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Shanghai Disneyland – 2019 Trip Report

NIGHTTIME TRON PHOTOS!

We all know TRON looks amazing in all lighting conditions, but nighttime is when it really shines. 

On this visit we experimented with different shutter speeds to try and find a sweet spot between crisp visuals and sufficient lighting. 

We also had to find a balance between stopping to take a million photos of the ride and actually riding. 

This update is very TRON photo-heavy, but I assure you we rode everything at the park. Some rides just aren’t quite as fun to photograph.

I want to mention Buzz Lightyear: Planet Rescue real quick, which is still the best traditional shooting dark ride out there (but also probably the easiest – nobody of my skill set should be able to achieve a 7-figure score on that ride).

Have we mentioned how much we love this rolling stock? These trains are so beautiful I could cry.

Alright, here’s a quasi-retake of an earlier shot, but EVEN DARKER!

Photos can’t recreate the amazing movement at work here – the synchronized hexagonal light dance is best enjoyed in person. 

Here we spy another difference in the Orlando installation of TRON: the location of this marquee will differ in the new version, since the position of it currently would be obstructed by Space Mountain. 

The marquee’s positioning on the Orlando install will also reflect the different midway approach to the ride – with the thoroughfare passing through it instead of looping under the canopy like in Shanghai.

TRON‘s entrance is located on level 2 of Tomorrowland (along with Stargazer Cafe and Jet Packs), with the rest of the area’s attractions located on the lower level. Without the bilevel configuration of Shanghai’s Tomorrowland, Orlando TRON is expected to have escalators connecting the ride’s entrance to the midway.

Yes, still more nighttime shots of TRON. Just what you always wanted.

From here we can see the Lightcycles being catapulted from the launch bay!

It’s easy to forget that TRON is rather tall (78ft/23m) since the upper level of Tomorrowland is a good 30ft off the ground. 

Here’s a lovely Tomorrowland feature that doesn’t get enough attention: the marquee fountain situated the center of the area and the park’s main midway.

A unique characteristic of Shanghai’s Tomorrowland is that it really takes guests outside the main drag of Disneyland – in order to enter the land, you must veer off the main midway/parade route on principle. 

While most park areas serve as key arteries for guest flow, Tomorrowland has an uncannily calm traffic pattern made possible by the main midway’s serving of a bypass of sorts. 

Can you tell we’re a little obsessed with this area? Just a bit?

Our dream is of TRON Orlando ushering in a cosmetic remodel of Tomorrowland to the tune of Shanghai’s.

It might be a far-fetched hope, but so was Orlando getting TRON in the first place. You never know!

Thanks to an 8hr flight delay, we snagged a bonus day at Shanghai Disney. Since our visit at the beginning of the trip, Jet Packs had reopened from seasonal maintenance. 

This final Shanghai Disney day was the Sunday before a week of festivities commemorating the 70th anniversary of the formation of The People’s Republic of China. The park was PACKED!

We still happily waited an hour for TRON, despite having walk on rides on all other previous visits. 

If anything, the second visit was a great chance to take more pictures and to fill empty gaps in our luggage with more souvenirs. 

All in all, we got 11 laps on our beloved TRON over the course of our 2 days (plus 8 rides on Pirates).

And took about 73.5 trillion pictures of TRON (or something).

Saying goodbye is hard, but we’ll be back again before Orlando TRON even opens!

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That concludes our Shanghai Disneyland coverage for this trip! China’s got so much more to offer! Check out these recent China reports and podcasts:

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