WHEN Will Disney World Open the TRON and Guardians of the Galaxy Roller Coasters?
One of the biggest burning questions of 2021 is when will Disney World open TRON Lightcycle Run and Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind?
Cinderella Castle is getting ready for the 50th anniversary
Both BIG, FAST rides were originally projected to open with Disney World’s 50th anniversary, and Disney has yet to officially confirm whether their opening dates will be delayed. We’ve been keeping a close eye on the progress for these rides, and we’re here discussing everything we know as of now and how that may or may not impact these rides from opening on time.
Both TRON Lightcycle Run and Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind were announced at D23 in 2017, with projections having them both open by October 1, 2021. Since Disney World’s 50th anniversary announcement, Disney has not updated whether these rides are officially delayed or on track. But since we’re just about a month shy of the big 5-0 and both rides are still very much in progress, let’s go over everything we know so far.
TRON Lightcycle Run
What We Know
TRON Lightcycle Run will be located in Tomorrowland in Magic Kingdom, and guests will be able to board two-wheeled Lightcycles in an indoor/outdoor roller coaster with speeds of up to 59 miles per hour. It will be similar to Shanghai Disneyland’s TRON Lightcycle Power Run ride that debuted in 2016.
TRON Concept Art ©Disney
The panels in the canopy will shift based on the lighting of the time of day, so you may get a totally different experience depending on what time you ride it! We’ve been able to preview the Lightcycles in Tomorrowland since 2019.
TRON: Lightcycle Power Run in Shanghai Disneyland
This massive ride will take place inside a large building as well as under the lit canopy outside.
Read more about TRON’s canopy here!
Although Disney has been fairly silent regarding their plans for TRON’s opening, in January 2021, USA Today claimed that TRON is unlikely to open on time. Disney officially confirmed several projects to open in 2021 and TRON Lightcycle Run was NOT included in their announcements.
TRON Lightcycle Sign
Disney has not yet confirmed whether TRON will be opening in 2021 or delayed until 2022. It doesn’t mean it WON’T open, it just means that they haven’t officially released that date yet. But again, as we mentioned, the clock is ticking to hit that goal of the 50th Anniversary.
Click here to read more about confirmed Disney World projects for 2021!
Construction Progress
In Magic Kingdom, as we’ve been monitoring the construction progress, we’ve seen paneling added to the show building and the outdoor canopy being installed. Aerial photos from April 2021 revealed that quite a bit of progress has been made, but it still does not look close to completion.
© @bioreconstruct | Attractions Magazine
In July 2021, we took a close look at the construction that continues in Magic Kingdom and, while it’s quite the improvement from 2019, we anticipate that there is still a bit more work to be done.
TRON Construction July 2021
From the outside, we haven’t seen a ton of significant progress. Considering it’s already almost September, it would only give Disney ONE months to fully complete the project and have it ready for guests if they were planning to open it for the 50th Anniversary celebration. With October 1 approaching fast, we don’t foresee this attraction being available at that time, even with extra pixie dust or the help of a fairy godmother!
TRON Construction July 2021
It’s possible that TRON could be finished by the end of 2021, but based on the progress we’ve observed along with Disney’s silence, it will more likely open next year. 2022 marks the 40th anniversary of the original TRON (1982) film, so perhaps they have a new opening date with that in mind.
Read more about Tron Lightcycle Run here!
Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind
What We Know
Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind is part of EPCOT’s big transformation and will be located in Future World as one of the longest indoor roller coasters ever built. The ride vehicles will have 360-degree movement and the story will follow the Guardians on a fun-filled adventure (and there will be a rockin’ mix tape!).
©Zach Riddley via Instagram (@thezachriddley)
Like TRON, Cosmic Rewind was omitted from the list of officially confirmed 2021 attraction openings in Disney World, which means Disney has yet to provide an opening date OR confirm a delay.
Click here to read about the 2021 confirmed Disney World opening attractions!
In August 2020 Disney filed a permit for a “support structure installation” for the ride, though it’s unknown what kind of structure it would be supporting, whether it be the coaster itself or other design elements.
Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind ©Disney
Considering this permit was filed in August 2020, this part of the project may have been completed by now.
Read more about the “support structure” permit here!
In April 2021 we saw a walking Baby Groot robot preview, which may or may not be a part of Cosmic Rewind. TechCrunch noted that this version of Groot could eventually appear in the parks as is or could take an entirely different form.
©Walt Disney Imagineering R&D Inc.
Whether a Baby Groot animatronic will be part of Cosmic Rewind is currently unknown, so this may not be a factor in Cosmic Rewind’s opening date.
See more Baby Groot robot antics here!
Also in April 2021, we noticed that Disney filed a permit for a “Show Element” that is slated to be located near the Cosmic Rewind building. The permit lists the massive theming element as over 30 feet tall, and we have to wonder whether it will be part of the Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind attraction. And if so, have they started building it yet?
Guardians of the Galaxy attraction Concept Art ©Disney
The Cosmic Rewind concept art shows a Nova Corps Star Blaster ship in front of the building, which we’ve seen in Guardians of the Galaxy films.
Read more about the “show element” permit here!
Guardians of the Galaxy 3 director James Gunn commented in April 2021 that they still need to film the scenes for Cosmic Rewind, and then in June 2021, James Gunn confirmed in an Instagram Q&A that he was currently working on Cosmic Rewind. If they are still currently working on the scenes for the ride, whether filming or editing in post-production, that would mean a quick turnaround to get this ride opened by October 1st.
©James Gunn
While there is no official opening or delayed date yet, it’s probably safer to guess Cosmic Rewind will open alongside TRON sometime in 2022. Keep in mind 2022 is EPCOT’s 40th Anniversary, having opened in 1982. It’s possible if there is a delay, it could time up to debut the new major attraction during EPCOT’s big year.
Click here to read more about director James Gunn’s comments!
Construction Progress
We’ve been watching exterior ride progress in EPCOT and even got to see a preview inside the ride in November 2021 that revealed a windy indoor coaster track we can’t wait to ride.
©Disney
In February 2021, we saw workers putting blue wrapping over wood paneling…
Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind Construction
…and recently, we noticed blue paneling added to the roof of the building in June 2021.
Guardians of the Galaxy Construction in June 2021
To be honest, since this attraction is located indoors, there hasn’t been TOO much guests can spot going on from the outside just yet — and we’ve been watching for a long while now! Whether Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind will fulfill Disney’s plans to open on October 1st has yet to be announced and based on everything we know and observe we’re guessing 2021 may be too soon for a full opening of this ride.
Click here to read more about Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind!
Disney hasn’t released any plans to announce the opening dates for these rides before or after the 50th anniversary. We will continue to watch for progress on these rides and hope for official updates from Disney.
Here’s YOUR guide to Disney World’s 50th anniversary!
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When do YOU think Tron or Cosmic Rewind will open? Tell us in the comments!
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