EPCOT Test Track to be reimagined

[rct247]

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...

I'm sort of in agreement. I'm really glad people like it. I didn't think 2.0 was that bad, but I'm not fully impressed by 3.0. I'm in full agreement with your pros (lidar, projection room, and canopy). I LOVE the new canopy. The other stuff fell a bit more flat for me.

I like Test Track 1.0 & 2.0 music a bit more, although 3.0 music in the exit showcase is okay. 3.0 just reminds me a lot of the Sims 4 theme song. I understand why they opened up the queue and got rid of the design kiosks. The openness of the 1st room reminds me of 1.0, but then without hardly anything to look at. The queue looks very empty.

I think this one is going to become dated more quickly. We have had the car sensor technology for at least half a decade now although it is still expanding. The charging smart roads will be here in a year or two...in fact, they are constructing one right now northwest of Disney properly. The change out designs seems to be a carryover from 2.0. While I liked 2.0, I did always think the concept car designs were clunky. They appear the same in 3.0 and these just seem like filler. The scenic drive isn't bad, but it isn't anything amazing. I also agree that the final lead-up with the projection looks amazing, but then you trust outside back into the present and nothing different than before.

 

[Starship824]

I really like it. It's great to have physical sets and that projection dome is great. Gives old Epcot vibes and proves they can still do it. If only the rest of the Epcot redo had a fraction of this. Is it perfect? No, but I think it's very good.

 

[osian]

I'm happy with this and don't want this to sound cynical, but there is significant "IP" in this ride - it's about General Motors. I just bring that up because it seems the trend is that people are less critical about advertisements for a company within an attraction than they are for characters.

So many points here.

a. Although technically anything is IP, what we generally mean by IP in theme park terms is a movie/character that existed initially outside the theme park environment, created or owned by the media behemoth of which the theme park owner is a part, and "parachuted" in to theme park environment as cross-marketing, maybe under the pretence of "it's what people expect". For example, Figment and Dreamfinder are obviously IP characters but no-one has a problem with them existing in EPCOT because EPCOT is what they were created for in the first place. They haven't been parachuted in from elsewhere to somewhere that isn't a native environment for them, to a theme park that isn't actually about them.

b. I wouldn't actually be too bothered about Ana and Elsa hosting an attraction that took us through and discussed Norway, similarly I wouldn't mind Remy being used in attraction that told us about France. If the IP Gods decree that it must happen then so be it and it's the best way of satisfying them without diluting the actual message of the attraction. The problem is when the attraction is about the character rather than the pavilion.

c. Corporate sponsorship of EPCOT pavilions is totally in character, it's the very essence of what EPCOT Center was built to be. Industry working to create the future. Remember the dedication plaque?

Epcot is inspired by Walt Disney’s creative vision. Here, human achievements are celebrated through imagination, wonders of enterprise and concepts of a future that promises new and exciting benefits for all.

The corporate sponsorship of the pavilions has never been as "in your face" as an attraction solely about a Disney movie would be, it's been very much a light touch in the attraction itself. It's also been the financial model right from the beginning, if this is the way we get high-quality attractions and keeps the princesses, and in particular the Cars universe, away then so be it. We've seen so many time that when the sponsorship is withdrawn, generally things go downhill. It's a shame Disney couldn't fund EPCOT by itself, but hey, this is how we got an incredibly unique theme park.

 

[osian]

Sure, but how is that functionally different than Disney "putting up the money for an attraction" and using it to advertise their products? That's pretty much the concept/definition of IP in rides.

I personally don't care, I just find it funny that "putting Elsa in a ride" is decried when "talk about GM cars" is tolerated even though it's the same type of cynical advertisement and brand synergy.

See my reply to the other comment above!

 

[Ayla]

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...

Finally! I was waiting for someone to stop salivating over this reveal...

 

[Clamman73]

OK whiffed on something. Beginning dialog the kid or whoever says "Can I show them?!" talking about customizing your vehicle at home. Why not have one animatronic kid on a computer designing a car in that opening diorama scene.

 

[mattpeto]

Finally! I was waiting for someone to stop salivating over this reveal...

Glad this made you happy.

 

[waltography]

They must've had RSR in mind during the Fun to be Free section. The winding turns into the reveal of the sunset in the "distance" as the music swells is like beat-for-beat the opening sequence of RSR (swap the sunset for the waterfall and the semi for Mack). I love it (though I wish they could've opened up the space just a little bit more so the reveal could be a little more majestic).

 

[the_rich]

Glad this made you happy.

And then people get criticized for saying this site is always negative. There is no pleasing some people.

 

[MisterPenguin]

Reminder: According to one our trusted sources, Disney put in money into this refresh as well as GM.

How much? I dunno.

But it wasn't only GM money.

 

[mattpeto]

Finally! I was waiting for someone to stop salivating over this reveal...

This is such a bizarre take on so many levels, but it's good that you have fully revealed who you are.

 

[FettFan]

I watched a live video from the CM previews this morning. Overall...it's a wash.

Maybe slightly improved visually over TT2 (aka SimTrack, aka "Tron Track") but the elements that should have been plussed are just eliminated altogether. The design your own car element of TT2 was one of the things I genuinely enjoyed about it.
(Perhaps if you were to save each of the cars you create to MDE and rate them against each other, almost like a virtual trading card game?)

They probably should remove "Test" from the name. Call it "Adventure Track", "Future Track", or something because I couldn't discern any actual simulated car testing going on. The barrier test that was built up so much in TT1 and TT2 takes a backseat to the City of Tomorrow. They want you paying attention to the new flying car taking off and all the activity in the city, and not paying attention to the barrier before you, whereas TT1 was a traditional IIHC-style collision test and TT2 was almost like a jet takeoff (simulating a car design going from a computer to the real world).

Overall, I feel more than a little cheated as much as they were talking up how it was "inspired by World of Motion", yet exhibits absolutely none of the fun.

 

[JohnD]

Finally! I was waiting for someone to stop salivating over this reveal...

I never hated 2.0. It had a great soundtrack. But I think this a great replacement. Its a nod back to classic Epcot.

 

[ChrisFL]

I sort of got what I was hoping for...a pepper's ghost effect showing you in a future car (even if it's not really pepper's ghost?) and something that's like a speed tunnel.

Although I know you spend just as much time as the indoor sections, for some reason it felt shorter?

Overall I think it's fine, but I do miss the car design aspect as silly and half-baked in the actual ride as it was

 

[flynnibus]

They probably should remove "Test" from the name. Call it "Adventure Track", "Future Track", or something because I couldn't discern any actual simulated car testing going on

Yeah the only thing "test track" about it is the dialog in as you enter the lift hall.

"welcome to the test track!"

I'm sure there will be some more story setup in the queue hopefully.. but at this point for the company that likes to drone about "It all starts with the story..." -- there seems to be absolutely none of substance here.

 

[FettFan]

. Its a nod back to classic Epcot.

See, aside from the 5 seconds or so of future city, I didn’t get much of “classic Epcot”.

 

[ChrisFL]

I don't know what people are expecting in the queue, it's exactly what I expected, GM showing off futuristic cars and talking about sustainability, and showing lots of scale models of futuristic cars (just like the exit of WOM used to be)

 

[FettFan]

I don't know what people are expecting in the queue, it's exactly what I expected, GM showing off futuristic cars and talking about sustainability, and showing lots of scale models of futuristic cars (just like the exit of WOM used to be)

I actually like the queue here better than TT2.
This is more of an expo center feel, where we TT2 was “here’s an exploded view of a car that will probably never be produced”.


EDIT - Ford’s Magic Skyway! That’s what the TT3 queue was modeled after!

 

[DisneyCane]

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...

I think guard rails reaches the Pinnacle of design in the 1960s. I don't anticipate a force field replacing the current design anytime soon.

 

[Tom Morrow]

I really want to watch, but I'm sure I'll be riding it soon and I want my first impression to be from a real life ride through. Surprised they released the POV already.