December 2, 2018 – that was the last day that guests could ride The Walt Disney World Railroad. That was 1,000 days ago. Today, the railroad remains closed indefinitely as Disney continues to work on bringing TRON Lightcycle Run to Magic Kingdom.
To support land clearing near the TRON Lightcycle Run roller coaster, Disney removed a portion of the railroad tracks between the Fantasyland Station and Space Mountain. TRON would even lead to the shortening of the nearby Tomorrowland Speedway route as well.
Just a couple of weeks after the closure, Disney ripped up the railroad tracks seen above and started to expand the TRON Lightcycle Run construction site “into” Magic Kingdom. TRON Lightcycle Run will hit 1,300 days of construction next month.
In lieu of presenting the attraction, Disney created a static exhibit that would allow guests to get an up-close look at an engine and car.
Following the reopening of the theme parks last summer, the static railroad display didn’t return to either the Main Street USA station (which would eventually receive an extensive refurbishment) or the Fantasyland station, likely due to COVID-19 safety protocols.
Disney would take advantage of the downtime by replacing the entire route that circles Magic Kingdom with synthetic railroad ties – preparing for the next 50 years of magic at Walt Disney World.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like Disney will be anywhere close to reopening the iconic Walt Disney World Railroad in time for the start of their 50th Anniversary celebrations in October 2021. Instead, guests will have to wait – maybe even until 2022 as Disney continues work on TRON Lightcycle Run.
In the first concept art released for TRON, Disney illustrated the railroad as passing beneath the TRON Lightcycle Run canopy.
While the train route remained in updated concept art, a tunnel has been added, perhaps to prevent steam from rising up to the elevated guest platform that services the main entrance and exit to the TRON Lightcycle Run attraction.
Work has begun on construction of the tunnel seen above, but 1,000 days later, we’re still waiting and in the dark on when the Walt Disney World Railroad will return.
As always, keep checking back with us here at BlogMickey.com as we continue to bring you the latest news, photos, and info from around the Disney Parks!