TRON Lightcycle / Run is a Gamer’s Roller Coaster

Walt Disney World’s newest roller coaster, TRON Lightcycle / Run, will likely have a lot of fans — but it’s going to be especially popular with gamers. As an avid gamer myself, I feel like the coaster was made for people like me. Why? Well, because even though the TRON Lightcycle / Run is technically based on a movie franchise, at its core, it’s actually about a video game. TRON Lightcycle / Run is set in the TRON universe and takes place after the events of TRON: Legacy. On the coaster, riders (or “users”) are digitized and enter the grid to compete in a challenge designed by Sam Flynn, Kevin’s son from TRON: Legacy, to foster competition between the human and digital worlds — essentially meaning that TRON Lightcycle / Run is a giant video game. Taking inspiration from the digital world, the coaster is also incredibly cool looking. Deep black backgrounds with neon blue highlights make the ride look like you’ve been sucked into an Alienware computer, playing well to the tech-centric life of gamers. It’s also one of Disney’s most intense rides to date. Currently, blasting off at about 60 mph, TRON Lightcycle / Run is the fastest coaster in a Disney park. After the epic launch, riders briefly make a right-hand bend outside before re-entering the building where they swerve through checkpoints and race against Team Orange. Gamers love adventure and action. It’s why we game. We play to feel the rush of excitement and the thrill of a good journey. Disney could have made TRON a slower ride. Avatar is an action movie, and one of its attractions is a slow riverboat dark ride, so Disney could have chosen a lot of different options for a TRON-themed ride, but they went with an action-packed coaster, which is perfect for the franchise. You can’t transport someone into a video game only to have them slowly crawl through set pieces. You play video games to play something. There needs to be action. It’s what we crave. And TRON Lightcycle / Run delivers. It’s fast, it’s intense, and it’s a lot of fun. It also has another essential element to video games: competition. In general, it’s not a game without competition. Without that critical piece, a game is nothing more than a story. In the coaster, riders play as Team Blue, who endure a light cycle race against Team Orange. Towards the end of the ride, when Team Orange appears via projections, Team Blue weaves around the competitor to avoid hitting the light trail the bikes leave behind. Not only does this help build out the world of TRON, but it also creates a more complete experience, rounding out the coaster’s fantastic setting, story, and challenge. It helps bring the ride to life. But I personally have one small gripe about this moment. It would have been really cool if Team Orange was the Shanghai coaster and the two rides were pitted against each other, with riders being able to see the other team halfway around the globe through a livestream. Racing coasters are nothing new – there’s Gemini at Cedar Point, The Racer at King’s Island, and Twisted Colossus at Six Flags Magic Mountain. Dueling coasters have also been around for a long time, with Battlestar Galactica at Universal Studios Singapore and the now-closed Dueling Dragons at Islands of Adventure being prime examples. But having a dueling coaster where your competitors are across an ocean? That could have been a fantastic addition to TRON Lightcycle / Run and would have really emphasized the coaster’s story of fostering competition.   But as it stands, TRON: Lightcycle / Run is still a fantastic coaster and is already one of my favorites in the park. As a gamer, I love its cyber-infused setting, its action-packed track layout, and that oh-my-god-it’s-so-amazing initial launch sequence. The pre-show and queue settings are also excellent and really help build the ride’s hype – especially the initial ride reveal after being “digitized” right after entering the building. It’s a breathtaking and awesome moment that really sets the scene for what you can expect. If you’re a gamer, you’re going to love TRON Lightcycle / Run. And if you’re not a gamer, you’ll probably still love it…as long as you like speed and a good adrenaline rush. It’s right up there with Expedition Everest and Tower of Terror as one of Disney’s most thrilling rides. So, strap on your identity disk and prepare to enter the grid, because TRON Lightcycle / Run is a ride you won’t want to miss.