Walt Disney Imagineering has filed an additional construction permit that relates to ongoing work at Rock ’n’ Roller Coaster in Disney’s Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World. The new filing was submitted on January 7, 2026, with Orange County officials and lists work to “install set elements” at the attraction’s address.
The notice is a Notice of Commencement permit that names Jon Richards Company as the contractor. It marks a second recent filing of this type for the same project, following an earlier permit filed in December 2025 that listed Mecca Productions as the contractor for installing set elements at the same location.
Transition away from Aerosmith
Rock ’n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith remains operational as of early January 2026, but Disney has announced the ride will close in March 2, 2026, to allow for a transformation of the attraction. The updated version will be themed to The Muppets, with an anticipated opening targeted for summer 2026.
Concept art for the Muppet Rockin’ Roller Coaster Exterior – Disney Parks
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Disney first confirmed in late 2024 that Rock ’n’ Roller Coaster would be re-themed to a Muppets version, moving the intellectual property into what has been one of the park’s long-running thrill rides. The reimagined attraction is expected to reuse the existing roller coaster system while updating story elements, music, and visuals to align with the new theme.
Visible changes have already taken place around the attraction. Reports indicate that the pre-show area associated with the Aerosmith theme was closed and physically altered toward the end of 2025, with walls and boards put in place around those spaces, even while the main ride continues to operate.
Quick Re-theme
The project’s timeline reflects an effort to minimize overall downtime for the ride. By filing permits and beginning limited installation work while the current version remains open, Disney can complete preparatory work ahead of the full closure, allowing main construction to begin promptly once the ride’s operation ends in the spring.
A poster for the Muppet overlay of Rockin’ Rollercoaster – Disney Parks Blog
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Multiple permit filings in quick succession, each assigning different contractors, may signal that various elements of the retheme project are being prepared concurrently. This is a common approach for projects on tight deadlines, especially when the attraction must remain open for as long as possible before its scheduled closure. Jon Richards Company and Mecca Productions have both appeared in recent filings, suggesting that Imagineering is coordinating several teams to handle discrete tasks within the larger retheme effort.
Available records show that the primary focus of the filings to date is on set element installation, a term historically used for scenic, thematic, or artistic pieces within an attraction’s interior.
Closing of the Muppets Courtyard Area at Disney’s Hollywood Studios
Disney’s opening of a Muppet-retheme of the roller coaster follows its closure of the Muppets Courtyard area in the spring of 2025 . The longstanding MuppetVision 3D* attraction and the adjacent quick-service restaurant PizzeRizzo both ceased operations after June 7, 2025.
The Muppet coutyard and MuppetVision theater closed down – Photo Credit: Follow The Bradley’s Fun
Those locations, along with the surrounding courtyard space, were walled off and removed from park maps beginning June 8, 2025, to allow for construction of a new themed area based on Monstropolis from Monsters, Inc..
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