We have exciting news! Construction on Tiana’s Bayou Adventure continues to take shape, and later this summer, a tiara-topped water tower emblazoned with the Tiana’s Foods logo will make its way to Magic Kingdom.
Disney Parks guests will get to experience Princess Tiana’s story like never before following the attraction’s debut at Walt Disney World Resort and Disneyland Resort in 2024, and what a party it will be! The story will pick up where the film left off as guests join Princess Tiana and jazz-loving alligator Louis on an adventure down the bayou as they prepare to host a one-of-a-kind celebration during Mardi Gras season where everyone is welcome. Along the way, guests will encounter familiar faces, make new friends and travel through the bayou to original music inspired by songs from the film.
Our team of Imagineers recently traveled to New Orleans to capture the true essence of the Mardi Gras celebration, the energy, the colors, the rhythms of the music, all that and more to infuse into Tiana’s Bayou Adventure to create lots of memorable fun for guests! Check the link below to see!
Walt Disney World Resort is just a matter of weeks away from opening a massive new attraction in Tomorrowland.
Located in Magic Kingdom Park, Tomorrowland is already home to Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor, Space Mountain, Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, the Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover, the Tomorrowland Speedway, Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress, and the Astro Orbiter. If that weren’t enough, TRON Ligthcycle / Run is already giving previews and the attraction will officially open on April 4, 2023 by virtual queue or Individual Lightning Lane purchase only.
As Disney continues to hype up the opening of the brand-new attraction, many Disney World Guests have wondered if anything might be going into the building that used to house Stitch’s Great Escape!
The Tomorrowland attraction officially closed in 2020, but had been “temporarily closed” long before that. On occasion, Disney World would reopen the attraction for a limited time, but it became apparent that the attraction was never going to be a permanent fixture again. Since its closure, many Disney Park fans have speculated on what could come to the building, but nothing has been announced yet.
Character meet and greets have been held in the building in the past, but recently, the building has been closed. Now, it seems we have an answer on what’s coming to the building next.
As TRON Lightcycle / Run opens, Disney will have a Pop-Up Stand of merchandise that the company shares is located “across from Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor.”
Though the main merchandise section will be located in the Tomorrowland Launch Depot– the exit to both Space Mountain and TRON Lightcycle / Run– this pop-up shop will help maintain crowd control, and housing it in the building where Stitch’s Great Escape! once was located makes a lot of sense.
“There are generations of Guests now visiting Walt Disney World who grew up playing the TRON video games and imagining their bicycles were Lightcycles,” explained Taryn Johnson, Senior Manager for Brand Merchandising with Global Product Creation. “These collections have a dash of 1980s nostalgia mixed with incredibly fun items that continue the thrills of this new Tomorrowland attraction at home.”
It’s unclear how long this pop-up merchandise shop will be up, but it does give Disney fans an answer to a question they’ve wanted to know for quite some time. At least in the immediate future, there will not be a new attraction in Tomorrowland, other than TRON Lightcycle / Run.
Disney also has plans for plenty of other exclusive merchandise related to TRON, including personalized action figures.
In a new interview, Dr. Abigail Disney addressed criticisms of her loyalty to her family and the Disney legacy after speaking out about the economic crisis currently faced by Disney Parks Cast Members and CEO salaries.
At both the Disneyland Resort and the Walt Disney World Resort, Cast Members make the magic possible through their hard efforts each day but often face under-compensation for their exceptional Guest service. Since last August, unions within the STCU have held protests in Florida to petition Disney for a living wage, and renegotiate their contracts.
Moreover, production employees at the Walt Disney Studio are currently lobbying the Walt Disney Company for the right to unionize alongside the rest of the animation department, and costume department Cast Members spoke out about a gendered pay gap within entertainment. Of course, heir to the Disney name, Abigail, has been a vocal supporter of Cast Member wage rights for years, and is not above criticizing both the company, or its founder Walt.
However, with the release of a new documentary film, “The American Dream and Other Fairy Tales,” Disney has attempted to shed light on the situation, particularly the rate of change from how her grandfather Roy O. Disney, and great-uncle Walt Disney, treated their workers to how the multi-billion dollar conglomerate does today. In fact, on an episode of Florida’s Fourth Estate, Disney told hosts hosts Ginger Gadsden and Matt Austin that while she herself has an immense love for Disney, for her family, and for the Disney Parks, she feels the need to criticize the current situation because she has the privilege to change it.
Disney recalls a “great deal of affection” between Roy and his employees on visits to Disneyland as a child, and says she cannot imagine him being able to sleep at night knowing many of them struggled to put food on the table even working full-time, while Disney CEO Bob Iger and Bob Chapek rake in over $65 million yearly. For instance, a 2018 study found one in ten CMs have experienced homelessness, some even living in their cars in Disney parking lots, while almost 70% had experienced food insecurity, and 75% did not make enough to cover basic expenses, in what union leaders are calling an “economic crisis.”
Although many have dubbed Disney a “traitor” for her outspoken views, she maintains that the “insane” compensation Disney CEOs receive is not her issue, but rather that they continue to take it before making sure the employees responsible for their having it at all are properly compensated and taken care of in the same vein that her ancestors did. Furthermore, Abigail said that while the situation continues, she feels “a loyalty higher than Disney and that’s to my fellow human beings.”
According to Abigail, the Walt Disney Company can remain a profitable visionary while also supporting Cast Members’ wellbeing, and that management only tries to hire workers at the lowest price possible due to beliefs systems in the US which convince us these two ideals are mutually exclusive when they’re not.
Disney’s documentary will examine these myths, even at the expense of others criticizing her true loyalties:
I would say I probably love Disney more than any other super fan could possibly love Disney. It’s in my DNA, it’s down to my toes, and I remember every detail and every nuance of both of those parks. I will tell you, though, if you really, really, really love something, then you have to see it truthfully and you have to speak the truth about it and it’s not perfect. I wish it were.
A new TikTok posted on the official Disney Parks page shows Mickey and Minnie in new TRON Lightcycle / Run-themed costumes complete with light-up circuits as the attraction’s media event takes place tonight.
The pair posed in front of TRON Lightcycle / Run at the Magic Kingdom wearing new TRON-inspired costumes. Mickey is in a black jacket and black pants, both with blue circuits symbolizing neutrality in the world of The Grid. Minnie meanwhile has a skirt with lines and circles much like Quorra from “TRON Legacy,” along with a bow which has blue light-up circuits.
Disney hasn’t stated whether these TRON-themed costumes will be available for greetings, only showing them off in this TikTok so far. The media preview for TRON Lightcycle / Run takes place this evening,and the attraction opens on April 4 at Magic Kingdom. Check out our photos and videos of the attraction, plus our POV video below.
Disney has announced the details of the TRON Lightcycle / Run virtual queue that will be in place. Check out our article on how and when you can join the virtual queue and get a boarding group for the new ride. You can also preview the new merchandise for the attraction and the treats which will be on offer at Energy Bytes next to the ride.
Disney is gearing up for the opening of the new attraction, TRON Lightcycle / Run, coming to Magic Kingdom. Disney has released a look at some of the merchandise items that will be available.
From a Disney Cast Member
Greetings, Programs! As someone who discussed merchandise on Disney Parks Blog for nearly a decade, imagine my delight when I was asked to write about new products created for TRON Lightcycle / Run presented by Enterprise. This thrilling new attraction officially opens at Magic Kingdom Park at Walt Disney World Resort on April 4, 2023. I’ve collected TRON products for many “cycles” (or “years” in the world of TRON), and following my overview with the Global Product Development team, I quickly realized I’m going to need a bigger house.
Users who venture into the Grid will find three merchandise collections, related to the attraction experience, the film “TRON: Legacy” or the nostalgia around this digital world first introduced in 1982 with the release of the original “TRON.”
“There are generations of guests now visiting Walt Disney World who grew up playing the TRON video games and imagining their bicycles were Lightcycles,” explained Taryn Johnson, Senior Manager for Brand Merchandising with Global Product Creation. “These collections have a dash of 1980s nostalgia mixed with incredibly fun items that continue the thrills of this new Tomorrowland attraction at home.”
One of my favorite collections is “Back to the Arcade,” which captures a slice of the early 1980s arcade scene complete with nods to Flynn’s Arcade from the original film. Elements from video game cabinets were turned into backpacks and illuminated wall signs. The tumbler even includes vintage Lightcycles that race around a domed top.
Lightcycles are fast two-wheeled vehicles on the Grid, akin to motorcycles in the “real” world. This was the jumping-off point for the “Thrill of the Race” collection which contains racing-inspired apparel for adults and kids.
The team even created a light-up replica of Sam Flynn’s helmet as seen in “TRON: Legacy” using the original costume piece as reference. This helmet is the perfect finishing touch to my own “TRON: Legacy” costume. A separate decorative helmet bag is an excellent carrying case for this or any other racing helmet.
For those that want to continue racing Lightcycles after visiting the Grid, check out the TRON Lightcycle Handlebars. This interactive toy contains lights and sound effects from TRON and can turn into an interactive game for up to four players.
Life on the Grid is replicated with a third merchandise collection inspired by the clean design language of this digital world. Adults will find light-up jackets and other accessories like a backpack that holds a new interactive Identity Disc that doubles as an audio speaker (now I can listen to the incredible “TRON: Legacy” soundtrack everywhere I go!).
One of the most impressive parts of this collection is the TRON Identity Program, an all-new retail experience. It offers guests a customizable “Program” action figure and identity chip that can be used to “re-program” other merchandise such as the interactive Identity Discs and Remote Control Lightcycles.
Reservations for this interactive experience can be made beginning March 21 by visiting disneyworld.disney.go.com/shops/magic-kingdom/tron-identity-program/.
When TRON Lightcycle / Run opens on April 4, guests will find these products and more in a specially designed pop-up shop area directly across from the Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor entrance in Tomorrowland.
For those with a reservation for the TRON Identity Program, please visit Tomorrowland Launch Depot for the experience. It’s the merchandise shop located between the entrances to TRON Lightcycle / Run and Space Mountain.
Guests will also be able to use Merchandise Mobile Checkout via the My Disney Experience app when purchasing items at select locations. I love this feature as it’s easy to use and saves time as you scan items as you shop and pay from your phone.
I can’t wait to get photos in TRON Plaza under the beautiful canopy at Magic Kingdom Park sporting many of these items. It’s like a dream come true for a lifelong TRON fan like me. I hope you will join me on the Grid starting April 4!
