I recently rode the Tron Lightcycle/Run attraction at Disney World in Orlando, Florida, and it instantly became one of my favorite rides. (Ride spoilers follow, so don't read if you're sensitive to that kind of thing.)
Tron (I hope you won't mind if I stop referring to it by its full, weirdly punctuated name) is a thrill ride in the Magic Kingdom's Tomorrowland based on the 1982 and 2010 Disney movies, neither of which were big hits and neither of which really had any penetration into the popular culture. And neither of which I've seen, despite over 40 years of opportunity.
The idea of the ride is that you are "digitized" to enter the virtual world of Tron, and then ride one of a bunch of attached sleek, glowing motorcycles at high speeds.
Because I haven't seen either movie, I don't know the narrative significance of the speeding "lightcycles." Is it a race? Is it a chase? A high-speed sprint to rescue the main character, Tron? It doesn't really matter; it's a gorgeous and extremely exciting ride with a blue, neon/laser 80s circuit/line aesthetic.
The cycles are formed into a traditional roller coaster "train," but your cycling posture is nontraditional for a roller coaster and is very effective in intensifying the thrill. The 60 mph speed you reach is not unusual for a roller coaster, but your position and the graphics made it feel faster than any roller coaster I've been on.
In fact, as we approached our turn on line, we saw that there was an option to wait a few extra minutes in a separate area to ride the front row of lightcycles in your train. This was a great decision, because your unimpeded view of objects and graphics zooming by really enhanced the sensation of speed.
The attraction itself is gorgeous, especially at night, and after zooming around this amazing outdoor canopy over the pavilion, riders enter a spectacular dark computer simulation environment. The blinding speed at which you dart around this sector keeps its glowing lighting effects impressionistic.
There are complaints about the actual ride being too short, at only about two minutes, but I disembarked fully satisfied and very excited. Guest surveys conducted by Touring Plans, the premier Disney World visitor app/site, rank Tron among the highest visitor satisfaction ratings of any attraction in the resort. It looks like only the ratings of Avatar: Flight of Passage and Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance are a tick higher.
Here is a ride-through video of the entire ride, from the perspective of both the front and back rows.
