The Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster had been closed for refurbishments since February
After being closed for several months for refurbishment, the Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith has re-opened. Disney Cast Members and Guests were back in the saddle for a soft opening over Memorial Day Weekend, according to BlogMickey. Cast Members confirmed to the outlet that the sets inside the actual ride were repainted, with fresh glow-in-the-dark paint, new signs, and new lighting rigs. The Studio and Parking Garage line queues also got a facelift.
Even with all of the recent refurbishments, it remains unclear just how long Disney will be dedicated to having Aerosmith headline the Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster. The attraction was announced in April 1998, and opened to the public on July 29, 1999. At the time, Aerosmith were back on top. The band was riding the wave of their twelfth studio album, 1997’s Nine Lives. Their first outing since re-signing with Columbia Records, the album hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200. The lead single “Pink” garnered the band the GRAMMY® Award for Best Rock Performance.
In 2001 – just two years after the attraction launched – Aerosmith were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. That same year, Disney opened another Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster at Disneyland Paris in France. The attraction closed in 2019 and was replaced with Avengers Assemble: Flight Force, as part of the all-new Avengers Campus.
Now, just as the Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster at Walt Disney World in Florida has re-opened, Aerosmith’s career is coming to a close. Earlier this month, the band announced their Peace Out Tour – a final 40-date trek across North America. With retirement on the horizon, it begs the question whether future generations of Disney park guests will relate to Aerosmith the way fans have over the last 23 years since the coaster’s inception.
At the end of the day, it’s a textbook high-speed thrill ride through the dark – an attraction formula that Disney and many other theme parks throughout history have had a high success rate with. However, the Aerosmith branding attached to the attraction has always been a significant draw to fans of the band. The Walt Disney Company already made way for a more relevant attraction at Disneyland Paris. Now that Aerosmith are mounting their last tour ever, we can only wonder if the original Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster is going to be the next attraction to “peace out.”
Aerosmith’s farewell run kicks off on September 2, 2023 at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, and wraps up on January 26, 2024 at Centre Bell in Montreal. The tour will see the band perform in New York, Chicago, Detroit, Atlanta, Nashville, Dallas, as well as band’s native Boston, among other cities. The Black Crowes will serve as special guests for the entire trek.
“It’s not goodbye, it’s PEACE OUT,” Aerosmith said in a statement. “Get ready and walk this way, you’re going to get the best show of our lives.”
Aerosmith are the best-selling American rock band of all time. Selling over 150 million records worldwide, they have 12 multi-platinum certified albums under their belt. Throughout their career, have garnered four GRAMMY® Awards, six American Music Awards, and ten MTV Video Music Awards. In 2001, the band performed at the Super Bowl Halftime Show.
The post Aerosmith Attraction Re-Opens At Disney’s Hollywood Studios first appeared on The Rock Revival.
The post Aerosmith Attraction Re-Opens At Disney’s Hollywood Studios appeared first on The Rock Revival.