – A Musical Adventure, Villains Unfairly Ever After, and Cool Kid(s’) Summer.
One thing we’ve found interesting throughout the last few months is that Walt Disney World has been more focused on highlighting the “good” news of Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring the Muppets opening and less so on the “negative” news of the Aerosmith version closing.
It seemed like Walt Disney World was/is ignoring the Starring Aerosmith version of Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster and not giving it a proper send-off. This is unlike DINOSAUR, which has had its closing year/season/date all carefully telegraphed to fans, and well in advance (so it’s not like Walt Disney World is shy about sharing this).
At minimum, there should’ve been a notification about the Starring Aerosmith pre-show closure date and upcoming ride refurbishment start to give fans a chance to say their goodbyes. It almost feels (or felt) like Disney distancing itself from Aerosmith already.
Another possibility, as one reader pointed out, is that Aerosmith is a band of real people. Although their planned “Peace Out: The Farewell Tour” was officially canceled earlier this year due to frontman Steven Tyler’s severe vocal cord injury, there’s still lingering chatter about a final farewell concert.
Point being, it’s entirely possible that Walt Disney World is downplaying the closure of the Starring Aerosmith version out of respect to the band. That it might be viewed as putting them out to pasture, a further nail in the coffin of their careers, etc. Maybe Disney and Aerosmith have discussed the retirement, and that was the decision reached.
The circumstances are different with an attraction involving actual celebrities than fictional characters…or creatures. Dinosaurs are already extinct, so the considerations are different. All the countdown to DINOSAUR’s extinction does is confirm we’re going to stop using time travel to bring them back.
Ultimately, we remain cautiously optimistic about Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring the Muppets. There are hardcore Muppets fans in Walt Disney Imagineering who fought for this project in the first place, and will likewise work tirelessly to ensure the reimagining is well-done, reusing elements from MuppetVision that would otherwise be discarded, and having as much unique Muppets humor as possible.
This being a passion project is a very good thing, even if it’s accomplished on a tight budget (that’s how we got PizzeRizzo). It now appears as if at least some of this is accurate, so kudos to the WDI project team. I can’t wait to see how they pull off this ride reimagining, even if it’ll never fully replace MuppetVision. Then again, maybe it won’t have to…if they do such a good job that this leads to a future Muppets Courtyard in this area!
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YOUR THOUGHTS
Thoughts on Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith closing on March 2, 2026? Or was the OG RnRC officially dead as soon as the pre-show ended last month? Are you excited for Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring the Muppets? Do you agree or disagree with our assessments? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!