TRON Lightcycle Power Run is a steel launched roller coaster in Tomorrowland at Shanghai Disneyland, where it opened alongside the park on June 16, 2016. Built by Dutch manufacturer Vekoma and designed by Walt Disney Imagineering, the ride reimagines the light cycle chase from the 2010 film Tron: Legacy, seating riders in a straddled, motorbike-style position that leans them forward to grip handlebars as if piloting their own lightcycle.
The attraction became the first Tron-themed coaster in the world and set the template later used for Tron Lightcycle / Run at Walt Disney World. Its striking canopy structure, illuminated with the franchise’s signature blue and orange glow, has made it one of the most photographed attractions in Shanghai Disneyland since opening day.
Stats at a Glance
- Park: Shanghai Disneyland
- Manufacturer: Vekoma
- Opened: June 16, 2016
- Height: about 78 feet (23.8 m)
- Top speed: about 59.3 mph (95.4 km/h)
- Length: about 3,169 feet (966 m)
- Inversions: 0
The Ride Experience
Riders queue through a Tron-themed staging area before boarding motorbike-style seats arranged two across in a single row, with each of the seven trains carrying 14 guests. A pad behind the rider secures them in place rather than a traditional lap bar, reinforcing the lightcycle illusion. A linear motor launch accelerates the train up to roughly 59 mph before it winds through a mostly enclosed structure lit with glowing lightcycle-style track lighting and onboard sound effects.
About 210 meters of the layout sits outside the building’s canopy, giving riders and onlookers a brief glimpse of the coaster in daylight before it dives back into the illuminated interior. The full circuit lasts around one minute and includes no inversions, favoring sustained speed and tight, banked turns over airtime or loops.
Design and Legacy
TRON Lightcycle Power Run was designed by Peter Clerx and built specifically for Shanghai Disneyland’s opening, making it the park’s signature thrill attraction in Tomorrowland. Its combination of Vekoma’s launch coaster hardware with an entirely custom Disney show building set a new bar for themed launch coasters.
The ride’s popularity led Disney to construct a nearly identical version, Tron Lightcycle / Run, at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom, which opened in 2023. The Shanghai original remains a benchmark for combining practical show effects, dense theming, and a genuine launch coaster in a single attraction.
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TRON Lightcycle Power Run FAQs
How fast does TRON Lightcycle Power Run go?
The coaster reaches a top speed of about 59.3 mph (95.4 km/h) via a linear motor launch.
Does TRON Lightcycle Power Run have any loops or inversions?
No, the ride has zero inversions. It focuses on speed and banked turns rather than loops.
When did TRON Lightcycle Power Run open?
It opened on June 16, 2016, as part of Shanghai Disneyland’s opening day lineup.
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Photo: BallofyaRn / CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.