Nobody likes it when a theme park ride is closed. Whether it’s a case of routine maintenance being done, some sort of major ride upgrade, or one ride being closed to make way for another, construction walls and closed rides are no fun. At the same time, closed rides are a regular occurrence at theme parks like Walt Disney World, as there’s always something new showing up in the parks.
One ride that we know is set for closure is the Rock ‘N’ Roller Coaster starring Aerosmith. Following years of rumors, Disney World has announced plans to redesign the ride to replace the rock band with the Muppets, a consolation for those sad to see Muppet*Vision 3D get closed. That work is expected to be done by next summer, meaning the ride closure is likely to happen any day. But it hasn’t happened yet, at least not entirely.
The Rock ‘N’ Roller Coaster Pre-Show Is Closed, But The Ride Goes On
This morning, Blog Mickey confirmed that the queue for the Rock ‘N’Roller Coaster starring Aerosmith no longer includes a pre-show room that used to be the primary storytelling component of the attraction. It saw the band in a recording studio saying hi to the guests visiting “G-Force Records” when the band’s manager, played by Illiana Douglas, came in and informed Steven Tyler and company they were late for a gig.
This led to the attraction itself, where roller coasters, designed as “super stretch” limos, were set to take everybody to the show at very high speed and with Aerosmith music blasting in your ears. This part of the show is no longer running as Walt Disney Imagineering has apparently already started work on the transformation that will turn this into a Muppets sequence featuring the Electric Mayhem, Scooter, and more. However, the roller coaster itself is still functioning, so while guests miss out on the story, they still get the ride.
Keeping Rock ‘N’ Roller Coaster Open Longer Is Only A Good Thing
While Disney Parks’ attractions sometimes run in a B-mode, where parts of a queue may be closed while the rest of the ride keeps running, and Disney World once tested a Rise of the Resistance single rider option that skipped pre-show sequences, I’m not aware of a time that a ride being functionally replaced was basically shut down in stages. It’s odd, but I don’t hate it.
While it’s unfortunate that the roller coaster is running in a reduced capacity when it comes to features, running at all is better than not. The only alternative is that the ride be closed entirely, and I’m sure a lot of guests would rather ride the coaster, the only Disney World roller coaster with inversions, without the story than not do it at all.
We probably shouldn’t expect to see this sort of thing more often. A lot of Disney World ride queues wouldn’t allow for Imagineering to benign working while keeping the ride open, but in the cases where it’s possible, I’ll take it.