Lights On at Disney’s Rock ‘N’ Roller Coaster Reveal Far More Than Just Tracks Hiding in the Darkness

One of Disney World’s most thrilling and exciting attractions has been a guest favorite since it first opened at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in 1999, but all along, Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster has been hiding something–quite literally.

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Rock ‘N’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith

At Disney’s Hollywood Studios, guests are invited to join the band members from Aerosmith in their limo as they race through Los Angeles toward the concert venue where they’re performing later. They’ve been wrapping up a recording session, and now they’re late. This definitely won’t be a Sunday drive in the limousine.

Guests are invited to “hop into their gleaming limousine and speed off into the night as Aerosmith’s hard-rock harmonies fill the air. Buckle up before zooming through the city on this roller-coaster-style attraction. Speed through iconic Hollywood landmarks. Maneuver past traffic jams and swoop into three thrilling inversions—two rollover loops and one corkscrew—as the wind races across your face.”

The question is always the same–will you make it to the year’s biggest concert in time?

Aerosmith’s super-stretch limo is completely jacked, featuring 125 speakers, 24 subwoofers, and a 32,000-watt audio system–perfect for listening to some of the band’s most famous hits along the way, like “Walk This Way,” “Dude Looks Like a Lady,” “Sweet Emotion,” and “Back in the Saddle.” With that sound system, guests can even hear the twist on an Aerosmith original. Initially titled “Love in an Elevator,” the band re-recorded the hit song with lyrics just for this experience. It’s called “Love in a Roller Coaster.”

These are all familiar things to fans of one of Disney World’s most thrilling attractions.

But for all its popularity and all its lore over the past 24 years, Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster has been hiding a secret–quite literally.

A Long-Kept Secret, Hiding in Plain Sight

Disney World guests who love the thrill and the rush of the Aerosmith-themed coaster at Disney’s Hollywood Studios are often repeat customers, meaning they ride the coaster every time they visit the Central Florida Disney Parks. Some have ridden Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster hundreds of times over the years.

But whether guests have ridden the ride one time or 101 times, they’ve likely remained completely clueless about what’s really going on inside the structure that houses the attraction and the coaster track, and that’s reportedly by design.

Like the Space Mountain attraction at Magic Kingdom’s Tomorrowland, much of the excitement of Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster comes from what riders can’t see coming, and what they can see is only enough to keep them coming back for more.

A 24-Year “Dark” Secret Finally Exposed

The track for Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster is very compact, but the structure that houses the coaster is fairly large. And though guests will never see it unless there’s an evacuation of the ride and the lights are turned on, Disney World cast members make very good use of the extra space.

Deep within the darkness that envelopes guests as they experience Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, there are boxes and storage containers. The area is filled with old props that are no longer in use. The dark storage areas are also used to house elements from other rides and attractions at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, including the fan-favorite attraction, The Great Movie Ride.

Even with the lights on in the attraction, it’s still difficult to see the storage boxes because the coaster is moving so quickly. But some of the items being stored inside the housing structure for Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster can be seen when guests look really closely–some of them just a few feet from the track for the coaster.

@themouselets comment below if you think this ride needs a retheme! #disneyfacts #disneysecrets ♬ original sound – getyourwingss

The good news is that the coaster structure has been used as storage for nearly a quarter of a century, and guests were usually none the wiser. Even so, it doesn’t detract from the experience–as long as the lights stay off!