LightCycle Run Doing Test Runs at Magic Kingdom

Posted on by Mathew Corn Disney Parks, Magic Kingdom

Nearly 5 years ago, Disney announced that it was bringing a new roller coaster to the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World Resort. That roller coaster would be TRON Lightcycle/Run, which was going to be a replica of the one that was in place at the Shanghai Disneyland Resort. The roller coaster was to be built in Tomorrowland and would be built near another popular roller coaster, Space Mountain. The plan was to have the new TRON coaster built in time for Walt Disney World’s 50th Anniversary — which kicked off in October 2021.

Unfortunately, as most Disney fans know, all of those initial plans were forced to be changed. The Walt Disney World Railroad closed in 2019 as TRON’s construction expanded, and things were going along as planned. Then COVID hit. Everything was forced to shut down and construction came to a total stop. It was able to pick up after about 6 months, but it seems as though the pause was enough to make everything a complete mess.

Tron

As Disney’s 50th Anniversary date quickly approached, Disney removed all mention of a potential opening date for TRON Lightcycle/Run. The 50th kickoff came and went, and still nothing. Now we are in 2022 and still none the wiser when it comes to the attraction’s opening date. Construction has been moving along at Magic Kingdom Park, but it’s mostly on the outside, so it’s been nearly impossible to tell how things are coming along on the inside.

Tron

However, that is now changing in a big way! Just a couple of days ago, Guests riding the Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover were treated to a sight never before seen. A test run of TRON! One Guest had their camera out and managed to catch a video of the magical moment.

You can watch the video — which was shared by Attractions Magazine — below.

As you can see, there is still a lot of work being done on the Disney Park ride’s canopy, but the track looks like it may be complete. The cars are joined together and are seen gliding along the track.

At this time, we still do not have a timeline for the opening of TRON Lightcycle/Run. But it is a giant step forward that the ride track seems to be complete. While it is unlikely that the theme park ride will be open and operational for peak summer crowds, it may not be completely crazy to think that it might be able to open in time for the 2022 holiday season.

TRON Lightcycle Power Run

EPCOT’s Harmonious Barges Fountain Testing

Posted on by Mathew Corn Disney Parks, Epcot

As we highly anticipate the arrival of EPCOT’s new nighttime spectacular, “Harmonious”, we have been in awe of the arrival of the massive barges that have been placed into Epcot’s World Showcase Lagoon. Disney recently shared the progress details as you’ll find here if you missed them. It looks like testing is moving right along as videos taken last night (March 11) show the fountains being tested.

A Disney blogger, Jonathan Twitted via @DisneyXC two short clips of the fountain testing as shown below:

Disney Cruise Line To Do Mandatory COVID-19 Testing & Other Safeguards to Resume

Posted on by Mathew Corn Uncategorized

While the Disney Cruise Line has suspended all departures through at least December 6, 2020, they are still very much at work trying to navigate through COVID-19 and what it means for future sailings. It is being reported that yesterday, September 21, some progress has been made with safety agreements needed before cruise lines can attempt to resume sailing in the future.

In fall 2019, the Disney Magic sails to Bermuda, Bahamas and Canada from New York, followed by Bahamian and Caribbean voyages from Miami. Aboard the Disney Magic, guests can experience new spaces and experiences, including dining at Rapunzel’s Royal Table. (Matt Stroshane, photographer)

As shared by OrlandoSentinel: Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), the trade association for companies that include Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, Carnival, Disney and MSC Cruises among others, made the announcement Monday (Sept. 21), saying that all member lines had come to an agreement for some basic, but major components for any line’s safe return to cruising in North America amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Chief among the recommendations were that anyone planning to sail should have taken a COVID-19 test between five days and 24 hours of departure and have received a negative result. Anyone who tests positive should not board, or even come to the port. And neither should anyone in that person’s traveling party.

In addition, before boarding, passengers will be screened for symptoms, including the taking of temperatures and answering questions, which might lead to a secondary screening to determine if they should be allowed to board.

CDC guidelines for social distancing and face protection should be followed by wearing of face coverings indoors and maintaining 6 feet of social distance when checking in, and while sailing, in major public areas indoors where people congregate.

Disney+ Testing Autoplay Function

Posted on by Mathew Corn Disney+

While we’re still out here twiddling our thumbs till the official launch of Disney+, testing for the streaming service and its app are well underway in the Netherlands. Resources like disneyplusser.nl have been posting on all the latest updates, most notably the addition of the Autoplay function in the latest app update.

The latest 1.1.0 update for the Disney Plus app brings the addition of a lower-half countdown screen during the credits of the end of an episode, featuring a thumbnail and details of the following episode (episode number, name, season.) The next episode then starts automatically after a few seconds. This feature was not available in the old 1.0.3 version of the app. However, it is unknown whether the autoplay function will work on all devices.

If you are lucky enough to be in the test group for Disney+ and have not been able to switch to the new version yet, this latest update is being rolled out in phases to keep from overloading local servers, and may take several days.