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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2024 |
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As you walk underneath the upside-down vintage Cadillac at the entrance to Rock ’n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith, you might already suspect that this will be a fast ride that goes upside-down — even if you don’t speak English and have no idea what “roller coaster” means. |
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This is a studio-themed theme park, but that doesn’t mean just film and television studios. Hollywood also has recording studios. |
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Photo by Chris Bales, 2024 G-Force Records |
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Welcome to G-Force Records, where the legendary rock band Aerosmith is recording what will undoubtedly be another Billboard Top 10 album. You probably already figured out that the name of the record company is based on the term G-force, or gravitational force equivalent, the numeric representation of the positive or negative multiple of Earth’s gravity that roller coaster riders feel during various part of a ride. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2025 Jumbo guitar |
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At the other end of the guitar strings of the upside-down Cadillac, there’s a 40-foot-tall electric guitar. Unlike the nearby Hollywood Tower Hotel and Sunset Boulevard, the guitar is just a huge decoration in the tradition of the All Star Resorts, not a meticulously themed environment that puts you in a realistic Hollywood setting. Perhaps it was more cost-effective designing it that way. |
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Photo by Allen Huffman, 2019 Aerosmith billboard |
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You might be surprised to see Aerosmith at a Disney park, a company known for show tunes from animated movies, not hard rock. Charismatic frontman Steven Tyler, guitarist Joe Perry, and the rest of the band are “the Bad Boys from Boston.” Their gritty, yet catchy, rock has made them one of the best-selling bands of all time. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2025 Warnings |
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Yes, the ride has “sharp turns, upside-down maneuvers, and sudden drops and stops.” This isn’t The Barnstormer at Goofy’s Wiseacre Farm. This ride is intense. You’ve been warned. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2025 Splitting into three queues |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2025 Outside queues |
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The outside queues are boring. It seems that cost-effectiveness was more important than the guest experience. Fortunately, the queue gets better when you enter the recording studio. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2025 Artist entrance |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2025 Recording studio pre-show |
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After passing displays of vintage audio equipment, you enter a room with a view of a recording studio. Aerosmith enters the control room. Okay, they’re not real. They’re lifelike, life-sized videos, but they’re far enough away that they look remarkably real. The band’s manager, played by actress Illeana Douglas, enters and tells them they’re supposed to be at a show “now!” She directs them to a limo that has pulled up to the back door. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2025 Aerosmith, not quite live and in-person |
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Steven Tyler sees you and the other park guests. He objects, “Hey, wait a minute; wait a minute! We can’t leave these people here like this!” The manager is surprised. “We can’t?” Tyler replies, “No! Come on, you know how I feel about our fans.” Other band members chatter in agreement, and continue to do so as Tyler and the manager work things out. “Well guys, what do you expect me to do,” the manager asks, “send them all with you?” A Cast Member yells out, “Hey Steven, how about some backstage passes?” Tyler reacts to the request: “Wait a minute. I love that idea!” He directs the manager, “How about some backstage passes? Make it happen.” She replies, “Okay, okay. I’ll make it happen. Now get outa here. All of you.” She picks up a phone. “Hi Sal. It’s me. Listen. I’m going to need a bigger car. Make it a stretch. In fact, make it a super-stretch.” The manager tells the fans, “Okay folks. Your show is also across town, but I got you a really fast car.” The doors open. Soon you’re on your way to a really fast car. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2025 Approaching your super-stretch limo |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2025 Almost time to board |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2025 Entering your super-stretch limo |
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Climb into your 24-passenger super-stretch limo for the quick ride on the attraction’s 3,403-foot track. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2025 Turning toward the launch |
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Photo by Allen Huffman, 2019 Ready to launch into a dark tunnel |
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Have you changed your mind about riding? It’s too late now. After a brief hold, you’re launched from 0 to 57 mph in 2.8 seconds, feeling approximately 4.5 to 5.0 G-forces. You immediately find yourself in the first of three inversions — two rollover loops and one corkscrew. Each vehicle features a different Aerosmith song or medley. You hear it through five speakers: four around your head and a subwoofer under your seat. The tracks are:
You’re not on this ride for the scenery. You whiz by freeway signs and plywood cutouts of landmarks like the Hollywood sign and a donut shop, but, mainly, it’s just dark. The exhilarating ride is over in less than 90 seconds. |
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Photo by Allen Huffman, 2019 Ride almost over |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2025 Arriving at the concert |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2025 “Concert” and PhotoPass |
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You’ve arrived. Only it’s not a real concert. It’s an opportunity to purchase PhotoPass photos, followed by a gift shop. |
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Rock ’n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith was dedicated at Disney-MGM Studios (now Disney’s Hollywood Studios) on July 29, 1999. It opened to the public the next day. |
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Postcard from the collection of Chris Bales Postcard of Rock ’n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith (front) |
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Postcard from the collection of Chris Bales Postcard of Rock ’n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith (back) |
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In the 1999 Annual Report of The Walt Disney Company, Chairman and CEO Michael Eisner wrote that 1999 had ended on a down note financially, so he emphasized the cost-effectiveness of two new attractions at Walt Disney World: At Walt Disney World, we opened two completely new, cost-effective attractions: Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin at The Magic Kingdom and the Rock ’n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith at Disney-MGM Studios. The Buzz Lightyear ride utilized the space and track layout of the former Delta Dreamflight, bringing an unprecedented level of interactivity to a Disney attraction. The Rock ’n’ Roller Coaster utilized technology acquired from an outside vendor, which we combined with Disney storytelling to create a completely unique thrill ride for roughly half the amount that we have spent for other “E” ticket rides in the past. I also rode them in the last couple of weeks. Both are awesome, one brilliant and creative, the other aggressive and loud and scary … and the teenager in me immediately wanted to do it again! The vendor that Eisner referred to was Vekoma Rides Manufacturing B.V., a Dutch manufacturer of park attractions. Specifically, the ride was a Vekoma LSM (linear synchronous motor) Coaster. |
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Photo by Tomvandenberg97, 2012, from Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0) (modified) Xpress: Platform 13 at Walibi Holland, (opened in 2000 as Superman the Ride at Six Flags Holland) |
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Any theme park could buy this same roller coaster from Vekoma. The relatively compact coaster could even have a building around it, but only Disney did that. If you want to ride a Vekoma LSM Coaster in the open, take a trip to the Netherlands. |
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Photo by Greg Gjerdingen, 2016, from Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0) (modified) Unmodified 1962 Cadillac Series 6200 Convertible |
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The “Disney storytelling” was not just the pre-show and the decor along the track, but also the design of the roller coaster cars. It was based on Cadillacs of the early 1960s. Custom coachbuilders would cut these luxury sedans in half and add additional length to create stretch limousines. Particularly long limousines were called super-stretches. Another Rock ’n’ Roller Coaster with Aerosmith opened at Walt Disney Studios Park in Paris on March 16, 2002. |
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Photo by Chris Bales, 2017 Rock ’n’ Roller Coaster avec Aerosmith at Walt Disney Studios Park, Paris |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2024 Avengers Assemble: Flight Force at Walt Disney Studios Park, Paris |
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The Paris version closed for extensive interior and exterior retheming on September 2, 2019. It finally reopened almost three years later on July 20, 2022 as Avengers Assemble: Flight Force. It seemed it would only be a matter of time before the original Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith at Disney’s Hollywood Studios would also be updated in some way. The longevity of Aerosmith had been amazing. The band had been around since the 1970s, were rock legends by the 1990s, and continued to record and tour in the 2000s, 2010s, and the 2020s. Aerosmith finally retired from touring in 2024 — but would have another Top 10 album on the Billboard 200 in December 2025, their sixth decade with a top 10 album! |
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Artist Concept Only © Disney Concept for Muppets preshow for Rock ’n’ Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets |
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In August 2024, at the “Horizons: Disney Experiences Showcase” of the D23 Expo in Anaheim, Disney announced that a Monstropolis land would be built at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Fans of Monsters, Inc. (2001) were thrilled by the news of a suspended roller coaster based on the film’s door chase scene. It was unclear exactly where Monstropolis would be built. Fans of The Muppets feared it would replace Muppets Courtyard and would end the long run of Muppet*Vision 3D. It had been Jim Henson’s final project before his untimely death in 1990 at age 53. It was still a beloved attraction. In November 2024, Disney confirmed the location. The fears had been justified — but Disney had not forgotten the fans of The Muppets after all. The same announcement revealed that The Muppets would take over Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster. Details emerged in 2025. Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem would replace Aerosmith, with Scooter managing the recording studio. Other Muppets would have roles too. The final day of Rock ’n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith was March 1, 2026. The pre-show starring Aerosmith had already been closed at the beginning of December 2025, giving Disney a three-month head-start on redoing that part of the attraction. Rock ’n’ Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets is expected to open in Summer 2026. It will have a new pre-show, repainted cars, other cosmetic changes, the same track, but perhaps new scenery along the track. Let’s hope the outside queue will be less boring. All references to Aerosmith will be gone — or will the Imagineers sneak in an easter egg? |
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© 2026 Werner Weiss — Disclaimers, Copyright, and Trademarks Updated March 20, 2026 |
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