Walt Disney World’s recent Tron Lightcycle Run roller coaster immediately separates itself from the holiday destination’s other thrill rides with a pulse-pounding launch that propels users, er, guests nearly 60 miles per hour. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves, literally, because the ambitious attraction makes quite an impression long before you board your lightcycle and white-knuckle your way through the grid.
The coaster, a clone of Shanghai Disneyland’s Tron Lightcycle Power Run, first grabs your attention from afar. Positioned near Space Mountain within the Magic Kingdom’s Tomorrowland area, it includes a towering, curvy cover that covers the outdoor portion of the coaster’s 3000-plus feet track. The wave-inspired covering is a surprising addition to the land’s futuristic skyline, one you may definitely need to search out when the sun sets. After dark, the cover involves life with vibrant, shifting illumination effects, while the slick ride vehicles whizzing just beneath it sport equally eye-popping details.
In fact, no matter what time of day you choose to get digitized into the grid, you may still experience that very same, adrenaline-spiking launch sequence, in addition to all of the immersive theming and story elements that precede it within the queue. While Tron Lightcycle Run doesn’t pack as lots of these latter touches as Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind — which opened just last 12 months in EPCOT — it generally does a improbable job making you’re feeling as if you have left Orlando behind and entered the world of Tron.
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There’s loads of props — including a reproduction of the ENCOM SHV 20905 lasers that zapped father and son Flynn within the movies — in addition to black partitions and corridors starkly contrasted with glowing blue circuity and other aesthetic details that would not look misplaced in 1982’s “Tron” or its 2010 sequel “Tron: Legacy.” And while it isn’t explicitly communicated within the attraction, the coaster’s story is the truth is set after the events of that second film.
Disney’s official synopsis offers this set-up: “TRON Lightcycle Run enables guests to enter the digital world via gateways that Grid creator Kevin Flynn’s son, Sam Flynn, opened. Sam created the Lightcycle Run competition as a ‘friendly’ way for Users and Programs to interact in a gaming-style, competitive event.”
You will not find any obvious call-outs to Sam Flynn’s involvement, but fans of the cult-favorite sci-fi series will likely recognize the music and sound effects used throughout the attraction. The pulsing beats and moody rating come courtesy of Joseph Trapanese, the composer who collaborated with electronic music duo Daft Punk on the rating for “Tron: Legacy.” The tone is further set — and the stress ratcheted — by illuminated posters of previous lightcycle champions, a looping video of a female program explaining the foundations and potential hazards of the sport, and a voice-over reminding you of your imminent digitization.
The queue’s coolest section by far is tied to that latter element, as guests/users gather in a small room in front of an enormous screen playing various visual effects. When the pc visuals — which represent the digitization process — disappear, it’s revealed that the monitor is definitely a transparent glass wall offering a dramatic reveal and take a look at the launch area below. It’s an epic moment that effectively sells the sense you have officially left the true world for the digital frontier.
With the immersion — and your heart rate — elevated, it’s nearly time to proceed to the games. Because the story goes, you are a member of Team Blue, who’s competing against Team Orange to be the primary to capture eight Energy Gates. And this brings us back to that aforementioned launch, which hurtles you forward at high speed and maintains that rewarding rush for the rest of the ride.
Credit is as a consequence of the unconventional ride vehicles, which trade your typical roller coaster automotive for a motorbike-like design that mimics the look of the series’ iconic lightcycles. However it’s far more than authentic aesthetics, as guests straddle the vehicles like a motorbike, tightly grip the handlebars, and lean forward. This unique position, which feels pretty just like “riding” any of those motorbike-themed arcade racing games, definitely adds to the thrilling sense of speed, in addition to the fantasy that you just’re actually piloting the lightcycle.
In fact, it doesn’t hurt that you just spend the following minute or so blazing through sudden, sharp — albeit silky smooth — twists, turns, and drops. There aren’t any inversions, so that you needn’t worry about flipping the wrong way up if that won’t your thing. That said, plan on encountering some extreme leans that almost put your lightcycle’s sides parallel to the bottom.
The seat-of-the-pants launch will immediately elicit wide smiles from coaster fans, and never simply because gravity is forcing the gleeful expression to stretch across their faces. The satisfying take-off is quickly followed by a transient trip outdoors, where Team Blue races beneath the cover and onlookers get a glimpse of the zooming lightcycles … in addition to the completely happy/terrified looks on their family members’ faces.
From there, the lightcycles travel back inside, where additional story elements and effects remind users they are not on vacation but are competing for dominance on the grid. You may speed through the eight Energy Gates, while projections and other computer graphics trickery occasionally put you dangerously near Team Orange’s determined racers. Attributable to the attraction’s pace and brevity — you are at top speed for a couple of minute — your mileage will vary on how much of this you really see. Try to lift your head a bit and spy the environment though, and you may see the competition crashing and derezzing when you maintain the lead.
We recommend riding twice, in the course of the day and again at night, to experience the evening’s cover effects in addition to give yourself a further opportunity to catch any show elements you would possibly have missed the primary time. For those who cannot get on multiple times, otherwise you’re simply not a fan of roller coasters, you may still enjoy much of the experience. Again, thanks largely to that stunning cover, Tron Lightcycle Run is value trying out even for those who don’t plan on being digitized. You can even get incredibly near the attraction’s track, so non-participants have a front row seat of the competition.
Finally, like most Disney theme park experiences, this latest attraction is not limited to the roller coaster itself. Tron Lightcycle Run essentially hosts a complete pavilion, with loads of photo opportunities, an enormous themed merchandise shop — with a lot of light-up clothes and accessories, obviously — and a Tron-inspired food kiosk aptly dubbed Energy Bytes. So, even for those who skip the high-speed grid games, you may still enjoy an order of Digital Dumplings or pony as much as put your digitized face on a Tron motion figure.