On the ultimate day of MuppetVision 3D, Walt Disney World has introduced some ‘silver lining’ information in regards to the opening timeframe for Rock ‘n’ Curler Coaster Starring the Muppets, which can change Aerosmith in 2026. This covers every part we all know in regards to the thrill trip reimagining, and once you would possibly count on the previous coaster to shut & new attraction to debut.
The very first thing we all know to this point is that Monsters, Inc. Door Coaster and Monstropolis mini-land is getting began a lot prior to anticipated, with PizzeRizzo, MuppetVision 3D and the remainder of Muppets Courtyard closing in the present day (June 7, 2025). As of tomorrow, partitions will go up round Muppets Courtyard, leaving open solely Ice Chilly Hydraulics, Baseline Faucet Home, and the Grand Avenue thoroughfare into Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.
When asserting the closure of Muppets Courtyard, Walt Disney World revealed that Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy and extra of their associates will likely be shifting proper alongside to Sundown Boulevard. The Muppets will likely be taking on Rock ‘n’ Curler Coaster, teaming up with a few of music’s largest stars for a rockin’ music competition. Due to a contemporary replace, we now have new particulars in regards to the timing of this transfer.
Featured on the poster for Rock ‘n’ Curler Coaster Starring the Muppets are all the above-mentioned Muppets plus Dr. Tooth and the Electrical Mayhem Band, together with Floyd Pepper, Janice, Lips, Animal, and Zoot. It’s unclear of whether or not these are “a few of music’s largest stars” or if that’s a reference to non-Muppets music that’ll be performed on the coaster.
It’s attainable that the Muppets are used because the storytelling gadget within the queue and pre-show, however the trip expertise options mainstream music (a la Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind). By which case, perhaps Aerosmith gained’t be completely evicted, in spite of everything!
As the primary Disney trip ever to function The Muppets, there’s positive to be laughter, screams and new tunes for this attraction for followers to take pleasure in all through the journey and loads of Muppets-themed merchandise on Sundown Boulevard! Within the meantime, there’s nonetheless sufficient time to catch a super-stretch limo to the Discussion board to take pleasure in Rock ‘n’ Curler Coaster Starring Aerosmith.
In line with a brand new Walt Disney World press launch, Rock ‘n’ Curler Coaster Starring Aerosmith is now formally set to shut in 2026 for its trip reimagining. This nonetheless doesn’t specify a day, month, and even season but, however it does reveal that the reimagined Rock ‘n’ Curler Coaster Starring the Muppets will even open someday in 2026.
From this, we will surmise a bit extra in regards to the closing and opening timeframes for each variations of Rock ‘n’ Curler Coaster. However first, right here’s a enjoyable announcement video from Kermit the Frog:
Hello Ho everybody! @TheMuppets are packing up and shifting to Sundown Blvd for his or her first ever coaster! Seize your guitar (or banjo), as a result of Rock ’N’ Curler Coaster Starring @TheMuppets speeds into Disney’s Hollywood Studios in 2026! pic.twitter.com/ldltI3dGmi
— Walt Disney World (@WaltDisneyWorld) June 7, 2025
As a fast apart, I’m nonetheless not used to that voice. Though it does make me need to give Gonzo’s selfmade laundry chute curler coaster a go, and it’s good to have this ‘silver lining’ replace on Rock ‘n’ Curler Coaster Starring the Muppets, particularly as some followers have speculated that it’s going to be quietly cancelled–that it was solely introduced to placate followers and supply “cowl” for the closure of MuppetVision. (I’ve heard from a number of sources that this isn’t the case, and that there’s been energetic manufacturing for the queue and pre-show for some time now.)
For additional hypothesis about when Rock ‘n’ Curler Coaster Starring Aerosmith will shut in 2026–and when RnRC Starring the Muppets will open–we should always look to different mission timelines at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and past.
One factor we’ve already seen just lately is the brand new Villains Unfairly Ever After and Little Mermaid Musical Journey stage reveals each debuted concurrently round Memorial Day. That was a great transfer from a advertising and marketing perspective, because it offered a splashier bundle than a single stage present. Nonetheless not fairly sufficient to compete with Epic Universe, however they tried!
Trying down the highway into 2026, there’s the same setup at Disney’s Hollywood Studios as soon as once more. The New Mission that includes Mandalorian & Child Yoda for Millennium Falcon Smugglers Run debuts on Might 22, 2026.
Within the case of the Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge attraction, that date isn’t being chosen strategically for the sake of Walt Disney World. Might 22, 2026 is just when the brand new film debuts.
At this level, it’s unclear whether or not that’ll necessitate a closure or be performed in a single day like the brand new scenes in Star Excursions. As a extra elaborate attraction, my hope is that Smugglers Run will go down for a minimum of a number of weeks for minor modifications to make the queue and pre-show mesh with the mission. Who is aware of, although.
In any case, we’re skeptical that Walt Disney World could be prepared to have Rock ‘n’ Curler Coaster and Millennium Falcon Smugglers Run closed for refurbishment on the similar time. They’re two main thrill rides which can be fairly well-liked and assist absorb crowds. Whereas having them each debut on Might 22, 2026 would make for an intriguing advertising and marketing bundle, I’m greater than a bit skeptical that’ll occur.
Not simply due to the refurbishments, both. (Once more, it’s nonetheless unclear Smugglers Run could have any downtime.) There’s additionally the fact that the brand new mission for Smugglers Run is a Star Wars advertising and marketing instrument, a minimum of partly, so it’s extra probably that Disney will bundle a collection of enhancements round that in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.
We’re addressing all of this as a result of there’s the chance that we’re fallacious, and Might 22 is the goal debut date for Rock ‘n’ Curler Coaster Starring the Muppets. That’s not a foul guess, and at this level, there’s actually nothing else on the calendar to intention for.
With that in thoughts, one other factor to contemplate is the deadline of DINOSAUR over at Animal Kingdom. Whereas that’s but to be formally introduced, each signal factors to mid-January 2026 after the vacation rush of crowds and Walt Disney World Marathon is over. It’s fully attainable that Disney will take the identical strategy with RnRC, and likewise shut that in mid-January. This might set the desk for Rock ‘n’ Curler Coaster Starring the Muppets to debut across the begin of Spring Break season.
One other chance is way later within the 12 months, with RnRC Starring Aerosmith closing after the tip of Spring Break season (mid-April 2026) or after the tip of summer time (mid-August 2026). By which case, Rock ‘n’ Curler Coaster Starring the Muppets might debut in June or July 2026 or between Fall Break and Veterans Day 2026. One other very actual chance is that the closure and opening happen seemingly at random, one thing that’s been occurring increasingly more with Walt Disney World closures and openings.
But when that is strategic (and it most likely is since DHS has capability constraints), the aim could be shedding the RnRC capability when it’s wanted the least, and gaining the capability of Rock ‘n’ Curler Coaster Starring the Muppets proper earlier than an enormous vacationer season. We’d absolutely count on that to be how this performs out.
There’s additionally the query of simply how lengthy the Rock ‘n’ Curler Coaster reimagining will take. Check Observe goes to finish up being closed for over a 12 months. Ditto Large Thunder Mountain Railroad. DINOSAUR’s conversion into Indiana Jones Journey will (hopefully) take a minimum of 18 months.
If RnRC’s reimagining is comparable, Walt Disney World would possibly as a substitute work backwards from the perfect reopening timeframe to dictate the closure date. By which case, you would possibly assume that since Rock ‘n’ Curler Coaster Starring the Muppets goes to open someday in 2026, the model Starring Aerosmith wants to shut ASAP in 2026 to accommodate. We may be speaking a January closing simply to have an opportunity at a November 2026 opening!
We strongly suspect the RnRC reimagining gained’t take wherever close to that lengthy. The curler coaster observe and structure are nearly definitely going to stay unchanged inside the present gravity constructing, and modifications to any of that’s what would balloon the timeline of this mission. It’s most likely not getting a brand new facade or any structural modifications to the outside.
Given the idea artwork, we all know the trip autos aren’t altering (other than cosmetically). It’s additionally probably that the load space, launch, and unload will probably keep the identical. If we needed to guess, Imagineering will create story contrivances that supply appreciable overlap with Rock ‘n’ Curler Coaster Starring Aerosmith.
Possibly it’ll be the Muppets racing to get from their studio on the Jim Henson Firm Lot in Hollywood to Downtown Los Angeles for a present. That will permit for lots of what’s at the moment a part of RnRC to stay unchanged. In all probability, that is going to be what they name a “no dough” reimagining–that’s most likely how Imagineering bought the pitch accepted within the first place.
Being a curler coaster at the hours of darkness with minimal props, there’s most likely a good quantity of prepwork that may very well be performed after hours whereas Rock ‘n’ Curler Coaster Starring Aerosmith remains to be operational with out company noticing. It’s additionally fully attainable that the present props don’t actually change if the attraction retains the Los Angeles live performance conceit.
The trickier and time-consuming modifications will occur within the queue and pre-show. Even then, it’s our understanding that Disney has contingency plans in place that might permit the corporate to take away all references to Aerosmith in a single day. That Rock ‘n’ Curler Coaster might proceed working, with out closure, within the occasion of an Aerosmith scandal that required Disney to distance itself from the band instantly. That is nothing new–these plans had been most likely formulated throughout the attraction’s growth.
This similar contingency plan might permit for a reimagining with minimal downtime. Should you’ve performed RnRC early within the morning, late at night time, or throughout After Hours occasions, you would possibly know that it’s generally attainable to bypass the pre-show. It’s because, not like many different sights, the non-skippable security spiel isn’t throughout the pre-show.
With the doorways open on that pre-show room permitting for company to go by means of, this theoretically opens the door for the Muppets Mayhem takeover to return to life with out RnRC ever happening for refurbishment. Which means it might shut as “Starring Aerosmith” someday and reopen as “Starring the Muppets” the following. This isn’t what we count on to occur–simply illustrating the chance to underscore how work may very well be performed whereas the trip is operational. That is how the Jungle Cruise reimagining was carried out post-COVID, for reference.
Truthfully, I hope this isn’t the case–and doubt it will likely be. Much less downtime is the worst-case situation from my perspective, because it means the ambitiousness of the reimagining and its finances are low.
It will imply we nearly definitely aren’t getting any of the Audio Animatronics from MuppetVision 3D or some other “meaty” additions to Rock ‘n’ Curler Coaster. That could be a welcome reduction to these of you who’re holding out hope for a real preservation of MuppetVision 3D, and maybe the creation of a Muppets Courtyard again right here when Villains Unfairly Ever After ends its run.
Truthfully, I’m the alternative. Whereas I’d love for Disney to carry again the MuppetVision belongings for a revival of that present, I simply don’t see it taking place in any lifelike situation. And then again, the much less that’s invested in Rock ‘n’ Curler Coaster Starring the Muppets, the extra probably it’s that this is the stopgap resolution.
It’s fully attainable this RnRC reimagining is barely being performed to placate Muppets followers and since Disney needs to ditch Aerosmith within the near-term. This entire nook of the park may very well be destined for an additional objective, maybe a Marvel-ous one, someday within the 2030s after Villains Land debuts in Magic Kingdom. However I digress.
The extra time and cash that’s spent on Rock ‘n’ Curler Coaster Starring the Muppets, the higher. If this can be a superb 6-month mission that installs Audio Animatronics and makes pretty bold modifications to the queue, pre-show, and post-show, that’s nice. If it by some means takes 11 months? Completely phenomenal.
Not solely does it imply that Rock ‘n’ Curler Coaster Starring the Muppets will likely be a greater attraction, however it will increase the probability that the joys trip will stick round for a minimum of a decade, maybe extra. The longer the closure and the extra money spent, the longer Rock ‘n’ Curler Coaster Starring the Muppets sticks round.
My honest hope is that Rock ‘n’ Curler Coaster Starring Aerosmith closes on January 5, 2026 and Rock ‘n’ Curler Coaster Starring the Muppets opens on December 11, 2026. That will be the best-case situation based mostly on what we now know. I extremely doubt it’s going to be that massive of a niche between closure and reopening, however that might be the dream.
In the end, that’s a variety of potentialities and it’s actually tough to foretell the almost definitely final result. My intestine is {that a} January closure that coincides with DINOSAUR (very same date) and reopening in time for Spring Break 2026 is Choice #1. Alternatively, a closure round early to mid-August and reopening between Fall Break and Veterans Day is Choice #2. I’m most likely about 50/50 on these at this level by way of probability–the latter makes extra sense, but in addition appears extra uncertain because it’s additional into the long run.
Though my concern is that the mission will be capable to be achieved fully in a single day (through which case the timing may very well be at any time when), I doubt that’s the fact. Extra probably is that the RnRC reimagining necessitates a closure starting from a number of weeks to some months. We already know that it’ll be lower than a year-long mission, however I’d guess on it being lower than a 6-month mission, with 3-4 months most likely being the candy spot.
The saving grace for Rock ‘n’ Curler Coaster Starring the Muppets is that there are hardcore Muppets followers in Walt Disney Imagineering. That implies that they’ll additionally struggle for a wholesome finances, fairly lengthy reimagining, reusing components from MuppetVision that might in any other case be discarded, and having as a lot distinctive Muppets humor as attainable. This being a ardour mission is an excellent factor, even when it’s achieved on a good finances (that’s how we bought PizzeRizzo).
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YOUR THOUGHTS
When in 2026 do you assume Rock ‘n’ Curler Coaster Starring Aerosmith will shut? What about a gap date for the Muppets Mayhem model? Suppose this will likely be a brief reimagining or a prolonged one? Count on a gap by Spring Break or after Summer time? Large finances or “no dough” mission? Are you upset in regards to the Muppets changing Aerosmith, Monsters changing MuppetVision, or each? Do you agree or disagree with our assessments? Any questions we may help you reply? Listening to your suggestions–even once you disagree with us–is each attention-grabbing to us and useful to different readers, so please share your ideas beneath within the feedback!
