Photo Credit: ZaDaFa / CC by 4.0
Disney World has permanently removed Aerosmith from its Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster after 26 years, replacing them with the Muppets in 2026.
Disney has removed the fan-favorite Aerosmith pre-show that played before boarding the Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster attraction at Disney’s Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. The video has been played to introduce the ride’s backstory to guests since the roller coaster opened in 1999.
The beloved video, which saw guests drop in on an Aerosmith recording session before rushing through busy highways to make it to a concert, has been removed so that construction can begin on the ride in phases to minimize overall downtime. Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster will remain open for visitors to ride until at least the end of the year, but the pre-show area will be shut down.
The ride featured a 125-speaker, 14-subwoofer, 32,000-watt audio system that played such Aerosmith hits as “Walk This Way,” “Sweet Emotion,” “Back in the Saddle,” and “Love in an Elevator” reimagined as “Love in a Roller Coaster.”
The Muppets will be added to the ride with a new presentation featuring Kermit, Scooter, the penguin animatronics from the former MuppetVision 3D show that closed earlier this year, and the Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem band. The Muppets edition of the roller coaster will see the Electric Mayhem crew headlining a Hollywood concert, with guests embarking on a search for the group when they go missing.
Disney first announced that the Muppets would move into the existing Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster space in November 2024, ahead of the closure of the MuppetVision 3D show that opened in 1991. It was one of the final projects that Jim Henson headed before his death in 1990.
The company added that the beloved theater-style show might return in some form in the future. A second iteration of the show opened at the California Adventure park in Anaheim, California, in 2001, but closed down in 2014.
