News Tron coaster coming to the Magic Kingdom

[ToTBellHop]

Sometimes we talk out both sides of our mouths. “The big box is hideous and shouldn’t be visible!” but also, “why did they stick this in a back corner?!”

Not every E-ticket needs to be visible for a half mile, as long as the immediate approach is impressive. Most Disneyland e-tickets sneak up on you. Tomorrowland already has a weenie. If you have two weenies right in front of your face, which do you gawk at?

 

[J4546]

well its def gonna increase traffic to that area, It was just a pathway through some trees and the speedway and now theres a major e-ticket ride. Seems like a cool upgrade to me. maybe they will be doing something to the circus area next?

 

[UNCgolf]

Sometimes we talk out both sides of our mouths. “The big box is hideous and shouldn’t be visible!” but also, “why did they stick this in a back corner?!”

Not every E-ticket needs to be visible for a half mile, as long as the immediate approach is impressive. Most Disneyland e-tickets sneak up on you.

That's not really the point.

The canopy/ramp is supposed to be visible from far away and lead people to the attraction; that's why it was designed the way it is. Hiding it in a corner defeats the purpose of that design. It doesn't function the same way it functions in Shanghai.

It's the juxtaposition of the design and the location that's the issue; not the fact that it won't be visible from most areas in general.

 

[J4546]

also i think the canopy will be visible from pretty far away. Especially at night

 

[corran horn]

This is the thing (I know I'm repeating myself).

It's hidden back in a corner and it seems like you'll really only be able to see it when you're actually heading there to ride it (or maybe from around the Speedway). It won't be visible from the entrance to Tomorrowland and likely not until you get past the Astro Orbiter. Obviously that area back there will see an increase in traffic due to TRON itself, but it's not somewhere that guests would normally be for any other reason.

yeah, and as I've said, they should destroy the arcade building.

 

[ToTBellHop]

That's not really the point.

The canopy/ramp is supposed to be visible from far away and lead people to the attraction; that's why it was designed the way it is. Hiding it in a corner defeats the purpose of that design.

In MK, it wasn’t designed to do that. Space Mountain was. Different parks; different purpose. No one seems to mind that you can’t see Ratatouille until you’re there.

 

[UNCgolf]

yeah, and as I've said, they should destroy the arcade building.

I think even then it would be hidden from sight for a significant portion of Tomorrowland, but that would definitely be an improvement in more ways than one.

 

[ToTBellHop]

yeah, and as I've said, they should destroy the arcade building.

I agree, but not due to visuals. They need a wider walkway. Getting to this ride will be dangerous at rope drop once it has a standby line in 2029.

 

[UNCgolf]

In MK, it wasn’t designed to do that. Space Mountain was. Different parks; different purpose. No one seems to mind that you can’t see Ratatouille until you’re there.

That's because it wasn't designed for MK at all -- again, that's the whole point. The canopy serves that purpose. Since it doesn't serve that purpose at the MK, it's kind of superfluous. It doesn't make a ton of sense to have a giant showy thing that's hidden.

Of course they were never going to significantly redesign the ride (that defeats the purpose of a clone), but it seems disingenuous to suggest it makes no difference. I also don't really understand the Ratatouille mention because it's a different ride with a different design -- I'm not suggesting you're supposed to be able to see every ride. This is specific to TRON because of the way it's designed.

It's the kind of thing Disney used to care about in their parks that set them so far apart from everyone else.

 

[J4546]

man, if they build a flynns arcade full of classic arcade machines that would be so chill

 

[lazyboy97o]

Sometimes we talk out both sides of our mouths. “The big box is hideous and shouldn’t be visible!” but also, “why did they stick this in a back corner?!”

Not every E-ticket needs to be visible for a half mile, as long as the immediate approach is impressive. Most Disneyland e-tickets sneak up on you. Tomorrowland already has a weenie. If you have two weenies right in front of your face, which do you gawk at?

All attractions should be part of the designed space of a land, not just dropped around back.

 

[Kevin_W]

yeah, and as I've said, they should destroy the arcade building.

The Hall of Justice? (Apologies if you aren't old enough to have watched the Superfriends cartoon.)

 

[J4546]

All attractions should be part of the designed space of a land, not just dropped around back.

I dont think this was just "dropped" around back. Its a major engineering feat to build this thing, esp with the train running through it and Im sure they have plans to further incorporate it into the overall tomorrowland aesthetic in the future. I think Shanghai has some kind of 5 year clause with their rides before they can be copied and if they didnt I bet this would have come to MK 5 years ago.

 

[castlecake2.0]

Will be interesting to see how they will reconfigure this area to handle the crowds.

 

[Dunston]

If you have two weenies right in front of your face

Woah woah woah let's keep it sfw here

 

[DisneyDodo]

That's because it wasn't designed for MK at all -- again, that's the whole point. The canopy serves that purpose. Since it doesn't serve that purpose at the MK, it's kind of superfluous. It doesn't make a ton of sense to have a giant showy thing that's hidden.

Of course they were never going to significantly redesign the ride (that defeats the purpose of a clone), but it seems disingenuous to suggest it makes no difference. I also don't really understand the Ratatouille mention because it's a different ride with a different design -- I'm not suggesting you're supposed to be able to see every ride. This is specific to TRON because of the way it's designed.

It's the kind of thing Disney used to care about in their parks that set them so far apart from everyone else.

I don’t understand the complaint here. Are you suggesting that Disney should have gone through the trouble of making Tron look less nice since it’s not in the most visible location? If the canopy can’t be seen from everywhere, Disney should ensure that it can’t be seen from anywhere?

 

[UNCgolf]

I don’t understand the complaint here. Are you suggesting that Disney should have gone through the trouble of making Tron look less nice since it’s not in the most visible location? If the canopy can’t be seen from everywhere, Disney should ensure that it can’t be seen from anywhere?

That's not remotely what I'm saying. Changing the canopy or the placement or many other things is about making it nicer. My complaint isn't really about the canopy; it's that Disney just shoehorned it in there without actually caring about the overall design of the area and how the ride fits in that space.

They should have designed something to fit where it is. The canopy that exists in Shanghai isn't going to look anywhere near as nice at the Magic Kingdom as it does in Shanghai because it was never designed to only be visible from right in front of the building; it was designed to be visible from a distance. It's going to lose a lot of what makes it impressive in Shanghai. Either put TRON in a different place (or park) where the canopy works as intended, or design something that will actually fit the space they chose for it at the MK.

The fact that we all know Disney was never going to do that isn't an excuse for Disney -- it's an acknowledgement of how different their priorities are now.

 

[DisneyDodo]

That's not remotely what I'm saying.

They should have designed something to fit where it is. The canopy that exists in Shanghai isn't going to look especially nice at the Magic Kingdom because it was never designed to only be visible from right in front of the building; it was designed to be visible from a distance. It's going to lose most of what makes it look great in Shanghai. Either put TRON in a different place (like maybe EPCOT or Hollywood Studios...) where the canopy works as intended, or design something that will actually look good where it is.

The fact that we all know Disney was never going to do that isn't an excuse for Disney -- it's an acknowledgement of how different their priorities are now.

The plot is in the back corner of the park. It doesn’t matter what they put there, it’s not going to be visible throughout the entire land. Unlike Shanghai’s TL, WDW’s TL was built without Tron and the entire land wasn’t designed around being able to see the canopy. From where the canopy is visible, it will be a nice new addition to the land. Where it’s not visible, things will be like they were before, and you’ll still be able to see beautiful Space Mountain.

 

[UNCgolf]

The plot is in the back corner of the park. It doesn’t matter what they put there, it’s not going to be visible throughout the entire land. Unlike Shanghai’s TL, WDW’s TL was built without Tron and the entire land wasn’t designed around being able to see the canopy. From where the canopy is visible, it will be a nice new addition to the land. Where it’s not visible, things will be like they were before, and you’ll still be able to see beautiful Space Mountain.

You're not getting the argument; you're arguing something else entirely. No one is complaining that TRON (or whatever other ride would go in that location) isn't visible overall. It's that this specific design of TRON is supposed to be visible from far away, and since it's not, the design no longer makes sense. Something different that wasn't designed to be visible from everywhere (and that doesn't look nearly as good when it's only visible up close) would make more sense. The canopy doesn't really work in that location so ideally something else should be done instead to maximize the ride and make it look better.

It's Disney being lazy compared to their height and no longer designing rides that fit the area where they are being installed.

 

[lazyboy97o]

I dont think this was just "dropped" around back. Its a major engineering feat to build this thing, esp with the train running through it and Im sure they have plans to further incorporate it into the overall tomorrowland aesthetic in the future. I think Shanghai has some kind of 5 year clause with their rides before they can be copied and if they didnt I bet this would have come to MK 5 years ago.

Uh, no.

It is not a major engineering feat. Placing the railroad is a matter of coordination and they didn’t even need to change the canopy or coaster layout to have enough space below for the railroad. It is literally where they could drop it down the least amount of work.

Gluing some extra bits onto the rest of Tomorrowland doesn’t create a spatial design that connects the attraction to the rest of the land.

Exclusivity clauses are not automatic. They’re something extra paid for by that park and have largely been used by Hong Kong Disneyland to prevent exactly what happened with Toy Story Land. Way back once upon a time TRON would have opened five years ago because it was supposed to be co-financed by Shanghai Disneyland and Magic Kingdom. It was Magic Kingdom that decided not to move forward with the project. Now, instead of something designed for the Magic Kingdom it is being dropped in as a result of panic of the failures of NextGen.