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Disney’s Hollywood Studios
Walt Disney World
---- THE LATEST BUZZ ----
(10/15/2024) What Happned to the new Little Mermaid Show?
(9/6/2024) Hollywood Studios To Add Villains Show in 2025
(8/14/2024) Monsters Inc Door Coaster Concept Model
(8/11/2024) Monsters Inc Land and Door Coaster Confirmed / New Smuggler’s Run Experience Confirmed
(8/3/2024) Aerosmith To Officially Quit Touring
Ride Rehabs - These dates are not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as refurbishments are subject to change.
Nothing is known at this time...
 General Park News - (6/30/2024) Get ready for a surprise… because according to the information now posted on the official WDW, it appears that the Rock ‘n Roller Coaster may be ready to reopen to guests TOMORROW, July 1st. Previously the themed launched coaster was set to remain closed through to July 26, but all those refurbishment dates have now been removed from the website.
While there has been lots of fun talk about re-themeing the ride, the reality is that the ride is still listed as having the same Aerosmith theme it has always had, so I’m not expecting this to suddenly change by tomorrow. But after a six-month refurbishment, they could be some little extras and upgrades throughout the attraction, though I suspect the majority of the work that has been taking place, may have been focused on the ride’s track and aging launch system.
(5/25/2024) According to Disney’s operational schedule, the closed Rock ‘n Roller Coaster will finally reopen to guests on July 27, 2024 after shutting down for a lengthy refurbishment in early January. What isn’t known is if it will reopen, just as before, still featuring Aerosmith.
The current webpage for the ride on the Disney website still lists the attraction as “Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith” but some believe that could all change between now and July 27th. Personally, I have yet to hear any kind of confirmation or solid rumor that a change could be happening at this time, though I do agree that it is only a matter of time before Disney does opt to change things up.
Would you rather see them leave things mostly the same, just changing the preshow and on-board audio to feature other musical performers, or would you rather see a more drastic change of theme, like what happened in Paris where that park’s former Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster has been transformed into a new Avengers themed ride featuring Iron Man and Captain Marvel.
(12/21/2023) Disney Tourist Blog reports that Rock ‘n Roller Coaster is set to close for another lengthy refurbishment starting on Jan. 8, 2024 that will see the E-ticket attraction closed until Summer 2024.
As I recall, the ride saw some extended downtime and closures throughout the first half of 2023 as well, so while this may be a planned time to perform a number of repairs and fixes to the attraction, a 5-6 month closure is pretty extreme and may indicate some more extensive work could be taking place as well.
Spring 2024 - Star Tours - New Adventures - (3/7/2024) It seems like forever ago that Disney promised that more new destinations would be coming to Star Tours, but now that time has finally come. Disney has confirmed that all new destinations and ride-sequences featuring characters and locations from Ahsoka, Andor and The Mandalorian” will be added into the mix starting on April 5, 2024 at Disneyland, Walt Disney World and Disneyland Paris. (Sorry Japan…)
They even released a little preview of one of the segments that you can see below featuring a pod of Purrgil space whales. According to the release from Disney one addition will feature a visit to the planet Peridea (from Ahsoka) and you may receive in-flight transmissions from Cassian Andor, Din Djarin & Grogu, or Ahsoka Tano herself. With the new additions added to the attractions randomizer, there are now more than 250 possible variations of Star Tours that you can experience.
(9/9/2023) We’ve been waiting on an update about the expanded experiences that were previously announced to be coming to the Star Tours attraction at Disneyland, Walt Disney World and Disneyland Paris. According to an update from DestinationD23, these new adventures will be coming in Spring 2024, and will include the addition of the Ahsoka character.
(4/12/2023) Disney has confirmed that new adventures will be coming to Star Tours in 2024 at Walt Disney World, Disneyland and Disneyland Paris. No solid details were given as to what locations will be added to the randomizing adventure machine, but ever since the second generation Star Tours attraction opened, new adventures in all new locations have been added on a regular basis. Past additions were timed to go along with adventures and locations from the new films as they were released, so if I had to guess I wouldn’t be surprised if we encounter some of the new people, places and ships from the various Disney+ series in one form or another. This could mean appearances by Mando and Grogu, Ahsoka Tano, Admiral Thrawn, Andor and more, so stay tuned!
(6/13/22) According to news released at the Star Wars Celebration event in California, Disney Imagineer Scott Trowbridge, who has overseen the creation of Galaxy’s Edge confirmed that more new sequences / scenes will continue to be added to Star Tours going forward. No further details were given as to what new locations might be added to the attraction, though the last few sequences added to the attraction involved locations from the final trilogy in the series. Since then, with the launch of Disney+, the Star Wars universe has been expanded again through shows like The Mandorlian, The Boot of Boba Fett and the new Obi-Wan Kenobi mini-series. With more Star Wars projects on deck like Andor, Ahsoka, The Acolyte and Skeleton Crew, it would seem to be a good bet that any of these could serve as the inspiration for new Star Tours segment locations.
Without a timeline as to when the next addition could appear, it’s hard to even guess what it could be, as Disney will likely tie the launch of the new segment(s) into whatever new programming is about to air on Disney+ at that time.
Summer 2025 - The Little Mermaid - A Musical Adventure - Delayed - (10/15/2024) AllEars reports that the new “The Little Mermaid: A Musical Adventure” show coming to Hollywood Studios as a replacement for the closed Voyage of the Little Mermaid show has been pushed back to Summer 2025. When the project was first announced, it was listed as being ready to open in Fall 2024, but obviously that has not happened yet, so the delay makes sense.
Honestly though, I wouldn’t mind seeing the show concept from the Studios scrapped entirely, and the project maybe moved to a new location somewhere at the Magic Kingdom, somewhere in proximity of the Little Mermaid ride. This would allow for this whole section of the Studios to be cleared out and re-imagined as something else entirely, or allow for the Monsters Inc. coaster to maybe fit in here as an expansion of Pixar Place.
(12/23/2023) According to the Disney Parks Blog the former “Voyage of the Little Mermaid” show at Disney’s Hollywood Studios will return in the fall of 2024 in a new form called “The Little Mermaid - A Musical Adventure”. The original show closed during the 2020 resort-wide Pandemic closure and failed to reopen along with the rest of the park.
When the new version of the show opens it will feature “new set pieces, cutting-edge effects, and a bold new design that captures Ariel’s imagination and emotions through her unique view of the world around her.” Construction is already under-way inside the theater and the new show will feature popular songs like “Part of You World”, “Poor Unfortunate Souls”, “Kiss the Girl” and more.
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2025 - Disney Villains - (9/6/2024) Walt Disney World has confirmed that a new Disney Villains themed show will be coming to Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Summer 2025. Look for the new show to arrive in the Sunset Showcase theater venue, where the new show will feature appearances by “dozens of the most infamous evildoers” Disney has to offer.
Currently the Sunset Showcase theater is home to Lightning McQueen’s Racing Academy, which will have its last performance on October 7th.
2026 - Smugglers Run - Mando & Grogu - (8/11/2024) Ever since I saw Millennium Falcon: Smuggler Run I’ve felt that the video-game style experience really needed to expand and add other ‘missions’ you could experience. At last, Disney agrees, and in 2026, just in time for the launch of The Mandalorian and Grogu movie hitting theatrers, a new new story/attraction featuring Mando and Grogu will also drop into the Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run attraction at Disneyland and Walt Disney World.
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???? - Monsters Inc. Door Coaster / Pixar Place Expansion - (8/14/2024) An interesting looking model of the proposed Monsters Inc. Door Coaster was on display at D23, which you can see in the video below. Disney mentioned that they wanted guests to experience what it was like when those robot-arms would grab and lift the doors from the Scare Floor to the ceiling track and then zoom off to the storage area, and it looks like the station has been designed to do just that based on the look of the model.
The load area appears to divide into two load/unload bays, each of which will have a left and right track position, so I’m guessing whatever elevator style lift they are planning will send one track up when the other goes down. Once at the top, the tracks will all merge into one and then appears to head on over towards the larger door storage building where the majority of the ride will be enclosed, entering from the outside into the top of the storage bay through a hole in the upper right corner, not unlike how Tron Lightcycle/Run does.
Other than the vertical lift out of the station, the layout does not appear to feature any kind of traditional lift hill system, though there are some longer straight track sections that could potentially hold boosters to help the train maintain speed if necessary, as well as serve as a block/brake location in the event of an E-Stop.
(8/11/2024) A new ride concept that has been kicking around since 2001 was just confirmed at D23 last night. Anyone remember the rumored Monsters Inc. Door Coaster concept for Disney’s Hollywood Studios?
This time it isn’t just a new ride, but a whole Monsters Inc. themed mini-land where you can stroll the streets of Monsteropolis and go on a tour of the power plant and get to ride on a suspended coaster through the door vault as seen in the classic film finale.
According to the article, work will begin on the project sometime next year (2025), so I guess the next question is to wonder where exactly in the park this will go? Given the proximity to the Pixar Place and Toy Story Land, I do wonder if it’s time to wipe out the old Animation Courtyard building complex? Of course this could also mark the end of the line of the Muppets Courtyard area too if they wanted to build it on the other side of the park.
I guess we’ll have to wait and see. As for the ride itself, based on the concept artwork this appears to be a Vekoma style family inverted coaster, which fits in with the rumors for the past 20+ years. However, I can’t help but dream of what it could be like if Disney could instead take it to the next level by using Veakom’s new flying coaster system instead, which allows for a more comfortable loading experience. The first one just opened at a park in Germany (Phantasialand) in 2020.
(2/12/20) We’ve heard a small tidbit about the possible future of the Star Wars: Launch Bay along with that entire surrounding area of the park, including One Man’s Dream, the Voyage of the Little Mermaid show and possibly even the soundstage where the Disney Junior shows are performed. According to the rumor, the concept of “Pixar Place” would be extended down to the Launch Bay area, with all the available space to be transformed into possible new attractions themed to various Pixar movie characters. Something themed around the Monsters Inc. universe seems very likely, as the Monsters Laugh Floor at the Magic Kingdom is always rumored to be on the chopping block. There is always buzz about trying to make a mini version of Cars Land as well, but I’m not sure they are ready to invest in a full blown Radiator Springs Racers attraction just as they are turning their focus onto the Epcot update. Personally, I wouldn’t mind seeing something with The Incredibles or Wall-E added here as well.
Of course, there is also the matter of what they intend to do with Indiana Jones at the park. Keep it, renovate it into a new show, turn the area into a full attraction… or are they ready to let Indy leave the Studios and head to Disney’s Animal Kingdom?
???? - Revised Rock ‘n Roller Coaster - (8/3/2024) Aerosmith released an interesting statement yesterday to social media, officially confirming that the band has now decided “to retire from the touring stage.” I’m sure there are a number of issues that led to this decision from the band members, but the note focuses on the injured vocal chords of lead singer, Steven Tyler, as it became medically clear that “a full recovery from his vocal injury is not possible.”
While this definitely will not have an immediate effect upon the status of Disney’s Rock ‘n Roller Coaster attraction, I would say that it probably will be a large influence Disney’s eventual decision to change the theme of the ride at some point in the future.
(6/10/2023) Remember when I mentioned the growing online popularity of the idea of replacing Aerosmith with a “Muppets Mayhem” for the Rock ‘n Roller Coaster? According to a report at WDWMagic, in a since-deleted Tweet, Jeff Yorkes, co-creator of the Muppets Mayhem series on Disney+ confirmed that they did pitch this very concept to Disney management back when the show itself was pitched.
According to that article, the deleted tweet apparently said, “Not gonna lie-- this was absolutely part of our original pitch and is another piece of this dream. Fingers-crossed that it happens.”
While this doesn’t confirm that anything will happen to the actual attraction, the fact that the tweet was since deleted seems to clearly indicate that Mr. Yorkes was probably contacted and asked to delete the tweet ASAP, which you can take for what you will.
(5/29/2023) Disney fans were happy to see that the popular Rock ‘n Roller Coaster reopened this weekend after an extended maintenance closure shut the attraction down back in Februrary. While there was a lot of gossip about possibly removing the Aerosmith theming from the ride, especially given some issues that had come to light regarding Steven Tyler’s past, the attraction has reopened without any change to the ride’s theme or music. The extended closure was said to have been scheduled to replace and repair the roller coaster’s aging launch system which had been the cause of growing downtime issues with the ride over the past few years.
That said… and gossip aside, eventually we will see the Aerosmith theme dropped. The replacement opportunities are endless, as they could go with a more generic music theme featuring music from a number of different artists or even a total re-theme of the entire concept as was done when the Paris version was given a new storyline with Iron Man & Captain Marvel. Of course, one fun idea floating around the internet that many have taken a shine to would be to link the existing rock ‘n roll theme to the Muppets universe via the “The Muppets Mayhem” series on Disney+. (As Stephen Tyler says, “Wait a minute… I like that idea!)
(12/31/2022) Remember when I said that Disney would likely keep Aerosmith on board at Rock ‘n Roller Coaster until they got closer to the end of the contract term? Well, I also mentioned that if need be, Disney could always opt to end the deal early, especially if the right conditions arose.
Currently Rock ‘n Roller Coaster isn’t slated to close for rehab until Feb. 20 but regarding those special conditions, one appears to have just arisen. Over the past couple days it has been making headlines that Aerosmith front-man, Steven Tyler, has now been officially accused of sexual assault with a minor over a multi-year event that took place back in the 1970’s.
I’m not going to get into the details, as you can follow the link to Rolling Stone and read it for yourself, but this is coming to light due to a temporary piece of legislation in California that will end later today, that temporarily lifts the statute of limitations and allowing “survivors of childhood sexual abuse to come forward with their allegations.” The end result however could serve to activate a breach of contract / exit clause over the use of the Aerosmith brand, music and band members appearance within Disney’s Rock ‘n Roller Coaster attraction. If Disney opts to shut down the attraction early, or modify the experience in any way, such as the removal of the pre-show footage featuring Steven Tyler and the rest of Aerosmith, this could be an early indicator that bigger changes may be coming sooner than later.
Stay tuned!
(12/29/2022) According to the official website, Disney has confirmed that the Rock ‘n Roller Coaster attraction will close down for a lengthy refurbishment starting Feb. 20, 2023 and wont resume operations until sometime in Summer 2023.
Again, nothing has been mentioned about replacing Aerosmith, or even the idea of updating the entire theme of the ride, but that hasn’t stopped the rabid fans from speculating what might be coming. Over the years, the idea of updating the theme or even just the music of the attraction every time it closes has become a regular event on the various Disney fan sites. As Screamscape has previously pointed out however, typically big theme park IP contracts come in renewable 10-year terms, if the original contract with Aerosmith was signed in 1998/1999 then they should be in the middle of their third term right now, which means Disney has most likely already paid to keep using Aerosmith footage and music through to at least 2028 or 2029.
There isn’t anything that says Disney can’t change it early, and it is always possible that the last renewal term may have been negotiated for a term shorter than 10-years, but typically those kinds of details are kept very hush-hush. For a similar reference however, Disney did have a separate deal with Aerosmith for the Paris version of Rock ‘n Roller Coaster which opened in 2002 and then shut down in late 2019 to transform it into the current Avengers Assemble: Flight Force attraction that opened in 2022. That said, I believe the original intent was to open the Avengers version in 2021, giving them about 18-20 months time from the closure to reopen it before COVID-19 caused it to be delayed for another year. So if Disney were planning on replacing Aerosmith, I can’t help but think they would ride out the current contract until at least 2027.
(9/8/21) Are the days of Aerosmith on Disney’s Rock ‘n Roller Coaster coming to a close? Perhaps, but only when Disney is ready to try something else. Another article posted elsewhere has been making some waves with a somewhat deceptive headline that seems to imply that the longevity of Aerosmith’s music on the coaster may be in Universal’s hands. The truth is in the article, but you have to read it very carefully, because when they say “Universal” they are not talking about Universal Orlando, Universal Studios, NBC/Universal or even parent company Comcast.
Instead they are talking about Universal Music Group, which a long time ago was part of the greater Universal empire when it was all owned by Vivendi, but has long since been spun off as a separate company with no ties at all to the current Universal Studios that is owned by Comcast. So don’t let the UMG’s logo fool you. As for the Aerosmith connection, the aging band signed a deal with UMG that will give them control of the band’s entire catalog starting in 2022.
Now, with that fact out of the way, don’t for a moment think that the Disney ride will have to remove the soundtrack next year. Long ago Disney signed their own contract with Aerosmith to use their name and music on the attraction. If this follows the typical theme park IP contract, the initial contract would have gone into effect either when the ride opened, or maybe the year before (so 1998-1999) and typically those kind of IP deals are signed in 10-year terms. Usually with terms for an automatic renewal built in for a second 10-year term, and then some verbiage in place to allow for further 10-year extensions to be added down the line at a higher price, unless one of the parties is very desperate to break the contract, or found to be in violation of the terms.
So in a worst case pay-out, Disney and Aerosmith have already begun their third term, which would have begun 2018/2019, and would see Disney able to keep using the theme, the band name, the existing soundtrack, and footage of the band in the preshow until at least 2028 or 2029 if need be. I have a feeling some modifications were made to the deal during the last renewal however, as it has been pointed out that Disney stopped selling merchandise with the Aerosmith name in the giftshop a few years ago, and the clone of the ride in Paris ceased operation in 2019 and is currently being renovated to have a Marvel / Iron Man theme for when it re-opens as part of that park’s Avengers Campus.
With the band having been started in the 1970’s and the various members either in the late 60’s to mid 70’s, it does seem like time is catching up with them all, and Disney could very well choose to transform the ride to either have a new musical focus on another band, or a variety of musical bands that could be played at random, or simply change the entire theme of the ride entirely into something new, as they are doing in Paris. But I wouldn’t count on seeing anything change until we get closer to the end of the current contract.
(4/24/19) Our friends at Attractions Magazine were lucky enough to take a little tour of Walt Disney Imagineering not long ago, and while they had to keep the cameras put away for much of the time, they did learn a few fun facts about new Disney projects in the works. One of which was a confirmation that they were working on some new theme ideas for Rock ‘n Roller Coaster at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, as the company’s license contract with Aerosmith is expiring in the near future.
We already know that the counterpart at the Walt Disney Studios Paris park is being given some kind of new Marvel theme, rumored to be tied to Iron Man or the Avengers, but that also won’t happen in Florida. Nothing was said about when the Aerosmith deal would end, but I believe these kinds of deals are often in 10 or 20 year increments, and since the ride opened in 1999, this year would be the 20 year mark. Of course Disney also always opt to pay for a small term extension if all parties agree so don’t count Aerosmith out just yet.
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