I was one of the first riders on Disney World's new Tron coaster, and it was worth the 5-year wait

Tron Lightcycle Power Run opened at Shanghai Disneyland in 2016, and at the 2017 D23 Expo, the company announced the high-speed, indoor/outdoor coaster would come to Magic Kingdom at Disney World.

Construction on the "Tron: Legacy"-inspired ride, renamed Tron Lightcycle / Run, started in 2018, and fans have spent five years waiting for the completion of the project.

The new coaster is located in the Tomorrowland area of Magic Kingdom just to the left of Space Mountain. It's the largest expansion of the park since New Fantasyland opened in 2012.

Tron Lightcycle / Run opens to the public on April 4, but I was able to get a preview during a media event for journalists.

In front of the attraction, there's a large plaza where guests can wait in line, take photos of the coaster's massive canopy, or try a few snacks at the new Energy Bytes quick-service kiosk.

This area was once just a semi-hidden pathway between Tomorrowland and Storybook Circus, where guests could sit and enjoy a quiet area of the park or wave at the people riding the Walt Disney World Railroad.

At the base of the plaza is the ride's marquee, which is a great spot for photos with the canopy in the background.

As I walked up the pathway to the entrance of the attraction, I was in awe as I stood under the canopy. I learned that it's an impressive 105 feet high and has more than 1,200 lights.

While taking in the views, Lightcycle ride vehicles zoomed by, adding to my building excitement as I made my way to the queue.

The Tron Lightcycle / Run ride vehicle is unique — it's more like a motorcycle than a traditional coaster seat. Every rider gets their own Lightcycle, but getting in and out can be tricky.

Luckily, there's a test seat outside the queue area. You can practice getting on and off and see what the seat is like before getting in line.

After a short wait outside, I made my way to the inside portion of the queue. The first hallway was very small but had great lighting effects.

Then a door opened into the "Digitizer" where everyone is welcomed into the world of "Tron" and the Grid. The visual effects in this room are mind-blowing and on par with the storytelling and creativity of recent attractions like Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind.

As someone who's never seen any of the "Tron" movies, I appreciated that the storyline was simple. I didn't need a lot of background information to understand what was going on.

Tron Lightcycle / Run is Disney World's first ride with a required locker system, similar to the one at the Universal theme parks.

To use the free double-sided lockers, guests need to scan a MagicBand or park ticket. After unlocking, everything that's bigger than a cell phone must go into the locker. If you want to bring your phone, wallet, sunglasses, or other small items, there's a very small storage compartment on the front of the Lightcycle.

After boarding the seat like a bike, I pulled down on the handlebar to lower the back restraint and allow the leg restraints to unfold.

For everyone's safety, the back of the seat and the leg restraints must be in a certain locked position. The back restraint wasn't really an issue for me, but the leg restraint was a little more challenging because I have bigger calves.

An employee gave me a tip to slide all the way forward on the ride vehicle but sit up slightly. This allowed the back restraint to lower to the right spot while giving the leg bars more room to open and lock into place without any discomfort.

To get out of the ride vehicle, I just had to push up on the handlebars. The restraints went back to their unlocked positions, making it easy to get off like a bike.

If you don't comfortably fit in the seat or need more assistance with getting in and out of a ride vehicle due to a disability, there's an accessible option.

Once you reach the loading point of the queue, just tell the employee that you need an accessible seat. It's more akin to a traditional roller-coaster bench, where you simply sit and pull down a lap bar.

I rode both the traditional Lightcycle and the accessible seat during my preview and found that the experience wasn't dampened by not sitting in a Lightcycle. There were still plenty of thrills, and I had great views of the canopy and the indoor portion of the ride because I was sitting up.

After boarding the ride vehicles, you'll slowly reach the launch point, which hurdles guests into the Grid at a max speed of 59 miles an hour.

The 60-second ride starts with a quick glide outside under the canopy before moving into a dark showroom, where riders are racing against Team Orange. Most of the inside portion of the ride is screen-based, and there's lots to see if you look around.

After riding a few times, I found that the best views of the indoor portion were from the back of the cars. But for more thrills, sit toward the front.

If you forget your locker number, there are small screens that you can scan to help you find it.

In my opinion, the Tron coaster really shines at night. The daytime rides I took were fun, but the nighttime rides were infinitely better.

At night, the canopy is lit up, and as Lightcycles zoom by, there are some cool visual effects.

I also loved the view of the bright-blue canopy against the purple hues of Space Mountain in the background. The warm glow of Disney's Contemporary Resort also lines up perfectly behind.

I ended up riding Tron Lightcycle / Run four times during the preview event.

It's not my favorite ride at Disney World, but I love that it brings something new and exciting to Magic Kingdom. The thrills were plentiful, but the experience was a lot shorter than I was expecting.

For those looking to ride, there's a minimum height requirement of 48 inches. There are some big drops, but no inversions, so it's still pretty family-friendly.

When it officially opens on April 4, there will be two ways to ride. The first is to join the virtual queue through the My Disney Experience app. The second is to purchase a Lightning Lane through Disney Genie+ — the first round of Lightning Lanes went for $20 each, but they're now sold out.

It's hard to guarantee a nighttime ride, but that's the version I liked best. Ultimately, if I had to wait in an hours-long line, I'd do it to be able to experience the Grid again.