News Tron coaster coming to the Magic Kingdom

yensidtlaw1969

yensidtlaw1969

Well-Known Member
Movielover said:
Ah yes, exposed coaster track. The Bogeyman of all theme park enthusiasts. "My theme park would never put exposed rollercoaster track anywhere" as they sip their tea and adjust their monocle.

I hate to say it but non-exposed coaster track is not a thing. Sure you can hide the supports like some (not all) of classic Disney coasters but track will always be exposed. You will always know you are on a rollercoaster. Sorry to shatter that illusion, but it is still just a theme park attraction.
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UNCgolf said:
Most of the coasters at Disney don't have outdoor exposed track overhead that's visible from all over. It has nothing to do with the actual roller coaster track itself or knowing you're on a roller coaster; it's what it does to the surrounding area.

Expedition Everest is very different than Velocicoaster and an example of a coaster done well in a theme park; it undermines your point.

I don't have a problem with roller coasters, and there are certain themed areas where they can work as exposed track overhead (as I mentioned above, SDD could have worked if they'd done a better job designing it to actually look like a toy playset). But if you put something like the Velocicoaster running over Main Street USA, it would seriously detract from the theme and the overall experience, which is the point. It would be a disaster somewhere like Galaxy's Edge too -- you're on an alien planet, but just ignore that roller coaster going overhead!

To be fair, it does make more sense in Jurassic Park than it would in a place like Galaxy's Edge because, as you said, it's a theme park inside a theme park. But I definitely preferred the old Universal JP to the new, and the jeep ride Martin mentioned sounds like something far better than what we got.
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Perhaps we should start referring to it as Diegetic Coaster Track?

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is an example of Diegetic Coaster Track - yes, you can see the track, but it's part of the story.

Hagrid's is an example of Non-Diegetic Coaster Track - yes, you can see the track, but it is NOT part of the story, since you are meant to be "flying", not riding along a track.
 
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owlsandcoffee

owlsandcoffee

Well-Known Member
yensidtlaw1969 said:
Perhaps we should start referring to it as Diegetic Coaster Track?

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is an example of Diegetic Coaster Track - yes, you can see the track, but it's part of the story.

Hagrid's is an example of Non-Diegetic Coaster Track - yes, you can see the track, but it is NOT part of the story, since you are meant to be "flying", not riding along a track.
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The mine train generally is a way of bringing RC track into the diegesis! not to start a thesis paper, lol. I like your terminology. But it's interesting how if you want to make a roller coaster fully themed it basically has to be a train or trolley/tram. Nothing else uses track!
 
UNCgolf

UNCgolf

Well-Known Member
owlsandcoffee said:
The mine train generally is a way of bringing RC track into the diegesis! not to start a thesis paper, lol. I like your terminology. But it's interesting how if you want to make a roller coaster fully themed it basically has to be a train or trolley/tram. Nothing else uses track!
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Not necessarily -- that's part of the reason to put it in a box, because you don't really notice the track itself as you're riding it and no one else can see it. You don't need to theme the track if it's not visible to either the rider or other guests.

In fact, even if it is visible to the rider, that's not necessarily a big deal on a themed coaster because there should be other things attracting their attention. I think the theming for people not riding is more important because it can detract from the whole surrounding area otherwise.
 
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owlsandcoffee

owlsandcoffee

Well-Known Member
UNCgolf said:
Not necessarily -- that's part of the reason to put it in a box, because you don't really notice the track itself as you're riding it and no one else can see it. You don't need to theme the track if it's not visible to either the rider or other guests.

In fact, even if it is visible to the rider, that's not necessarily a big deal on a themed coaster because there should be other things attracting their attention.
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I guess I was thinkin outdoors haha, good point.
 
danlb_2000

danlb_2000

Premium Member
yensidtlaw1969 said:
Perhaps we should start referring to it as Diegetic Coaster Track?

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is an example of Diegetic Coaster Track - yes, you can see the track, but it's part of the story.

Hagrid's is an example of Non-Diegetic Coaster Track - yes, you can see the track, but it is NOT part of the story, since you are meant to be "flying", not riding along a track.
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This is a really good way to think about coaster themeing. The only Non-Diegetic coaster I can think of in Disney World is Barnstormer.
 
UNCgolf

UNCgolf

Well-Known Member
danlb_2000 said:
This is a really good way to think about coaster themeing. The only Non-Diegetic coaster I can think of in Disney World is Barnstormer.
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TRON will be one soon, at least the outdoor portion under the canopy.

Slinky Dog is kind of in a middle ground. It's "themed" like a toy playset, except that for the most part it doesn't really look any different than a regular roller coaster track.
 
tanc

tanc

Premium Member
What is the actual progress on this coaster? Is it even close to opening? It's quite crazy how this ride has completely stopped the WDW railroad from opening too, almost 3 years now.
 
C

celluloid

Well-Known Member
danlb_2000 said:
This is a really good way to think about coaster themeing. The only Non-Diegetic coaster I can think of in Disney World is Barnstormer.
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Fun for thought. RocknRollercoaster goes back and forth. You literally walk under a guitar turning into rollercoaster track from the entrance and it is called Rock N Rollercoaster. You can't always hide track practically in the "gravity building" enclosed method. No matter what, it always returns to a level of suspending the disbelief and buy in the same way you may see a bus bar or markings on the ground on a beautifully themed dark ride.
 
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danlb_2000

danlb_2000

Premium Member
UNCgolf said:
TRON will be one soon, at least the outdoor portion under the canopy.

Slinky Dog is kind of in a middle ground. It's "themed" like a toy playset, except that for the most part it doesn't really look any different than a regular roller coaster track.
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TRON doesn't really make much sense at all. You are riding a light cycle which in the movie is a ground vehicle, so the outdoor portion doesn't really make sense.

You can argue that Slinky Dog is a lazy theme, but it does fit the theming, it's supposed to be a roller coaster, so seeing the track makes sense. Same with Primeval Whirl, it is supposed to be a roller coaster.
 
UNCgolf

UNCgolf

Well-Known Member
danlb_2000 said:
TRON doesn't really make much sense at all. You are riding a light cycle which in the movie is a ground vehicle, so the outdoor portion doesn't really make sense.

You can argue that Slinky Dog is a lazy theme, but it does fit the theming, it's supposed to be a roller coaster, so seeing the track makes sense. Same with Primeval Whirl, it is supposed to be a roller coaster.
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Primeval Whirl, while bad, absolutely made sense as a carnival coaster in a carnival area.

I'm not as convinced on Slinky. Yes, it's supposed to be a toy roller coaster that Andy built in his backyard, but it doesn't really look much like a toy. Even if you accept that aspect, though, it still doesn't make sense that Slinky Dog is the ride vehicle.
 
M

MurphyJoe

Well-Known Member
tanc said:
What is the actual progress on this coaster? Is it even close to opening? It's quite crazy how this ride has completely stopped the WDW railroad from opening too, almost 3 years now.
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At this point, it's a guessing game when it'll open. I'm curious to see who takes longer between announcement and opening: Disney and TRON versus Universal and Epic Universe.
 
D

doctornick

Well-Known Member
danlb_2000 said:
TRON doesn't really make much sense at all. You are riding a light cycle which in the movie is a ground vehicle, so the outdoor portion doesn't really make sense.

You can argue that Slinky Dog is a lazy theme, but it does fit the theming, it's supposed to be a roller coaster, so seeing the track makes sense. Same with Primeval Whirl, it is supposed to be a roller coaster.
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One thing I think is interesting here is that Tron seems to have been designed in a way to enhance the experience over being a logical/consistent construct.

Specifically, as mentioned, the outdoor section makes no sense at all. It doesn’t fit with the world of Tron and I don’t think I’ve ever even seen a convoluted WDI explanation of what it “is” or supposed to represent. But… the outdoor portion is what makes the ride. For the riders it has the cool transition from inside to out (and back) and more importantly for other guests in the park it adds tremendously to the ambiance and kinetics.

In a way, it feels like a bit of a throwback to older Disney attractions (the horrible appearance of the show building aside which is a different issue) in that the attention is on the experience and not on just creating something that makes 100% total logical sense for the theme/setting. Modern WDI to me seems to have pivoted too far into making things fit the “canon” of the IP (and everything is IP based these days) rather than being the best theme park experience they can be. And I like and understand some of that desire but it can be too slavishly adhered to, with Galaxy’s Edge being the prime example.
 
lazyboy97o

lazyboy97o

Well-Known Member
doctornick said:
One thing I think is interesting here is that Tron seems to have been designed in a way to enhance the experience over being a logical/consistent construct.

Specifically, as mentioned, the outdoor section makes no sense at all. It doesn’t fit with the world of Tron and I don’t think I’ve ever even seen a convoluted WDI explanation of what it “is” or supposed to represent. But… the outdoor portion is what makes the ride. For the riders it has the cool transition from inside to out (and back) and more importantly for other guests in the park it adds tremendously to the ambiance and kinetics.

In a way, it feels like a bit of a throwback to older Disney attractions (the horrible appearance of the show building aside which is a different issue) in that the attention is on the experience and not on just creating something that makes 100% total logical sense for the theme/setting. Modern WDI to me seems to have pivoted too far into making things fit the “canon” of the IP (and everything is IP based these days) rather than being the best theme park experience they can be. And I like and understand some of that desire but it can be too slavishly adhered to, with Galaxy’s Edge being the prime example.
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The outdoor portion is there because Disney thinks Chinese people are idiots who wouldn‘t be able to figure out the idea of an indoor roller coaster.
 

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