Greetings Programs. Let the Gladiator Games Begin!

On October 28, 2010 Disney Parks Blog hosted a free Meet-Up for the new experience called ElecTRONica. This exclusive event was invite only, but if you follow the blog or @Disneyland on twitter, you will get updates like this one on occasion. All you needed to do was send them an email with your first and last name and a certain subject in the space and you and a guest of your choice were “In like Flynn.”

So, I used my ipod touch to send a quick email with my name and a friend of mine did the same so we could take our significant others. When it came time to find out who was chosen, she got in and I did not. NOT FAIR! So like a good friend, I convinced her to take me and leave her husband at home. She did! (Actually her husband didn’t really want to go.)

The party was limited to 1500 attendees and a guest of their choice who each received a commemorative Flynn’s Arcade token and exclusive park entry from 4:00pm until 11:00pm. Attendees were also granted special access to the creators of TRON: Legacy by lining up early. The first 200 people were able to meet them and obtain autographs.

One of the highlights was the Power Surge Show where we saw a team of dancers perform in their 80’s style jean jackets and denim pants tucked into their slouch socks. We also learned the End of Line Dance to Daft Punk’s “One More Time.” When the time was right, there was a huge clock which counted down to the presentation of ElecTRONica.
“10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1!” the crowd roared.
“Let the Gladiator Games Begin!” he announced.

Upon entering the spectacle in a mass of 2998 other participants, we were greeted by huge video screens and large beams and structures flashing grid like patterns and playing small clips of the movie.

When we reached the end of the street, we were faced with a huge Recognizer that identified me this time as “This program has no disk.” “Great!” I thought, “My identity disk water pack has been erased.”

We then headed into the area of the dance party. There was a he DJ spinning many of Daft Punk’s hits and other remixes as programs were dancing the night away. Many of them were imbibing in their favorite glowing beverages and meeting new friends.

Directly behind the dance floor was a special showing of the Laser man where he seemed to bend light with his hands and body at times. It was quite popular as well.

In the far corner was the gem of the night. Flynn’s Arcade. Well, a remake of the original, complete with 80’s music, token machines that spit out special coins to play the arcade games, and neon lights all around us. We found the GALAGA machine and I called “We got next (game)” as my friend Amy slammed her token on the machine while the other player was playing their last round. HA! “It was a trip and was like the world didn’t exist for a brief moment in time,” she claimed.

To the right of the Arcade experience they had a special room dedicated to movie paraphernalia and posters filled with some of the concept art before the film was made. We spent a few moments browsing some helmets, posters, and a full body gladiator suit from the film which appeared to have a very life-like manikin inside. The best of all though, was a white cloak worn by “Flynn,” Bridges himself in the film. It had never previously been seen in public until now.

As we left the arcade as we had drained our pockets of tokens, there was a Tweet Up announced from Mouse Planet, a third party blog and forum that many of us frequent to attend scavenger hunts and the like at Disney parks. We hung out for a few moments and then spotted Heather, the writer and main blogger of the Disney Parks Blog. We went over to meet her and she was kind enough to offer us an exclusive Blog Pin for our lanyards. It was very awesome!

We then went back to chatting about new TRON merchandise that I had spoken to a CM (Cast Member) about earlier when I purchased my official TRON: Legacy T-Shirt. He said they had the merchandise in stock but were not allowed to release it until November. (BOO!) Adrienne, the “big cheese” of Mouse Planet said she had seen some hats that said “ElecTRONica” on them and was thinking they should sell them at the park. (They currently only sell TRON embroidered hats.)

As we were chatting about it, I spotted a CM wearing one and beckoned him to come over and let us inspect his hat and Jacket which had an embroidered Identity Disk on the back. “When and where can we buy these?” I asked. He said he wasn’t sure but asked “Which one of you wants to be in some games?” Amy, my friend, pushed me into him practically and said,” She’ll do it.” “Great!” I thought to myself. So I waited with anticipation with the other 7 “Gladiators” to play the new Wii Game TRON: Legacy for a chance to win prizes.

As the time grew closer, I was starting to get shaky. Thank goodness they let us practice once before we had to play in the tournament. Oh, but get this, Amy, my friend was asked to play too. He called “Gladiators to your podiums!” and we ran with smiling faces. I was up against a college age guy… piece of cake! I took him in round one. “SWEET!” Amy won her heat as well. The announcer asked, “How are you doing? I said, “Great! I am sooo getting my TRON on!” My competitor said, “In like Flynn!”
Heat two began and the guy I was against kept my light cycle to the wall. I crashed 3 times and was out. Well, it was amazing while it lasted!

The last stop was the TRON: Legacy Sneak Peak 20 minute clip from the film. It was almost in 4D because it was held in the Muppet’s 3D theater with special effects all around us! It was a blast!
Overall the experience was quite a spectacle and I would highly recommend checking it out. The portal is open from 8:00pm until park closing Friday, Saturday, and Sunday Nights at Disney’s California Adventure theme park. Check out my videos of the experience here : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEGpBqdn9nM

End of Line.