What We Can Learn from These Disney Ride Changes

Well, Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster has officially closed.

With this decision, Disney has once again chosen to alter a classic attraction.

This is at least the seventh transaction of its kind at Walt Disney World lately.

Imagineers have already completed three of these projects while four are underway.

So, what can we learn from these Disney rides and other attraction changes?

Country Bear Musical Jamboree

Let’s start with the most surprising change of all: Country Bear Jamboree.

Walt Disney himself worked on this show just before his death.

He and his employees had planned to anchor a ski resort with this Audio-Animatronic show.

Alas, bureaucratic delays meant that Uncle Walt died before progress could advance.

Ultimately, the new Disney without Walt lacked the desire to push for this project.

Disney ultimately adopted a fallback plan, introducing the show at Magic Kingdom.

Country Bear Jamboree was a day-one attraction at Walt Disney World.

So, Disney officials hold it in reverence, and that goes double for Disney’s next CEO, Josh D’Amaro.

Once Bob Iger returned to Disney, D’Amaro became the unquestioned head of the theme parks.

Before that, he answered to Bob Chapek, and the timing of all this shouldn’t be lost on you.

Disney has entered its Plussing phase since D’Amaro has started calling the shots.

Since he has found a way to make Disney Experiences more profitable than ever, he has earned more autonomy.

D’Amaro has used that newfound power to do what matters most to him: protect Walt Disney’s legacy.

Since he and everyone else knew that Country Bear Jamboree had lost its fastball, he had two choices.

D’Amaro could have closed the show and replaced it with something more popular.

Alternatively, he could have modernized it to make the Country Bears more accessible today.

We know what he picked, and what I want you to focus on is what it represents.

D’Amaro didn’t do the easy thing. He chose the path that maintained Disney history.

His refusal to kill a historic attraction speaks to what his priorities are.

Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure

Then we have this conversation in which Disney made a change for a simple reason.

The 3D elements on Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure were making some guests ill.

Disney could have easily looked the other way on that. I mean, it has in the past.

Mission: SPACE has been a vomit comet since day one, and it remains that way now.

So, you should hold that thought for a moment while we discuss the Ratatouille changes.

Disney had operated this attraction at Disneyland Paris since 2014.

For this reason, I have to believe that park officials knew that motion sickness could be an issue.

Whatever the rationale, Disney overlooked those concerns and duplicated the ride at EPCOT anyway.

I get that because Ratatouille is tons of fun; I’m a huge fan of this ride experience.

Ratatouille is one of my favorite Pixar films, and this attraction perfectly encapsulates its vibe. However, that decision occurred under Chapek. Once D’Amaro arrived, he worried about it more.

Based on the evidence I’ve seen, this isn’t just a fall guy scenario with Chapek.

D’Amaro legitimately does seem to care more about guest satisfaction.

There’s a running joke about something called the Josh Effect that I’ll discuss more later.

For the moment, the gist is that D’Amaro stops and talks to many guests and Cast Members.

By keeping his ear to the ground and remaining in touch with park gossip, he has more intel.

So, D’Amaro knew that many guests were becoming ill on Ratatouille…and here’s how he’s different.

The head of Disney theme parks used some of his political (and financial) capital to make a change.

D’Amaro removed the 3D elements solely to please dissatisfied guests.

The move cost him money from an already-tight budget, yet he did it anyway.

Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets

So, those are two theme park changes that demonstrate D’Amaro’s priorities.

Then, we have a more nuanced conversation about how the executive solves difficult puzzles.

Much of what I said about Country Bear Jamboree applies to Muppet*Vision 3D as well.

No, this wasn’t an opening day attraction at Disney World, yet it’s still revered.

This show was famously the last thing the iconic Jim Henson created before his death.

When Disney entered its expansion era, Muppet*Vision 3D was clearly on the chopping block.

Should Disney reclaim that space, it could build something much grander…like Monstropolis.

However, the cost of doing business here involved a higher price than D’Amaro wanted to pay.

Simultaneously, Disney faced a hard choice with Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith.

I was joking about this the other day, but it’s true. Aerosmith had hit songs in the 1970s.

Since we’re in the 2020s, no matter how timeless Aerosmith’s music is, the band is long in the tooth.

Also, some allegations about Steven Tyler from the 1970s remain problematic for gaining negative headlines.

So, Disney had two reasons to come up with a Plan B here, and D’Amaro found the perfect one.

He achieved the proverbial killing of two birds with one stone by swapping IPs.

D’Amaro closed Muppet*Vision 3D to add Monstropolis, but he saved The Muppets.

These characters will relocate to Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster later in 2026.

That’s a tidy solution to a problem that would have frozen most executives.

Test Track

Disney also recently rebooted a beloved EPCOT attraction in what we call Test Track 3.0.

Now, this one isn’t as cut-and-dried as some other titles on this list.

General Motors (GM) sponsors this attraction and owns a say in what happens.

Some insiders have suggested that it was GM, not Disney, who sought a change.

Since the previous version of the ride and attraction queue highlighted Chevrolet, that seems accurate.

With Test Track 3.0, the attraction campus has returned to highlighting all GM products.

Still, we can identify D’Amaro’s touches through the attraction, especially the first half.

As critics and reviewers have noted, the new Test Track celebrates EPCOT’s history.

This ride building formerly housed World of Motion, and loving tributes to it are readily apparent.

Meanwhile, the final indoor section embraces the idea of a better tomorrow.

Not coincidentally, that was also what Walt Disney envisioned for EPCOT itself.

Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress 

Speaking of Walt Disney, the Carousel of Progress is his baby.

A passionate supporter of technological innovation, Uncle Walt watched history unfold.

He couldn’t believe how much society improved during his lifetime.

So, he created a show to highlight these advances for the 1964 New York World’s Fair.

Since Imagineers were involved, Carousel of Progress possessed its own remarkable tech.

I’m calling this attraction a show, but it’s actually a ride. The ground beneath you rotates.

Thus, a show about innovation invisibly offers an innovation of its own.

Little things like this explain why the world still admires Disney so much 60 years after his death.

Alas, some of the elements of the first three scenes of Carousel of Progress aren’t relatable now.

Disney occasionally modernizes the fourth act to keep it fresh, but this show works as a time capsule.

Not coincidentally, attendance isn’t always impressive at Magic Kingdom.

So, D’Amaro has come up with a way to refresh Carousel of Progress without touching its core.

Disney will add a Walt Disney Audio-Animatronic during the introductory scene.

This is a copy of the robotic Walt already on display at Walt Disney – A Magical Life at Disneyland.

Therefore, we know audiences love it, and it will serve its purpose of reinvigorating Carousel of Progress.

The Other Ones 

Disney is in the process of updating two other attractions and just finished one as well.

With Frozen Ever After, Disney took the enhancements from international parks and brought them to EPCOT.

The company didn’t need to do that, but the Frozen ride debuted at EPCOT.

So, I understand why D’Amaro wants to keep it up to date. He cares about such things.

That’s wonderful news for you and me as Disney theme park fans, which is the point here.

The next Disney CEO has maintained his passion for the parks even after working at the company for half his life.

He’s just like you and me in that his primary motivation remains a magical park visit.

To wit, Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin will soon return in its new form.

Most of the changes will be cosmetic, updates intended to modernize the game elements.

However, we’ll also get an entirely new scene, just as we will at Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.

Perhaps that update underscores the point the best. Disney has literally re-tracked this roller coaster.

The company didn’t need to do that. By adopting this approach, Disney gained more land, though.

So, D’Amaro almost incidentally plussed the popular coaster as a byproduct of a bigger plan.

Disney has reclaimed this space for the upcoming Villains Land, Magic Kingdom’s next big thing.

Thus, D’Amaro isn’t just making ride changes to improve the parks today.

Disney’s future leader is demonstrating an attitude for planning for that better tomorrow Uncle Walt desired.

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