TRON Attraction Update: Walt Disney World Railroad & Tomorrowland Speedway Operations to be Affected

Last summer at the D23 Expo Disney announced plans for a  TRON-style attraction that would be added to Tomorrowland at the Magic Kingdom and would open sometime in 2021.

The new attraction will be located in an entirely new area next to Space Mountain.

If you weren’t already excited about this new attraction, Disney has updated us with some related adjustments to two nearby attractions,meaning construction is now getting serious.  According to Disney, both the Walt Disney World Railroad and The Tomorrowland Speedway operations will be interrupted during the construction of the new TRON coaster.

The Walt Disney World Railroad will temporarily take up residence at the Main Street Station starting sometime this December, pausing its grand-circle tours of Magic Kingdom. During this time, guests will be able to get an up-close look at the railroad and take advantage of one-of-a-kind photo opportunities.

The Tomorrowland Speedway will also close for a portion of 2019, as the track is adjusted for the new attraction.  The railroad will reopen in the summer of 2019.

The new Tron attraction which will debut in time for Walt Disney World’s 50th anniversary in 2021, is based on TRON Lightcycle Power Run that is located at Shanghai Disneyland.

The TRON Lightcycle Power Run debuted on Shanghai Disneyland’s opening day and quickly became the highest-rated attraction at the park.

I personally cannot wait for this attraction.  I was excited when the announcement was made at the D23 Expo and now that construction has moved along far enough for them to start moving or adjusting portions of the nearby existing attractions I’m getting even more excited.

If you were planning on being in Walt Disney World while the operations of the Speedway and the Walt Disney World Railroad will be affected please be aware of the adjusted operations.

 

Walt Disney World Files Permits for Tron Coaster

At the D23 Expo last July Disney announced that a new TRON roller coaster would be coming to the Magic Kingdom.  Many of us hoped that the attraction would be open for Magic Kingdom’s 50th Anniversary, with the recent filing of government paperwork we at least have somewhat of an idea when construction will likely begin.

Back in November Environmental Resource permits were filed with the South Florida Water Management District.  These permits gave an exact location for the TRON  Lightcycle Power Run, though we had a pretty good idea when the attraction was announced at D23 Expo.

The “Notices of Commencement Permits” don’t give a lot of details other than that we should see a groundbreaking soon and who will be managing the project.  The permits filed with Orange County indicate that Disney hired a local construction company, The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company to oversee the construction project.

According to sources, we should see ground clearing and site preparation in the coming months before the rainy season begins.  Vertical construction is expected to begin before the end of the year.  When this happens it is expected that the Walt Disney World Railroad will go down for an unknown amount of time while the TRON ride building is extended over the railroad.

While it is thought that there will be a two-year build timeline, when we look at the construction of the TRON coaster at Shanghai it’s unclear how long construction will take for the project in Walt Disney World.  For Shanghai the groundbreaking took place in 2011, but construction didn’t really take off until late 2013 and didn’t open for testing and guests until 2016.

I was excited, as were others, when this attraction was announced at the D23 Expo.  I’ve even more excited now that we know that permits have been filed and that groundbreaking is imminent and construction should be following hopefully shortly after that.

How excited are you about the new TRON Lightcycle Power Run attraction?

Tron Coaster Coming to Tomorrowland in the Magic Kingdom

The Tron Coaster, the very popular coaster at Shanghai Disneyland, will be coming to the Magic Kingdom.

The attraction will be built on a brand new area beside Space Mountain, Tron will open in time for Walt Disney World’s 50th in 2021.

The TRON Lightcycle Power Run attraction at Shanghai Disneyland is a coaster-style attraction where riders board a train of two-wheeled Lightcycles. It offers access into the energy, lights and excitement of TRON’s high-tech universe.

The nearby Speedway is scheduled to remain at this time, although various versions of the final plan show the Speedway being radically updated from its current Indy car type look.

 

Looks Like End of Game for Tron 3

Tron-3

Tron 3 won’t be coming to a theater near you.

Disney has chosen not to move forward with a third installment in the sci-fi series, sources say. While sources say the project was never officially greenlit, earlier this year it seemed that things were moving ahead with Tron:Legacy helmer Joseph Kosinski returning to direct and stars Olivia Wilde and Garrett Hedlund reprising their roles.

Prep had been started on the third film, and production was looking to shoot this fall, likely in Vancouver, British Columbia. Disney had been interested in adding Jared Leto to the cast, but an offer and negotiations had never commenced.

Disney has been developing a sequel to Tron:Legacy since the movie, made for $170 million, grossed $400 million worldwide. Legacy was the sequel to the 1982 sci-fi film that took place inside a computer world known as the Grid and starred Jeff Bridges and Bruce Boxleitner. The film drew a big cult following and became a notable influence on filmmakers and pop culture.

Decades later, Disney revisited the world with Legacy. The story revealed that the computer-programmer character played by Bridges had a son (Hedlund) who jumped into the Grid to find his father. Wilde was Quorra, an algorithm-made-flesh who also happened to kick butt.

Disney has had strong success with its live-action properties recently, including Maleficent and this year’s Cinderella, which earned $527.4 million worldwide. But it recently had a stumble with the $180 million live-action film Tomorrowland, which underperformed at the box office this past weekend with a $33 million U.S. debut.

Disney’s live-action tentpole calendar is pretty full for the next few years, with live-action versions of many of its animated classics in the works including The Jungle Book, Alice: Through the Looking Glass and Beauty and the Beast.

From The Hollywood Reporter

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