With Walt Disney World's new TRON Lightcycle Run now open to all Magic Kingdom guests, it's time to ask the question - what is now the best roller coaster in Tomorrowland?
TRON Lightcycle Run won't open officially until April 4, but it has been available via virtual queue and Individual Lightning Lane to Magic Kingdom guests this week and will remain in a soft opening through April 2. Throw in weeks of passholder previews, and it's probably fair to say that tens of thousands of fans have been on the new Vekoma family coaster to date.
And that's just in the United States. Millions of other Disney visitors have experienced TRON at its original installation at Shanghai Disneyland, though I couldn't take a reasonable guess how many of them also have visited Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom recently.
All of which is to say... let's not wait any longer to rush to judgment, shall we?
Yes, Disney World visitors will have to endure the virtual queue situation for several more months - probably through the entire summer. But at some point, Magic Kingdom guests who rope drop into Tomorrowland in the morning will have a simple choice: go to TRON or go to Space Mountain?
And for you smarty-pants out there who answer, "I'd go to the PeopleMover," just know that I admire your taste, even if your time-management skills are trash.
Disney World's Space Mountain has been around since 1975, making it the first Space Mountain in Disney Parks worldwide. The track length on each of its two tracks is nearly identical to the track length on TRON, but TRON launches at over twice the top speed of Space Mountain, making the newcomer a shorter ride, time-wise.
I think TRON offers a much smoother ride, as well, although its motorcycle-style seat and unusual restraint system might not be for everyone. That said, Space Mountain's seating arrangement has its critics, too.
TRON launches outside, but spend most of its time in the dark, just like Space Mountain. The lighting package is newer and more visually impressive on TRON, but the fantasy of flying through space might appeal to more Disney visitors than a ride on a virtual motorcycle from two movies that did not exactly set the box office on fire.
Both rides offer nostalgic appeal - Space Mountain for the ride itself and TRON for its movies. Yet that just means that Space Mountain has passed the test of time to become an enduring favorite of Walt Disney World fans, while TRON offers the excitement of a new experience for most.
I can't recall ever posting a review of Walt Disney World's Space Mountain. But here is my review from last week of TRON: Scale Makes the Magic on Disney World's TRON Lightcycle Run.
Now let's hear what you will choose the next time you walk into the Magic Kingdom.
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I haven't ridden the Tron coaster yet, but I've never been a big fan of Space Mountain. It's not as smooth as modern day coasters and the theming was good in its day, but could be improved vastly with a reimagining. I've always found it mildly nausea inducing.
The Tron videos look amazing, just a bit short. The themeing is top notch. Big Thunder Mountain has always been one of my favourite Disney rides, so it's not that Tron is a new ride. I just don't feel it faces a lot of competition in a comparison with Space Mountain (IMHO).
If you've ever experienced Disneyland's Space Mountain, with it's silky smooth ride and amazing onboard audio, WDW's always seems like trash by comparison. So, Tron wins simply by not being WDW's Space Mountain.
I just rode Disneyland Space Mountain and did hit me a bit smoother than WDW. Have to reserve judgement until I ride Tron but Space Mountain always benefiting from the darkness making it feel much faster and wilder than it actually is so it's the setting that aids it.
Space Mountain at Walt Disney World is one of the resort’s worst roller coasters, so … as long as Tron is good … this is a slam dunk.
I've been on Space Mountain plenty of times and haven't done Tron yet, so it should be fairly obvious which one I'd lean toward at rope-drop.
If I have to vote based on the merits of both rides, then I abstain from this one.
If you haven’t ridden both, how can you know? It’s TRON and it’s not even close.
Given that I don't even consider Space Mountain to be Magic Kingdom's best coaster, I'd consider it a massive disappointment if I wound up liking Tron less. Hopefully I'll get the chance to go find out in September. That said, if Disney's not going to allow me to choose to go to Tron at rope drop, perhaps I'll choose not to go to Disney and never find out.
I completely agree with AJ that MK's Space Mountain is not a great coaster, so it wouldn't take much for Tron to surpass it. Now, if we were talking about American Disney coasters as a whole (including Space Mountain at DL), it might be a better test.
However, I don't like rating coasters based solely on other reviews and some POVs, so I'll reserve judgement until I get to ride the coaster for myself.
MK’s Space Mountain is just the Matterhorn Bobsleds in the dark.
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Tron is a better attraction than Space Mountain in every way. More exciting, better theming, infinitely smoother, onboard audio, better queue, more reliable. But obviously it should be considering its 45+ years newer. The only thing better about Space Mountain is the hourly throughput.