Disney Instituting Harsh Rules Upon TRON Opening

The time is finally here, fellow Disney lovers! After waiting five long — very long — years, TRON Lightcycle/Run is open at Walt Disney World Resort’s Magic Kingdom Park. Disney World’s newest roller coaster is found in the Tomorrowland area of the theme park. The roller coaster is nearly identical to the one that opened at the Shanghai Disney Resort in 2016. The attraction is based on the hit 1982 film, TRON, which starred Jeff Bridges, and takes Guests on a high-speed ride through the Grid.

As with other new Disney attractions — like Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind — TRON Lightcycle/Run is operating on a virtual queue system. Every day, the virtual queue opens at 7 a.m. and again at 1 p.m. The only way to ride TRON is by joining the virtual queue or purchasing an individual Lightning Lane pass. Every Guest who joins the virtual queue will be given a boarding group number. The app will keep Guests updated as to what boarding group the attraction is serving and an approximate wait time for the Guests’ boarding group to be called.

The most popular time of the day to ride TRON Lightcycle/Run is at night. The canopy is lit up and changes color, and looks absolutely stunning. Because of this, many Guests may try to hold off on redeeming their virtual queue position until the evening. However, if you are thinking of doing this, you’ll find yourself out of luck.

Disney has announced that Guests must return to redeem their virtual queue position within a certain amount of time. Should the Guest miss that window, Disney may not allow the Guest to board.

Disney made an update to the virtual queue page tonight. A new line reads: “Please arrive at your attraction once your boarding group is called. Be advised that late arrivals may not be accommodated.”

Disney made an update to the virtual queue page tonight. A new line reads: "Please arrive at your attraction once your boarding group is called. Be advised that late arrivals may not be accommodated."

TRON officially opens tomorrow (April 4) and will utilize a virtual queue. pic.twitter.com/H1Wn6kU0aS

— Scott Gustin (@ScottGustin) April 4, 2023

More on TRON Lightcycle/Run

TRON Lightcycle/Run was first announced at the D23 Expo in Anaheim, California, with construction scheduled to begin in 2018. Construction began on schedule. The plan was to have the new attraction open in time for Walt Disney World Resort’s 50 Anniversary celebration. The celebration began in October 2021, but TRON was nowhere near completion.

Construction fell far behind, with COVID only making things worse. In fact, the ride’s completion became a running joke amongst Disney fans. Guests couldn’t understand why the ride was taking so long to build, especially when it was a ride that Disney Imagineers already knew how to build. In addition to waiting years for TRON to finally open, Guests also couldn’t ride the Walt Disney World Railroad for four years, as the train rode right through the construction area.

Finally, after five years, TRON is open and Guests can take a high-speed trip through the Grid. Here’s more on the attraction, courtesy of the Walt Disney World Resort website.

Leave the real world behind and join Team Blue in a quest across the Grid—the dark, computerized world with no horizons from TRON. Here, there’s no limit to the excitement.

Climb aboard your very own Lightcycle and take off on a high-speed adventure, racing against the Grid’s most menacing Programs. Surge past your fierce opponents as you attempt to cross through 8 Energy Gates and secure your team’s victory. 

TRON Lightcycle / Run is one of the fastest coasters at any Disney theme park in the world.

Disney has not said how long TRON will utilize a virtual queue. Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind is also still using a virtual queue, so Guests will have to choose which virtual queue they want to try to join first. Disney allows Guests to only be in one virtual queue at a time.