Tron voyage: Waiting in line for Disney World’s latest coaster

The virtual queue era is over for Tron Lightcycle / Run , the indoor/outdoor roller coaster at Magic Kingdom .

The sign-up system, accessed by the My Disney Experience app, had been in place for the ride since its debut in April 2023. Walt Disney World visitors now choose between the standby line or paying for faster access with Lightning Lane passes .

On a recent midday visit to Magic Kingdom , the posted wait time was 50 minutes, so I opted for lunch first, thinking I’d digest while queuing up. After lunch, the wait time was listed as 60 minutes.

Oh well, more time to absorb the atmosphere I sped by in the past. Here are notes I made whilst flying standby.

• The futuristic architecture of Tron ride is perfect for Tomorrowland and a fitting neighbor for Space Mountain, Florida’s oldest operating coaster. Tron is large, yet the entrance for riders is tucked away. I mean, the sign for Enzo’s Hideaway at Disney Springs is more obvious … and that’s a hideaway. For the record, get to Tron by walking toward the entrance to Space Mountain, then veer down the left side by the rounded-top Tomorrowland Launch Depot gift shop.

• There’s a surprising amount of noise clutter in the area, including the narration of the PeopleMover, the occasional whistle from the Walt Disney World Railroad and the constant putter of Tomorrowland Speedway – plus screams from Tron passengers.

• Standby folks have a narrow designated lane that hugs the right side of the ramp before turning toward the entrance. Lightning Laners have a wider berth but also must work upstream against the folks exiting the Tron area.

• The first 20 minutes of the wait were in the outdoors, but we were shielded from the elements by a canopy and cooled by jumbo overhead fans. It was practically breezy up there.

• The choppy nature of the queue, a series of variously sized rooms and views, is appealing. The last back-and-forth series is in the room before the lockers, and it’s the worst part, especially if there’s a delay and you get caught in an endless loop of recorded themed announcements. Throughout the queue, you usually cannot see what awaits in the next room, so the mystery builds up until the down ramps for the loading station.

• The delay provided time to wish for a single-rider line.

• In the room where folks in the queue and look down at the ride vehicles just before launch, there’s a clear divider with lots of smudges and fingerprints. Does anyone own Windex stock?

• Very few people in line are wearing Tron-based merchandise. The proportion could be off because it is also an event date for Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party, an after-hours, extra ticket occasion at Magic Kingdom.  Folks have got their Halloween on already.

• Probably the newsiest part of Tron, when it opened, was its unconventional seating, which requires unusual body positioning. Riders are essentially on their stomachs and curled into a pose akin to when riding motorcycles. There are restraints for calves and back, and handlebars for grasping. It’s heads-first, awkward and not for everybody, it would appear. To load, half of the riders must cross over the track to mount the lightcycle. The gap is covered, but it’s still counterintuitive.

• There’s a container between the handlebars for cell phones, sunglasses, wallets and such. But if you’ve ever lost a cell phone, sunglasses, wallet or such on a coaster, you know the locker is a better idea.

• The initial big launch had me reconsidering that riding position and my lunch choices. But overall, Tron Lightcycle / Run is a smooth ride, flinging passengers up into the (covered) outdoors. Soon, you’re swooping back into the building and racing through energy gates in the Grid. It happened so quickly that I didn’t think of waving to people on the nearby sidewalk, the spot where I like to take pictures.

• For the recent ride, I was in the next-to-back row, which makes for an exciting visual because most of the train is ahead of you, wheels aglow against the darkened building. The whiplash effect wasn’t bad in the back.

• Although the estimated wait time was 60 minutes, I made it from the bottom of the ramp to the ride itself in 50 minutes.

• To recap the Tron ride, it goes up to 59 mph and has no inversions. It starts with a darkened launch and then features some trippy visuals that harken back to the “Tron” films. It has a synchronized soundtrack, and the ride time is 2 minutes. The height requirement is 48 inches.

• Disney continues to use virtual queues for Epcot’s Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, which opened in 2022, and Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, which debuted at Magic Kingdom this year.

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