ATTENTION: THE FOLLOWING REPORT IS A RUMOR. PLEASE TAKE THE FOLLOWING STORY WITH A GRAIN OF SALT.
While Disney is usually associated with theme parks and wild and imaginative attractions they aren’t known for that many “thrill rides”. Places like Universal Studios or Cedar Fair usually are the place to go for those kinds of experiences. However, one of the few rides Disney does have is the Rock & Roller Coaster in Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
The ride opened in 1999* and was heavily themed after the popular rock & roll band Aerosmith. The ride has you board and extra long limousine and blast odd to incredible speeds as you try to make it to an Aerosmith concert. While it would have been nice to feature other rock bands like Van Halen, KISS and Black Sabbath, it is still a fun experience. 
Sadly it looks like the times of listening to “Walk This Way” while speeding off at nearly 60 mph it appears that a re-theme may be in the works. Why is this? Well there are two reasons.
First, the version of this ride that opened around the same time in Disneyland Paris closed in 2019 and was replaced with Assemble: Flight Force. Disney wanting to re-brand popular rides to the Marvel theme has been somewhat prevalent in recent years. However some issues still remain with a lot of popular MCU characters due to the current deal with Universal Orlando.
Second, and perhaps the bigger issue, being that Aerosmith lead singer, Steve Tyler, has recently come under allegations of sexual assault, asserting that he assaulted a then 16-year-old girl in the mid-1970s. This is definitely not a good look for Disney, especially if he is found guilty.
The ride was already announced to be closing for refurbishment in February of 2023, but some wonder if Disney is making early preparations for an eventual re-theme of the attraction. Rolling Stone first covered the lawsuit on December 29th, the day after Disney suddenly announced the refurbishment. It does make one wonder if there is a connection.
If the Tower of Terror in Hollywood Studios eventually gets the same treatment that its Californian counterpart did then we can assume Marvel might come for this one as well. Again, this is all speculation at this point. We will have to wait and see.
What do you think? Will they be ditching guitars and drums for masks and capes? And do you think it’s a good idea to completely remove Rock & Roll music from the iconic ride?
Source: WDWNT
*correction added as year was 1999 not 2002.
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