September 9, 2024 is the first day that TRON Lightcycle Run has not used a virtual queue during Magic Kingdom’s normal operating hours since it soft opened on March 20, 2023. During those 539 days, the ride only posted a wait time and used a standby line during hard ticket, limited capacity parties.
As such, today marks the first time ever that we’ve seen just how popular and in-demand Walt Disney World’s newest headliner attraction is during a regular operational environment. Will it be Magic Kingdom’s longest wait time, dethroning Seven Dwarfs Mine Train? Could it surpass Slinky Dog Dash, Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, Avatar Flight of Passage, or other headliners? We’re about to find out.
Before we get going, we want to reiterate that TRON Lightcycle Run switching to standby will have huge ramifications on step-by-step itineraries for Magic Kingdom. It might sound like hyperbole, but this is the biggest change in over a decade for Magic Kingdom strategy. Not even the switch from Extra Magic Hours to Early Entry/Extended Evening Hours or free FastPass being replaced by Lightning Lanes was as impactful. Those were somewhat lateral shifts, whereas this introduces a new headliner with a regular line.
With that said, we also want to (again) caution that TRON Lightcycle Run is dropping its virtual queue in the heart of Walt Disney World’s off-season. Our latest wait times report covered the Lowest Crowd Level Month & Week at Walt Disney World Since 2021! Although it should be evident from the title alone, the parks are really slow right now.
Spoiler alert: that’s still true today. But it’s also true that there are tons of locals, bloggers, vloggers, and influencers who want to be the first to do TRON’s standby line, for whatever reason. And then there’s the reality that Magic Kingdom operations has very little experience with this ride having a regular queue, meaning that the posted wait times are going to be all over the place, often divorced from their actual waits (in ways both good and bad).
What I’m saying is that day 1 of TRON Lightcycle Run’s standby line will be nothing like day 8, which will be nothing like week 8. If you’re visiting for the heart of the holiday season or in 2025 and want to know how this queue will impact you, it’s too early to tell. The outcomes from September simply won’t be reliable for Christmas or 2025. I’d recommend waiting until mid-October or beyond for a look at more representative results.
With that said, here are the wait times so far for TRON Lightcycle Run on September 9, 2024
- 9:00 am: 25 minutes
- 9:15 am: 105 minutes
- 9:30 am: 90 minutes
- 10:00 am: 60 minutes
- 10:30 am: 60 minutes
- 11:00 am: 30 minutes
- 11:30 am: 80 minutes
- 12:00 pm: 70 minutes
- 12:30 pm: 35 minutes
- 1:00 pm: 75 minutes
- 1:30 pm: 55 minutes
- 2:00 pm: 60 minutes
As a contrast, here are wait times for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train at the same points:
- 9:00 am: 60 minutes
- 9:30 am: 40 minutes
- 10:00 am: 50 minutes
- 10:30 am: 50 minutes
- 11:00 am: 40 minutes
- 11:30 am: 40 minutes
- 12:00 pm: 60 minutes
- 12:30 pm: 40 minutes
- 1:00 pm: 70 minutes
- 1:30 pm: 50 minutes
- 2:00 pm: Temporarily Closed
There are a couple of things worth noting. The first is that Seven Dwarfs Mine Train is open for Early Entry, which explains its higher wait time as of 9 am. It had already been operating for 30 minutes at that point, which is why the line was longer than TRON Lightcycle Run.
Second, TRON Lightcycle Run peaked for the day (at least so far) from 9:13 to 9:21 am. This was undoubtedly the result of its park opening wait time being set too low (25 minutes?!), a huge amount of demand being induced as a result, and Magic Kingdom ops “responding” with an astronomical wait time (relative to the rest of the park) to discourage more people from overwhelming the queue.
This type of ‘whiplash effect’ with wait times actually happens a lot. A really low wait time will entice a lot of guests all at once, and in response, the posted wait time skyrockets. We’ve pointed out previously that it’s better to anticipate when wait times will drop rather than reacting to it. Otherwise, you’ll be part of the flood of guests all arriving around the same time, rather than riding the wave, so to speak.
Anyway, it’s understandable that this would happen on day one of a brand new attraction. For all intents and purposes, that’s what TRON is when it comes to the standby line. So it’s also not hugely surprising that the posted wait would plummet to 30 minutes by 11 am. That is not just because very guests queued up between 9:15 am and 10:30 am (although fewer arrivals is part of it). It’s also because the 105 minute wait time never was accurate in the first place.
As we pointed out previously, there will be a lull at some point for TRON Lightcycle Run during the middle of the day. There always is for these headliners. The “when” of this is actually the most difficult–actually, impossible–prediction to make of anything on this list. It varies for other top tier attractions, and we’d expect the same here.
It occurs as a bit of an accordion effect, as people start seeing the posted wait time imbalance and avoiding the attraction in question. And then suddenly, it drops dramatically. (For example, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train will have a 90 minute wait at 9:30 am while almost every other attraction is at 30 minutes or less. The logical guest thus avoids SDMT and does something else. That happens en masse, producing the aforementioned dynamic.)
Here’s what I predicted last week: “My guess is that sweet spot with TRON Lightcycle Run will occur between 10:30 am and 11 am most days. But this is just a guess, and I’m far less confident in this than anything else. One thing I am certain about is that the daytime parade won’t have much, if any, bearing on TRON Lightcycle Run wait times. Again, the demographics are different.”
That turned out to be an accurate prediction, but it’s also admittedly a bit of dumb luck that TRON Lightcycle Run’s wait time was under an hour from 10:52 am to 11:22 am. When I wrote that, I truly didn’t expect any consistency for the first couple of weeks. It certainly was not intended as an opening day wait time prediction.
Honestly, I would’ve guessed higher wait time to start the day–I cannot believe someone thought it was a good idea to post 25 minutes. I would’ve also bet that it would’ve stayed in triple digits territory, regardless of the actual wait time, through lunch. After all, this is unprecedented in the last decade. Not only that, but it’s a Monday (busiest day of the week) and a non-party day at Magic Kingdom. Even if it is the off-season, the wait times for TRON Lightcycle Run throughout the day so far have not been bad at all!
There are several possible explanations for TRON Lightcycle Run’s relatively slow standby start (relative to expectations) aside from crowds. One is that it skews significantly older than Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. Teens and adults love the roller coaster, and might be inclined to sleep in or show up after work to experience it.
There’s also the reality that TRON Lightcycle Run is widely recognized as being better at night. Even the average guest knows this. The result is that a good number of people won’t even attempt to ride TRON earlier in the day, and instead will wait until evening. It’ll be interesting to see what happens once the sun sets at 7:37 pm tonight.
Personally, if I were in Magic Kingdom and wanted to ride TRON Lightcycle Run at night but did not want to wait until park closing (the best option), I’d probably get in line around 7:15 pm. My guess is that crowds will be reactionary, getting in line once it’s actually dark, thus causing another spike around 8 pm. The better option, again, is probably anticipating that happening rather than reacting to it. Or waiting until the very end of the fireworks and beating that rush.
Ultimately, it’ll be interesting to see whether 105 minutes remains the peak wait time for TRON Lightcycle Run today. On the one hand, it’s a much better ride at night and many Walt Disney World fans–and even casual guests–recognize this. So demand should be higher at night than in the morning.
On the other hand, Magic Kingdom ops really jacked up the wait time this morning shortly after opening…and it is off-season. So surpassing that triple-digit posted wait time might be tough, even if the actual wait time at 8:30 pm is higher than it was at 9:30 am.
One thing I am confident in predicting is that we have yet to see the peak wait time for TRON Lightcycle Run this month. At the very least, Magic Kingdom is going to be significantly busier in the last week of the month, and TRON should pretty easily be able to hit two hours. I think 120+ minute peak posted wait times throughout October and November are pretty safe bets. The better question is whether TRON Lightcycle Run can surpass Avatar Flight of Passage as the longest line between Christmas and New Year’s Eve. Just how many hours will the wait be: 3, 4 or 5?!
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
YOUR THOUGHTS
What do you predict the peak posted wait time will be for TRON Lightcycle Run today? This month? This year? What’s your optimal approach and time of day to ride TRON Lightcycle Run? What would you recommend to Walt Disney World first-timers? Will you stick to standby at one of the ideal times or buy a Lightning Lane Single Pass for TRON? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
