2 Critical Ride Changes Hit Disney’s Hollywood Studios Next Year

2026 is going to be a BIG year for Disney’s Hollywood Studios, as the park’s multi-year transformation continues, including major changes coming to two of the park’s busiest rides.

Over the course of my 30+ years visiting the park now known as Hollywood Studios — yes, I do often type Disney-MGM Studios first, much to my editor’s chagrin — I’ve seen the park transform a great deal from the original working studio concept to today’s jam-packed collection of IP-based attractions. Currently, the park features two major construction projects — Monsters, Inc. land and the transformation of Animation Courtyard — as well as major changes coming to the Rock ’n’ Roller Coaster and Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run.

Let’s begin with the Rock ’n’ Roller Coaster. Originally opened in 1999, the thrill ride — Disney’s first U.S. coaster to feature an inversion — has been based around the music of Hall of Fame rock band Aerosmith for the last quarter century. However, that’s going to change in 2026 when the ride is rethemed to The Muppets.

As Disney announced in 2024, the new version of the ride will be built around The Muppets taking over G-Force Records, culminating with a concert from Muppet band The Electric Mayhem.

The current version of the coaster — which has already seen its Aerosmith pre-show removed as part of the transformation — will have its last day of operation on March 1st, 2026. It will be permanently closed as of March 2nd, 2026. It will then reopen with its new Muppet theme in the summer.

Meanwhile, over in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, the Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run attraction will see the addition of popular Star Wars characters Din Djarin (AKA The Mandalorian AKA Mando) and Grogu (AKA Baby Yoda) on May 22nd, 2026, not-so-coincidentally the same day The Mandalorian and Grogu feature film is scheduled to open in theaters.

As Imagineer Asa Kalama explained at the SXW event in March 2025, “Opening an attraction and such a massive movie on the same day wouldn’t be possible without the relationships we have inside Disney. Now we’ve all worked together to come up with a new mission for Smugglers Run that plays into this narrative.”

Along with the characters, these new missions will also feature popular Star Wars locations, including Bespin’s Cloud City.

These major changes are going to have a major effect on trips to Hollywood Studios in 2026. The Rock ’n’ Roller Coaster and Smugglers Run are already amongst the park’s busier rides, each usually averaging a wait of between 30 and 45 minutes during most weeks.

However, considering the changes coming to these rides are highly anticipated (The Muppets are beloved chracters replacing the “tired” to some Aerosmith theme, and many fans have been calling for new storylines to be added to Smugglers Run since the ride opened) these wait times are sure to shoot up — and Lightning lanes become harder to obtain — once both of these changes are operational by the late summer of 2026.

Major ride changes are coming to two Hollywood Studios rides in 2026, and they’re going to change how a day at the park plays out for the foreseeable future. Stay tuned to AllEars for more on the park’s transformation.

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Are you excited for the changes coming to Rock ’n’ Roller Coaster and Smugglers Run? Let us know in the comments below.

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