Tron Lightcycle Run – Everything You Need to Know About Magic Kingdom’s Newest Roller Coaster
Magic Kingdom’s newest roller coaster is a fast and fun experience sure to wow everyone who rides! The Tron Lightcycle Run roller coaster opens on April 4th of 2023, though Cast Member, Annual Passholder, and Disney Vacation Club previews are already well underway. With these previews, we had a chance to experience the ride and can now share our knowledge with you! Keep reading for a summary of the ride experience, details on what to expect, and our overall thoughts on this exciting new roller coaster!
Tron Theming
The ride is a direct copy of the Tron Lightcycle Power Run roller coaster that was constructed in Shanghai Disneyland a few years ago, and it is themed after the classic science fiction movie Tron.
The original film, released in 1982, follows the story of Kevin Flynn, an arcade owner and techie, who gets trapped in a digital world. In “The Grid,” he is forced to compete in challenges against the nefarious computer program “Clu” in order to escape back to the real world. The movie has a sequel called Tron Legacy that was released in 2010.
You may recognize the iconic orange and blue motorcycles even if you’ve never seen the movie. The Tron Lightcycle Run roller coaster takes riders into the omimous digital space and on a motorcylce race against the evil program. It features tons of fantastic lighting effects, exciting launches, and high speeds. It’s sure to impress everyone in your family!
Tron Lightcycle Run’s Vehicle – and the Seat
Since you will be riding a motorcycle, the ride vehicle requires you to straddle the seat and lean forward. This seating is much different than Disney’s usual bench-type seating and may cause some discomfort for certain riders. It’s somewhat similar to Avatar Flight of Passage in Animal Kingdom if you’ve visited that attraction on a previous Disney World visit.
Larger guests will have trouble fitting into the Tron Lightcycle Run seats due to the unique shape. If you or someone in your family is on the larger side, be sure to test out the seating before you enter the ride. A helpful cast member and two example seats are located in front of the ride itself; these can be used to see if the ride will be comfortable for you.
It can be a bit tricky to get into the seat as you must position yourself so the back and leg restraints can fully engage. (Riders who can’t fit in the regular seat will have to sit in the back of the vehicle train in a normal flat seat, which makes the experience somewhat less exciting and may cause embarrassment.)
The Tron Lightcycle Run roller coaster is located in Tomorrowland, next to the classic Space Mountain ride. If you or someone in your family is nervous about trying it out, be sure to visit the area and scope it out it for yourself. A large portion of the track can be seen under the canopy from outside of the ride, allowing potential riders to imagine what the experience will be like.
If the ride seems a bit too thrilling for you or someone in your family, there’s plenty to do around the rest of Tomorrowland. Try out the Peoplemover, Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, the Astro Orbiter, or cool off inside of the Carousel of Progress or Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor.
Ride Details
The Disney Tron Lightcycle Run attraction is definitely the most thrilling ride at the Magic Kingdom park, but it still isn’t too crazy for most visitors. It has a top speed of just under 60 miles per hour but is a smooth ride with swooping turns and no large drops. The ride also never goes upside down. To hop on board, you must meet the minimum height of 48 inches.
Lockers
Tron Lightcycle Run roller coaster will also be the first attraction at Disney World that requires guests to use lockers. Inside the queue, you will have to place bags and other large items in the locker while you ride. You can pick them up immediately afterwards. If you have small pocket-sized items like phones, wallets, and keys, you’ll have to remove them from your pockets before riding, but you are allowed to store them on the ride itself.
The center of the motorcycle vehicle seat contains a compartment for these items, which snaps in place to keep them secured. If you are using this compartment, be sure to separate your phone from your keys, so it doesn’t get scratched during your adventure!
Virtual Queue and How to Ride Tron Lightcycle/Run
This ride will utilize Disney’s virtual queueing system during the first few weeks after opening on April 4th. This means there will be no physical queue where guests can walk up and join the line. As such, if you want to guarantee a ride, you will only have two options: virtual queue or individual Lightning Lane.
To join the virtual queue for the ride, you will have to open up Disney’s My Disney Experience App and reserve a spot. Since the Tron Lightcycle Run roller coaster is sure to be extremely popular, you will be required to get a reservation immediately as they become available at 7 am on the day of your visit. Disney’s last two major ride openings, Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance and Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, used the same system. Reservations were usually completely gone within 5 to 10 minutes of becoming available.
Alternatively, you can pay $20+ per person to ride via the use of the individual Lightning Lane. If your once-in-a-lifetime Disney vacation isn’t complete without a ride on Tron, this could be your only option to ensure a ride.
Since the queue space for Tron Lightcycle Run is long, there is enough room to hold people waiting in line for multiple hours. We expect that Disney will eventually change from the virtual queue to a normal standby queue a few months after the ride opens, so be sure to watch out for changes to the system if you and your family are visiting later during the year in 2023.
Our Thoughts on the Tron Lightcycle/Run Roller Coaster Ride
The Tron Lightcycle Run roller coaster ride is awesome! Though it’s over quickly, it’s a great mix of thrills and sights that are different than anything else Disney World has to offer! The ride queue has some amazing effects and incredible lighting, which looks even better at night. Even if you don’t get the chance to ride, watching the lights dance as other guests fly by at nighttime is still an amazing sight to see. The Tron Lightcycle/Run is an incredible addition to the already impressive lineup of attractions at Magic Kingdom!
Cover photo: Unsplash
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