It’s so cool to watch after dark!Over the past few weeks I’ve been adding some #ThrowbackThursday and #FlashbackFriday pictures to the Disney Over 50 Facebook and Instagram accounts. I love looking back. Many of the pictures that I’ve added are from rides or attractions that no longer exist. Some aren’t missed, like The Legend of Captain Jack Sparrow at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Others, like The Great Movie Ride, people do truly seem to miss. There has been a lot of change at Walt Disney World in the 13 years that my family and I have lived here. Some changes have been hits, while others have missed the mark. I thought it might be fun to write a short series on these hits and misses.
Here are my hits so far; Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind at Epcot, Disney’s Animal Kingdom Flotillas, Epcot International Festival of the Arts, Epcot’s World Celebration, and Journey of Water, Inspired by Moana, which is also at Epcot. My misses are Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser, Harmonious (which I personally loved but it was still a misstep by Disney), and Disney Genie+. At Disney’s Hollywood Studios Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway is both a hit and a miss. This time, I want to head to the Magic Kingdom and talk about TRON Lightcycle / Run.
It felt like forever that we watched them build TRON Lightcycle / Run! Work was put on hold when Covid hit, and we didn’t get to enter the grid until April 4, 2023, unless you were lucky enough to participate in a preview. In my opinion, it was worth the wait! TRON Lightcycle / Run is a hit.
Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom is the most popular theme park in the world. There has always been something for everyone; except thrill fans. There are the mountains and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, but the intensity level isn’t that high on any of them. Space Mountain only hits 28 miles per hour! The Magic Kingdom needed something a bit more intense, but not so intense that it would scare people off.
TRON Lightcycle / Run goes fast. It hits a top speed of 60 miles per hour! Still, with the speed there aren’t any huge drops, making it perfect for a roller coaster wimp like me. It’s the speed that makes the ride intense. I know people who love huge coasters, and they are TRON fans. They will say that it needs a real hill or two, but overall they are happy with the ride.
I also like the fact that we didn’t lose anything from the Magic Kingdom to get TRON Lightcycle / Run. In order to get Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway we lost The Great Movie Ride, but TRON did not take the place of another attraction. It fits in perfectly with Tomorrowland, and makes the Magic Kingdom feel bigger.
If you haven’t seen TRON Lightcycle / Run after dark, you need to! Even if you aren’t riding, the lights put on quite the show. Whenever I’m there after dark there are plenty of people standing around, just watching. If you’ve seen TRON, you’ll feel like you stepped into the movie.
Is TRON Lightcycle / Run perfect? No. It’s very short, which is frustrating if there is a line. It also uses a Virtual Queue, which I think is needed. The problem, though, with the Virtual Queue is that the Cast Members are often strict on return times, and groups are sometimes called before the park is even officially open! It takes time to get to the Magic Kingdom, no matter where you are. Having one hour to return can be difficult. I understand that if the Cast Members let people return whenever they wanted that the line would get backed up after dark. It would still be nice to have a longer return time.
Overall, though, TRON Lightcycle / Run is another hit in my book. It’s a fun ride and it adds a new element of excitement to the Magic Kingdom. You don’t have to know the movies to enjoy TRON Lightcycle / Run. You just have to want to go really fast.