Disney Is Already Erasing Aerosmith From Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster—And the Muppets Makeover Has Begun

Just days after the Aerosmith era came to a close at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, crews are already hard at work stripping out the old and painting in the new. The Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster transformation is moving fast—and the first visible signs of the Muppets takeover are showing up right now.

According to Laughing Place, the iconic upside-down convertible suspended from the attraction’s entrance arch—one of the most photographed backdrops on the entire Hollywood Studios lot—has already received a fresh coat of paint as part of the reimagining. Photos captured by photographer Luke Manning show the car’s exterior being repainted, with construction barriers now surrounding the massive guitar structure out front as that too gets a full visual overhaul.

What’s Actually Changing

The entrance car, which for nearly three decades was synonymous with the Aerosmith version of the ride, is being repainted with red flames outlined in orange—a nod to the Electric Mayhem band’s wild, psychedelic aesthetic. The giant guitar near the facade is fully shrouded in construction walls while it receives its own new color scheme.

All exterior Aerosmith signage has been pulled down. Disney wasted no time—within 24 hours of the March 1 closure, an updated park map hit the app with every trace of Aerosmith replaced by Muppets branding. Construction signage currently displayed at the site reads “We’re moving right along,” which, if you know your Muppet Movie trivia, is a direct reference to the classic Kermit and Fozzie road trip song.

The guitar’s base will also feature a gold piano key as a specific nod to Dr. Teeth’s gold tooth. These are the kinds of details that tell you Disney’s Imagineers are leaning hard into Muppet lore rather than just slapping new characters onto an existing framework.

A New Story From the Ground Up

The reimagined attraction—officially titled Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets—will place guests inside G-Force Records, a Hollywood recording studio now operating under the ownership of J.P. Grosse, Scooter’s real estate tycoon uncle and owner of the Muppet Theatre. The Electric Mayhem are trying to make it to their biggest concert ever, and guests will pile into a super-stretch limo outfitted with Muppet Labs technology to get them there—at very high speed.

The pre-show will feature an animatronic Scooter rather than the video format used by the Aerosmith version, which is a notable upgrade. The overall visual language of the ride is shifting from gritty urban music industry to what Disney describes as “comedic and cartoon-like”—fully in keeping with the absurdist Muppets world.

Why This Matters for Your Next Trip

If you were planning a Hollywood Studios visit this spring hoping to catch the Aerosmith version one last time, that ship has sailed—the final ride was March 1, 2026. The new Muppets version is targeting a summer 2026 opening with no confirmed date yet. So there is a window of several months where this attraction will simply be unavailable.

The good news is that the transformation appears to be moving quickly. The pace Disney is working at suggests they are motivated to get this open well before the peak summer crowd season, not after it.

We think this is one of the more interesting reimaginings Disney has tackled in recent years. The Muppets are genuinely beloved by guests across generations, and threading them into a high-speed thrill ride—with actual animatronics and deep character-specific detail—feels like a stronger creative fit than it might appear on paper. The Electric Mayhem doing a wild Hollywood road trip is essentially a Muppets plot that writes itself.

Keep an eye on this one. The physical changes happening right now are the clearest signal yet that Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets is real, it is imminent, and it is going to look nothing like what you remember.