EPCOT Test Track to be reimagined

[C33Mom]

It was never an excessive omnimover issue.

There was an insufficient diversity of rides.

You can have several omnimovers if you also have other attractions like coasters, indy/rise style attractions, and simulators

Does anyone else lament the loss of Body Wars? I only visited EPCOT once while it was open but I remember it fondly and thinking it was fun and educational.

 

[Marc Davis Fan]

Does anyone else lament the loss of Body Wars? I only visited EPCOT once while it was open but I remember it fondly and thinking it was fun and educational.

I loved Body Wars as a kid - in fact I much preferred it to Star Tours 1.0 - though a big part of that was likely my interest in anatomy-related science.

That said, while it would feel long-in-the-tooth today (much like Star Tours 1.0), much of its lack of popularity was likely the result of its location.

If, instead of closing Wonders of Life, they'd just turned the pavilion into "Body Wars" (with the main dome being part of the queue), I think it would've remained popular enough to have been useful for park capacity.

 

[UNCgolf]

I loved Body Wars as a kid - in fact I much preferred it to Star Tours 1.0 - though a big part of that was likely my interest in anatomy-related science.

That said, while it would feel long-in-the-tooth today (much like Star Tours 1.0), much of its lack of popularity was likely the result of its location.

If, instead of closing Wonders of Life, they'd just turned the pavilion into "Body Wars" (with the main dome being part of the queue), I think it would've remained popular enough to have been useful for park capacity.

I don't think that would have been a good use of space. Body Wars wasn't a high capacity attraction.

But I guess it would have been better than just shuttering it for decades

 

[C33Mom]

I loved Body Wars as a kid - in fact I much preferred it to Star Tours 1.0 - though a big part of that was likely my interest in anatomy-related science.

That said, while it would feel long-in-the-tooth today (much like Star Tours 1.0), much of its lack of popularity was likely the result of its location.

If, instead of closing Wonders of Life, they'd just turned the pavilion into "Body Wars" (with the main dome being part of the queue), I think it would've remained popular enough to have been useful for park capacity.

I only have a few distinct memories of my first trip to EPCOT but Body Wars made a big impression.

I feel that they could have updated it the same way they updated Star Tours, with a rotating set of different adventures, although I believe its demise was almost a full decade before they even contemplated that option with Star Tours. I’ve made peace with the inclusion of IP (after a few years being mad about the loss of Maelstrom), but I wish they would try to add some attractions that incorporate science and exploration of the real world into fun rides.

 

[DreamfinderGuy]

With there having been absolutely nothing inside WoL for the better part of the last 20 years I think you’d be pretty hard pressed to find anyone here who doesn’t lament the loss of Body Wars. Even if you didn’t like the ride, it was capacity that the park used to have and doesn’t anymore.

 

[Disgruntled Walt]

With there having been absolutely nothing inside WoL for the better part of the last 20 years I think you’d be pretty hard pressed to find anyone here who doesn’t lament the loss of Body Wars. Even if you didn’t like the ride, it was capacity that the park used to have and doesn’t anymore.

Body Wars was awesome, and the perfect example of what an Epcot thrill ride SHOULD be. So glad I had the chance to ride it the year it closed (or right around then). Does anyone know for sure the last time it was open?

 

[DreamfinderGuy]

Body Wars was awesome, and the perfect example of what an Epcot thrill ride SHOULD be. So glad I had the chance to ride it the year it closed (or right around then). Does anyone know for sure the last time it was open?

It went seasonal in 2004, last seasonal opening was for the holidays in 2006 and closed for good on New Year’s Day 2007. The simulators weren’t removed for another five years though.

 

[Disgruntled Walt]

It went seasonal in 2004, last seasonal opening was for the holidays in 2006 and closed for good on New Year’s Day 2007. The simulators weren’t removed for another five years though.

Yeah, then I definitely went on it in its last year or two of operation. If it was open during Summer 2006 at any point, that's probably it. What a great attraction!

 

[Chef idea Mickey`=]

I loved Body Wars as a kid - in fact I much preferred it to Star Tours 1.0 - though a big part of that was likely my interest in anatomy-related science.

That said, while it would feel long-in-the-tooth today (much like Star Tours 1.0), much of its lack of popularity was likely the result of its location.

If, instead of closing Wonders of Life, they'd just turned the pavilion into "Body Wars" (with the main dome being part of the queue), I think it would've remained popular enough to have been useful for park capacity.

Or instead just the building painted white with Baymax eyes or a grey institute lab color. Call it the Health Institute. Have Inside Out and Baymax and Hiro on the exterior sign. Body Wars would remain the same or make it the Hero 6 team shrink and going into Inside Hiro's Body and Baymax as the Healthcare companion in Direction's! I think that would be an entertaining version. An Inside Out attraction on the mind would be next door to it!

 

[FigmentFan82]

I'm curious if we'll get any teases for this refresh or since it's a sponsored they'll remain fairly quiet until it re-opens

 

[Jrb1979]

Easily. EPCOT suffered from too much of the same (omnimovers).

Disagree. Those were a lot better immersive experiences than a lot of the stuff now. Many are short and with little substance.

I would rather those original Epcot rides over the half-assed thrills they do now. If you're going to do thrills add some intensity for a change.

 

[Incomudro]

Does anyone else lament the loss of Body Wars? I only visited EPCOT once while it was open but I remember it fondly and thinking it was fun and educational.

I liked it at the time.

 

[DreamfinderGuy]

I'm curious if we'll get any teases for this refresh or since it's a sponsored they'll remain fairly quiet until it re-opens

At this rate I don’t expect us to hear much prior to like a month before reopening.

 

[Chef idea Mickey`=]

Disagree. Those were a lot better immersive experiences than a lot of the stuff now. Many are short and with little substance.

I would rather those original Epcot rides over the half-assed thrills they do now. If you're going to do thrills add some intensity for a change.

Would of been interesting if they had all of them still along with all the new additions.

 

[JEANYLASER]

I hope to see some updated pictures of Test Track 3.0 after Hurricane Milton!

 

[FiestaFunKid]

Would of been interesting if they had all of them still along with all the new additions.

It would be amazing, but it seems the bean counters like to eliminate the maintenance costs of attractions with large numbers of animatronics - Horizons, WoM, Great Movie Ride, Splash, etc - and they aren't building anything new in this fashion. I just hope they don't play games and reduce the number of them during future refurbs of rides like Spaceship Earth, Pirates, CoP, etc.

 

[Jayspency]

going back to talking about TT 3.0, aside from being educational, I hope the overhaul is received well since that has a chance at convincing execs to be a bit less reliant on IP based rides in future world. Not that that's a bad thing, but many recent IP additions to Epcot have lacked any edutainment factor, except for JOW.

 

[lazyboy97o]

going back to talking about TT 3.0, aside from being educational, I hope the overhaul is received well since that has a chance at convincing execs to be a bit less reliant on IP based rides in future world. Not that that's a bad thing, but many recent IP additions to Epcot have lacked any edutainment factor, except for JOW.

The franchise mandate came about not as the result of failure but in spite of success. It’s never been a rational proposition based on execution or performance.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

The franchise mandate came about not as the result of failure but in spite of success. It’s never been a rational proposition based on execution or performance.

And now people have rationalized it as the only way for Disney to succeed because it's the only thing they do at all.

 

[FiestaFunKid]

And now people have rationalized it as the only way for Disney to succeed because it's the only thing they do at all.

I would think internally at Disney, including Iger over the years, IP is simply a path of least resistance, carrying with it less personal risk. Remember, these execs are making huge money with large stock incentives - so they do not want to rock the boat too much during their tenure, or risk a big mistake resulting in a shake up.

It's easy to make a case for attraction investments based on film revenues/merch sales, and to point to your reasoning should the ROI be deemed a failure....If Avengers Campus fails to draw sustainable crowds over the long haul, there is the fall back excuse 'hey, any reasonable leader would attempt something to leverage the franchise's extreme success at the box office'


Unfortunately, this has many negative consequences including hamstringing creativity of Imagineers to launch original stories, lowering the bar for attractions as long as the hot IP is present, and eroding the central theming of each park by making them interchangeably IP driven.