The Muppets Coaster Gets Its First Holiday Soundtrack November 4, and Cosmic Rewind's Holiday Music Returns November 25

Two of Disney World's music-driven coasters are getting holiday soundtracks this season: a first for the Muppets version of Rock 'n' Roller Coaster, and a return for Cosmic Rewind, which last had one in 2022. Disney announced both on Tuesday morning, October 6, in back-to-back Disney Parks Blog posts three minutes apart.

The short version: Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets at Hollywood Studios runs a holiday version from November 4 through January 6. Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind at EPCOT plays holiday songs starting November 25. Neither post mentions a separate ticket or party requirement.

Gonzo and Rizzo in holiday costume, pictured with Disney's announcement of the Muppets coaster overlay. Photo: Disney

The Muppets: an "Obligatory Holiday Overlay"

Disney's official name for it is Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets: Obligatory Holiday Overlay. The ride opened on May 26, so this is its first holiday season.

The story keeps the same frame. The Electric Mayhem are rehearsing at G-Force Records, this time for a holiday concert, and Disney says the preparations do not go to plan. Disney says a few familiar Muppets drop by the studio to help, though it did not name them. Scooter, the ride's Audio-Animatronics figure, is again trying to get the band to stop jamming and head to the show. Holiday music also plays in the courtyard around the guitar marquee.

Disney says the band is bringing "four new holiday-inspired tracks," but the set list in the same post has three songs:

• "Holiday Road," The Electric Mayhem featuring Kermit the Frog and Fozzie Bear
• "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)," The Electric Mayhem featuring Jennifer Hudson
• "Silver Bells," The Electric Mayhem featuring Cyndi Lauper

Disney did not say what the fourth track is, or whether the regular set list (which, as we reported in May, includes "Love Rollercoaster" with Jennifer Hudson and Questlove) stays in the rotation alongside the holiday songs.

Disney's poster for the holiday overlay. Image: Disney

Planner note: November 4 is a Wednesday, three days before the first Disney Jollywood Nights party on November 7 according to our events calendar. Since it starts before the first party night, it is not a party-only addition.

Cosmic Rewind: holiday music returns to EPCOT, with real songs this time

At EPCOT, Cosmic Rewind gets three holiday songs, which Disney says are shuffled so each ride is different:

• "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year," Andy Williams
• "Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24," Trans-Siberian Orchestra
• "Christmas Wrapping," The Waitresses

Disney's key art for the Cosmic Rewind holiday tracks. Image: Disney/Marvel

This is not Cosmic Rewind's first holiday season. In 2022 the ride ran a "Holiday Remix" from November 25 to December 30, built on a single custom song, "Run Rocket Run," a reworked "Run Rudolph Run" mixed with other carols. It did not come back in 2023, and we found no sign of it in 2024 or 2025. The cassette in Disney's new key art still says "Holiday Remix," but this time the soundtrack is three well-known recordings instead of one custom track.

The start date is November 25, the day before Thanksgiving and two days before the EPCOT International Festival of the Holidays opens on November 27. The end date is less clear. Disney's post says the songs run through January 6, 2027 in its opening lines, then lists the tracks you may hear "November 25-January 12, 2027" a few paragraphs later. Until Disney clears that up, if you are riding between January 7 and 12, treat the holiday songs as possible rather than promised.

Expect the regular soundtrack to step aside. Disney says riders will defend the galaxy "to the tune of three holiday songs," and describes the ride's six regular songs (including "September," which it played all day on September 21) as the soundtrack "outside of the holiday season." The 2022 holiday version also replaced the regular songs completely.

What it means for your trip

If you want to hear a specific song, you will need some luck. Disney says Cosmic Rewind's holiday tracks are shuffled so each ride is different, and it has not said how the Muppets songs are assigned.

Which would you rather hear on a launch: Cyndi Lauper and the Electric Mayhem doing "Silver Bells," or "Christmas Wrapping" through the Cosmic Rewind speakers?

Sources

• Disney Parks Blog, Rock Around the Holidays with The Electric Mayhem at Disney's Hollywood Studios
• Disney Parks Blog, New Holiday Tracks Coming to Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind
• WDWNT, Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind Holiday Remix Not Returning to EPCOT (2023)
• WDWMagic, Cosmic Rewind Holiday Remix ride-through (2022)

Image credits: Disney and Disney/Marvel, via Disney Parks Blog.