After years of construction, it’s FINALLY finally time to enter The Grid! We were fortunate to experience Walt Disney World’s newest attraction, “TRON Lightcycle / Run,” ahead of its official April 4th opening during Cast Member previews in mid-February, and for a press event on March 14. (3/14 tip: Psst… the coaster may soft open between now and the official opening!)
What Is TRON Lightcycle / Run?
Climb aboard your own Lightcycle before entering The Grid. As you’re part of Team Blue, you’ll compete against villainous Team Orange to be the first to race through eight Energy Gates in a dark, computerized world.
In simpler terms, TRON Lightcycle / Run is a launched steel motorbike coaster that reaches a top speed of 59 mph.
First announced at the 2017 D23 Expo, the new Magic Kingdom roller coaster is a cloned attraction from Shanghai Disneyland (there it’s known as TRON Lightcycle Power Run). The coaster has been under construction since 2018. Although guests anticipated an opening during WDW’s 50-anniversary celebration, the construction continued… and continued.
TRON officially opens on April 4th, 2023. Cast Member previews began in February, with Annual Passholder and DVC Member previews soon after. Are you ready to enter The Grid? Then let’s take a closer look…
TRON is located in Magic Kingdom’s Tomorrowland, just next to Space Mountain.
There are two entry points to the attraction – one from Tomorrowland, next to the Space Mountain gift shop, and another from the back of Storybook Circus in Fantasyland.
(During previews, only the Tomorrowland entrance is being utilized.) You can’t miss the nighttime view of TRON’s swooping LED canopy -the Upload Conduit- leading you in like a moth to the light!
What You Need to Know About TRON / Lightcycle Run
- Magic Kingdom’s newest attraction will utilize a Virtual Queue system upon opening on April 4th. Guests will need to use their My Disney Experience app to secure a boarding group for the ride, no more than once per day. A standby queue will not be available. Individual Lightning Lane access will be available for purchase, though no price has been announced yet.
- The Virtual Queue will open at 7am, and again at 1pm each day. You’ll need a Magic Kingdom park reservation to book at 7am, and can join from anywhere outside the park. For the 1pm queue opening, you will need to have scanned your park ticket and be located inside the Magic Kingdom.
- Wheelchairs must transfer.
- The height requirement is 48 inches.
- With a max speed of 59 mph, this is Disney’s fastest roller coaster. The coaster experience is about 60 seconds long from the initial launch to the ending zone.
- The ride vehicles are entirely different from any coaster, as Walt Disney Imagineering created these motorbike-styled vehicles focusing on individual rider experience.
- Riders sit on a motorbike-style seat and lean forward. They are then locked into place via a back restraint and a calf restraint.
- If you’re unsure of the fit of the vehicle, test seats are available outside the attraction. While the unique vehicle seems like it would have a limiting fit on the chest/waist area, it seems most guests who have trouble fitting on the Lightcycle experienced issues with the calf restraint not securing into place, and that the back restraint wasn’t a problem. Thankfully, TRON is a little more accessible because of an alternative ride vehicle that is available on some of the coaster trains. The modified vehicle is just like a normal roller coaster, with an upright seat and lap bar. There are currently only a few coaster trains that offer the accessible ride vehicle, so there may be more of a wait for those needing to transfer from a wheelchair or those who cannot fit in the Lightcycle. Hopefully more accessible options will be added in the future.
- Because of the unique ride vehicle, this is the first WDW attraction that requires loose items to be stored in a locker. Free lockers are available and must be used for anything “larger than a phone”. To open the lockers, you’ll need to tap your park ticket or MagicBand. In case neither are available, temporary locker tickets are available from a Cast Member. For your phone and wallet or sunglasses, there is a small compartment onboard the vehicle.
Entering The Grid
The entrance for TRON Lightcycle Run has signs for Virtual Queue and Lightning Lane, although they have not been activated yet, as previews are still happening and standby will be delayed for an unknown number of months while the initial virtual queue is in use.
Continuing on into the building, signs above welcome Team Blue.
A giant digitizer sits at the back of the building – this is what is used to transport Kevin and Sam Flynn into The Grid in the TRON films.
Once entering the building, you’ll find yourself in a narrow hallway reminiscent of a circuit board.
Upon passing through this hallway, you’ll enter the preshow area.
After getting a sneak peek of the coaster train and initial launch, you’ll enter one more room with safety spiels playing above, reminding guests how to load their Lightcycles and how to use the lockers.
TRON Lockers
Just before boarding, you’ll end up at the lockers. Lockers are required for any items that you cannot keep secured in your pockets, or in the small compartment on the Lightcycle. The lockers are nicely sectioned and numbered.
Select any open locker and tap your MagicBand, park ticket, or Key to the World Card, and the locker will open. These are double-sided lockers, so once you exit the coaster, you’ll tap the same numbered locker and will retrieve your items from the opposite end. Don’t forget your belongings because any unclaimed items will go to Lost and Found within a short period of time!
In case you don’t have a park ticket or MagicBand handy, fear not; a Cast Member will provide you with a temporary card to utilize the lockers. For the time being, MobileMagic is not offered as an option for locker access. This seems a little backward considering Disney is pushing, to an extreme, utilization of your phone.
Loading Into Your TRON Lightcycle
Similar to Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, TRON Lightcycle Run has a dual loading station, as you enter down the middle and load on either side.
When you enter the final lineup for the ride, you stand next to your fellow rider while being separated down two separate paths – one leading to the right side cycle, and the other to the left by walking behind and around the Lightcycles, loading on the opposite side.
We were a little surprised about some of the aspects of the Lightcycle. You climb onto the Lightcycle and sit down, like a regular bike. To load, you’ll first need to sit upright and rest your shins into the leg brace, then lean forward, move your legs so your feet rest close to the Lightcyle wheel, and pull the handles inward. As you get situated, the leg brace moves down for a more comfortable fit. We didn’t expect this to move! Be prepared as you’re loading… and we recommend trying out the test seat at the front of the ride to get better acclimated with the unique ride vehicle!
Once you pull on the handlebars, the back restraint comes down behind you and a bar is placed behind your knees. None of the restraints felt tight or uncomfortable, but if you don’t have your legs shifted back with your feet resting against the back of the cycle wheel, the leg bar may impact the fit with your calf.
Once you’re locked in, you’re ready to enter The Grid!
First Impressions of TRON Lightcycle / Run
We’re always glad to see more attractions in the parks— especially when they add to park capacity and don’t replace anything — and TRON is an exhilarating addition to the Magic Kingdom. While it’s a short ride, it definitely provides a thrill, from the launch to the high-speed take-off. Speeding up and around outside, before heading into The Grid. There is a lot to see, and since you move along the track so quickly, it will take a few rides to see it all. We look forward to riding it while the lines are shorter with the virtual queue, but we’re not sure how often we will wait in line once a regular standby line is in place.
It is a shame that there wasn’t a short slow dark-ride section at the beginning to set up a story and provide a little extra ride time (like the Mummy attraction at Universal). This ride could benefit from an extra minute or two for all that waiting in line. But what an amazing minute it is.
TRON Lightcycle Run Videos
Spoiler alert… We have TWO videos for you. One forward-facing video and one of Dusty and Chloe riding the attraction. You can tell from the different reactions on Dusty and Chloe’s faces that one was terrified and the other wasn’t. By watching the two videos, you’ll also get a better sense of the attraction and whether you and members of your family will be able to ride.
TRON Lightcycle Run Snacks
Just across from the TRON’s entrance sits a new walk-up food booth, Energy Bytes; serving up sweet and savory snacks to replenish your battery after racing through the Grid:
TRON Lightcycle Run Merchandise
Upon exiting TRON Lightcycle Run, the previous “exit through the gift shop” for Space Mountain, Tomorrowland Light & Power Co., is now known as the Tomorrowland Launch Depot. Here is where you’ll find all of the merchandise for TRON.
The Tron Lightcycle / Run merchandise is broken down into three collections: Life on the Grid, The Thrill of the Race, and Back to the Arcade.
The Life on the Grid collection centers around the Tron Identity Program, which starts with action figures that use your image and phrases. Yes! YOUR image. You can have your face digitally scanned as well as phrases and uploaded to a TRON action future. A small memory card can be inserted into various items to customize them with different colors and sounds. We expect this experience to be very popular!
Some of the merchandise that can be personalized through the Tron Identity Program are the toy Lightcycle and the Identity Disk (which also functions as a Bluetooth speaker).
This backpack can hold an Identity Disk.
Beyond the customizable items, this collection also includes several pieces of light-up merchandise.
And then there is more traditional apparel.
The second collection, The Thrill of the Race, contains racing-themed apparel for the whole family.
The third and final collection, Back to the Arcade, has a retro look that harkens back to Tron’s theatrical debut in 1982. It features old-school apparel with references to Flynn’s arcade, where the Tron arcade game was located in the movie.
The collection also includes vintage Tron action figures and vehicles lovingly crafted by Super7. And Loungefly contributed a stunning arcade cabinet-shaped mini backpack.
And there are also trading pins created for these collections.
(Our thanks to Natalie Kipper for writing up our Tron Merchandise section)
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Let’s Hear From You
TRON Lightcycle Run is a great new addition to Walt Disney World. Is this new ride enough to tempt you to make a trip to WDW? Have you been able to attend a preview? What sort of new attraction would you like to see Walt Disney World tackle next? And how about those GORGEOUS photos from Joseph Forbush and great video of Dusty and Chloe above!
Share your thoughts in the comments below!
More Walt Disney World News and info:
Walt Disney World Update: A Sweet History and a Green Future
Walt Disney World Update – D’Amaro Discussion & Favorites Return
Walt Disney World – New Villains Land, Zootopia, Figment, and More!
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