AS a kid, who didn’t thrill to the sci-fi forays of computer programmer Kevin Flynn after he was transported into the futuristic fury that was the video game world of TRON?
Well, soon you’ll be able to do it for real. Walt Disney World Resort has just released photos of trial runs on the TRON Lightcycle / Run ride due to open at the Florida resort this April.
And it looks suitably science fiction-tastic!
Posted on the official Disney Parks Blog and Tik Tok by senior manager Steven Miller, they show the the huge curved canopy that houses the ride’s Upload Conduit.
“As a kid, I spent countless hours playing video games at my local arcade,” says Steven. “The anticipation of hearing a quarter drop into an arcade machine only fuelled my excitement at the ensuing video competition – most likely me playing Discs of TRON again.
“I felt that same joy last night with my camera in hand as the curved wave canopy, called the Upload Conduit, was officially powered on in its entirety at TRON Lightcycle / Run presented by Enterprise.
“The Upload Conduit will serve as the digital bridge into The Grid for your Lightcycle when the attraction opens in Magic Kingdom Park on April 4. As a lifelong TRON fan, I was in awe.
“The massive structure was constructed of nearly 40 pieces, strategically assembled and aligned, to create the perfect system for moving Lightcycles to the Games.
“I’d seen the Upload Conduit from afar but nothing prepared me for being directly under it. When Lightcycles whiz by overhead, lights dance across the conduit leaving glowing hexagons.
“These are enhanced by familiar music from the TRON: Legacy soundtrack, and I could have watched the colourful stripes of blue, orange and white chase along the canopy for hours.”
The TRON movie opened in 1982, written and directed bySteven Lisberger, and starring Jeff Bridges as Kevin Flynn. It was one of the first movies to use the extensive computer-generated imagery – the CGI we all take for granted these days.
For updates on the ride, and other news, check in regularly at the Disney Parks Blog
Paul Cole Travels 
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