News Tron coaster coming to the Magic Kingdom

[RobWDW1971]

Joke here is modern WDI now can only build sheds. Oh and rocks. Lots of rocks.

Well, except Tokyo.

And boy can they build rocks! In case of emergency, MORE ROCKS!!!

 

[Purduevian]

This manufacturer has their headquarters in my area, so I see them trying the same thing often.
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(Apologies in advance for the poor quality of this one.)
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Just an FYI, the "camouflage" on prototype vehicles is NOT so that no one seems them. Instead it is designed to hide the lines and shapes of the body of the car.

 

[marni1971]

Martin I like your take and knowledge on all things WDW but I think space still looks like a big a** building to me. They could have built a complimentary building for tron but chose not to. Fodder for another discussion.

Fair. I’d never stifle balanced opinion. And thank you.

 

[NobodyElse]

Just an FYI, the "camouflage" on prototype vehicles is NOT so that no one seems them. Instead it is designed to hide the lines and shapes of the body of the car.

Yes. It also can make it more difficult for cameras (and cell phones) to casually auto-focus.

At this point though, some people think it's really done to gain attention.

 

[corran horn]

"Awful comparison" meaning ... ?

Three major attractions, three gigantic show buildings which are highly visible from outside the park.

In the Jurassic Ride(s) you're supposed to be in a theme park, for one. It's also contoured and themed on the outside with a modicum of design aesthetic. So far, TRON and Guardians look like boxes. One's blue.

Or just slap a big ENCOM sign on the side of the building to present it as one of their facilities.

yeap.

 

[Josh Hendy]

In the Jurassic Ride(s) you're supposed to be in a theme park, for one. It's also contoured and themed on the outside with a modicum of design aesthetic. So far, TRON and Guardians look like boxes.

Ok we're on the same page!

 

[solidyne]

[...] I think space still looks like a big a** building to me. [...]

[...] I don’t find the perspective ruined except for the fact that tron is just ugly from this angle

I respect these opinions, but I am curious about one thing. In what year did you first approach MK via monorail? And how old were you?

I ask only because folks like me have the double whammy: a memory of the view in the 1970s compounded (clouded?) by the nostalgia for childhood. We simply cannot abide this gross juxtaposition, but perhaps for others with different memories it is perfectly fine.

I'm genuinely curious. I happen to find this construction deeply offensive. (Admittedly hyperbolic, but basically true.)

 

[JoeCamel]

I respect these opinions, but I am curious about one thing. In what year did you first approach MK via monorail? And how old were you?

I ask only because folks like me have the double whammy: a memory of the view in the 1970s compounded (clouded?) by the nostalgia for childhood. We simply cannot abide this gross juxtaposition, but perhaps for others with different memories it is perfectly fine.

I'm genuinely curious. I happen to find this construction deeply offensive. (Admittedly hyperbolic, but basically true.)

OK, I will bite, 1971 in my twenties but I get your point. Still space is a Big A** building just a more pleasing shape than tron to me.

 

[JoeCamel]

dup post

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

And not a tear was shed at today's "WDI".

I don’t think this is WDI’s fault. They designed this attraction specifically for another park and then it was decided to drop it into another park.

Of course.... guardians :-/

 

[lazyboy97o]

I don’t think this is WDI’s fault. They designed this attraction specifically for another park and then it was decided to drop it into another park.

Of course.... guardians :-/

Walt Disney Imagineering was still responsible for siting.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

Walt Disney Imagineering was still responsible for siting.

Where would you have put Tron?

I do not think imagineering is perfect at all... I don’t even agree with how they designed some effects for rise... but I’m not sure where else they could have put the thing.

 

[UNCgolf]

Is the entire outside portion of the coaster under the canopy?

I don't think Disney should ever have unthemed coaster track out in the open. Even if it's entirely underneath the canopy, there will be places you can see the track, but that's better than nothing. It's an issue with SDD, although that is somewhat mitigated because it's at least nominally themed to look like something a kid built in their backyard to fit in with the rest of TSL. I don't think that aesthetic really works and it's one of the reasons TSL is a huge failure in my eyes, but at least there was some sort of attempt.

 

[disneyC97]

Guardians could have had a cool lightly themed trapezoid shaped building to complement the other EPCOT pavilions but that would have cost money and had some style. Instead we get a blue box that is everything BUT hidden.

 

[SplashJacket]

Is the entire outside portion of the coaster under the canopy?

I don't think Disney should ever have unthemed coaster track out in the open. Even if it's entirely underneath the canopy, there will be places you can see the track, but that's better than nothing. It's an issue with SDD, although that is somewhat mitigated because it's at least nominally themed to look like something a kid built in their backyard to fit in with the rest of TSL. I don't think that aesthetic really works and it's one of the reasons TSL is a huge failure in my eyes, but at least there was some sort of attempt.

It is completely under the canopy. The track supports are visible outside but I do not think it detracts from the ride in the slightest. If the ride was not elevated off the ground it would detract from the glowing vehicles.

Tron, while not a perfect ride, I do not believe this is one of its issues. In this case, I definitely think it is excused.

 

[UNCgolf]

It is completely under the canopy. The track supports are visible outside but I do not think it detracts from the ride in the slightest. If the ride was not elevated off the ground it would detract from the glowing vehicles.

Tron, while not a perfect ride, I do not believe this is one of its issues. In this case, I definitely think it is excused.

I didn't mean it detracts from the ride experience -- I meant it detracts from the experience for non-riders just walking around the park. It shouldn't be a big issue for Tron because it's located back in a corner and you likely won't be able to see any of it unless you're near it in Tomorrowland, but the fact that you don't have rides going by overhead all around you (and constantly in your sight lines) is one of the best things about Disney compared to almost every other theme park.

 

[SplashJacket]

I didn't mean it detracts from the ride experience -- I meant it detracts from the experience for non-riders just walking around the park. It shouldn't be a big issue for Tron because it's located back in a corner and you likely won't be able to see any of it unless you're near it in Tomorrowland, but the fact that you don't have rides going by overhead all around you (and constantly in your sight lines) is one of the best things about Disney compared to almost every other theme park.

I meant the ride as a whole, not just the actual experience of riding it. I could spend an hour just chilling under the Tron canopy watching the vehicles go by. The track supports themselves don't feel like normal track supports. They blend nicely with the canopy and overall artistic scheme of the ride.

Here's a video and a couple of photos I took back in 2018 on an iPhone 6. Tron is far from a perfect ride, but the portion under the canopy is the best part of the actual ride, and I would say the best interaction between a ride and a land that I can currently think of. Tron is absolutely gorgeous. The show building behind it, which is hidden at a good enough level in Shanghai, on the other hand, is far from gorgeous. The primary issue I have with it being located in MK is its show building is far from hidden to an acceptable standard because its barely hidden at all.

The track supports are not a negative in my book. I'm very interested to hear what you would have preferred alternatively.

I just wish Chapek could somehow lock Tomorrowland in an eternal nighttime, then Tron would be the sexy beast it deserves to be throughout the entire day instead of a small sliver.

Spoiler: Personal Photos

 

[UNCgolf]

I meant the ride as a whole, not just the actual experience of riding it. I could spend an hour just chilling under the Tron canopy watching the vehicles go by. The track supports themselves don't feel like normal track supports. They blend nicely with the canopy and overall artistic scheme of the ride.

Here's a video and a couple of photos I took back in 2018 on an iPhone 6. Tron is far from a perfect ride, but the portion under the canopy is the best part of the actual ride, and I would say the best interaction between a ride and a land that I can currently think of. Tron is absolutely gorgeous. The show building behind it, which is hidden at a good enough level in Shanghai, on the other hand, is far from gorgeous. The primary issue I have with it being located in MK is its show building is far from hidden to an acceptable standard because its barely hidden at all.

The track supports are not a negative in my book. I'm very interested to hear what you would have preferred alternatively.

I'm not opposed to Tron being the way it is, although I do think there's a significant difference between Tron in Shanghai (where it was designed to go) and Tron just picked up and dropped into Orlando's Tomorrowland. They didn't even attempt to tweak it so that it better fits its surroundings. I also think, as you mentioned, there's probably going to be a big difference between seeing it in the daytime and seeing it at night.

I'm mostly just afraid that current management will see Tron and SDD (which is worse than Tron about this, but as I said above, that's really an issue with TSL as a whole) as successes and be fine with the idea of just dropping in a big outdoor coaster wherever. Every previous coaster at WDW was either fully enclosed or themed elaborately as a whole.

 

[A Noble Fish]

I'm not opposed to Tron being the way it is, although I do think there's a significant difference between Tron in Shanghai (where it was designed to go) and Tron just picked up and dropped into Orlando's Tomorrowland. They didn't even attempt to tweak it so that it better fits its surroundings. I also think, as you mentioned, there's probably going to be a big difference between seeing it in the daytime and seeing it at night.

I'm mostly just afraid that current management will see Tron and SDD (which is worse than Tron about this, but as I said above, that's really an issue with TSL as a whole) as successes and be fine with the idea of just dropping in a big outdoor coaster wherever. Every previous coaster at WDW was either fully enclosed or themed elaborately as a whole.

You know I was concerned with both TRON and Slinky for that reason. There had never been a major coaster not fully themed at Disney parks.

Yet, after seeing TRON in the day and at night (and riding it over multiple days), it actually is a perfect use for it. It feels sleek and almost sexy. The canopy sells it (and is the focus), but it wouldn't even look bad without it. As you said, the larger issue will definitely be land placement since at Shanghai the entire land curves and the sightline uses the canopy almost like Cars Land uses the rockwork in Radiator Springs Racers. It will still look terrific and be a welcome addition, but unless the Speedway is slighted for a new area in the future, it won't reach its full potential. Which is silly since it costs so much.

I was even more concerned with Slinky, but I think Toy Story Land's issues pertain more to a lack of shops/indoor meet and greets and shade. Slinky was convincingly thought out to look like a playset, and it is very convincing day and night; though the ride experience itself even more so than TRON improves at night. It fits in the same way the tinker toys fit the land and oddly felt natural when I walked around, and it really adds needed kinetic energy that Star Wars Land lacks. Now if Disney was to put a coaster like that in Star Wars Land it would be an atrocity, but it fits so perfectly in TSL the way it's executed. I really love Toy Story Land's theming and concept, but it's the lack of substance that's the bigger issue IMO.

Hagrid's was actually a great use of a bare-bones coaster track too. TRON nails it with the canopy, and Slinky makes a convincing case for its use, but even Hagrid's looks aesthetically appealing if less thematically consistent. I think with a high enough budget, there is room for these types of coasters, but it is a slippery slope, and not many themes can and even less should use it. Though I wouldn't sound alarms just yet.

 

[Benjamin_Nicholas]

If they carbon-copy Shanghai, it's going to look beautiful.

As long as they don't cheap-out on the lighting package for the canopy, I'll be happy with the final product.