Is Tron a good ride for younger kids? Lemme tell you about MY kid’s experience

So last week, I told you guys I would tell you the Tron story. In case you didn’t see, Tron is the newest ride at Magic Kingdom and holy smokes is it AMAZING (this is my subjective opinion, as you’ll soon see). Anyways, when Ear to There Travel booked our amazing trip to Disney World and I was starting to check out the rides, I was devastated when I found out when Tron Lightcycle Run was opening. One week AFTER we were gonna be there. Nooooooooooooooo!!!!!! (Seriously, picture me falling to my knees like how Dylan McKay did when his wife was murdered in 90210)

But then I wished upon a star, and it makes no difference who you are, because my dream came true. OMGEEEEEE, they’re going to have a soft opening for Tron while we’re there!!!! So the morning we’re headed to Magic Kingdom, I literally have the entire family on our phones racing to get 4 seats on Tron. And our fast fingers are ready. We refresh and click and refresh and click and then suddenly, “I GOT IT!!!!!!!!!!”

(this is where I wish I had video footage of us doing the very dorky “We got Tron” dance in our hotel room)

We’re cheering like you can’t imagine and all day long we are so pumped. Except for one of us. Holden. He’s like, “I’m not doing it.” And we say the same thing we always do, “That is absolutely fine, buddy.” The way I see it, rides are supposed to be fun and no one should be forced to go on a ride because that’s not fun. Holden is 11, gets motion sickness, and doesn’t love big rides. I tell him very clearly that he doesn’t have to go on it, but also that he doesn’t have to decide right now. He can make a last-minute decision when he sees it.

Anyways, we make our way to the park and start doing lots of fun rides, and then it’s our time to go to Tron. So we start to head over and that’s when Holden turns to me and says, “I think I might do it.” And I’m like, “That’s awesome buddy!”  

But then as we’re walking there, we hear a loud WOOOOOOOSHHHH. And there it is above us, this amazing roller coaster track and the roller coaster cars are like motorcycles, like you are hunched over holding onto throttles (is that what they’re called????) and you shoot up the track and it looks crazy awesome. To me. Holden is more like, “There is no way I’m riding that thing.” And I reassure him, “You don’t have to.”

Anyways, we talk to the cast member and he says Holden can come with us in line and when we get to the front he can just wait for us at the exit, and I’m like that’s perfect! But when we get to the front, Holden shocks the heck out of me and says, “I think I want to do it,” and I say great, and he says he wants to ride next to me, and I say no problem and we mount our motorcycles. But I can see Holden’s face is starting to freak out, so I’m like, “You’ve got this, buddy. Have fun with it.” 

And that’s when Holden says something to me because he is very scared. He says, “Mom, I might curse a little on this ride.” Now this is kind of hilarious because Holden doesn’t curse, but I can see this is his way of coping, so I say, “Buddy, you can say whatever you need to say. You won’t get in trouble. You’re gonna do great.”

And our motorcycles start moving around the corner to get ready for blast off (yes, I know they’re not rockets, but I don’t know what the motorcycle equivalent is to blasting off). And then it’s time. You guys, I cannot begin to explain how fast this thing shoots out of the tube and up the track. We are flying at light speed, and it is AWWWWWESOMMMMME.

And before we know it, we’re shooting back into the building and it’s mostly dark and loud so I can’t hear or see Holden but the ride is amazing so I’m sure he’s having a great time. 

See?!!! We’re all having fun!!! (written in the sarcasm font)

I’m sooooo glad I couldn’t see his face because I see it as soon as we pull into the station. Ruhhh-rohhhh. 

I pry my death-gripped fingers off my throttles and reach out to put my hand on his shoulder.  

ME: You okay, buddy?

And that’s when he lets loose a string of curse words that you can’t imagine. I’m not gonna print them here because this is Disney-rated, but you guys, I have never heard either of my children speak like this in my life. And I’m thinking Magic Kingdom better have an exorcist booth because we’re gonna need to get the devil expelled from his body. P.S. They do not. 

Anyways, I’m feeling so terrible for bringing him on Tron. I mean I didn’t convince him to go, but I still feel awful because I should have researched it better. I apologize to him like a million times. I’m usually very good about researching rides so we won’t make a mistake like this. I think I was just so excited, I messed up. Big time.

So here is the question. Does this mean this ride too big for little kids? No. Or yes. It depends on the kid! If your kid is 8 or 9, it might be perfect for them IF, and this is a big if, IF your kid likes big rides. No, it does not go upside down, but it is fasssst, and twisty, and in the dark. In my mind these are awesome things. In Holden’s mind, these are terrible things. So ask yourself, how will YOUR kid feel about them?

And if you’re not sure, I highly recommend typing “Tron roller coaster POV” into your search engine and checking out one of the videos that shows the whole ride in low-light so you can actually see it before you take your kiddo on it. And know that it’s even faster then it looks. 

Oh, and just so you know, we got some fresh air, splashed a little water on his face, and about an hour or two after we rode it, we were all laughing again. We told Holden at least he could go back home and brag that he rode Tron!!!! And do you know what he said? “Why would I ever brag about that?! I’m going to make sure all my friends know how it is so they don’t have to go through what I went through.” Awwww, that’s a good friend.

So there you go. Whether you love crazy rides like Tron, or beautiful rides like Soarin’, or adorable rides like It’s a Small World (or you love all of them like me!!!), let my awesome sponsor Ear To There Travel help you plan your trip. They are AMAZING and totally gave me the perfect itinerary so we could get on awesome rides like Tron. 

If you liked this, please don’t forget to like and share it, especially if you know someone who’s headed to Disney! Thank you!!!!