EPCOT Test Track to be reimagined

[Brer Oswald]

am I losing my mind? Or is WDWMagic….happy about something?

Imagineering isn’t dead. It never has been. They just aren’t given the right opportunities sometimes.

Let’s not get carried away now. Test Track was never flawless to begin with.

 

[ProjectXBlog]

There’s a focus here on a tangible, not-too-distant future and the ways we can benefit from it that I haven’t seen in EPCOT in a long time. It’s that sort of small optimism for what’s on the horizon — as opposed to the recent mantra of “why wait for the future when things are so great now?” — that’s been missing in this park since the mid-2000s with Mission:SPACE.

 

[Streetway Again]

Let’s not get carried away now. Test Track was never flawless to begin with.

Of course it wasn’t. It’s a slot car ride slapped into the building of a dark ride.

My point is, imagineering can still do good things.

 

[WondersOfLife]

am I losing my mind? Or is WDWMagic….happy about something?

Disney actually does a good job for once... Without any controversy with IP shoving or downgrades from what was there previously. So we praise it. Crazy concept, really.

Imagineering isn’t dead. It never has been. They just aren’t given the right opportunities sometimes.

Imagineering is dead if Disney treats it like it's dead.

Test Track 3.0 has changed most of our views from "hopeless" to "hopeless unless a huge company sponsor foots the bill."

 

[C33Mom]

Another good POV, this one also showing off the now preshow-less queue.

Is anyone else very surprised to discover there’s no pre-show? I believe all new top tier rides for the past several years have had them. I have cynically assumed that it’s to allow them to keep the LL people in line a bit longer while still being satisfied with the value of their line-skipping experience.

The TT 3.0 FP/LL return wait often ended up being more than 30 minutes by the time it closed last year, so I’m wondering if this is going to make it easier for the (relatively few) people who truly can’t handle 20 minute waits to get on the ride.

 

[wdwmagic]

Is anyone else very surprised to discover there’s no pre-show? I believe all new top tier rides for the past several years have had them. I have cynically assumed that it’s to allow them to keep the LL people in line a bit longer while still being satisfied with the value of their line-skipping experience.

The TT 3.0 FP/LL return wait often ended up being more than 30 minutes by the time it closed last year, so I’m wondering if this is going to make it easier for the (relatively few) people who truly can’t handle 20 minute waits to get on the ride.

The pre-show at TT in all versions seems to have been an operational headache, so I'm not entirely surprised. I really like what I see of the queue space so far.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

Wow. I don't know that I had any firm expectations of how this would turn out. But this is honestly great. This is much more logically coherent than version 2 (except perhaps that it no longer seems to match the idea of a test track, since we're not told we are testing anything but that's a quibble), and much more visually engaging than version 1. The nods to World of Motion are a nice bonus. Kudos to whoever designed and greenlit this update.

I had a similar thought, this is a MASSIVE improvement over 2.0 but I don’t understand why they kept the test track name and tied their creative hands behind their back a bit, nothing about feels like a test track anymore, it’ a minor gripe as it’s a massive upgrade, feels a bit like they missed an opportunity not to fully change the theme though.

 

[WondersOfLife]

Is anyone else very surprised to discover there’s no pre-show? I believe all new top tier rides for the past several years have had them. I have cynically assumed that it’s to allow them to keep the LL people in line a bit longer while still being satisfied with the value of their line-skipping experience.

I was a little surprised... But I'm also a bit happy about it. It made sense for Test Track 1.0, as that one was very well done. But I'm glad they finally got rid of the pre-show for this attraction. It's, in a sense, a thrill ride for cheap fun (but with much better theming now)

Unlike Dinosaur, Guardians, Haunted Mansion, Tower of Terror, and Rise of the Resistance, where the pre-show is an integral part of the story and plot buildup... Test Track's pre-show was about as useless as Soarin' (even tho I love that one), Rock N' Roller Coaster, and Flight of Passage... It was fine to have, but not necessary.

Sure, one could argue that the custom designing was sort of an integral part of the ride, but it really didn't add much to the experience as far as enjoying the ride itself... It's obvious that set elements are more important to a ride than interactive elements (in my personal opinion).


.....Also it'll keep the line flow better.

 

[castlecake2.0]

Just rode it. It was very Epcot. Loved it. Will be a new must do.

 

[WowFactor]

Here’s a look at the new attraction photo:

View attachment 867206

July 22...
JULY 22? DANG! I CAN'T BELIEVE I'M GOING TO MISS IT FOR 4 DAYS!

 

[TheCoasterNerd]

This looks great. I’m a big fan of this. Now if only they’d do something like this to SSE and Figment

 

[Mike S]

Just rode it. It was very Epcot. Loved it. Will be a new must do.

Good to hear. Everybody remember to thank GM for this.

 

[DarkMetroid567]

Also…they really couldn’t have played more than 5 notes of “Fun to be Free”? I expected the “WOM influence” comment to be superficial at best, but I suspect they disappointed many by setting up expectations they were never intending to follow through on. Oh well. Aside from that it looks good.

I think the influence is very obvious (and honestly, a lot more than I was expecting…) but it was never going to be a tribute, either.

 

[twilight mitsuk]

I was a little surprised... But I'm also a bit happy about it. It made sense for Test Track 1.0, as that one was very well done. But I'm glad they finally got rid of the pre-show for this attraction. It's, in a sense, a thrill ride for cheap fun (but with much better theming now)

Unlike Dinosaur, Guardians, Haunted Mansion, Tower of Terror, and Rise of the Resistance, where the pre-show is an integral part of the story and plot buildup... Test Track's pre-show was about as useless as Soarin' (even tho I love that one), Rock N' Roller Coaster, and Flight of Passage... It was fine to have, but not necessary.

Sure, one could argue that the custom designing was sort of an integral part of the ride, but it really didn't add much to the experience as far as enjoying the ride itself... It's obvious that set elements are more important to a ride than interactive elements (in my personal opinion).


.....Also it'll keep the line flow better.

soaring and FOP preshows were about safety info

 

[vikescaper]

Good riddance to my least favorite bottleneck in WDW (the design room exit). You will not be missed!

 

[WondersOfLife]

soaring and FOP preshows were about safety info

You can do that without a pre-show. TVs in a queue.

 

[flynnibus]

Wow, I am shocked by all the love for this.. was TT2.0 that bad that people will love just about anything over it?

The queue is sterile and the displays are bland. Is anyone going to look at them more than once? Besides being indoors I don't think anyone is going to appreciate anything about the queue. Video monitors and props of the same kind of stuff we've always had. Miss...

The first half of the ride feels like they learned nothing about how horribly things age when they talk about the near future. This whole plot and style is going to feel like horrible predictions in no time at all. The Lidar sequence is neat and will hold up, but seemed like maybe 20% longer than it should have been. The whole customize your vehicle thing is gonna age way worse than CoP struggled...

The whole 'enjoy the ride' sequence through what used to be the handling/braking segment feels like they just didn't know what to do with it ...

The projection room looks neat.. and the tone should hold up.. but we are told 'ready to see what else lies beyond the horizon'.. to be fed into an outdoor track that looks like same old setup we've seen for decades. Why isn't this road made to look futuristic? Can we get rid of the 1990s guard rails to something more futuristic? Or the light figures that could be in any mall parking lot?

This whole thing feels like it can't last 3years, let alone 10+.

Pros:
Lidar sequence
'beyond the horizon' projection room
canopy gone

Cons:
Story and engagement feels like zero
Bland boring queue
"near future" scenes that will age horribly
Future finale that looks like the 90s highways
zero rework of the handling sequence

The thing is souless.. zero emotional attachment or whimsy... it's gonna be about the opening sequence and the finale.. the rest is just going to drag it down quicker than most.

Waiting for TT4.0 already...

 

[Horizons '83]

Wow, I am shocked by all the love for this.. was TT2.0 that bad that people will love just about anything over it?

The queue is sterile and the displays are bland. Is anyone going to look at them more than once? Besides being indoors I don't think anyone is going to appreciate anything about the queue. Video monitors and props of the same kind of stuff we've always had. Miss...

The first half of the ride feels like they learned nothing about how horribly things age when they talk about the near future. This whole plot and style is going to feel like horrible predictions in no time at all. The Lidar sequence is neat and will hold up, but seemed like maybe 20% longer than it should have been. The whole customize your vehicle thing is gonna age way worse than CoP struggled...

The whole 'enjoy the ride' sequence through what used to be the handling/braking segment feels like they just didn't know what to do with it ...

The projection room looks neat.. and the tone should hold up.. but we are told 'ready to see what else lies beyond the horizon'.. to be fed into an outdoor track that looks like same old setup we've seen for decades. Why isn't this road made to look futuristic? Can we get rid of the 1990s guard rails to something more futuristic? Or the light figures that could be in any mall parking lot?

This whole thing feels like it can't last 3years, let alone 10+.

Pros:
Lidar sequence
'beyond the horizon' projection room
canopy gone

Cons:
Story and engagement feels like zero
Bland boring queue
"near future" scenes that will age horribly
Future finale that looks like the 90s highways
zero rework of the handling sequence

The thing is souless.. zero emotional attachment or whimsy... it's gonna be about the opening sequence and the finale.. the rest is just going to drag it down quicker than most.

Waiting for TT4.0 already...

And here we go... the love fest didn't last that long

I have a different opinion, but respect yours. I disagree with your "near future" comment. I do think they will age well, the final scene is also all digital and can be swapped out if it should ever become stale. Let's keep in mind that Horizons, WoM, for example, had scenes that all aged pretty quickly, so to a certain extent, its to be expected.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Wow, I am shocked by all the love for this.. was TT2.0 that bad that people will love just about anything over it?

The queue is sterile and the displays are bland. Is anyone going to look at them more than once? Besides being indoors I don't think anyone is going to appreciate anything about the queue. Video monitors and props of the same kind of stuff we've always had. Miss...

The first half of the ride feels like they learned nothing about how horribly things age when they talk about the near future. This whole plot and style is going to feel like horrible predictions in no time at all. The Lidar sequence is neat and will hold up, but seemed like maybe 20% longer than it should have been. The whole customize your vehicle thing is gonna age way worse than CoP struggled...

The whole 'enjoy the ride' sequence through what used to be the handling/braking segment feels like they just didn't know what to do with it ...

The projection room looks neat.. and the tone should hold up.. but we are told 'ready to see what else lies beyond the horizon'.. to be fed into an outdoor track that looks like same old setup we've seen for decades. Why isn't this road made to look futuristic? Can we get rid of the 1990s guard rails to something more futuristic? Or the light figures that could be in any mall parking lot?

This whole thing feels like it can't last 3years, let alone 10+.

Pros:
Lidar sequence
'beyond the horizon' projection room
canopy gone

Cons:
Story and engagement feels like zero
Bland boring queue
"near future" scenes that will age horribly
Future finale that looks like the 90s highways
zero rework of the handling sequence

The thing is souless.. zero emotional attachment or whimsy... it's gonna be about the opening sequence and the finale.. the rest is just going to drag it down quicker than most.

Waiting for TT4.0 already...

Cool you got to ride it, sorry you didn't like it more

 

[Incomudro]

I like it!
Mostly for the addition of the physical sets.
Got to say, I got a bit emotional when the vehicle exited the show building and hit the outdoor portion of the track.
Brought back memories of how much fun I had with my son's on this ride.