Injury Narrowly Avoided on Tron as Safety Rules Are Ignored

Tron Lightcyle / Run is Walt Disney World’s newest attraction. The coaster, which opened up on April 4th, invites you to step into the grid as it zooms across “a world with no horizon.” It became an instant fan-favorite and regularly turns would-be riders away from the virtual queue and Lightning Lane to its incredible popularity.  It’s not hard to see why it’s so popular– not only is it Disney’s newest attraction, but it’s also its fastest coaster! 

Tron Lightcyle / Run reaches speeds of nearly 60 mph and races across Guest walkways at Magic Kingdom. Because of this, Disney put some first-of-their-kind rules in place when the ride opened. Loose articles have always been permitted on Disney rides. Even Rock n Roller Coaster, formerly Disney World’s only attraction that goes upside-down. Not So with Tron. 

Guests are required to place all loose items in lockers which are provided at no charge to Guests. This not only prevents damage to the ride and personal property but it also protects people down below. Unlike other theme parks, Disney has never had a high-speed ride that traveled over walkways before. Falling objects from the ride could cause serious injury or death to Guests, so lockers are required. 

One Guest either forgot or decided the rules didn’t apply to them (we’re trying to be positive here, despite the many signs and Cast Members who make sure everyone is aware). In a blink-and-you-miss-it incident, their sunglasses flew off the ride and fell from the ride vehicle, very nearly missing Guests down below. Luckily no one was injured (we won’t get into the physics, but at the speed and velocity the glasses were traveling, their force could have caused injury if a Guest had been struck). 

Travel Agent Alyssa Travels caught the incident on camera and posted a video to TikTok. She issued a warning that this is exactly why lockers are necessary on the ride. You can see the video here.

The incident occurred in the first few seconds of the video. Did you catch it? We had to watch it several times before we finally saw it. It goes to show that Disney’s rules are in place for a reason. Things can happen so fast but produce catastrophic results. Disney has nets in place over the walkways to catch debris, but they aren’t foolproof. In this case, the glasses fell into the net and actually bounced out! 

TRON Lightcycle / Run is the newest attraction at Disney World’s Magic Kingdom. Located in Tomorrowland, the new experience welcomes Guests to “speed across a world with no horizons in a high-stakes race based on the Disney sci-fi film TRON: Legacy” and “Leave the real world behind to join Team Blue in a quest across the Grid—the dark, computerized world with no horizons from TRON.”

Per Disney World’s official website:

In 1982, Disney made filmmaking history with “TRON,” the first production of its kind to mix live action with computer-generated visuals and backlit animation. This iconic film went on to inspire video games, comic books, an animated series, and the 2010 sequel “TRON: Legacy:—as well as this new Disney theme park attraction.

With the rise of recent dangerous behavior, we feel the need to remind Guests that no one is above the rules. Many have an “it can’t happen to me” mentality regarding terrible tragedy, but things can and do happen, even at Walt Disney World. Please observe all safety warnings when you’re visiting Disney Parks. Not doing so could result in serious injury. 

Tomorrowland Launch Depot Now Open to All Guests

Via wdwnt.com

Tomorrowland Light & Power Co. has been transformed into Tomorrowland Launch Depot and serves as the TRON Lightcycle Run gift shop. After spending much of the day serving as a reservation-only location, the new shop outside of Tron Lightcycle Run is now open to all guests visiting Magic Kingdom.

Yesterday, the Tomorrowland Launch Depot was reserved to guests who had booked an opening day reservation for the TRON Identity Program experience. Though the opening day experience was canceled, Disney reconciled with guests who had booked the experience by providing them with an exclusive first entry into the new TRON merchandise shop.

It was originally expected that the shop would open to all guests beginning tomorrow.

We had the chance to take a full tour of the Tomorrowland Launch Depot as it opened to guests today. It’s located between TRON and Space Mountain (it has always been the Space Mountain gift shop). There are entrances from the main Tomorrowland walkway and the exit walkway from TRON Lightcycle / Run.

WDW MK Tomorrowland Launch Depot 20

We got the first look of all new TRON Lightcycle Run merchandise guests can expect to see on their first visits to the Tomorrowland Launch Depot, including a line of TRON Lightcycle Run opening day merchandise. We also found new TRON Lightcycle Run-inspired merchandise options at the MaDe kiosks in Tomorrowland Launch Depot at Magic Kingdom.

Actor Who Played Iconic Disney Villain Dies From Cancer

Sad news swept across the entertainment industry early this week.

Because of the nature of the business, there are few times when an actor can boast a career spanning multiple decades, much less a half-century. But, that’s exactly what one beloved and iconic actor could do.

David Warner had an acting career that spanned 50 years and, during that time, he saw himself in many iconic roles. His family revealed today that the iconic actor had passed away over the weekend due to a “cancer-related illness.”

Warner had been sick for nearly 18 months and his family shared that he had “approached his diagnosis with a characteristic grace and dignity.”

“It is with an overwhelmingly heavy heart that we share the news of the death of the actor David Warner (at the age of nearly 81), from a cancer-related illness, in the early hours of July 24th,” his family said in the statement.”…Over the past 18 months he approached his diagnosis with a characteristic grace and dignity. He will be missed hugely by us, his family and friends, and remembered as a kind-hearted, generous and compassionate man, partner and father, whose legacy of extraordinary work has touched the lives of so many over the years. We are heartbroken.”

Warner is most known for his role as the iconic villain Edward Dillinger in TRON (1982). The Disney franchise, which saw a new movie released in 2011, has become so popular that a coaster is being built at Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World Resort themed to the intellectual property.

In addition, Warner starred in many other popular films including Titanic (1997), Time After Time (1979), The Omen (1976), Time Bandits (1981), and many others. In addition to TRON, his Disney filmography includes the narrator in Pooh’s Grand Adventure: The Search for Christopher Robin, the Archmage in Gargoyles, The Spirit of the Tree in the Dinosaurs episode “If I Were a Tree”, Lord Angstrom in Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, Admiral Boom in Mary Poppins Returns, and Thomas Eckhardt in the ABC drama Twin Peaks.

In a 2017 interview with AV Club, Warner talked about his 50-year-career and explained that he was very happy to have had the opportunity to play a character in so many different genres.

“I’ve done war pictures, I’ve done Westerns, I’ve done sci-fi … I mean, I wasn’t in ‘Harry Potter,’ and I wasn’t in ‘Lord Of The Rings,’ and I haven’t been in ‘Game Of Thrones,’” he told the AV Club. “So there are those big ones that I haven’t managed to do. But that’s show biz … and, you know, I think I’ve still done okay.”

Tron Coaster Progress

The construction crews at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom theme park have hit a new stage of work for the future Tron roller coaster ride.

The attraction is based on the Tron Lightcycle Power Run at Shanghai Disneyland and puts riders behind two-wheeled Lightcycles that race the digital world from the film series. There’s no specific opening date yet for the attraction, but Disney said it should be ready for the 50th anniversary of Walt Disney World in 2021. 

A video shared by Disney said the attraction will use more than 300 ride columns to support it. Much of the underground and foundational work for the new attraction started more than a year ago. 

The attraction will be built between the Space Mountain and Tomorrowland Speedway rides in Magic Kingdom’s Tomorrowland area.

Disney’s has been hard at work on the project filing multiple permits. In February, the company pulled permits to begin installing ride steel at an address that was near the Tron coaster.

Overall, new additions are more tools for Disney to create experiences that keep visitors coming back to Orlando, where the local $70 billion tourism industry drew a record 75 million visitors in 2018. That helps as the region awaits the debut of major expansions such as Disney’s planned new Star Wars-themed hotel.