Guests have waited patiently for Magic Kingdom’s newest attraction, TRON Lightcycle / Run, to open at the Walt Disney World Resort since 2018, and soon it finally will… With a major change that just debuted on the Disney Parks Blog.
Set to be one of the fastest rollercoasters offered at any Disney Park, the predecessor to TRON Lightcycle Power Run at Shanghai Disneyland will bring Guests into the Disney sci-fi film TRON: Legacy (2010). In both TRON (1982) and this sequel, the Flynn family grapples with obstacles in a digitized gaming playground known as The Grid, where “users” on Team Blue compete against antagonists from the interface’s Team Orange in simulated combat via games such as Lightcycle racing, allowing them to “speed across a world with no horizons in a high-stakes race.”
When the ride opened at China’s second Disney theme park in lieu of Space Mountain to great success, plans began to transfer it to Florida just two years later. Once again, Disney Parks and Walt Disney Imagineering have brought this completely pixelated mode of transportation into the real world, this time at Magic Kingdom’s Tomorrowland.
Despite extended delays due to the Covid-10 pandemic lockdown in 2020, construction is now nearly complete. In addition, Walt Disney World Cast Members have already experienced the nearly finished rollercoaster attraction through Cast Previews, with the ride fully opening to all Guests on April 4 of this year.
While some riders have criticized the ride for its lack of accessible seating, others praise the unique special effects like projection mapping and screen technology, which combine with immersive onboard audio to create a better-themed entertainment experience. However, further controversy arose over the ride’s use of a sponsor.
For instance, the Enterprise rental car company logo appears on the main queue entrance sign, causing some fans to claim it dampens the ride’s immersion with ties to our reality. Now, Disney has taken that corporate connection one step further with a new post-show experience.
Although the queue’s Hall of Opponents features two other teams in addition to Blue and Orange, previous competitors Team Yellow and Team Red, it’s Team Green that shows up in the post-show exit, which has intrigued Guests due to its connection to the Enterprise sponsor.
Presented by Enterprise, the Team Green space will include displays relaying the “culture, capabilities, and values of Enterprise” along with the “impressive programming” for the team’s real-life Green Lightcycle, “the latest and “most-advanced iteration to join the competition.” Furthermore, alongside this dynamic photo opportunity, the post-show will share rotating backstories for all twelve Team Members for Users to enjoy on future visits to the Grid.
