Some big changes are coming to Disney World in 2026, and one of these is the retheming of Hollywood Studios‘ Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith into a Muppets theme. Fans were sad about the closure of MuppetVision 3D to make way for the new Monsters, Inc. land, but this upcoming Muppets-themed coaster promises to be a super fun experience.
Even though Disney has not yet released an official closing date for Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith, work is already underway on the transformation. Keep reading for all of the details! At Mickey Visit, we cover the latest Disney news, including 13 big announcements Disney just made on 2026 dates and additions, as well as Bluey finally coming to Disney Parks with a new experience.
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Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Preshow Closed
The Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith preshow is now closed and walled off, and guests walk straight through to the loading station. This move indicates that Disney is aiming to keep the ride operational for as long as possible, as they are starting work on the reimagining in phases.
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Disney recently shared details about what the Muppets pre-show will look like. They revealed that in the recording studio, the Electric Mayhem is rocking out (with penguin audio engineers) as band manager Scooter tries to convince the band to get moving. It’s clear that Scooter will be an Audio-Animatronics figure, but as we mentioned in our initial report, it’s also possible that there will be more featured in this pre-show—perhaps the penguins or even the Electric Mayhem band.
We know that this part of the reimagining is likely requiring the most extensive work, installing new animatronics and all, so it makes sense that they would get started on this now, while the ride is still operational. The effort of implementing changes to the ride itself is likely going to be much less extensive, or it’s possible they could already be quietly working on these changes after hours. Any work on the exterior of the attraction, beyond the repainting of the giant guitar in the courtyard, could also be done while the ride is still running.
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Given all of this, it’s very possible that the actual downtime of the ride for the transformation will be very minimal. It’s clear that Disney is making it a priority to keep it operational as long as possible while they are implementing changes behind the scenes.
Disney shared the broad opening period of the ride as “summer 2026,” but we still do not yet have an exact closing date. We expect we will be getting that news very soon and will keep you updated here at Mickey Visit when we do.
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