
The Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster starring Aerosmith has been under careful scrutiny for quite some time now. With rumors swirling around of the ride’s permanent closure and retheme with its upcoming temporary closure for refurbishment, fans have been speculating about the future of the Disney’s Hollywood Studios Theme Park mainstay. (Perhaps that’s warranted, what with Splash Mountain’s retheme.) However, recently, some Disney Park fans took to debating what Disney might decide regarding the fate of Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, and some interesting sentiments came to light.
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Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, starring Aerosmith, has recently been put through the wringer for its connection to Steven Tyler. Tyler has been embroiled in controversy recently with the accusation of his having “groomed and manipulated” a minor in the 1970s. In light of these accusations, Disney fan and Reddit user u/ceburton took to the platform to ask about “Rock n Rollercoaster and Steven Tyler’s current legal trouble.”
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The fan inquired if Tyler lost his court case against his former girlfriend, “who alleged that she was underage during their time together, should/would Disney change the ride?” The fan posited that since Tyler already shared this in his biography, “If [Disney] didn’t do anything with the knowledge then, why would they now?”
The conversation was flooded with many opinions, many simply debating what the retheme could look like and what would be most interesting to fans: another Cars ride, an attraction based on the movie Queen (if Disney could acquire the rights), one Lilo & Stitch fan even suggested Lilo’s Hawaiian roller coaster were all put forth.
However, one fan took to address the question, “if Disney didn’t do anything about it then, why would they now?” and their response was as follows:
Because the public wasn’t really talking about it then, but they are now.
Disney is a company. They’re not worried about morality. They’re worried about their image and the image they’re trying to sell. If the increased scrutiny brought on by the case results in people looking funny at Rock n Roller Coaster, they’ll change it.
Disney certainly responds to the flow of the tide, and the changing times; Splash Mountain’s retheme was evidence enough of that. While there has been no word so far on this from Disney, it could well be possible that a retheme for Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster is on its way.