Popular Disney Ride Evacuated Due to Smoke

A popular ride at Disney's Hollywood Studios was evacuated today due to reports coming from the ride. Earlier today, the Rock 'N Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith was evacuated due to smoke inside the building. Disney confirmed to a local news station that there was no fire and no injuries reported. Per a Disney spokesperson, the ride is in the process of re-opening. 

Karen Owens, a travel agent visiting Disney, provided some additional details on her Twitter account, discussing the evacuation.

Rock n roller coaster evacuated. Based on smoke and smell guessing fire. They are clearing the whole area in this courtyard so I’m definitely leaning towards fire #evacuation #travel #disney

— Karen Owens (@KarenDTE) December 1, 2021

No. We evacuated & waited around. They advised an unknown downtime. We were in line when they cut the lights on & evacuated us. We saw & smelled smoke/haze at the end tunnel as we walked out but that’s really all I have to share. The other ride in that area is back open

— Karen Owens (@KarenDTE) December 1, 2021

The Rock 'n Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith first opened in 1999 as part of the tenth anniversary for Disney's Hollywood Studios. The ride is themed around guests joining the band Aerosmith rushing in a "stretch limo" to get to a show. Each train on the coaster features a different soundtrack, with several songs containing new lyrics written specifically for the ride. Notably, the ride is the fastest roller coaster at Walt Disney World Resort. A second version of the ride opened in Disneyland Paris, but it was shut down in 2019 with plans to re-theme the park around Iron Man and other Marvel characters. Many Disney fans speculated that a similar fate could befall the Hollywood Studios version of the ride, although Disney notably can't use most Marvel characters at Walt Disney World due to a pre-existing licensing agreement with Universal Studios. 

The timing of the shutdown was unfortunate, as the roller coaster's exterior just received a facelift earlier this year. The large guitar outside of the roller coaster recently received a refurbishment. "Recently, the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster starring Aerosmith covers were dropped revealing the dazzling refurbishment of everyone's favorite guitar at Disney's Hollywood Studios at [Walt Disney World] Resort," read the post on the refurbishment. "After weeks of preparation, body work and some fresh paint, the iconic guitar has been restored to look better than ever and keep our fans rocking on. Thanks to our rock stars from the Florida Design & Show Quality team!"