Nope, your eyes are not deceiving you…that’s a light cycle from the Tron universe on our “highway in the sky.” And today, we’re sharing a first look at the attention-grabbing art coming to the Walt Disney World Resort.
The transformed trains will be visible on the Epcot monorail line as early as this month. And if you look close, you’ll notice that the design of the futuristic motorcycle-like vehicles from the upcoming film “Tron: Legacy” also includes walls of trailing colored light.
“Tron: Legacy” is a 3D high-tech adventure set in a digital world that’s unlike anything ever captured on the big screen. The film is scheduled to hit theaters on December 17. But there will be more updates to come before then so keep checking the Disney Parks Blog for the latest.
Comments
I like the look…Disney knows exactly what they’re doing. Not sure if I like the whole advertising on the monorails as a true Disney thing to do but I can live with it.
Showed them to my daughter and she said it makes sense for them to be on the Epcot line! I think they look pretty cool.
Sorry…hate it!! I guess I just like the classic monorail look 🙂
My boys would really want to ride that! I like different, it’s fun!
Beautiful!! Disney is always coming up with new and exciting (but not cheap ) ideas.
I remember when the castle was decorated like a big birthday cake. There is always something new to experience. Is is any wonder we keep coming back?
I love it!!!! I always thought Epcot should be a little different . This is really big news, shock and awe!!!! Can’t wait to see in person.
I’ve never seen the movie Tron but I’ve heard of it. I like the look the monorails. I think it fits the whole theme of EPCOT being alot of things there have to do with the future. Most of the complaints are probably from people who don’t sit well with change. They’re the ones who for the most part don’t want much to change about Disney, but I think what they fail to realize is that Disney is still a business and they have to do what they can to ensure good revenue. No, money coming in means much of what they love about Disney will no longer exist. This is advertising that will help create a potential large audience who’ll turn out to see the movie and this will make Disney lots of money. It’s not tacky or in poor taste to do a few of the monorails this way. Remember Magic Kingdom monorails have been left alone.
If the reality is as sharp as these images, this will be quite an eye-catching idea – providing all the monorails retain the ‘individual’ identity they currently have. The unique colour distinction of each one is a hugely endearing feature of the system and hopefully that will be maintained with the Tron ‘makeover.’ It will definitely appeal to kids, I think, and make the monorail appear uber-cool!
The WDW monorails are icons and should be left alone, in my opinion.
I don’t think that you should mess with icons. The white monorail IS Walt Disney World. Can you remember the response when the castle was turned into a cake?
I fall on the side of those who see art in the wraps. I do think if the word Tron was smaller it would take some weight off the advertisement and emphasis the art. I give it my thumbs up. Disney World has always been featured their past, present and future projects all over the parks. I think this is part of the fun of being a fan (of most things)Disney; there are constant reminders of what one has enjoyed and what may be enjoyed in the future.
I am not a fan of advertising wrap on the monorails. There has to be better ways of promoting the movie to parkgoers without changing the look of the monorail trains so drastically. I hope they only do this to the two trains and leave the rest of them be. The monorails made a huge impression on me as a kid, and I’d hate for some kid today’s first impression to be a giant ad. I know that Disney’s all about promotion, but they wouldn’t wrap the Magic Kingdom steam trains with this kind of thing…
Disney what are you doing?!?! These look so ugly!! Why turn such a well loved icon into a moving billboard? Whats next, billboards on Cinderella castle? Im disappointed that the fantasyland expansion is based around girls, but now the more “boyish” thing is being turned ugly!!! BIG mistake in my opinion!…..the phrase “Cinderella Castle Cake” comes to mind………….
I love this and it’s only going to be on the EPCOT monorails so don’t freak out. Plus I can’t really consider it advertising as it’s not advertising when the movie is coming out nor does it even have the actual title of the new movie. It’s just great art. Well done!
Eh…
I have been a long time Disney “addict”. I love everything about our 15 day vacations there. I fought to keep Mr Toads Wild Ride, cried when they finally removed a no longer functioning 20000 Leagues Under the Sea, I long to see the gondolas flying high above Fantasyland, and I would fight to save the Monorail.
But, I think the colour scheme of the monorail brings back wonderful past memories, even though they were looking very dated. I kinda like the new colour schemes, but maybe a happy medium would be to have one “advertising” monorail. Afterall those monorails are giant billboards EVERYONE sees. Or maybe, keep the colour schemes and lose the “name of the movie”?
I agree, Disney uses every square inch of those parks for advertising, but I prefer to look the other way, and just enjoy my addiction. LOLOL
that looks AWSOME.. cant wait to see it in person when i go there in june….:D
WOW!!! They look AMAZING!!! Can’t wait to see and ride them in May!!
Congrats to Walt Disney Studios Marketing and Walt Disney Parks & Resorts for synergizing to leverage such a visible and 100% ownable asset like the EPCOT monorail line. Combining the futuristic themes of EPCOT and its monorail service with the millions of impressions this will give the film is a winning combination. Granted painting Cinderella Castle pink may have been a more questionable attempt to leverage an asset for marketing, this stunt is much more logical and aligns well with the film’s theme. To the poster who commented on the lack of visibility to the public outside the Walt Disney World Resort, the public within the Resort is the ideal target audience and the thousands of pictures that will find their way to the Internet courtesy of fans like us will further extend the reach of the stunt. This is probably one of those pro formas that has a somewhat immeasurable ROI, the finance people assuredly had a difficlt time saying this wouldn’t be a good marketing spend! Though it wasn’t needed, this has my vote of approval!
I think they look great. Change is good! Tron is rad 🙂
I love Tron and am looking forward to Legacy, but this just feels crass to me. Placing ‘celebration’ art on the lead cars of a train is one thing. Wrapping the entire train in an advertisment for the latest movie is another entirely.
This looks great. I’m just sad because I just got back from WDW and I won’t be able to see it in person and take picutres. Two of my favorites things just got combined. I know its advertising but if you look around us our whole lives are like this now. Besides they look more like works of art than an ad.
Wow…I live in the area and hadn’t heard a thing about this update. I can’t wait to see the monorails…that design is too cool!
Looks great! I cannot wait to see Legacy!
Now all we need is a Lightcycle ride in Tomorrowland!
Those look amazing!!!
I think this is great! I never knew how much went on at Disney World until several years ago I started getting the annual pass and going several times a year. I saw the 75 painted Mickey’s, the Cinderella Castle done up in gold and of course the seasonal shows like Candlelight Processional and the Flower and Garden show at Epcot. The Disney imagineers are always cooking up another way to impress the guests and this is pure Disney!
That is OK, but I liked what they had this past summer (2009) or, because of the volenteer program, why not a muppet theme?
Will this happen at Disneyland too?
I honestly do not think it is that bad. As long as it is not every monorail, I think it will bring attention and in a good way. You will still have 8 or 9 other (normal) monorails to take photos of. Just curious, will the Yellow and Blue Monorails be used for the makeover. I wonder since those seem to be the color schemes in the pictures. How will you identify them?
I think it is no different than Southwest having different paint schemes on some of their planes… it makes some people feel happy to know they get the unique experience.
I will look forward to my first ride on the TRONorail.
I’m just over the fence on this. I understand how the classic color scheme should be preserved. But I have to note that the Florida monorails look dated compared to Disneyland’s. Even though this will only be temporary I like how it gently gives the trains a multi tone appearance without cluttering them advertising. I can’t wait until pictures show up with these two in action.
This is brilliant!
The effect of motion to the light cycle imagery is REALLY apropos.
All we need now is a light cycle simulator.
This is AWESOME!!! As an old TRON fan, I applaud Disney for giving tribute to the movie. I don’t see this as “just an advertising plug”. In fact, I see it as a beautiful work of art that brings a renewed interest in not only the Tron story, but TO THE MONORAIL!! Most of the time I take the monorails for granted and/or I just choose to drive to the parks from my resort or take the buses. Having seen this, you can bet it will be an eye-catcher aside from the everyday classic monorails. You’ll see me in line to ride this and take pictures of it during my next vacation!!!
I’m not too sure about this either. However, I am glad we will finally lose the graffiti on the monorails that we have tolerated the past few years (balloons, confetti, Stitch, etc.). Why do the monorails need to be part of the mass marketing scheme in the first place? The WDW monorails don’t leave property and can’t be seen from off-property so there doesn’t seem like a need for them to be moving billboards. Besides, the current marketing campaign cannot be missed when walking up to the gates of the theme parks, resorts, etc. due to all the banners and signs.
I do think the WDW monorails could use a new paint scheme, maybe a little retro like the DL monorails, but I’m not sure if this is the way to go.
Love TRON, love the monorails… but…
Ad-wrapping the monorails makes me really sad.
Guys, seriously. The monorails have a tacky look to them normally. This is gorgeous though. Stop with the whiny “No not Disney.” DISNEY ADVERTISES EVERYTHING. That’s why most exhibits are sponsored. If you go to Disney to get away from “this stuff” you haven’t actually been to Disney.
Great job, Disney. These monorails look GORGEOUS.
Why oh Why have you done this, I mean I love the movie but…….. Disney dont need to advertise and it just looks like a big poster. I have been raving to my mum and dad inlaw about how exciting it is when you get on the monrail this is a put off sorry.
It reminds me of the monorail in Vegas…..with ads wrapped all over them. Is there a dislike button here someplace.
There are already enough overt advertising tie-ins at Disney World to sponsors and other Disney divisions.
One of the reasons I like going to WDW is to get away from this stuff. I can walk or drive around most major cities and see buses plastered with ads. Don’t need to see it at WDW.
I am back and forth on this, but I do have 2 questions. Will this be all 11 trains? If only a select few, which colors will be temporarily lost?
Disney World should update to the new Mark VII monorails! (and connect Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios!)
All you need to do now is convert the TTA into a light bike ride and I will be a happy camper:)
I think that an actual Tron lightcycle ride would be cool, but covering up the monorail does just kind of seem lame.
Better than the Stitch infested monorail designs from a few summer back…
While I am not a fan of Ad Wrapping the monorails, they do look cool and will be something I will want to get in pictures on my next visit.
I’m terribly sorry, but that looks terrible. 🙁 Why are they making the monorail, something already marketable and wholly DISNEY into a billboard?
Instinctive geek reaction – this is SO cool! Love the fact that Tron is not only making an appearance in the parks, but in such a pronounced way. I can’t remember a film tie-in to monorail art like this, and hope this is just the beginning! Bravo!!
Lou
WDWRadio
P.S. If you’d like to resurrect the “Tron Arcade” idea for Communicore (I mean, Innoventions), that’s fine, too! 🙂
Will the monorails at the Disneyland Resort feature TRON also?
I’m excited about this movie, but wrapping the iconic monorails in advertisements really turns me off.
That is so cool looking! I can’t wait to see it with my own eyes!
This is not only beautiful, it’s also very clever marketing. I can imagine these monorails zipping through EPCOT like a couple of light cycles. Wonderful!
Never thought I’d see the day that Disney would bus-wrap their Monorails to advertise for a movie. I am HIGHLY anticipating this film, and I understand Disney wanting to promote it as much as possible, but honestly I think converting a Disney ICON like the monorail into a moving billboard is a pretty unclassy way to do it.
AWESOME! Can’t wait for the movie!
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