SO disappointed with the reimagined Test Track. The old queue was so much more interesting. Now it is just a big commercial. The ride itself is just a dark ride with some neon. I almost missed seeing the truck near-collision effect. And those acid and cold tunnel effects were so fun. The educational aspects of how vehicles are tested is completely missing from the experience. The new interactive "choose your vehicle and see its performance" did not grab me at all. Some of the exhibits after the ride did not even work. Why oh why did they ruin this Epcot classic?
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Test Track is Ruined (spoiler alert!)
- Thread starter annmarz
- Start date
blueboxdoctor
Well-Known Member
Well, to be fair it was nothing more than an advertisement from the beginning. However, I agree to an extent that they could have done a better job with the redo. My biggest issue with it is the interactive programs are very slow and the graphics used in the programs are very outdated to the point that they feel like they should be from an early 2000 video game rather than a 2013 piece of technology in a section of a park meant to show off the future and innovation (even Test Track now is all Tron/Future style, but yet the interactive elements feel very dated).
Truth be told, EPCOT seems to be getting less and less technical as the years go on. I'd be OK with this if they'd properly fund the interactivity they are going for.
Truth be told, EPCOT seems to be getting less and less technical as the years go on. I'd be OK with this if they'd properly fund the interactivity they are going for.
GeorgiaPinesRJB
Well-Known Member
Have you ridden it or is this based on what you've seen online?
disneysince71
Well-Known Member
Our family loved it. Our 9 year old would not even go through the fast pass line because he wanted to be able to design his car. Sorry you did not like it...
Prototype82
Well-Known Member
To be fair, EPCOT was supposed to be about capitalism to begin with...
So I can't exactly complain about it being a commercial.
So I can't exactly complain about it being a commercial.
GeorgiaPinesRJB
Well-Known Member
Well I'm sorry you don't like it, I think it looks a lot of fun.
GeorgiaPinesRJB
Well-Known Member
Remember, changes aren't permanent but change is.
PhotoDave219
Well-Known Member
While not ruined, I'm certainly not going out of my way nor standing in any line to ride it.
My brother had the best line: "If they were going to do Tron, why didnt they just make a Tron attraction?"
GeorgiaPinesRJB
Well-Known Member
I can see and agree with that sentiment, and I do love the old one but, while haven't ridden it yet, the new one doesn't look bad.
George Lucas on a Bench
Well-Known Member
I don't think it looks very interesting. As far as Future World pavilions go, it certainly wasn't a necessary update. Not while Imagination is trashed, Universe of Energy could use some refreshing, Mission: SPACE just kinda stinks, Wonders of Life has become the, uh, Garden Festival building and The Land has an attraction totally unequipped to handle crowds with an average wait of several hours...while basically everything else in EPCOT is a walk-on. Shoehorning this vaguely Tron-like theme into Test Track is actually just kinda baffling. I guess they had the sponsorship, but this was already one of the most popular attractions in the park. How about fixing all the crap?
FettFan
Well-Known Member
Because Chevrolet wouldn't have forked over the cash to build a TRON ride.
Team Disney Orlando has an aversion to spending its own money, which is why nearly everything has a corporate sponsor...and why attractions without sponsorships are pretty much screwed. (Carousel of Progress not updated in 20 years, the Tree of Life dropping branches, Wonders of Life shut down)
MarkTwain
Well-Known Member
The difference was that Test Track had someone willing to pay for it.
Same here. I was spoiled rotten by the car design aspect during the previews/soft openings, to the point that when I finally got around to going through the FastPass version I felt kinda cheated. In the two times I've ridden it since I deliberately stood in line (just before park close) just so I could enjoy the full experience.
MerlinTheGoat
Well-Known Member
I agree completely. Neither Test Track 1 or 2 are anywhere close to being a match for the fabulous World of Motion. I would by no means call Test Track 1 a classic. Test Track 2 can definitely be argued as superior to the first (and i'd probably agree with that to an extent), I'd say it looks "cooler" from a visual perspective, but it's kind of just lipstick on a pig.
I can see how this could inspire a Tron ride easily though. Though not as a re-skin of TT, but as an entirely new ride with ideas from this on a larger and much more impressive scale. And I mean an actual Tron ride inspired from the films, though not at Epcot. Go all out and even include some really advanced and sleek animatronic characters from the movies and impressive digital cities and all.
@WED99
It's possible he missed it due to being out of sync with the ride and not activating as quickly as it should. I heard in another thread that there were some syncing issues that caused the truck to appear a bit too late almost after the car had passed it entirely.
Thrill Seeker
Well-Known Member
I enjoyed the original, but still think the new one is way better. I do agree with Martin that it's not a classic.
My biggest question is how random props that sometimes worked, sometimes not, scattered around the queue to the soundtrack of loud banging and clanging is better that the new one? The new queue is sleek, has a really cool futuristic soundtrack and has plenty to look at. There is even a video talking about how Chevrolet approaches the design process, so the educational aspect isn't gone.
As far as the ride goes, I enjoyed the original, but all it was was a fun ride in a mostly empty building. The new one at least gives you plenty to look at while you ride the same ride path at the same speeds. I do agree more could have been done with the environmental chambers, which, by the way, didn't work very well in their later years.
Give the interactive aspects time. It's a state of the art system that is constantly being worked on. They don't have all the kinks out of it yet, since they were kinda in a rush to get the thing open, but eventually, everything should be working as advertised.
In short: Test Track Presented by Chevrolet is better than GM Test Track. That is all...
RonAnnArbor
Well-Known Member
Having ridden it on two trips in the last month, I will disagree with the OP and say that the new incarnation is infinitely better -- the electric neon theming and strips looks great; the visuals are terrific, especially if you pay attention to the built in video screens as you go up the initial hill. The ride is identical structurally: same hills, same break testing area, same truck coming at you from the darkness, same crashroom, same speed course. Incorporating the "design your own" element is great, and a good way to teach more about car-manufacturing itself, and the removal of all those clanking 80's-era "test machines" in the line was much needed -- they don't do that stuff anymore. Of course it was a big advertisement -- why do you think Chevrolet pumped all their hundreds of millions into sponsoring the refurb (and even they have a limit, since they refused to pay the addition millions to have their logo on the "test cards" you use when designing your car) -- they are still waiting for a sponsor for that, so in the meantime you get a blank, white RIFD enabled card.
It seems to break down as much as the original incarnation, though a cast member online here insists it does not -- still, I was at Epcot 5 days in my trips and it was broken for a portion of each one of those 5 days.
The attraction is night and day compared to the aging, no-longer-accurate attraction that was once there.
It seems to break down as much as the original incarnation, though a cast member online here insists it does not -- still, I was at Epcot 5 days in my trips and it was broken for a portion of each one of those 5 days.
The attraction is night and day compared to the aging, no-longer-accurate attraction that was once there.
TDF
Well-Known Member
I rode it over NYE. While I did do a single riders line and did just get to choose from pre-made cars I did enjoy the overall redo of the ride. The new queue is excellent. I love the car and I love the design process. However, I do not like the new ride. It is not as fun as the original one. I do not feel as if my car is being tested on a real life test track. I feel as if I’m just going through lights and mirrors while they say my car is doing this and this. I also found it hard to follow who’s car is who. I would rather of had it in the vehicle its self then outside. I would of done the following: New TT Queue, old updated TT Ride.
- Justin
- Justin