News Tomorrowland Speedway and Walt Disney World Railroad to be impacted by TRON construction at the Magic Kingdom

[TipTopclubmember]

any update to whether the WDW railroad will be back up and running by 2020?

I know the current statment is work to be completed thru 2019 but with only 3 months left I'm not sure I see the trains back up and running until spring 2020.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

any update to whether the WDW railroad will be back up and running by 2020?

I know the current statment is work to be completed thru 2019 but with only 3 months left I'm not sure I see the trains back up and running until spring 2020.

I wouldn’t put any money on anything earlier than fall of 2020..... I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s down for all of 2020.

 

[TipTopclubmember]

I wouldn’t put any money on anything earlier than fall of 2020..... I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s down for all of 2020.

Wow! that is such a long time for the railroad to be down though, it's not unexpected with seeing the work required on Tron. We will be coming for a few days in early Feb and my father in law is a huge train(big and small) buff. Was hoping it was running again by then.

Thank you for some insight.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

The Disney of old ran the trains in shuttle mode during construction of splash.... sadly those days are gone.

You can still catch the train on the Magic behind the steam trains tour, includes a short ride from fantasyland station to the roundhouse.

 

[TipTopclubmember]

The Disney of old ran the trains in shuttle mode during construction of splash.... sadly those days are gone.

You can still catch the train on the Magic behind the steam trains tour, includes a short ride from fantasyland station to the roundhouse.

that is a great idea. we discussed doing this in the past and this year may be the best time to experience that tour with the railroad still down.

 

[Tinkwings]

that is a great idea. we discussed doing this in the past and this year may be the best time to experience that tour with the railroad still down.

My family did the tour this past February, it helped ease the pain of not riding the train otherwise for our family railfan.....and we all enjoyed it! Plus being in the park empty early in the morning was priceless.

 

[Monorail_Red_77]

Here’s a few pics of the roundhouse from this past weekend. You can see lots of railroad ties and track staged and waiting to be put down.

 

[DisAl]

I posted this in the main TRON thread, but in the updated concept art we received on Thursday, we can now see what Disney's plans are for the WDW Railroad and (maybe) Speedway.

As we can see, the Railroad will still be going under the TRON canopy, but now through a dedicated tunnel. I would imagine the tunnel have some type of projections or screens, along with narration. This will probably also suppress any noise coming from the trains to keep the TRON area as quiet(?) in a way.
As for the Speedway, it is not shown in the new concept art. Now I believe this is just a placeholder as Disney will probably reveal their plans for it down the road. The evidence of trees/shrubs in its place is just to shine away focus from it...for now.
(again old concept art on bottom, new on top)
View attachment 400947
View attachment 400948

It seems to me that if the part of the track that goes through TRON is going to be in a tunnel, with a little better planning they could have built the tunnel early in the project and put the trains back in service MUCH sooner.

 

[lazyboy97o]

It seems to me that if the part of the track that goes through TRON is going to be in a tunnel, with a little better planning they could have built the tunnel early in the project and put the trains back in service MUCH sooner.

Their would still be work occurring above the tunnel structure which would prevent operating the trains.

 

[ToTBellHop]

Their would still be work occurring above the tunnel structure which would prevent operating the trains.

It’s not safe to travel under construction? There’s a mall being built over a road in Norwalk, CT that begs to differ. There would be no need for it to close every day.

 

[lazyboy97o]

It’s not safe to travel under construction? There’s a mall being built over a road in Norwalk, CT that begs to differ. There would be no need for it to close every day.

Disney’s overhead safety standards don’t apply in Norwalk.

 

[Rhinocerous]

Don't they also regularly bring equipment and materials across the train track path, or has that phase of construction finished?

 

[Victor Kelly]

I still love the speedway. But it has drastically been shortened since I was a little kid (first yearly trip was 1975 as a 6mo). It was way longer. But it needs to be changed. Best hope is that it stays with a Tron-esque overlay. Maybe luminous cars with panels like they had for the fireflies in Spectromagic.

Also glad the RR is getting a full rehab.

Cannot wait to see Tron. Then hopefully a full Soace Mountain rebuild. And I also hope they put the moving ramps back in for the exit and maybe make it easier for disabled people to get into SM.

 

[HauntedMansionFLA]

Are they going to enhance the scenery along the way when riding the train?

 

[Jones14]

Are they going to enhance the scenery along the way when riding the train?

I’d like to think we’ll get a Universal Hollywood tram tour-style video of light cycles racing alongside the train as it passes through the tunnel, but I don’t think we’ll get anything else as far as setpieces or major visuals of interest.

 

[_caleb]

I’d like to think we’ll get a Universal Hollywood tram tour-style video of light cycles racing alongside the train as it passes through the tunnel, but I don’t think we’ll get anything else as far as setpieces or major visuals of interest.

While they’re at it, they should redirect the PeopleMover pass through the show building. They could do a tunnel that uses a fan and projections to simulate speed.

 

[Movielover]

I’d like to think we’ll get a Universal Hollywood tram tour-style video of light cycles racing alongside the train as it passes through the tunnel, but I don’t think we’ll get anything else as far as setpieces or major visuals of interest.

While they’re at it, they should redirect the PeopleMover pass through the show building. They could do a tunnel that uses a fan and projections to simulate speed.

At 4:45

 

[_caleb]

At 4:45

This was my FAVORITE when I was a kid!

 

[RobWDW1971]

This was my FAVORITE when I was a kid!

And at night the effect was much better as you didn't see the exit so brightly. Great "plussing" of an existing attraction.

 

[HauntedMansionFLA]

And at night the effect was much better as you didn't see the exit so brightly. Great "plussing" of an existing attraction.

Can’t wait for the Christmas layover