I Enjoyed Disney World's Tron Lightcycle Run, But There Are Definitely Some Major Issues

Walt Disney World's Tron Lightcycle Ride is a hit, even two years after CinemaBlend first rode the attraction and gave it a stamp of approval. As someone eager for the arrival of Tron: Ares after seeing the trailer and the update about Jared Leto riding the ride, I had to try it out for myself during a recent trip to Magic Kingdom.

While I would say nothing topped my full day at Super Nintendo World at Epic Universe, the Tron Lightcycle Run was next up on my highlights for a weekend in Orlando. It was cool to live out my dream of riding a lightcycle ever since I saw Tron: Legacy in IMAX, but I have some notes about the rest of the experience that I think are worth highlighting to point out some major issues with this attraction.

Tron Lightcycle Run Is A Brutal Uphill Walk

Typically, when I'm looking at rides, the queues are the first thing on my mind. After all, it's the thing you're going to spend 95% of your time in. I had my eye out for what the situation was as I made my way uphill to my cushy lightning lane. I kept looking as I trudged uphill, sweating quite a bit because June in Florida is a misery most wouldn't endure if it wasn't home to the most magical place on Earth.

I'm like midway through this uphill jaunt and thinking, "Ok, we have to be close now," but we just keep going. I'll admit, after a long day walking around Magic Kingdom, my sore feet might have had an impact on the trip to the top, but I swear it felt like we were climbing to the peak of the highest point of the area.

The upside to this long climb is that when you do finally reach the actual queue for Tron Lightcycle Run, there's a bathroom and water station waiting for you. If only I'd known that at the time, I would've brought my water bottle, but it was in a parked stroller all the way back at the bottom of the hill. Keep in mind I did this weeks ago, and the memory is still fresh. That said, I know Disney can't really do anything about this, I just feel like people should mentally prepare for it before riding, is all I'm saying.

The Ride Is Egregiously Short

Tron Lightcycle Run features easter egg to the movies, though I'd forgive you if you didn't happen to notice it. The ride is egregiously short, and I know some might know that going in, but I don't think that resonates until you're deep in the trenches in the queue with too much time invested to hop out. I only witnessed that secondhand, as I was in the lightning lane, so I didn't have to bust out my Disney+ subscription and binge The Simpsons while I waited to ride.

From start to finish, Tron Lightcycle Run is a minute flat. Sure, it's a thrill ride that goes from zero to sixty, but when you're only locked in for a minute's time, all that time trudging up the hill and waiting in line starts to add up. It makes me realize just how intense those Lightcycle battles are, and how skilled you have to be not to just crash and burn immediately when riding one.

Jokes aside, I do think it's worth considering the ride time when trying to decide how much time you want to invest waiting in line. Sure, it's one of the only thrill rides in Magic Kingdom, and I don't imagine we'll see many more hit the park when looking at upcoming attractions planned. Just take it into account and plan accordingly, so you dont' waste a whole day waiting on a short thrill.

There Should Really Be A Tutorial On The Safety Harness System

Tron Lightcycle Run is a one-of-a-kind experience, and one of the more exciting roller coaster experiences I've had in my life. That said, there's a bit of a learning curve to the whole thing, and that's learning how to put on the safety harness when it's finally your turn to ride. Given the wait for the ride and just how quickly it goes, it's something riders should have a heads up about.

For those that have yet to ride, you step over the lightcycle and fit your legs into grooves positioned on either side of the bike. After that, you're encouraged to push forward on the handlebars, which then brings down the back harness that will lock you in place for the duration of the ride. It's a bit hard to control, and if you mess it up, you could have a bad time.

Take, for example, my brother-in-law, who went full force into the push and ended up plastering his torso to the bike with no chance to give himself any room to move up further. Fortunately, I saw this go down and decided to ease on my push and slightly lean forward while not becoming fully parallel with the bike like he did. The strategy paid off, and the harness was secured in place, and I didn't feel wildly uncomfortable for the ride.

I can't stress how important it is to get this part right, because when we rode Tron Lightcycle Run, getting off the ride took longer than the actual ride itself. I didn't have any issues with how I sat, but my buddy who sat behind us was complaining about hip soreness the next day after riding. It wasn't so terrible that he wouldn't ride it again, and I only bring it up to illustrate just how important it is to figure out how you're going to sit on this thing before you're locked in. Like I said before, you only get one chance to do it!

All that said, this is just my experience, which may help you prepare accordingly, and you should have a good time on Tron Lightcycle Run. If you're headed to Disney World anytime soon, it can be found in Magic Kingdom in Tomorrowland, right where the Tomorrowland Speedway used to be.