Five years after the first announcement was made at D23 Expo 2017, Disney Parks chief Josh D’Amaro has just revealed when TRON Lightcycle / Run will open to Guests at the Walt Disney World Resort.
TRON Lightcycle / Run, a copy of the attraction found in Shanghai Disney Resort’s Shanghai Disneyland, has been under construction for multiple years. Back in 2020, Disney Imagineer Zach Riddley shared updates of the canopy construction, called the Upload Circuit in-Universe, and it is this structure that will house the ride vehicles — or lightcycles.
Reaching up to 60mph at its fastest point, TRON Lightcycle / Run will see Guests propelled into the Magic Kingdom skyline, careening alongside Cinderella Castle, and over the spectators of Tomorrowland. The story of the attraction sees Guests joining “Team Blue for a high-speed launch into a competition against Team Orange,” racing through the eight energy gates to secure victory.
After Pandora — The World of Avatar and its game-changing Flight of Passage attraction, Disney’s Hollywood Studios’ Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance and Slinky Dog Dash, and Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure and this year’s Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind at EPCOT, Guests have long been in need of a new thrilling attraction at Magic Kingdom Park.
And now, the time when Guests can mount the lightcycles and soar into the sky has been revealed. Talking at the D23 Expo 2022 in Anaheim, Southern California, Disney Parks, Experiences and Products Chairman Josh D’Amaro has announced that TRON Lightcycle / Run will open at the Magic Kingdom in spring of 2023.
It’s been a long time coming for the TRON roller coaster. The attraction was slated to open during the Walt Disney World Resort’s 50th anniversary — The World’s Most Magical Celebration — but plans were derailed due to the pandemic, with many (including EPCOT’s World Celebration renovation) delayed. The announcement of the opening date will mark the end of a very long five years.
Based on the cinematic franchise from which it gets its name, TRON Lightcycle / Run draws inspiration from both Steven Lisberger’s TRON (1982) and the sequel, TRON: Legacy (2010) by director Joseph Kosinski (Top Gun: Maverick). Chris Beatty, Portfolio Creative Executive of Walt Disney Imagineering, recently shared that TRON Lightcycle / Run will take place after the events of TRON: Legacy. He said:
Our story picks up following the events of “TRON: Legacy,” whose main character, Sam Flynn, is now opening new gateways into this digital realm at specific locations around the world. The first portal he created is at Shanghai Disneyland with the original TRON Lightcycle Power Run, and now Magic Kingdom guests will get their turn through this second gateway.
Soon Guests will be able to board their ride vehicles and soar into The Grid as Disney Parks unleashes its next big deal attraction.
