Rock 'n' Roller Coaster
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Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith is an indoor launched roller coaster located at
Disney's Hollywood Studios Disney's Hollywood Studios is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando. It is owned and operated by the Walt Disney Company through its Experiences division. Based on a concept by Marty Sklar, Randy Br ...
within
Walt Disney World The Walt Disney World Resort is an destination resort, entertainment resort complex located about southwest of Orlando, Florida, United States. Opened on October 1, 1971, the resort is operated by Disney Experiences, a division of the Wa ...
. Manufactured by
Vekoma Vekoma Rides Manufacturing is an amusement ride manufacturer. Vekoma is a syllabic abbreviation of Veld Koning Machinefabriek (Veld Koning Machine Factory) which was established in 1926 by Hendrik op het Veld. History The company originally manu ...
, the roller coaster opened to the public on July 29, 1999. It uses
linear motor A linear motor is an electric motor that has had its stator and rotor (electric), rotor "unrolled", thus, instead of producing a torque (rotation), it produces a linear force along its length. However, linear motors are not necessarily straight. ...
electromagnetic technology for acceleration, which propels riders from 0 to in 2.8 seconds. Riders experience up to 5 Gs and travel through three inversions, which include a rollover and a
corkscrew A corkscrew is a tool for drawing Cork (plug), corks from wine bottles and other household bottles that may be sealed with corks. In its traditional form, a corkscrew simply consists of a pointed metallic helix (often called the "worm") attach ...
. The attraction also features recorded music and appearances from American
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...
band
Aerosmith Aerosmith is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of lead vocalist Steven Tyler, bassist Tom Hamilton (musician), Tom Hamilton, drummer Joey Kramer, and guitarists Joe Perry (musician), Joe Perry and B ...
. A second installation with an identical track layout opened as Rock 'n' Roller Coaster avec Aerosmith at
Walt Disney Studios Park Walt Disney Studios Park ( French: ''Parc Walt Disney Studios'') is the second of two theme parks built at Disneyland Paris in Marne-la-Vallée, France. The park opened on 16 March 2002, and it is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company t ...
within
Disneyland Paris Disneyland Paris is an entertainment resort in Marne-la-Vallée, France, located about east of Paris. It encompasses two theme parks, seven Disney-owned hotels, two convention centers, a golf course, an arena, and a shopping, dining and entert ...
on March 16, 2002. It was planned to close in September 2019 for a planned transformation to become a Avengers Assemble: Flight Force as part of the new
Avengers Campus Avengers Campus is a Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU)–themed area located at Disney California Adventure and Walt Disney Studios Park in Disneyland Paris, and being developed for Hong Kong Disneyland under the name Stark Expo. The Marvel-t ...
themed land at the park, but was delayed. In November 2024, Disney announced that the attraction would be re-themed to
The Muppets The Muppets are an American ensemble cast of puppet characters known for an surreal humor, absurdist, slapstick, burlesque, and self-referential humor, self-referential style of Musical theatre, musical Variety show, variety-sketch comedy. Cre ...
, following the closure of '' Muppet*Vision 3D''. In June 2025, it was announced that the re-theme is scheduled to open in 2026.


History

In April 1998, Disney-MGM Studios (later named Disney's Hollywood Studios) announced that they would be adding Rock 'n' Roller Coaster. The ride was set to open in 1999 for the park's tenth anniversary. The park hired
Vekoma Vekoma Rides Manufacturing is an amusement ride manufacturer. Vekoma is a syllabic abbreviation of Veld Koning Machinefabriek (Veld Koning Machine Factory) which was established in 1926 by Hendrik op het Veld. History The company originally manu ...
to build the launched
indoor roller coaster An indoor roller coaster or enclosed roller coaster is a roller coaster built inside a structure. The structure may be unrelated to the ride, or it may be intended solely or primarily for the ride. Many indoor coasters are custom made and place ...
, and construction began two months prior to the announcement in February 1998. The track layout was completed by June 1998. Soft opening cast member previews began in June 1999. The following month, the attraction held its grand opening on July 29 with a special, invitation-only party featuring
Aerosmith Aerosmith is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of lead vocalist Steven Tyler, bassist Tom Hamilton (musician), Tom Hamilton, drummer Joey Kramer, and guitarists Joe Perry (musician), Joe Perry and B ...
as the guests of honor. Winners were taken to the park, in stretch limousines and received complimentary meals. After a special performance by painter Denny Dent, winners received the chance to ride the roller coaster with one of the Aerosmith band members. A picture from the special event is on display near the exit of the ride. In each train, there are a total of 120 speakers. There are five surrounding each rider, consisting of two mid-range speakers, two tweeters, and a subwoofer placed under the seat. The Walt Disney Studios Park version of the ride opened on March 16, 2002. It featured the same track layout as the Walt Disney World installation, but the theme and line queue were different. In 2007, the queue was modified to accommodate single riders in addition to FASTPASS. On December 17, 2015, the Hollywood Studios location hosted a special event to promote the release of '' Star Wars: The Force Awakens''. The queue line featured
Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera media franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and Cultural impact of Star Wars, quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop cu ...
movie posters, the Aerosmith pre-show was disabled and the speakers played music from the film. The same Star Wars overlay also occurred on April 14, 2017. In 2016, the pre-show video was edited to digitally remove a " crude hand gesture" made by
Steven Tyler Steven Victor Tallarico (born March 26, 1948), known professionally as Steven Tyler, is an American singer and songwriter. Tyler is best known as the lead singer of the Boston-based rock band Aerosmith, in which he also plays the keyboards, h ...
. In 2017, the Hollywood Studios location received new television screens mounted in spaces prior to the boarding area. They show loading and safety tips in an effort to reduce boarding time. In addition, the exterior of the main ride building was given a new coat of paint. It was announced at the 2018 D23 Expo in
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
that the
Walt Disney Studios Park Walt Disney Studios Park ( French: ''Parc Walt Disney Studios'') is the second of two theme parks built at Disneyland Paris in Marne-la-Vallée, France. The park opened on 16 March 2002, and it is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company t ...
location would be closing for a complete theme change to the ''
Iron Man Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, the character first appearan ...
'' and Avengers franchises of the
Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on List of Marvel Cinematic Universe films, a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appe ...
. After more than 18 years of operation, the attraction officially closed on September 2, 2019 and was replaced by Avengers Assemble: Flight Force on July 20, 2022, as part of the new Avengers Campus Paris themed land. On November 22, 2024 in conjunction with the announcement of the closure of '' Muppet*Vision 3D'', Disney announced that Rock 'n' Roller Coaster will be re-themed to feature
The Muppets The Muppets are an American ensemble cast of puppet characters known for an surreal humor, absurdist, slapstick, burlesque, and self-referential humor, self-referential style of Musical theatre, musical Variety show, variety-sketch comedy. Cre ...
, but would retain the same name. In June 2025, it was announced that the re-theme is scheduled to open in 2026.


Ride experience

The pre-show of the attraction was modified over time. The most recent version features band member Joe Perry asking Chris, the Disney cast member in the pre-show, to grab his black
Les Paul Lester William Polsfuss (June 9, 1915 – August 12, 2009), known as Les Paul, was an American jazz guitarist, jazz, country guitarist, country, and blues guitarist, songwriter, luthier, and inventor. He was one of the pioneers of the solid body ...
guitar. The cast member in the pre-show area then proceeds to pick up and remove a black guitar signed by Joe Perry from the set. The pre-show film also includes a roadie saying "Hey, Joe, I'll get it for ya." in the background as a backup, in the event that a cast member is not available to participate.


Queue


Disney's Hollywood Studios

As guests enter the line queue, they walk into a high-ceilinged circular room themed to a fictional record label called G-Force Records. Walls are decorated with ceiling-high guitars and digital posters of
Hollywood Records Hollywood Records is an American record label owned by the Disney Music Group which focuses on pop, rock, alternative, hip hop and country genres, also specializing in recordings for a more mature audience not suitable for the flagship Wal ...
artists, and the floor depicts a giant record. These digital posters sometimes display guests' names as recording artists, accomplished by short-range RFID scanners that read their MagicBands and Magicband+'s Also on display to guests is a small exhibit of recording instruments in the stand-by queue. As part of the pre-show experience, guests are asked to wait outside the doors of Studio C. Different musical instruments can be heard being played in Studio B during a rehearsal. As guests enter Studio C,
Aerosmith Aerosmith is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of lead vocalist Steven Tyler, bassist Tom Hamilton (musician), Tom Hamilton, drummer Joey Kramer, and guitarists Joe Perry (musician), Joe Perry and B ...
is working on an instrumental recording of "
Walk This Way "Walk This Way" is a song by the American rock band Aerosmith. Written by Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, the song was originally released as the second single from the album '' Toys in the Attic'' (1975). It peaked at number 10 on the ''Billboa ...
" with a sound engineer ( Ken Marino). The band greets the guests as their manager ( Illeana Douglas) walks in interrupting, telling the band they're running late to a scheduled show. As the band gets ready to depart,
Steven Tyler Steven Victor Tallarico (born March 26, 1948), known professionally as Steven Tyler, is an American singer and songwriter. Tyler is best known as the lead singer of the Boston-based rock band Aerosmith, in which he also plays the keyboards, h ...
stops and says they can't leave the guests behind. Joe Perry and the rest of the band agree, as the manager sarcastically replies, "Well, guys, what do you expect me to do? Send them all with you?" Steven pauses and says, "Wait a minute. I love that idea. How about some backstage passes?" The manager reluctantly agrees and makes a phone call ordering a "super stretch" limo, calling it a "really fast car" that will take everyone across town to the show. The limo that Aerosmith boarded in the background peels out, leaving their manager behind to her disappointment. As the scene ends, "Walk This Way" resumes playing but this time with vocals. Guests are permitted to exit the pre-show area and board the ride.


Walt Disney Studios Park

The former Paris version was similar, except guests entered a building themed to the fictional Tour de Force Records. The story focused on Aerosmith, working with engineers, creating a revolutionary new music experience at the Tour De Force Records studios. After watching the pre-show which features Aerosmith's Steven Tyler hyping up the ride, guests were lured into the testing area where they boarded one of five ''Soundtrackers'', the prototype vehicles for the new experience.


On-ride

As the limo leaves the parking garage, Bill St. James, the radio DJ of LA's Classic Rock Station, begins a short commentary, usually followed by a traffic report in the surrounding area where Aerosmith's concert is taking place. The limo stops in front of a highway tunnel where a highway sign flashes humorous messages like: "Traffic bug you? Then STEP on it!". (In the Paris version, instead of guests being taken on the Los Angeles freeways, the Paris version is based around an Aerosmith music video.) Building up anticipation, seconds before the limo is launched, Steven Tyler counts down from five, launching the limo from 0 to in less than 2.8 seconds at "one!". As the limo enters the tunnel, the on-ride photo is taken and a selection of Aerosmith songs play. After a long straightway, the limo rises up into the Rollover element, which is a two inversion element, and then some less intense over-banked turns. During the ride, there are neon signs on the side of the track, designed to mimic road signs; in the Paris version, lighting rigs, projectors, strobes, and smoke effects are used in place of the road signs that exist in the U.S. version. The limo continues along the track, until it reaches the third and final inversion, a corkscrew, and ending the ride with more banked turns as well as a camelback hill. The limo proceeds to the VIP backstage area, where guests exit through the red carpet towards the on-ride photo screens at the gift shop.


Soundtrack


Disney's Hollywood Studios

Walt Disney Imagineering Walt Disney Imagineering Research & Development, Inc.—commonly referred to as Walt Disney Imagineering, Imagineering, or WDI—is the research and development arm of The Walt Disney Company, responsible for the creation, design, and construc ...
worked with Aerosmith to produce a special soundtrack for the roller coaster. Each coaster train features different Aerosmith songs, some containing some new lyrics written specifically for the attraction; for example, "Love in an Elevator" is sung as "Love in a Rollercoaster". * License plates and songs heard on each car: ** 1QKLIMO: Plays " Nine Lives" ** UGOBABE: Plays " Love in an Elevator" and "
Walk This Way "Walk This Way" is a song by the American rock band Aerosmith. Written by Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, the song was originally released as the second single from the album '' Toys in the Attic'' (1975). It peaked at number 10 on the ''Billboa ...
" ** BUHBYE: Plays " Young Lust", " F.I.N.E.", and " Love in an Elevator" (sung as "Love in a Rollercoaster" in the last line) ** H8TRFFC: Plays " Back in the Saddle" and "
Dude (Looks Like a Lady) "Dude (Looks Like a Lady)" is a song by American rock band Aerosmith. It was released as the lead single from the band's ninth studio album '' Permanent Vacation'' in 1987. The song was written by lead singer Steven Tyler, lead guitarist Joe P ...
" ** 2FAST4U: Plays " Sweet Emotion" (live, as featured in '' A Little South of Sanity)'' ** There is an unused song that is only used during testing and maintenance known as " What Kind of Love Are You On" (sung as "What Kind of Ride Are You On" in the last line) There is a 6th limo in the fleet that has no license plate and is always "in refurbishment." The vehicles are rotated in and out of use after a period of many thousands of laps around the track. However, the maintenance teams will switch out the plate and add the proper song to the new vehicle every time a rotation is made. In addition, prior to the 2007 refurbishment: *The ride featured Uncle Joe Benson, a well-known Los Angeles rock radio DJ, as the station's DJ. Bill St. James, former host of ABC Radio's '' Flashback'', currently provides his own voice as the DJ of "LA's Classic Rock Station." *The UGOBABE license plate has been used as UGOGIRL. *
Steven Tyler Steven Victor Tallarico (born March 26, 1948), known professionally as Steven Tyler, is an American singer and songwriter. Tyler is best known as the lead singer of the Boston-based rock band Aerosmith, in which he also plays the keyboards, h ...
displayed the Shocker gesture when agreeing to offer backstage passes. *The "Chris" that Joe Perry asked to grabbed the black Les Paul was portrayed by a cast member who took a black Les Paul off of the recording studio set. Currently, this effect is done on rare occasions. *Only the UGOGIRL and BUHBYE limos had actual countdowns (As a result, Steven Tyler has commentary while counting down when it was added to the other limos).


Walt Disney Studios Park

The vehicles in Paris were called "Soundtrackers" instead of limousines. A unique aspect of the Walt Disney Studios version is that each Soundtracker had its own theme. There were five different light shows and five different soundtracks, one for each Soundtracker. The themes were as follows: * Soundtracker 1: green lightshow theme; played "Back in the Saddle" and "Dude (Looks Like a Lady)" * Soundtracker 2: purple lightshow theme; played "Young Lust," "F.I.N.E.", and "Love in an Elevator" * Soundtracker 3: multicolour lightshow theme; played "Love in an Elevator" and "Walk This Way" * Soundtracker 4: red lightshow theme; played "Nine Lives" * Soundtracker 5: blue lightshow theme; played "Sweet Emotion" (live, as featured in A Little South of Sanity)


References


External links


Official website
{{Aerosmith 1999 establishments in Florida 2002 establishments in France 2019 disestablishments in France Aerosmith Backlot (Walt Disney Studios Park) Enclosed roller coasters Former Walt Disney Parks and Resorts attractions Licensed properties at Walt Disney Parks & Resorts Roller coasters at Disney's Hollywood Studios Roller coasters at Walt Disney Studios Park Sunset Boulevard (Disney's Hollywood Studios) Walt Disney Parks and Resorts attractions Walt Disney Studios Park