TRON Lightcycle / Run Races Across the Grid on the Cover of the New Disney twenty-three

By the D23 Team

Greetings, programs! The race is on toward the opening of TRON Lightcycle / Run presented by Enterprise this spring, where users will step out of reality and into the Grid while on this exhilarating attraction at Magic Kingdom Park. Based on the groundbreaking sci-fi classic TRON (1982) from Walt Disney Studios, as well as its sequel TRON: Legacy (2010), TRON Lightcycle / Run brings the digital world to Walt Disney World Resort with 3,000 feet of speed, sounds, and sights to light up the sky. In an exclusive interview, Chris Beatty, Portfolio Creative Director for Walt Disney Imagineering, prepares readers to be digitized, revealing the story and excitement that await guests. “We wanted to make sure TRON Lightcycle / Run is fun and thrilling and delivers on the heart and soul of TRON and the excitement of racing on the Grid,” Beatty says in the Spring issue of Disney twenty-three. Find out how the Imagineering team powers up on this promise through an action-packed race, cutting-edge technology, a brand-new soundtrack, and elements from the films.

Disney100: The Exhibition, opening February 18 at The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, takes guests on an immersive journey through Disney’s storytelling legacy, one that is sure to ignite a sense of joy and nostalgia while also tugging on the heartstrings. Explore this one-of-a-kind exhibition with a behind-the-scenes look at the themed galleries, innovative technology, and rarely seen treasures from the Walt Disney Archives’ vault that offer new perspectives on these beloved stories.

The highly anticipated Phase 5 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU)—the continuation of the Multiverse Saga—kicks off with the release of Marvel Studios’ Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania on February 17. As readers take the leap into the Quantum Realm, stars Paul Rudd (Scott Lang/Ant-Man) and Jonathan Majors (Kang the Conqueror), as well as director Peyton Reed, share big details about this microscopic universe. As Rudd tells Disney twenty-three, “This movie is bigger in every way and will play an important part in what’s going to follow in the MCU.”

From the beginning of Phase 5 to the end of an era, Star-Lord (Chris Pratt) and his band of former renegades turned rag-tag heroes reach their final chapter when Marvel Studios’ Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 opens this May. New and returning cast members including Sean Gunn (Kraglin), Will Poulter (Adam Warlock), and Pom Klementieff (Mantis) give readers a first look at what’s in store for this motley crew of misfits as they finally find their “place in the universe,” share what it was like to film this concluding installment of the Guardians’ story, and tease the emotional roller coaster to come.

The new issue, available exclusively to Gold Members of D23: The Official Disney Fan Club, also takes readers to Disney Parks around the world with a roundup of some of the cute and not-so-cuddly current residents at Disney’s Animal Kingdom; a journey through 40 years of Tokyo Disney Resort with a look ahead to its future; a toon-tastic tour of the exhibit highlighting Mickey Mouse’s illustrious career featured in the queue for Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway at Disneyland Park in California; and a visit to Penny Proud’s princess party with a Disney twist on The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder.

Plus, as part of Disney’s 100th anniversary and to thank D23 Gold Members for being part of Disney’s official fan club, every issue shipped to members will include a magnet featuring the Mickey Mouse “Leader of the Club” Milestone Statue, created by artist James Fauntleroy.

Also in the Spring 2023 issue of Disney twenty-three:

• A Spring Break reading list featuring books by award-winning authors that revisit classic stories
• The creatures, characters, convoys, and locations—both nostalgic and new—in the Star Wars universe you can find in The Mandalorian
• A special By the Numbers: Disney100 looking back at the beginning of The Walt Disney Company—the first in a four-part series
• Regular features including D Society, Character Analysis, and Ask the Walt Disney Archives

Disney twenty-three is delivered directly to fans’ doorsteps and is offered exclusively to D23 Gold Members as a benefit of their membership. The latest issue will begin arriving before the end of February.