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.
