News Tron coaster coming to the Magic Kingdom

FerretAfros

FerretAfros

Well-Known Member
Casper Gutman said:
Sometimes, when playing Roller Coaster Tycoon, you’d just drag-and-drop a ride into a location it didn’t fit without thinking about it. Then, to get it running, you’d have to create an ugly, convoluted tangle of walkways and queues that meandered endlessly, crossed over one another on bridges or underpasses, and took lots of annoying counter-intuitive twists and turns.

I don’t know what made me think of all that…
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Fun fact: Despite being the closest guest facility in Tomorrowland, the distance from the exit of Space Mountain entrance of the Tron building (~955') is nearly the same as the distance from the Partners Statue to the Space Mountain entrance (~980').

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As it currently stands, Space Mountain feels like an isolated outpost at the back of the land, with expansive open spaces between it and the nearest building of substance. Physically, it's barely integrated into Tomorrowland, and sticks out of the park itself like a bulbous growth. It's not near anything, yet is closer to so many other attractions, kiosks, shops, restrooms, and other facilities than Tron will be.

The walk between the Partners Statue and Space Mountain has several "zones" with distinct feelings that help make the journey seem shorter than it is, with constantly changing scenery. First you pass through the open pavement of the hub itself, then across the bridge over the hub moat, then through the heart of Tomorrowland past all the other attractions, and finally through another wide open area to get to the farthest reaches of the east side of the park, right by the railroad tracks.

You'll then have to walk an equivalent distance from there to get to the Tron building entrance, with only a locker building to break up the trip. Are there even going to be restrooms nearby?

And there are folks still claiming that this wasn't just a hastily-conceived copy-and-paste project (canopy facing the side of Space Mountain, and all)?
 
ToTBellHop

ToTBellHop

Well-Known Member
MisterPenguin said:
I can't recall any poster making that claim. Everyone is on board that this is a clone.
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Also, it wasn’t hastily conceived. They spent years debating the next addition to MK (whether it would go east or west in the park). As originally envisioned, TRON would have been better integrated into the land. I bet we will see changes at the Speedway in the next 5 years or so.
 
UNCgolf

UNCgolf

Well-Known Member
One of the things that bothers me about this is the way it limits the ability to demolish the Speedway and replace it with something better.

The Speedway is now jammed in between a bunch of other things -- they obviously could still tear it down and build something else there, but with Tron right behind it, it's boxed in. Feels like there are a lot of restrictions on what they could potentially do there now in terms of keeping it easily accessible and also not ruining views from TRON.

Previously, all the land TRON sits on was available for some type of expansion that used the Speedway plot and that area.
 
Casper Gutman

Casper Gutman

Well-Known Member
UNCgolf said:
One of the things that bothers me about this is the way it limits the ability to demolish the Speedway and replace it with something better.

The Speedway is now jammed in between a bunch of other things -- they obviously could still tear it down and build something else there, but with Tron right behind it, it's boxed in. Feels like there are a lot of restrictions on what they could potentially do there now in terms of keeping it easily accessible and also not ruining views from TRON.

Previously, all the land TRON sits on was available for some type of expansion that used the Speedway plot and that area.
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Yup. Before Tron, demolishing the Speedway gets you enough room for a mini-land. Now it would be awkward to even put a building there, since it would block whatever view of Tron their might be and create a whole host of other logistical issues.

GotG has a lot of question marks and is likely a waste of a significant amount of inflated budget, but it holds some promise. Tron, in comparison, just seems like a waste in general.
 
larryz

larryz

I'm Just A Tourist!
Premium Member
UNCgolf said:
One of the things that bothers me about this is the way it limits the ability to demolish the Speedway and replace it with something better.

The Speedway is now jammed in between a bunch of other things -- they obviously could still tear it down and build something else there, but with Tron right behind it, it's boxed in. Feels like there are a lot of restrictions on what they could potentially do there now in terms of keeping it easily accessible and also not ruining views from TRON.

Previously, all the land TRON sits on was available for some type of expansion that used the Speedway plot and that area.
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The space available if they tore out the Speedway would be something like 150,000 sq ft.

The Haunted Mansion's footprint is about 46,000 sq ft.

I think there's plenty of room for a spectacular attraction -- maybe two -- in the Speedway's footprint.
 
UNCgolf

UNCgolf

Well-Known Member
larryz said:
The space available if they tore out the Speedway would be something like 150,000 sq ft.

The Haunted Mansion's footprint is about 46,000 sq ft.

I think there's plenty of room for a spectacular attraction -- maybe two -- in the Speedway's footprint.
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The size of the footprint isn't the problem. It's that basically that whole area is now customer facing because of TRON and pathways on all sides. Even the side facing Storybook Circus would be visible if there was an actual structure there.

That doesn't prevent them from building there (as I said), but it does cause logistical issues. Does current Disney really want to build something that needs full theming on all four sides? Previously, the TRON plot could have all been show buildings/backstage that customers wouldn't see.
 
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ToTBellHop

ToTBellHop

Well-Known Member
UNCgolf said:
One of the things that bothers me about this is the way it limits the ability to demolish the Speedway and replace it with something better.

The Speedway is now jammed in between a bunch of other things -- they obviously could still tear it down and build something else there, but with Tron right behind it, it's boxed in. Feels like there are a lot of restrictions on what they could potentially do there now in terms of keeping it easily accessible and also not ruining views from TRON.

Previously, all the land TRON sits on was available for some type of expansion that used the Speedway plot and that area.
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They could still improve the speedway by bulldozing it and building restrooms. Imagine how much better the land would smell!
 
larryz

larryz

I'm Just A Tourist!
Premium Member
UNCgolf said:
The size of the footprint isn't the problem. It's that basically that whole area is now customer facing because of TRON and pathways on all sides. Even the side facing Storybook Circus would be visible if there was an actual structure there.

That doesn't prevent them from building there (as I said), but it does cause logistical issues. Does current Disney really want to build something that needs full theming on all four sides? Previously, the TRON plot could have all been show buildings/backstage that customers wouldn't see.
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"Nothing a little blue, green and gray paint can't fix." (attributed to Bob Chapek)
 
JoeCamel

JoeCamel

Well-Known Member
UNCgolf said:
The size of the footprint isn't the problem. It's that basically that whole area is now customer facing because of TRON and pathways on all sides. Even the side facing Storybook Circus would be visible if there was an actual structure there.

That doesn't prevent them from building there (as I said), but it does cause logistical issues. Does current Disney really want to build something that needs full theming on all four sides? Previously, the TRON plot could have all been show buildings/backstage that customers wouldn't see.
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How big is the slinky coaster......
 
Poseidon Quest

Poseidon Quest

Well-Known Member
J4546 said:
I think they should make the speedway electric at least
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I believe that makes the most sense. I've always envisioned an evolution of the attraction, putting it instead in an air-conditioned showbuilding using electric vehicles and having riders drive past alien landscapes and cities on sci-fi planets. As a multi-leveled experience, it would also free up enough land for another dark ride on the Fantasyland side, perhaps a version of Disneyland's Alice in Wonderland.
 
UNCgolf

UNCgolf

Well-Known Member
larryz said:
Well, there's nothing else inside that footprint. If you get creative with the layout and safety barriers, you could probably pack some other stuff around it or along the track path.
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Yeah, that's the issue with Slinky's design in general. They could have built Slinky on that footprint with a few modifications along with other things that would give TSL more to do.

Seven Dwarfs Mine Train would be a better example of something to build in that spot, because it's at least fully themed in all directions and I think it's less than 100,000 square feet.

With that said, they probably don't need a third coaster right next to TRON and Space Mountain.
 

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