PHOTOS: Track Laid Out for TRON Roller Coaster – Construction Update March 2019

(UPDATE 3/25/19): This is a TRON Roller Coaster Construction Update for March 2019 in Disney’s Magic Kingdom.  Today we’re looking at how the construction of the retention ponds just outside the TRON construction site are coming along, plus track pieces for the TRON coaster laid out at the staging area.

We’re also going to see progress to the Tomorrowland Speedway refurbishment, and building out the retention walls for the Walt Disney World Railroad berm.

Check out our Walt Disney World Construction Updates page for more updates on all the projects going on around Disney World as we continue to bring you the latest!

During out last update for the TRON coaster we saw the foundation for the attraction get installed, plus a construction crane be installed at the site which will be used to start erecting the steel work for the attraction which we’ll break down later. Since then lots of work has been done to clear the land where the entrance will go, leading people to this super-thrilling attraction.

If you aren’t familiar with the TRON roller coaster coming to Disney’s Magic Kingdom, it’s pretty much going to be a clone of the super popular attraction in Shanghai Disneyland, which happens to be the fastest ride in any Disney Park worldwide.  This should help to totally revamp Tomorrowland, something it’s needed for quite some time! For more info about the TRON coaster project you can read this.

We always want to thank @Bioreconstruct who takes some unbelievable photos from the air on all the various construction projects around Walt Disney World. They give you a whole new perspective on the parks!

I’m constantly updating this post so you can scroll down for the latest pictures:

So let’s see what’s new on the TRON roller coaster project this month and keep checking back throughout the month as we’ll be adding more photos and information.

The TRON coaster is going to be the key feature of Tomorrowland’s renovation efforts so I thought it appropriate to start with a photo looking in on Tomorrowland from the outside:

Last month we saw the giant construction crane arrive on the TRON site, and now it’s visible from all over the Magic Kingdom, towering over the surrounding buildings.

Part of the work required to build the TRON coaster was refurbishing the Tomorrowland Speedway. Even if I think they should have opted for a total re-do of the attraction, complete with new cars (you now ones that actually work), they are just doing a re-route of the track in order to make room for the TRON coaster next door:

In fact, looking at the concept art for the TRON coaster you can see how it and the Tomorrowland Speedway are intertwined, with TRON even going above the tracks at a certain point:

From the way things look we should be seeing concrete forms poured here soon as things look like they are in place and ready to go.

Looking down from the PeopleMover you can see the wide entrance leading to the TRON coaster has been totally cleared and is now being flattened down:

In the above concept art we just looked at you can see where it passes under the PeopleMover and then continues over to the attraction. At night it’s going to look gorgeous all lit-up and will really add some futuristic vibes to Tomorrowland, something it hasn’t had in a while!

Here’s that same path and the foundation for the attraction is right next to the giant crane:

One of the critical aspects in order to get TRON up and running is the new retention pond outside the berm:

The whole berm has been extended and rerouting the drainage canal here makes it possible to put TRON where it is. This means the Walt Disney World Railroad when it comes back is going to have a slightly different route coming through here and it too will pass right underneath the TRON coaster!

Workers building up the retaining wall for the new pond:

It will hold the water that comes from the canal through an underground tunnel and then into the pond.

Looking at the site of the actual TRON attraction itself, we can see the foundation still in place after being poured last month, and lots of conduit coming up through it:

Still no vertical construction, but the steel should be rising up pretty soon as the crane is in place and permits have already been filed for the track installation. That means we are close. It will be interesting to see whether Disney chooses to construction the outside shell first or the track. I think it’ll be the opposite of the Guardians of the Galaxy coasting coming to Epcot, and they will do the track first.

Keep you eye out because things could start moving as soon as this coming week.

That’s it so far for this month’s TRON roller coaster update, we’ll be updating this article all month so keep checking back for more info and pictures!

UPDATE 3/18/19 – New Foundation Pour for TRON Coaster and a Second Construction Crane Goes Up

A couple of weeks have gone by since our last look at the construction site for the upcoming TRON Roller Coaster in Disney’s Magic Kingdom, so we wanted to update you with all the latest progress there.

First let’s go over to the Tomorrowland Speedway where we can see the re-routing of the track taking place:

A good portion of the track is being changed in order to allow for the TRON building which will hang over part of the Speedway. Looks like most of the new track has been laid out with wooden forms up along the sides. Once it’s flattened they should be able to pour.

You can also see where edge of the project finishes behind the track:

In our last update to the TRON coaster site we saw a huge crane go up which will be used in the construction (lifting the pilings and track pieces, etc. Now we spot not just one crane, but two!

Here’s a look at them both behind Space Mountain:

These things are monsters and can be seen from all over the Magic Kingdom. Here they are from the other side of Tomorrowland:

Heck you can even see them from Gaston’s Tavern in Fantasyland!

Riding the PeopleMover we can get a real good view of them from their positions on the TRON construction site:

Obviously the the presence of two large crane means that we are going to see some vertical movement on the TRON coaster very soon, maybe even this week.

One other interesting development is another concrete foundation is getting ready to be poured on the site.

The way the TRON coaster is set up doesn’t just take up one foundation like the Guardians of the Galaxy Coaster, but it’s spread out into smaller foundations and the coaster will be covered by a canopy.

Here’s an aerial shot to help you visualize how the layout will be:

A big part of getting the TRON roller coaster up is extending the boarders of the nearby retention pond. Here you can see concrete walls being put up to make that happen:

This pond runs right alongside the berm of the Walt Disney World Railroad which is why that needed to be shutdown for the moment as well:

Looks like a double wall:

That’s all for now but stay tuned and we’ll have more soon…

UPDATE 3/25/19 – Progress on Tomorrowland Speedway and Railroad Wall:

Some more work was done to the Walt Disney World Railroad, Tomorrowland Speedway and TRON Coaster projects in the Magic Kingdom this week so we wanted to share those developments with you.

First let’s head over to the Tomorrowland Speedway. So last week we could see that on the track redirect, the wooden forms for the concrete curbs were in place:

Now however the curbs have actually been poured through most of the track:

This part is the first step before they can actually pour the track itself.

Next up let’s head over to the extension of the retention pond just outside the Walt Disney World Railroad berm in Tomorrowland:

As you know the pond is being extended here because of the land now occupied by the TRON coaster, and while not super exciting, it’s a crucial part to get the TRON coaster in place:

As a result the Walt Disney World Railroad berm is being pushed out a bit and this double wall will be used to keep the water at bay:

While the TRON site itself hasn’t seen any huge moves over the past few days, we have a better look at where the track pieces themselves for the attraction are being held:

There are currently two major roller coaster projects taking place in Walt Disney World right now, the TRON coaster and the Guardians of the Galaxy coaster in Epcot. We already saw a couple months back where the Guardians coaster staging area was being held, and while it’s difficult to distinguish the two coasters at this point, it seems this is the location for the TRON coaster tracks:

It’s important to have a big enough space to lay out all the pieces in order to the actual placement of them for building the attraction goes as smooth as possible.

This is a fairly large area and it also looks like some Disney Skyliner Gondola cars are being kept here too. They will be kept here before getting moved over onto the Skyliner:

You can get a better view of them below on the left side of the photo:

With all these track pieces being lined up, that means they are going to start getting installed soon so keep and eye out for some vertical construction any day at the TRON coaster site. Will bring you more as soon as we have it..

While the TRON Roller Coaster will be open in time for the Walt Disney World 50th Anniversary, we still don’t have an exact date yet, and won’t for some time now. It should be ready by Summer 2021.  Also expect pretty much an exact copy of the TRON roller coaster in Shanghai Disneyland without too many differences.

If you want more Disney World Construction Updates then you can go to our post with links to all the projects and attractions currently being built!

Other Disney World Construction Updates:

• Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure Construction Update (March 2019) – Work on the Front Facade
• Lightning McQueen’s Racing Academy (March 2019) – Signs Up and Character Meet Ready
• Star Wars Hotel Update (March 2019) – First Foundation Pour for Buildings
• Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge Update (March 2019) – New Spaceship Areas Installed
• Disney Skyliner Update (March 2019) – More Testing and Station Progress
• Illuminations Fireworks Replacement Epcot (March 2019) – Construction on Islands and Underwater in World Showcase Lagoon

Your Thoughts:

I want to know what you think about the Tron Roller Coaster Construction Update for March 2019…

• How excited are you for the TRON roller coaster to come to Magic Kingdom?
• Do you want to see an exact clone of TRON from Shanghai Disneyland?

Let us know in the comments section below!

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Photo Credit: @Bioreconstruct