Disney World’s parks are gearing up for a major summer. Notably, the Guardians of the Galaxy coaster, Cosmic Rewind, has been confirmed to be opening in Epcot on May 27th, but as it turns out, it might not be the only coaster opening at the Florida parks soon-ish. That’s right, it seems there’s an exciting update for another one of Disney World's most anticipated upcoming attractions too: Magic Kingdom’s Tron coaster.
In order to talk about the Tron Coaster practically, one must first talk about the PeopleMover. PeopleMover is one of the most relaxing rides at Disney World’s Magic Kingdom, taking us through Space Mountain and giving us a different view of the park than what we get at ground level. For a long time now, one of the best parts of hopping on the ride has been getting an excellent view of what is going on with the Tron Coaster, AKA Tron Lightcycle Run.
Now, thanks to a Twitter user, it seems as if the ride is actually testing out the track at this point. Go ahead, check it out (via Attractions Magazine).
The coaster was first announced in 2017 and has been steadily coming together since that time. In recent months we’ve seen it go -- again thanks PeopleMover! -- from bare bones to looking like an actual themed Disney attraction, which has been fun to watch. In fact, it was big news just a few weeks ago when the theme park gave guests a much better view of the upcoming attraction, getting rid of some of the Tron scaffolding and getting a canopy up.
The theme park had previously said Tron Lightcycle Run would be open in time for the 50th Anniversary celebration, which is ongoing right now and into April of 2023. However, the Tron coaster saw significant delays during Covid and Disney head honchos have yet to announce the actual date when the ride will be open yet. Any progress in recent months has felt like exciting progress, but seeing the actual coaster moving on the track is a whole 'nother level.
Meanwhile we do know that Cosmic Rewind will be opening at the end of May. The Guardians of the Galaxy-themed ride has a lot more known details at this point, including rider height minimums and the aforementioned opening information. That coaster is coming and soon, but the latest look at the Tron coaster leads me to personal excitement over where both coasters are at in their respective developmental cycles.
Look, while The Tron Lightcycle Run will still need to go through a lot of testing before it can be open to the public, there is always a chance that Walt Disney World could open two major rollercoasters in the same year. If that happens, it would mean we're getting two coasters soon and not just the one. Sure, we might ultimately have to wait until next year, and that would be totally fine, but how cool would two rollercoaster openings in one year be? I'm just saying...
