It’s been over 5 years since Disney announced that TRON Lightcycle/Run — a roller coaster at Disney’s Shanghai Park — would be coming to the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World Resort. Construction on the new coaster began in 2018 and the hope was to have the attraction open in time for Walt Disney World’s 50th Anniversary Resort celebration, which began on October 1, 2021. Unfortunately, no one predicted a global pandemic would shut Disney Parks down and put TRON construction way behind schedule.
Construction on the new TRON attraction, which will be called TRON Lightcycle/Run, is now well underway and many are hoping that an opening date is right around the corner. Disney Dining previously reported that the ride was seen doing test runs — which means that the track is complete — but now we have another MAJOR announcement to make. Guests visiting Magic Kingdom Park recently saw the ride doing a test run with actual people on it! That’s right, the ride is now close enough to completion to have people on it!
A picture of TRON Lightcycle/Run with people in the ride vehicles was shared on Twitter by Megg (@megg9911), who loved that one of the riders didn’t look very interested in being on the Disney Park coaster.
The man was probably a part of the ride testing team working on TRON Lightcycle/Run, so he has most likely ridden the attraction more than once. Walt Disney Imagineers ride new attractions more times than we know about in order to make sure that everything is working properly and that the ride is safe enough to allow Guests on in the near future. Even though he’s probably ridden it more than once, we would bet that it’s probably still an exciting experience!
Here’s what we know about TRON Lightcycle/Run thanks to Disney Parks Blog:
When this attraction is complete, you’ll climb aboard your very own Lightcycle and launch into the Grid for a race through a dark, computerized world.
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 PowerRun, and now Magic Kingdom guests will get their turn through this second gateway.
When you enter the attraction’s queue, you’ll feel as if you’re digitized and entering the Grid for a special Lightcycle race alongside your family and friends. You’ll all join Team Blue (hence the color of the wheels in the photo above) for a high-speed launch into a competition against Team Orange. As you swoop and swerve your way around the course, your goal is to be the first to race through eight Energy Gates and secure your victory. Will your team have what it takes?
Again, we do not have an opening date for TRON Lightcycle/Run at this time, but since riders are testing out the nearly completed project, it is possible that we may hear something in the coming weeks! Disney Dining will keep readers updated as we learn more.
