Predicting Soft Opening Dates for Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets & Soarin’ Across America

With the official preview picture becoming clearer for Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets and Soarin’ Across America, one question that remains is: will there be soft openings? In this article, we’ll try to answer that question and help prepare you if you’ll be at Walt Disney World over Memorial Day Weekend.

Will There Be Soft Openings for Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets and Soarin’ Around America?

With the preview schedule now fully mapped out, there is a compelling case to be made that both attractions could see soft openings before their official debut, and we have some specific dates in mind.

Before we get into predictions, let’s recap the confirmed preview timeline for both attractions.

Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets at Hollywood Studios:
Annual Passholders can preview Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets on May 21, 22, and 23, using a virtual queue with distribution windows at 7:00am, 11:00am, and 3:00pm.

DVC Members have been given what Disney is calling “Priority Access” to Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster on May 24, 2026.

Soarin’ Across America at EPCOT:
Annual Passholders can preview the new Soarin’ Across America film on May 19 and 20. Unlike the Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster preview, Soarin’ will use a standard standby queue during normal park hours with no virtual queue required.

DVC Members have been given “Priority Access” to Soarin’ Across America on May 21, 2026.

Cast Member previews start May 16th for Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, and start May 15th for Soarin’ Across America.

Both attractions officially open to all guests on May 26, 2026.

Here is where things get interesting, and where our soft opening predictions come from.

Disney Vacation Club access to attraction previews has historically come in the form of a registration-based event, giving members an exclusive window to ride a new attraction before it opens to the public. But the language used for these DVC experiences for Soarin’ Across America and Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets is notably different. Disney is calling it “Priority Access,” not a preview. Also, qualifying DVC Members are being automatically registered.

I think that distinction matters.

As I read it, “Priority Access” does not necessarily mean an exclusive, members-only experience where the attraction is closed to everyone else. It may simply mean that DVC members with a qualifying resort reservation get to skip whatever line exists on those days, whether that line is a standby queue for a soft opening or something else entirely. In other words, “Priority Access” sounds a lot more like a perk layered on top of an already-operating attraction than it does a traditional preview event.

If that reading is correct, it suggests that both Soarin’ Across America and Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets could already be operating in soft opening mode on those DVC “Priority Access” dates, with DVC members simply getting queue priority during what is effectively a trial run open to anyone in the park.

With all of that in mind, here is where we land on predictions for soft opening dates:

Soarin’ Across America Possible Soft Opening: May 21, 2026
Passholder previews for Soarin’ wrap up on May 20. DVC “Priority Access” is scheduled for May 21. If our reading of the “Priority Access” language is correct, Soarin’ Across America could begin soft opening operations on May 21, with DVC members simply getting the benefit of skipping the line during what is otherwise an open-to-all soft opening at EPCOT.

Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets Possible Soft Opening: May 24, 2026
Passholder previews for Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster run through May 23. DVC “Priority Access” is scheduled for May 24. Using the same logic, May 24 becomes the most likely candidate for a Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster soft opening, with DVC members getting priority access to what is otherwise a soft opening running for any Hollywood Studios guest.

That would leave May 25 as a second potential soft opening day for Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster ahead of the May 26 official opening, and potentially May 22 through 25 for Soarin’ as well, assuming it holds.

Soft openings serve a specific operational purpose: they give Disney the ability to run an attraction at a lower, more controlled volume before the full demand of a general public opening day hits. They are not guaranteed, and they can end at any moment. But they are common enough ahead of high-profile openings that we should always be watching for them.

The pattern here fits. Cast Member previews come first, giving operations teams their initial training runs. Passholder previews follow, adding a slightly larger but still manageable audience. Then, rather than sitting idle for one or two days between the end of Passholder/DVC previews and the official opening, Disney has historically used that gap for soft opening operations.

Beyond the speculation, there is a logistical argument to be made here as well. The possible soft opening dates that we think Disney is targeting are over the very busy Memorial Day Weekend. We’d imagine that Disney would like to have both rides open to the public in some capacity during that timeframe.

For Soarin’, the gap between the end of Passholder previews on May 20 and the May 26 official opening is five full days. For Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, that gap is two days (May 24 and 25).

I would argue that the “Priority Access” framing for DVC on those specific in-between dates only strengthens the case. If those dates were purely a traditional DVC preview event, we would expect Disney to use the same language they have used in the past.

Walt Disney World has not announced any soft opening dates or details for either attraction. The best way to know if an attraction has soft opened or not, beyond visiting the attraction’s entrance, is to stay tuned to social media.

As always, keep checking back with us here at BlogMickey.com as we continue to bring you the latest news, photos, and info from around the Disney Parks!