For five long years, Disney fans waited for construction crews to complete the newest attraction at Walt Disney World Resort — TRON Lightcycle/Run in the Magic Kingdom. The TRON roller coaster was first announced at the D23 Expo in 2017, and construction began in 2018. The original plan was to have the ride completed and open when Disney kicked off its epic 50th Anniversary celebration in October 2021.
Related: Fans Yank Disney’s Chain Upon Release of TRON Trailer
However, as most Disney fans know, that is far from what happened. In March 2020, the theme parks were forced to shut down because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The roller coaster — which was already behind schedule — got even more behind. Things go so far behind that TRON Lightcycle/Run didn’t open until April 2023. Fans were particularly frustrated because the ride was an exact replica of the one in Shanghai Disney, which has been open since 2016.
Related: Guests Absolutely Trash Magic Kingdom After Fireworks Show
If there is one thing that Disney parks have always been known for, it’s their cleanliness. Walt wanted to set Disney apart from all other theme parks, and keeping them immaculate was one way to do it. Sadly, those standards seem to have dropped a bit in recent years — of course, messy and rude guests are not helping the situation.
TRON Lightcycle/Run appears to be one of those attractions that has fallen by the wayside when it comes to cleaning. The ride hasn’t even been open for a year, and sections of it are already covered in a thick layer of mold. X (formerly Twitter) account Coasters and Brews shared several photos of mold taking over the new ride.
Thought Disney took better care of the cleanliness their rides 🤮
Thought Disney took better care of the cleanliness their rides 🤮 pic.twitter.com/avneycLy6W
— Coasters and Brews (@coastersnbrews) November 19, 2023
Followers were disappointed to see the state of the ride, but some were not surprised because of previous photos of the state of the ride. Earlier this year, guests commented on the state of the canopy covering the outdoor track, which was in serious need of cleaning.
I’ve been saying this since it opened! “This just opened and look at it” followed by “this opened only X months ago and look at it”.
Sadly, TRON Lightcycle/Run isn’t just experiencing damage because of the humid Florida climate. Rude guests have also damaged parts of the attraction because they somehow think that’s an okay thing to do.
Related: Wild TRON Injury Reportedly Leaves Guest With Broken Rib
Disney Imagineers worked really hard to give the entire attraction a futuristic look, including adding really cool reflective light walls to some of the hallways. Just months after opening, extensive damage to the wall was seen because guests had been picking at and peeling the material off of the walls. Things got so bad that Disney removed the effect from the walls in October. Now, the walls are just plain gray.
Cleanliness and damage are not the only issues that TRON has been dealing with since its April opening. Disney World is known for being incredibly accommodating to guests of many sizes. However, because of the way TRON is designed, many people cannot fit on the ride because their calves are too large for the safety bar to lock in place.
Guests have been begging Disney to adjust the ride so more people can fit on it. It was reported that Disney Imagineers did not make adjustments for an American audience when designing the ride for the Magic Kingdom.
Do you think Disney is slacking on its cleaning standards? Let us know in the comments.
This post is originally appeared on Disney Fanatic.




