News Tron coaster coming to the Magic Kingdom

[Maeryk]

There will be an elevator, of course, but it's pretty clear that accommodating all body types and, particularly, handicapped guests is no longer a priority at WDW.

It's not really Disney's responsibility to accomodate people who have let themselves go. Sorry, unpopular opinion, but they need to build for average healthy person, not for statistical outliers. Every time a new ride opens, people complain. Yet the lines are still full, and people wait hours to ride them. What they DO need to do is what other parks do.. put a test seat before the queue.. so people know they will or wont fit, rather than spending an hour or two in line, only to gum up the works at the load station.

 

[rle4lunch]

I doubt there will ever be "actual seats' on those trains.. it's not how the ride vehicle is designed. What people are talking about is a rather sensitive subject on the disney boards. To put it as politely as I can: Tron was designed for China. Where the average height and girth are far less than our gaijin country. People of extreme height.. or diameter.. have a hard time fitting in them. (See, also, the howling when FOP opened and people discovered they were too big for the banshees). I would imagine some re-tooling of the bikes will be necessary before it is going to open here. Even 7DMT can be a bear for some of us who are taller.. the lap bars are thigh crushing beasts for me, and I'm 6'3 and not at all wide.

But I think what they really need to open is a Wall*E ride where you just lay back on a hover chair and putter around while they beam ads into your face. That is what would make some people happy.

to make every single amusement park ride to accommodate 6'5" 400 lbs people would end up costing millions of dollars more, and ultimately take away most of the 'fun' factor that is to be had on 'thrill rides'.

Sure, they can modify IASW boats to accommodate bigger folks so the boats don't bottom out, but comon'.. people have to be realistic on things.. you can only engineer things to certain parameters before they become impossible to make.

 

[Nickels5]

I doubt there will ever be "actual seats' on those trains.. it's not how the ride vehicle is designed. What people are talking about is a rather sensitive subject on the disney boards. To put it as politely as I can: Tron was designed for China. Where the average height and girth are far less than our gaijin country. People of extreme height.. or diameter.. have a hard time fitting in them. (See, also, the howling when FOP opened and people discovered they were too big for the banshees). I would imagine some re-tooling of the bikes will be necessary before it is going to open here. Even 7DMT can be a bear for some of us who are taller.. the lap bars are thigh crushing beasts for me, and I'm 6'3 and not at all wide.

But I think what they really need to open is a Wall*E ride where you just lay back on a hover chair and putter around while they beam ads into your face. That is what would make some people happy.

I understand its a very sensitive subject to some and sometimes its out of the control of the person, but more times then not any issues not being able to fit it a certain seat is caused by the choices said person has made throughout their life. And I have no sympathy that they are unable to ride an attraction at a theme park. Of course when it comes to something like height or a certain medical condition when it is 100% out of that persons control I understand the frustration.

 

[Casper Gutman]

It's not really Disney's responsibility to accomodate people who have let themselves go. Sorry, unpopular opinion, but they need to build for average healthy person, not for statistical outliers. Every time a new ride opens, people complain. Yet the lines are still full, and people wait hours to ride them. What they DO need to do is what other parks do.. put a test seat before the queue.. so people know they will or wont fit, rather than spending an hour or two in line, only to gum up the works at the load station.

So what changed in 2017 or whenever they made decisions regarding Pandora? What earthshaking shift necessitated a different philosophy from the previous decades? Presumably, all these new, more limited rides will be much better then the old ones designed under an obsolete philosophy, like Pirates, Tower, and the original Epcot.

 

[Maeryk]

And yet, since 1971 WDW has made a valiant attempt - better then any other theme park in America to accommodate everyone. That philosophy changed in Pandora, and it seems to be a permanent change.

And honestly, deciding not to make the effort to accommodate handicapped guests is particularly crummy and shouldn't be defended.

They do accommodate handicapped guests. But some people simply cannot ride some rides. That's just how it is, and how it has always been. As you get into more dynamic rides, there are going to be more people who, for whatever reason, cannot ride them. I suppose it could just be 4 parks full of nothing but omnimovers and boat rides, but I just don't see that happening.

I wonder if the other parks get the same sort of heat.. when they open a hyper or gigacoaster, do people sit around and complain?

 

[rle4lunch]

And yet, since 1971 WDW has made a valiant attempt - better then any other theme park in America to accommodate everyone. That philosophy changed in Pandora, and it seems to be a permanent change.

And honestly, deciding not to make the effort to accommodate handicapped guests is particularly crummy and shouldn't be defended.

what do you want them to do? make every single ride vehicle into a ADA compliant thing? Don't you think that's discriminating against the other folks that want the true experience? I'm all for ramps, elevators, escalators, ADA ride vehicles, and whatever else they can do to help make it more fun for those who have afflictions, but there's a certain threshold to keep in mind for common sense vs. hypersensitive people that are looking for something to complain about.

 

[Casper Gutman]

They do accommodate handicapped guests. But some people simply cannot ride some rides. That's just how it is, and how it has always been. As you get into more dynamic rides, there are going to be more people who, for whatever reason, cannot ride them. I suppose it could just be 4 parks full of nothing but omnimovers and boat rides, but I just don't see that happening.

I wonder if the other parks get the same sort of heat.. when they open a hyper or gigacoaster, do people sit around and complain?

No, because those other parks haven't made the effort for decades, and designed the most beloved rides on Earth while making that effort.

And again, the handicap accessibility of both Pandora's rides is miserable. When one is a slow boat ride, that's not OK.

 

[Casper Gutman]

what do you want them to do? make every single ride vehicle into a ADA compliant thing? Don't you think that's discriminating against the other folks that want the true experience? I'm all for ramps, elevators, escalators, ADA ride vehicles, and whatever else they can do to help make it more fun for those who have afflictions, but there's a certain threshold to keep in mind for common sense vs. hypersensitive people that are looking for something to complain about.

With all due respect, this is a profoundly silly thing to say. "Discriminating against the other folks that want the true experience?" Step back from the kneejerk defense of Disney and think of how absurd that sentence is.

So why isn't the boat ride in Pandora accessible?

 

[Maeryk]

So what changed in 2017 or whenever they made decisions regarding Pandora? What earthshaking shift necessitated a different philosophy from the previous decades? Presumably, all these new, more limited rides will be much better then the old ones designed under an obsolete philosophy, like Pirates, Tower, and the original Epcot.

What changed? They invented a ride vehicle you sit on, rather than in, that moves around a lot. Two of them, actually. Tron and FoP.

There's a perception that Disney is a kids park. That "adults" and teens should go to Universal, where there are "real" rides. If Disney wants to keep those folks in the park, they have to be something other than the world's most expensive chuck e cheese.

Now, if they start tearing out the omnimovers and boat rides, and replacing them with bizarre ride vehicles nobody can fit in.. then yes, I'd agree. But when designing a ride, you have to aim for the average. They will likely have big boy seats, much like B&M has on many of their trains in a specific row, but at some point, they, and we, need to stop tap dancing around the subject and go "it's not really the parks problem that people are too large to fit on the rides, when millions aren't."

 

[Casper Gutman]

What changed? They invented a ride vehicle you sit on, rather than in, that moves around a lot. Two of them, actually. Tron and FoP.

There's a perception that Disney is a kids park. That "adults" and teens should go to Universal, where there are "real" rides. If Disney wants to keep those folks in the park, they have to be something other than the world's most expensive chuck e cheese.

Now, if they start tearing out the omnimovers and boat rides, and replacing them with bizarre ride vehicles nobody can fit in.. then yes, I'd agree. But when designing a ride, you have to aim for the average. They will likely have big boy seats, much like B&M has on many of their trains in a specific row, but at some point, they, and we, need to stop tap dancing around the subject and go "it's not really the parks problem that people are too large to fit on the rides, when millions aren't."

So prior to the opening of Pandora, Disney was the "world's most expensive Chuck E. Cheese?"

And it was really hurting financially and culturally from all those people who wanted "real" rides. Struggling.

 

[21stamps]

They do accommodate handicapped guests. But some people simply cannot ride some rides. That's just how it is, and how it has always been. As you get into more dynamic rides, there are going to be more people who, for whatever reason, cannot ride them. I suppose it could just be 4 parks full of nothing but omnimovers and boat rides, but I just don't see that happening.

I wonder if the other parks get the same sort of heat.. when they open a hyper or gigacoaster, do people sit around and complain?

They do accommodate handicapped guests. But some people simply cannot ride some rides. That's just how it is, and how it has always been. As you get into more dynamic rides, there are going to be more people who, for whatever reason, cannot ride them. I suppose it could just be 4 parks full of nothing but omnimovers and boat rides, but I just don't see that happening.

I wonder if the other parks get the same sort of heat.. when they open a hyper or gigacoaster, do people sit around and complain?

I've seen reviews of people complaining about amusement parks, but not an overwhelming amount. Most parks will post something on their website, they also will have a test seat out front. Cedar Point specifically has a section of their website dedicated to special circumstances, larger riders.

I have a coworker who lost over 200 pounds. She went on a roller coaster for the first time in almost 30 years last year. Said it was one of her best moments since losing the weight. Was pretty neat to see her excitement.

In regards to the comment that you responded to you, some people are just unrealistic. You can't compare a roller coaster to It's a Small World. It's a dumb comparison.
Coasters are getting better and better and more thrilling than ever.. which calls for different types of restraints and seat designs. No one can reasonably expect every coaster to fit every body type, even less reasonable is expecting them all to be comfortable for every body type. I'm not just talking about overweight people.. some are just too tall.

 

[donsullivan]

As to the seat dimensions limiting access to guests above a certain size there is another variable that needs to be considered. The larger they make the seat to achieve that accommodation, the larger the minimum height is likely going to be in order to keep the ride safe for smaller riders. if the seats are too large, smaller riders (kids and smaller adults) cannot ride safely and are then as a result excluded. Every attraction goes through this in the design phase and they balance for the largest possible number of people who can ride safely. By its nature some may be unable to ride the attraction safely and that is just how it ends up. It is not possible to design something like this to accommodate every single possible body type there may be and still maintain the required level of safety for all riders.

 

[Maeryk]

So prior to the opening of Pandora, Disney was the "world's most expensive Chuck E. Cheese?"

And it was really hurting financially and culturally from all those people who wanted "real" rides. Struggling.

Gotta think long term. They are. the theme park is evolving. Disney can either get ahead of (or even set) the curve, or they can fall behind it. And it really irritates the people who visit WDW when parks halfway around the world get the new tech and we get another omnimover and a splash zone.

Not every ride can be accessible to every guest. It's just that simple. And it's not different than any other park in the country in that regard.

 

[LieutLaww]

Too tall, or just have calves and thighs that are just too big to let you ride through no real fault of your own but that is just the way it is sometimes

 

[Casper Gutman]

Gotta think long term. They are. the theme park is evolving. Disney can either get ahead of (or even set) the curve, or they can fall behind it. And it really irritates the people who visit WDW when parks halfway around the world get the new tech and we get another omnimover and a splash zone.

Not every ride can be accessible to every guest. It's just that simple. And it's not different than any other park in the country in that regard.

The international parks getting the shiny new tech are getting Mystic Manor, Shanghai Pirates, Tokyo's Monsters Inc... which are all accessible.

Disney built its whole reputation on brilliant theming and witty show scenes in boats and omnimovers - and coasters built for almost everyone like BTM. For decades, other parks did bare coasters because they weren't able to match Disney's artistry. This isn't evolution - Six Flags has had more exciting coasters for decades. Disney competes on a different playing field. Omnimovers aren't outdated, they're the thing Disney does better than anyone else.

If Disney wants to compete on thrilling roller coasters, its going to lose.

 

[danlb_2000]

I guess since that is still concept art, I see no ADA accessibility to Tron. Just stairs. Hopefully just because of the crudeness of the drawing.

This might be an elevator...

 

[wdizneew]

So I've ridden the Tron coaster twice when I visited Shanghai last fall. Overall an amazing attraction that I welcome to MK. Here are some thoughts/insights I have right now:

Seating:
The seating is sort of similar to FoP where you straddle a seat and there's back and leg restraints. However, on Tron you are sitting a bit more forward/angled where your torso is at an angle. As far as accommodating people of various sizes, it'll probably have a similar situation to FoP where larger people have a harder time of fitting but we won't know until it opens. I'm guessing if you have a bigger mid-section, the restraint might not properly close/lock down on your back. Btw, the seat was able to accommodate my 6'4 slim brother-in-law.

My big issue with Tron was how it affected my neck. I love roller coasters but Tron was the first coaster where the G-forces gave me an uncomfortable feeling on my neck. I think this in itself is something people should also think about as it would make the coaster less accessible.

Loose items:
Regarding cellphones/sunglasses/other smaller loose items, there is a small compartment where you can stow them away near where you would hold the handlebars of the lightcycle.

 

[EricsBiscuit]

@EricsBiscuit or anyone else who has been on Tron in Shanghai- how is the story set up? When you walk into the queue are you suddenly in the grid? Or is there some sort of door that you walk through that has an effect that puts you in the grid? I really hope it's not the first thing

First, you put your things in lockers under the canopy. Then you enter through a hallway with light bulbs. Then you enter a room where there's a little pre show with a cool screen. It goes transparent and you see a train take off. Then you enter like a little balcony above the launch area that is really cool. From there it's into the queue line where the safety video explains how to use the ride system (boarding). It also describes how you are on a team and you need to stay together to stay alive. It also says there are winners and there are losers lol. The queue shows off the different teams via posters and such. I don't like the queue as much as other Shanghai attractions like Pirates. The highlight of the attraction is definitely take off and the outdoor portion at night. The object is to get through a certain number of gates. Now I can only count to like 5 in Mandarin (I learned a bit in 4th grade lol), but I think there are around 10 "gates" you pass through. There are some cool scenes in the showbuilding too. The boarding area is like BTMRR and there is single rider. The whole attraction experience including pre show can take like 10 minutes. Also the thrill is amazing.

 

[21stamps]

The international parks getting the shiny new tech are getting Mystic Manor, Shanghai Pirates, Tokyo's Monsters Inc... which are all accessible.

Disney built its whole reputation on brilliant theming and witty show scenes in boats and omnimovers - and coasters built for almost everyone like BTM. For decades, other parks did bare coasters because they weren't able to match Disney's artistry. This isn't evolution - Six Flags has had more exciting coasters for decades. Disney competes on a different playing field. Omnimovers aren't outdated, they're the thing Disney does better than anyone else.

If Disney wants to compete on thrilling roller coasters, its going to lose.

I agree with you on this.

 

[Maeryk]

I agree with you on this.

It doesn't have to compete. But it does have to stay cutting edge. If it wanted to compete, it would be simple enough to carve out a fifth gate and order the biggest, fastest, scariest rides from Intamin, B&M, Arrow, Vekoma, etc and just open a thrill park. It would probably cost them less to put in 4 or 5 off the shelf rides than they are spending on Guardians and Ratattouille. But that's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about staying cutting edge on the immersive rides, while keeping it moving forward enough that my 13 year old doesn't roll her eyes when we say "Hey, we are going to Disney".

Even RnRRC (which is an off the shelf with different theming) is pretty tame as far as launch coasters go.. look to Kingda Ka or even StormRunner.. it's a kiddy coaster in comparison. But it added a much needed thrill component (along with ToT) to the parks.

They have to appeal to entire families. Not just the 5 year olds and nostalgic 60 year olds. And a lot of people don't really want to sit through a 40 minute, grainy screen lecture that oil is bad, mmmmkay?

When they built DHS, "studio" parks were all the rage. Now? Not so much. So that is evolving. The same is happening across all the properties. They have to keep it fresh enough to keep people coming back. Their bread and butter is not the once in a lifetime visitor. It's the people who have 10+ visits in, and keep coming, who are willing to pony up for DVC and need a reason to keep coming back to the parks.

Don't get me wrong. I love WDW. But after our last visit, the mutual agreement was "I don't care if we hit the lottery, there's zero point to coming back until at least the two lands at DHS are open. We've seen/done everything else enough times that we can recite it.".

I'm the guy they are appealing to with this sort of stuff.