By: Marriska Fernandes
Nothing gets me more than the rush of a good roller coaster and Disney World in Orlando is packed with roller coasters that offer the adrenaline rush suited for adults and kids. The latest offering in the slate of Disney Thrills is the launch of the new Tron Lightcycle/Run rollercoaster in Magic Kingdom’s Tomorrowland, which opens today (April 4, 2023).
TRON Lightcycle / Run is one of the fastest coasters at any Disney theme park in the world. This ride is unlike any other in the park and competes very much with other exhilarating roller coasters like Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind.
As visitors enter the grid for the Tron rollercoaster, you get to climb aboard your very own Lightcycle and take off on a high-speed adventure, racing against the Grid’s most menacing Programs.
Movie lovers will instantly remember the 1982 film 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—and more recently, this Disney theme park attraction.
While most of the ride takes place indoors, there is a small portion of the event that takes the coaster outdoors — and let me tell you, having the rush of being outdoors on this coaster is game-changing. Also, experiencing the coaster at night means the canopy is beautifully lit in blue colours and adds to the experience ten folds. Having been on the ride three times, during the day and at night, I can safely say the experience at night is spectacular.
The seats are unlike the traditional coaster bench seats, and the bike-like seats were made to make the experience more Tron-like. Benjamin Van Beusekom, Senior Artisan at Walt Disney Imagineering, said in an interview: “The lightcycle race is so iconic to both the original Tron and Tron Legacy. so it made sense for us to build the light cycle train as part of the coaster rather than a traditional coaster with a bench seat.”
Speaking about the colours and concept, he said: “When we decided to bring Tron to Magic Kingdom, what was really important for us was to have it overall fit into the concept of Tomorrowland. So we chose colors that were very complimentary and kind of fit into the schematic of the land. Even as you walk into the attraction and further into the story of Tron, that’s where we see mostly blend in the extreme colors of the blues, and the blacks, and those highlighted colors of the story of Tron become more predominant and we fade out of the Tomorrowland colors.”
Roundup Rodeo BBQ – Hollywood Studios
Another kind of thrill for food lovers is the recent opening of new restaurant Roundup Rodeo BBQ which brings more magic to Andy’s backyard in Toy Story Land in Hollywood Studios.
The restaurant serves comfort foods with servings of barbecue, and the delicious dishes include Evil Dr. Smoked Ribs, Buttercup’s Beef Brisket, There’s a Sausage in my Boot – Fire-Grilled Pork Sausage and BBQ Chicken among many more options.
This one-of-a-kind dining experience is the first “Toy Story” table-service restaurant in the world and let’s just say it’s Yee Haw!
Happily Ever After – Magic Kingdom
Also returning to Magic Kingdom (April 3) is the most beautiful extravaganza: the Happily Ever After fireworks display. Be prepared to go on a dazzling, magical journey of color, light, and song that captures the heart, humor, and heroism of Disney’s classic and fan-favourite stories.
It touches the heart and truly is a special, one-of-a-kind moment that reminds you of the small joys.
Published by HOLR Magazine.