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News Tron coaster coming to the Magic Kingdom

Brer Panther

Brer Panther

Well-Known Member
What do you think the odds are of Tron never even being completed? Like, they let it stand there unfinished for years and it becomes something people point at and say "they should do something with that space" like the Fantasyland Skyway station used to be?
 
D

doctornick

Well-Known Member
Bocabear said:
i got the obvious pretty lights and set pieces ...but not much else...and yes the outdoor section ruins the whole continuity of the ride... and because it splits the ride into three parts, the overall experience feels shorter... definitely less thrilling than Rock N Rollercoaster, but a lot prettier sets. Seems like for the cost of the ride they could have built something a bit longer and made it truly great... instead of another "cliff notes" type experience.
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I think a better option would have been adding a second track and doing a blue and a yellow track that race against each other (think Matterhorn) at times. Double the capacity and would not double the cost as their would be shared infrastructure. and if the two tracks were made somewhat differently in course, it could also sort of function as two experiences in one.
 
_caleb

_caleb

Well-Known Member
I agree that it seems like they could have done more with TRON (whether by adding more story, thrills, or whatever).

But I see it as sort of like the PeopleMover, Rocket Rods, Rocket Jets/Astro Orbiter/Star Jets, Jet Packs, Speedway/Autopia, etc. Not much story on any of those, just fun, visible motion, and maybe some pretty lights? Maybe I'm missing something?
 
corran horn

corran horn

Well-Known Member
_caleb said:
I agree that it seems like they could have done more with TRON (whether by adding more story, thrills, or whatever).

But I see it as sort of like the PeopleMover, Rocket Rods, Rocket Jets/Astro Orbiter/Star Jets, Jet Packs, Speedway/Autopia, etc. Not much story on any of those, just fun, visible motion, and maybe some pretty lights? Maybe I'm missing something?
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That sounds suspiciously like you're saying not every new thing has to be everyone's favorite thing.

TRON will be somebody's favorite ride. It'll blow them away. And that's great.
 
Marc Davis Fan

Marc Davis Fan

Well-Known Member
Bocabear said:
i got the obvious pretty lights and set pieces ...but not much else...and yes the outdoor section ruins the whole continuity of the ride... Seems like for the cost of the ride they could have built something a bit longer and made it truly great... instead of another "cliff notes" type experience.
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Yep, The Magic Kingdom has gotten shortchanged twice now in terms of recent major additions (and more specifically roller coasters). TRON basically suffers from the same main problem as 7DMT. Both had the potential to be great, if only they were a little longer and had a little more stuff going on. Imagine, for instance, if Tron had cut the outside portion (which as you said messes up the continuity/immersion), and instead spent that money into multiple launches and other effects...

@_caleb I think the issue is that the attractions you listed aren't intended to be e-tickets (well, Rocket Rods, but...). Also, unfortunately, Tron's outdoor visible motion actually detracts from the thematic integrity of the area (IMHO), because it features a "naked" roller coaster track.

But despite these drawbacks, I'd still count Tron as a net gain. It's fun (especially in the back at night), and the canopy is cool-looking. The problem is mainly just that The Magic Kingdom will still be in need of a true e-ticket to continue staying ahead of (or keeping up with!) the competition.
 
A

Absimilliard

Well-Known Member
Marc Davis Fan said:
Yep, The Magic Kingdom has gotten shortchanged twice now in terms of recent major additions (and more specifically roller coasters). TRON basically suffers from the same main problem as 7DMT. Both had the potential to be great, if only they were a little longer and had a little more stuff going on. Imagine, for instance, if Tron had cut the outside portion (which as you said messes up the continuity/immersion), and instead spent that money into multiple launches and other effects...

@_caleb I think the issue is that the attractions you listed aren't intended to be e-tickets (well, Rocket Rods, but...). Also, unfortunately, Tron's outdoor visible motion actually detracts from the thematic integrity of the area (IMHO), because it features a "naked" roller coaster track.

But despite these drawbacks, I'd still count Tron as a net gain. It's fun (especially in the back at night), and the canopy is cool-looking. The problem is mainly just that The Magic Kingdom will still be in need of a true e-ticket to continue staying ahead of (or keeping up with!) the competition.
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Seven Dwarves Mine Train and Slinky Dog Dash at WDW suffers from the same issue: miscast rides that were given to guests starving for anything new.

I've come to peace with Seven Dwarves Mine Train flaws since it was slotted at Shanghai Disneyland to be the replacement for a Barnstormer/Gadget Go Coaster there. 1100-1200 pph, 1.5-2 minutes long, pretty visually and gave the park a roller coaster for young kids they won't feel too intimidated with. Unfortunately, in Shanghai Disneyland, Voyage to the Crystal Grotto that was meant to be the headliner turned out to be a flop, leaving Seven Dwarves Mine Train, Winnie the Pooh and Peter Pan Flight as 3 good support acts with no superstar headliner to main event Fantasyland. Zootopia hopefully will become the superstar, restoring balance to the middle of the park.

Over at the Magic Kingdom, Seven Dwarves Mine Train was a late replacement for the middle of New Fantasyland. With Little Mermaid turning out to be a flop on both coasts (sounds familiar?), Seven Dwarves was again the support player thrown to the main act with none of the tools to be successful. Capacity is too low, the ride feels too short and the cars not adapted to the US market. With the lack of quality ride additions to the Magic Kingdom dating back to the 1990's, guests crushed the ride capacity and the endless lines and impossible to get fast pass ruins what is a cute little family coaster.

For TRON, capacity won't be as much of an issue as while it also has an 1100-1200 pph capacity, the target market is narrower with its 48" height restriction and rather intimidating (to the average WDW guests) outdoor portion. Style and theming wise, it harkens back to the simpler WED way of storytelling: no need for an elaborate 3 minutes preshow. The style, short video playing in the queue and theming convey the story, similar to a Pirates or classic Haunted Mansion.
 
TrainsOfDisney

TrainsOfDisney

Well-Known Member
Absimilliard said:
The style, short video playing in the queue and theming convey the story, similar to a Pirates or classic Haunted Mansion.
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I met an imagineer who worked on that video, he was at the D23 by the bike and costumes. He said he was looking forward to riding it in Florida since he hadn’t been to Shanghai. Prior to working at wdi he was an animator at Pixar.
 
Brer Panther

Brer Panther

Well-Known Member
Surferboy567 said:
Incredibly low.
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Yeah, you're probably right. But with Disney, you never know.
Absimilliard said:
replacement for the middle of New Fantasyland.
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Yeah, originally that space was gonna be a bunch of princess meet-and-greets and a Pixie Hollow thing. Call me crazy, but I think getting Seven Dwarfs Mine Train instead of that was a good thing.
 
TrainsOfDisney

TrainsOfDisney

Well-Known Member
Brer Panther said:
Yeah, originally that space was gonna be a bunch of princess meet-and-greets and a Pixie Hollow thing. Call me crazy, but I think getting Seven Dwarfs Mine Train instead of that was a good thing.
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Pixie hollow was going to be over by storybook circus. There would have been a flat ride and a pixie meet and greet.

Aurora and Cinderella would have each had “enchanted tales with belle” type meet and greet / shows where seven dwarves is now but we would have kept the Snow White dark ride.
 
UNCgolf

UNCgolf

Well-Known Member
Marc Davis Fan said:
@_caleb I think the issue is that the attractions you listed aren't intended to be e-tickets (well, Rocket Rods, but...). Also, unfortunately, Tron's outdoor visible motion actually detracts from the thematic integrity of the area (IMHO), because it features a "naked" roller coaster track.
Click to expand...

This is the issue to me. TRON is supposed to be a major attraction, not a complementary ride. Only Rocket Rods is arguably in that category, but of course it was a failure -- maybe Speedway/Autotopia when first built as well, but no one would consider them one now.
 
_caleb

_caleb

Well-Known Member
UNCgolf said:
This is the issue to me. TRON is supposed to be a major attraction, not a complementary ride. Only Rocket Rods is arguably in that category, but of course it was a failure -- maybe Speedway/Autotopia when first built as well, but no one would consider them one now.
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What do you mean by a complementary ride? Like a C- or D-ticket?
 
UNCgolf

UNCgolf

Well-Known Member
_caleb said:
What do you mean by a complementary ride? Like a C- or D-ticket?
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Yeah. C-ticket really, although some D-tickets could apply. A ride that's there to help capacity and fill out/add flavor to an area, but not intended to be a headlining attraction.

It's really about expectations rather than the inherent quality of the ride. If Tron wasn't incredibly expensive and hyped as a major addition, it would be easier to ignore some of its flaws. It's sort of the opposite of NRJ, which would probably be considered a relatively good ride by more people (it's certainly not perfect and has some major issues, but has the lush detailing and sense of physical space that many WDW rides have lacked in the past couple of decades) if it wasn't in a land with only one other attraction and a park that has a lack of rides overall. It doesn't live up to the expectations of its wait times, which are long enough to make people expect something more akin to Flight of Passage -- when I was there in January the standby time for NRJ was around 2 hours.

To be fair, it's not a sole headliner at WDW's Tomorrowland since Space Mountain exists. But the ride was built as a headliner E-ticket for Shanghai.
 
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_caleb

_caleb

Well-Known Member
UNCgolf said:
Yeah. C-ticket really, although some D-tickets could apply. A ride that's there to help capacity and fill out/add flavor to an area, but not intended to be a headlining attraction.

It's really about expectations rather than the inherent quality of the ride. If Tron wasn't incredibly expensive and hyped as a major addition, it would be easier to ignore some of its flaws. It's sort of the opposite of NRJ, which would probably be considered a relatively good ride by more people (it's certainly not perfect and has some major issues, but has the lush detailing and sense of physical space that many WDW rides have lacked in the past couple of decades) if it wasn't in a land with only one other attraction and a park that has a lack of rides overall. It doesn't live up to the expectations of its wait times, which are long enough to make people expect something more akin to Flight of Passage -- when I was there in January the standby time for NRJ was around 2 hours.

To be fair, it's not a sole headliner at WDW's Tomorrowland since Space Mountain exists. But the ride was built as a headliner E-ticket for Shanghai.
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That makes sense. I'm thinking about this because the PeopleMover is probably my favorite ride, precisely because it's a "complementary" ride that provides an overview of all of Tomorrowland.

TRON, however, seems like it isn't one of these because the outdoor portion is extremely limited (how cool would it have been if TRON traversed the entire land!) and the indoor bit doesn't seem have much of a story (haven't been on it yet).
 
Jrb1979

Jrb1979

Well-Known Member
_caleb said:
That makes sense. I'm thinking about this because the PeopleMover is probably my favorite ride, precisely because it's a "complementary" ride that provides an overview of all of Tomorrowland.

TRON, however, seems like it isn't one of these because the outdoor portion is extremely limited (how cool would it have been if TRON traversed the entire land!) and the indoor bit doesn't seem have much of a story (haven't been on it yet).
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For me the PeopleMover is alright for what it is. Its a mode of transportation just like the train and the ferry. While Tron looks good but after seeing the specs and the layout of Velocicoaster its not in the same level. Seeing Velocicoaster weave in and out of rocks and the high speed. That's what Tron should have been.
 

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