Rock ‘n’ Curler Coaster Starring Aerosmith is closed for an additional multi-month refurbishment till late Summer season 2024 at Walt Disney World. This put up covers the reopening date & particulars about what to anticipate from the venture, what is going to doubtless not change and why this in all probability isn’t a reimagining. (Up to date Could 21, 2024.)
The 2024 Walt Disney World Refurbishment Calendar is beginning to mirror elevated upkeep after a couple of years of lighter refurbishment schedules. This in all probability isn’t going to win me any buddies, however I feel Walt Disney World ought to be including much more points of interest to the closure calendar. There are quite a few rides which were experiencing above-average downtime, and others which are working however not show-ready.
Preventative upkeep doesn’t appear to have been occurring because it ought to–which is the ‘better of each worlds’ resolution, because it means in a single day work that has minimal affect to visitors. I suppose that’s what occurs once you let go of a bunch of old-timers who held the institutional data and lived-experience vital to keep up and repair so many of those legacy points of interest! (However I digress…)
Could 21, 2024 Replace: Walt Disney World has confirmed that Rock ‘n’ Curler Coaster Starring Aerosmith will reopen on July 27, 2024. This date has been added to the official park calendar, which updates on a rolling foundation and simply had these dates added lately. Rock ‘n’ Curler Coaster Starring Aerosmith went down for refurbishment this 12 months on January 8 after an identical closure final winter by way of early summer time.
This quantities to over a 6 month closure, which is longer than the refurbishment of the journey final 12 months throughout (roughly) the identical timeframe. Per Walt Disney World, the rocktastic attraction will resume its super-stretch limo rides in Summer season 2024. The journey is presently closed for normal upkeep and there are not any adjustments anticipated to the visitor expertise because of this.
There are a pair issues to notice right here. The primary is that July 27 remains to be over two months away when this date was introduced, so it’s topic to vary. That’s true of all refurbishment reopenings, however particularly so with this venture. Our guess is that Walt Disney World is being conservative with the reopening date, as that’s the higher method and results in fewer complaints.
That means that it’s extra prone to see Rock ‘n’ Curler Coaster reopen a couple of days or perhaps weeks earlier than July 27, 2024 than it’s to see the journey return later. It actually all relies upon upon how work progresses within the house stretch of the venture. It’s probably price noting that, final 12 months, Rock ‘n’ Curler Coaster reopened a number of weeks forward of schedule.
Second, this now places different points of interest “on the clock.” At the same time as Walt Disney World is growing the journey refurbishment calendar quantity, we suspect they’d be disinclined to make extra last-minute additions till Rock ‘n’ Curler Coaster returns. So contemplate July 28, 2024 the doubtless earliest date for the rumored Magic Kingdom journey closures, in addition to different potential initiatives in EPCOT and different refurbishments which have but to be introduced (and even rumored).
Late July by way of late September is one other comparatively sluggish timeframe, and we anticipate Walt Disney World to benefit from that by including extra short-term journey closures to the refurbishment calendar. However that’s simply hypothesis on our half. Both approach, it’ll be nice to have Rock ‘n’ Curler Coaster Starring Aerosmith again!
What follows is different unique commentary and particulars in regards to the Rock ‘n’ Curler Coaster journey refurbishment…
If this seems like deja vu another time, it ought to. The very same factor occurred one 12 months in the past–proper right down to among the above verbiage from Walt Disney World in regards to the nature of the refurbishment and the announcement coming round Christmas. That closure additionally began in the course of the winter low season and was scheduled to run by way of summer time.
This 12 months, Rock ‘n’ Curler Coaster Starring Aerosmith unofficially reopened at first of the Memorial Day vacation weekend following its multi-month refurbishment. Price noting is that this was a lot sooner than anticipated–by a number of months. Rumors initially pointed to the journey being closed by way of at the least July, with the venture probably persevering with into the autumn low season.
The truth is, Walt Disney World filed two development permits for Rock ‘n’ Curler Coaster Starring Aerosmith’s prolonged closure that corroborated this. Each of these permits expired in September, and likewise appeared to sign a extra complicated refurbishment than what really occurred.
Our guess–and that is simply that–is that there was a final minute change of plans by Walt Disney World, and solely a portion of the originally-scheduled work occurred. That as an alternative of doing the whole lot suddenly, Disney opted to interrupt the venture into two components, doing the primary half earlier than the summer time vacationer season final 12 months and pushing the second half to the identical timeframe in 2024.
Once more, that is only a guess, however it’s at the least considerably supported by the timeline shortening. Aside from this, when is the final time Walt Disney World received one thing main completed forward of schedule? Then there are the permits. There’s additionally the sensible actuality that Rock ‘n’ Curler Coaster has proceed to have reliability woes, which is exactly what the refurbishment was geared toward addressing.
It’s solely potential that final 12 months’s venture was accomplished in full and Disney is barely revisiting the venture now as a result of, regardless of the work being completed, downtime points persist. In order that they’re going to do extra and totally different upkeep because of this. I’ve no insider data, so I actually wouldn’t depend that out.
Nonetheless, we will additionally look to the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, which had its personal bifurcated refurbishment over the course of 2021-2022. That was barely totally different, because it was a ‘stealth’ venture completed whereas the journey was nonetheless operational (elevator shafts went down for upkeep whereas the others continued to run, successfully chopping the journey’s capability in half). However that was additionally completed with a protracted hole in between the 2 halves of the venture.
Operationally, this can be a huge blow for Disney’s Hollywood Studios, which already is missing in sufficient points of interest to soak up the heavy crowds the park sees. This can solely make that worse, particularly if there’s overlap with some other closure. Right here’s hoping that Walt Disney World brings again Jedi Coaching Academy, Residents of Hollywood, or another leisure within the first half of 2024.
We already know that Voyage of the Little Mermaid received’t be returning throughout this refurbishment, as Walt Disney World introduced {that a} reimagined model of that, “The Little Mermaid – A Musical Journey” is coming in Fall 2024. On the plus facet, DHS does have a number of character meet & greets, however these don’t have almost the identical capability as a present or journey.
The Rock ‘n’ Curler Coaster refurbishment will put much more pressure on the already imbalanced Lightning Lane lineup. Already, return instances are sometimes pushed out into the late afternoon and early night, and this may solely worsen that. Anticipate to solely rating a couple of good Lightning Lanes through Genie+ for those who don’t have a powerful refresh recreation.
As for the scope of the work, it’s laborious to imagine that this can be an entire monitor alternative. Something lower than a 12 months will not be sufficient time to take away and rebuild a curler coaster inside an current gravity constructing. Anybody who watched the development of TRON Lightcycle Run would understandably be skeptical of Disney’s potential to do something with that quantity of velocity.
What’s extra doubtless is that parts of the monitor are changed, or the launch system is upgraded. That is yet one more Vekoma coaster, the identical producer of Cosmic Rewind and TRON Lightcycle Run. The redone Avengers Assemble: Flight Pressure at Walt Disney Studios Park, which was beforehand Rock ‘n’ Curler Coaster earlier than the reimagining, can be a Vekoma.
It’s potential Imagineering and Vekoma have partnered to refresh parts of the coaster and lengthen its life, having discovered classes from these initiatives or others around the globe. I don’t know what such an replace would entail, however it could presumably be achievable in a ~6 month timeline. In contrast, there’s no conceivable approach that Walt Disney World may primarily rebuild the curler coaster in that point. I don’t assume there’s a approach they might do this in something lower than 18 months.
Now let’s flip to hypothesis about what’ll happen throughout this prolonged closure–or slightly, what is going to not occur. In line with Walt Disney World, the journey goes down for normal upkeep, and that’s it.
Should you’ve learn our put up, Will Rock ‘n’ Curler Coaster Be Reimagined? (which discusses prospects for the reimagining), you already know that we predict this will occur sooner or later within the subsequent couple of years. There are a number of causes for this, together with the reputational legal responsibility offered by Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler, who has now been named in two sexual abuse lawsuits within the final two years. These allegations haven’t gained a ton of media traction, but when they do, it could make sense for Disney to need to distance itself from Tyler.
Reimagining Rock ‘n’ Curler Coaster is not only the secure transfer, however it could be cash effectively spent. It presents a possibility for Imagineering to simply inject new life in an attraction that’s inherently common as a thrill journey, and would give the corporate one thing to market between now and 2025.
Though the corporate has official Plans to Double Funding to $60 Billion in Walt Disney World, Disneyland & Past that received’t begin in earnest for an additional couple of years. Disney has an excessive amount of debt and never sufficient liquidity to front-load spending; they want to determine streaming, ESPN, and linear tv earlier than turning their focus to Parks & Resorts.
That alone places the begin of significant development work in late 2024 or 2025. That’s the purpose at which we’d anticipate work to start on the Tropical Americas at Animal Kingdom, that means that Indiana Jones Journey and no matter else is deliberate received’t open till 2026 on the earliest.
Within the meantime, Tiana’s Bayou Journey will open someday in 2024, in all probability earlier than October. That leaves completely nothing for 2025, which is the 12 months that Common’s Epic Universe–a model new theme park–will debut. Except Walt Disney World is simply going to ‘quit’ and let Common have 2025 (a method that we identified would possibly make a point of sense in Is Common “Beating” Disney?), they should begin transferring on one thing quickly.
About the one risk at this level for an oblique reply to Epic Universe–or marketable additions, on the whole–is reimaginings. On the subject of these, few points of interest have as a lot untapped advertising potential as Rock ‘n’ Curler Coaster. A redone Rock ‘n’ Curler Coaster may very well be completed in 6-8 months and can be a colossal draw with mainstream audiences. Despite the fact that Rock ‘n’ Curler Coaster is already fairly common, I can’t consider some other rides that hit the ‘candy spot’ of an environment friendly reimagining and a marketable one.
Given all of that, there are a couple of prospects. The primary is that we’re simply flat-out fallacious and Walt Disney World has no plans in any respect to the touch Rock ‘n’ Curler Coaster. Actually, this may be the most certainly situation. Despite the fact that we predict a retheme is extremely doubtless–and pragmatic–within the subsequent 2 years, it’s in all probability nonetheless solely 50/50, at finest.
The subsequent situation is that the retheme will occur in 2024, and Walt Disney World is simply not able to announce it but. This type of factor occurs, the place Disney denies initially or says there are “no plans…right now.” These are well-known wiggle phrases from Disney, with the concept being that plans change–and the corporate anticipating followers to imagine the plans didn’t exist when the unique non-announcement occurred.
The ultimate situation is that the 2023 and 2024 refurbishments are each vital stipulations to a reimagining. That Imagineering, the coaster producers, and contractors are getting in there to cope with the journey system and nuts & bolts of the attraction now, refreshing the underlying curler coaster, making it extra dependable, and laying the groundwork for a thematic and aesthetic reimagining across the similar timeframe in 2025. That approach, when it goes down in Winter 2025, all they should do is swap out the surroundings and alter the window-dressing, slightly than doing that and addressing the journey system.
Whether or not it’s in 2024, 2025 or past, we nonetheless assume {that a} substantive overhaul is inevitable sooner or later within the subsequent ~5 years. I personally love Aerosmith, however I’m however shocked that Walt Disney World is taking the attraction offline for thus lengthy and never giving it a retheme. Fashionable thrill rides can all the time develop into much more common with the combination of extra common mental property. Simply have a look at Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout at DCA.
Iconic as they might be, it’s in all probability honest to say that Aerosmith doesn’t have the identical cachet or identify recognition with youthful visitors. I can’t consider one other up to date band that’s common, crowd-pleasing, non-controversial, and suits the journey profile. Then once more, the Guardians of the Galaxy have demonstrated that basic rock can transcend its period. (So right here’s hoping Led Zeppelin is within the subsequent film!)
No matter finally ends up occurring down the street with Rock ‘n’ Curler Coaster, I hope Imagineering additionally learns from Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind and incorporate becoming and enjoyable songs. In addition they must take the time to check a ton of various choices. The tip consequence on Cosmic Rewind is superior–even with the songs I don’t personally love.
Maybe Walt Disney World is ‘saving’ the reimagining for subsequent 12 months, and one other “new” Marvel curler coaster would be the marketable draw for Walt Disney World in 2025? There are many characters which are off-limits as a result of Common contract, however that also leaves loads of choices–together with ones which are common within the Marvel Cinematic Universe: Section 4.
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Your Ideas
What do you concentrate on the multi-month closure of Rock ‘n’ Curler Coaster Starring Aerosmith at Walt Disney World? Disillusioned that it’ll be down throughout your journey? Suppose Disney is being coy, and it’ll really get a retheme in 2024? What about in 2025 or past? Ideas on potential bands, manufacturers, or tremendous heroes to switch Aerosmith? Any questions in regards to the present refurbishments at Walt Disney World? Do you agree or disagree with our evaluation? Any questions we can assist you reply? Listening to your suggestions—even once you disagree with us—is each fascinating to us and useful to different readers, so please share your ideas beneath within the feedback!