Walt Disney DIS theme parks have been busy this year launching new rides and attractions to stave off competition from their top rival Universal Studios' parks.
Disney already is aware that Universal is planning a new theme park in Orlando with Epic Universe to open in 2025 and is also bringing its Super Nintendo World to Universal Studios Hollywood in 2023 that would feature rides based on the Super Mario Bros. video games.
Disney Answers Universal's Challenge Again
Disney had already been challenging Universal's Wizarding World of Harry Potter lands at Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios Orlando and at Universal Studios Hollywood in California that opened between 2010 and 2016 with the opening of a variety of lands at its theme parks, including Pandora - The World of Avatar land at Animal Kingdom at Disney World in Orlando in 2017, Toy Story Land to its Disney Hollywood Studios in Orlando in 2018 and Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge at both Disneyland in California and Hollywood Studios in Florida in 2019.
Disney in October opened the Remy's Ratatouille Adventure ride and on May 27 opened Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind rollercoaster at Epcot in Orlando.
Now, Disney is preparing to open a new ride at the Magic Kingdom in Orlando that was inspired by a successful ride at its Shanghai China park.
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Imagineers are Bringing a Popular Shanghai Ride to the U.S.
The Tron Lightcycle Power Run opened in Shanghai during 2016. The immersive ride is partially enclosed giving guests a feel of riding through the grid, paying tribute to both the original 1982 "Tron" film and its sequel, "Tron: Legacy."
Tron Lightcycle Power Run is ranked third as one of the top rides at Disneyland Shanghai. The ride is only beaten by Soaring Over the Horizon and Pirates of the Caribbean, which is ranked No. 1. While the "Tron" ride goes upwards of 60 miles per hour, the current fastest ride at any Disney park is Test Track at Epcot.
Original gamers and "Tron" fans should be on edge of their seats with the anticipation as Disney is in the testing phase of launching the new and much anticipated Tron Lightcycle Power Run at Magic Kingdom in Orlando. The park, however, has not set an opening date yet.
Guests will get to strap into their Lightcycle and prepare for the fastest ride to start at Disney’s Tomorrowland. The digital presence of the riders begins when they are queued in and enter the grid as team blue. Rivals are team orange.
The ride, decades in the making, will launch soon, but an opening on July 9 would have knocked it out of the park with the 40th anniversary of the original "Tron" film.
The world was first introduced to the movie "Tron" in 1982. "Tron" helped revolutionized how the world saw video games. Steven Lisberger was taken in by the concept of video games when he saw Pong. He worked with Donald Kushner to develop the story that became "Tron."
The film was ahead of its time, as the electronic action and speed really set it apart. "Tron" was the first movie to ever fully use computer generated imagery and it really helped others see the full potential of using CGI in movie production.
