The Walt Disney Company has dropped a cryptic message on its Disney Parks Twitter account which looks like it could be hinting at an opening date for the eagerly anticipated TRON Lightcycle Run roller coaster at Magic Kingdom Park in Walt Disney World, Florida.
Based on the TRON franchise, the high-speed thrill ride is manufactured by Vekoma and Walt Disney Imagineering, and has been beset by delays since its announcement in July 2017. However, it looks like the long wait may be about to end.
The tweet shows an image of a leader board similar to that from the original TRON, with ten scores shown alongside initials. Upon closer inspection, the scores represent significant numbers and dates relating to both TRON and Disney itself. Here's a guess at what each line could potentially mean.
1. This is the all-time high score for the TRON arcade game.
2. 1+3 = 4, 212,023 could equal 4/21/2023 with the US initials representing the public opening date for the ride, adapted from the Shanghai Disneyland ride.
3. This represents the opening date for TRON Legacy in theaters (12/17/2010).
4. This is TRON star Jeff Bridges' birthday! (12/04/1949)
5. This was the Magic Kingdom opening date (10/01/1971).
6. Disneyland opening date (07/17/1955)
7. The release date for the original TRON (07/09/1982)
8. This one has us stumped!
9. The opening date for Shanghai Disneyland, where the original attraction resides (06/16/2016)
10. This one is slightly more speculative. CM could refer to Cast Member, the name for Disney employees. When rides open, they are given 'Cast Member' previews to allow employees the chance to experience attractions before opening. The numbers - 04,482,023 - could represent either the 4th to 8th of April, or 4+8 = 12 meaning April 12th for previews.
The roller coaster's track takes riders both inside and outside a color-shifting canopy that envelopes the ride, on vehicles shaped like TRON's light-cycles, designed to replicate the experience the characters have in the film series. The ride reaches speeds of nearly 60 miles per hour, the fastest of any Disney roller coaster in the world.
Officially, Disney has said that TRON Lightcycle Run will open Spring 2023, after numerous delays with the construction of the ride - not aided by a disruption related to the pandemic.
Regardless, it seems a safe bet to say that Disney will be opening their latest high-speed thrill ride in around three months' time!