Disney Imagineers said to be working on a ‘Tron Legacy’ ride

The next Disney movie to get a ride at Disneyland may be more futuristic than fairytale. The blog Blue Sky Disney is reporting that Disney Imagineers have been given the green light to develop a ride treatment for the upcoming movie “Tron Legacy.”

Disney Parks have gone a little Tron crazy this fall, with a Tron-wrapped monorail at Walt Disney World and a nighttime elecTRONica party at Disney’s California Adventure.

Last week, Disney added a new “Tron Legacy” scene to the World of Color show at Disney’s California Adventure, the first addition to the show since it premiered earlier this year.

Slashfilm is giving further credibility to the rumors, reporting that Disney Imagineers – the folks that design Disney’s rides and attractions – visited the Tron movie set in Toronto to study the sets, props and concept art being used on the film.

So, while Walt Disney World adds princess castles and The Little Mermaid ride during its Fantasyland expansion, Disneyland may be looking to Tomorrowland for the next big changes at the California theme park.

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Walt Disney World changing plans for Fantasyland expansion

The construction walls have been up for months, but Walt Disney World says its plans for expanding Fantasyland are being redrawn in an attempt to broaden its appeal.

When the Fantasyland expansion plans were introduced last year, the first thing most Disney fans noticed was that the new area of the theme park was aimed squarely at one demographic: young girls. There was a Little Mermaid theme park ride, castles for Belle and Aurora, and three interactive princess meet-and-greet areas.

Sure, the marketing of the Disney Princesses has been one of the company’s biggest wins ever, but where was the boy stuff?

Apparently, it’s a question that Tom Staggs, the new chairman of Disney Parks and Resorts, was asking, too. He is the dad of three young sons, after all.

Orlando Sentinel writer Jason Garcia
interviewed Staggs this week and confirmed the rumors that the Fantasyland plans are being redrawn. Staggs indicated that the new plans may involve more thrills, as planners are reviewing the mix of “aspirational rides” with thrills or tension and rides that are for everyone.

Staggs said that the changes to Fantasyland shouldn’t delay the 2012 and 2013 opening dates of the new attractions. Testing and research on new guest experiences that are to be incorporated in the new attractions, such as Disney’s new queue-less wait system, have also been going on at Walt Disney World for several months.

No lines at Walt Disney World? Theme park tests new ‘queue-less’ wait system

Walt Disney World is testing a system that would ask guests to ditch the lines and wait in a holding area at some of its most popular attractions.

Tests inside Disney’s Hollywood Studios on Tuesday and Wednesday assigned group numbers to those wanting to ride the Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster.

These tests appear similar to a concept for a revamped Dumbo ride in Walt Disney World’s upcoming Fantasyland expansion project. Disney has said that rather than waiting in line, guests will be invited to play carnival games and enjoy entertainment in the air-conditioned circus tent in the renderings below, while awaiting their turn to ride the flying elephants.

Studios Central says that the test at the Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster worked like this: Guests were assigned the group number, then led to a tented standby area where there was a DJ and video games (such as Rock Band and Guitar Hero.) There was also merchandise on sale in the standby area, which is not surprising. This is Disney, after all.The waiting system that was tested this week isn’t a scheduled appointment to ride where you could leave the ride and come back later. You are expected to stay in the designated waiting area. Signs warned that if you weren’t there within 5 minutes of your group being called, you would lose your place in the queue.

The test also did not replace Disney’s “Fastpass” system, where you do obtain a ticket with a certain time assigned that allows you to come back and ride popular rides with less wait. Fastpass was still running at the Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster. But there is no Fastpass for the Dumbo ride’s current incarnation.

Keep in mind, this was a test. The ‘queue-less’ waiting system that is installed when the Fantasyland expansion is completed in 2012 or 2013 could be totally different.

I guess the advantage is the entertainment and freedom to sit down or move around a bit when you would otherwise be standing in a line. But I don’t think this system actually reduces wait times. I do think it will be a boon to parents. It’s hard to corral kids in a hour-long line. What do you think?

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