EPCOT Test Track to be reimagined

[Professortango1]

It was a warehouse with curtains View attachment 867354View attachment 867355View attachment 867356View attachment 867357

It was not a thing of beauty, but it was such a great experience. It felt exactly like what it wanted to be. A big warehouse testing facility for cars. I love the different tests and even rewatching it again right now, I started to laugh so hard when we approach the barrier test. It comes right after the truck scare and it is perfection. From Truck scare to finish, I don't see how anyone could say 1.00 wasn't the best progression.

And it even starts a little before that. When they send you into the extreme temperature testing, it sounds like there's a tinge of maliciousness. Then we get to the corrosion test where they accidentally left the spray on. Whoops. Then we have a fork in the road and we are sent uphill. We are not in control. They are. We climb. We turn. We climb higher and faster. We turn. We climb higher and faster. We turn. We enter a dark tunnel. Bam! Jump scare! Crashed car directly ahead of us. Will that be us? Barrier test surrounded by crashed cars and strewn dummies. We stare at that wall. They aren't really going to--? We speed towards it, it opens at the last second and we are flying free, escaping death and feeling that wind in our hair!

They've removed the suspense. The conflict. The emotional complexity.

 

[DarkMetroid567]

I really don’t know what the people wanting more WoM realistically expected. Did you want them to rip out the slot car tracks and install an omnimover?

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.

I’d pump the brakes on this. It will be decades before smart roads become a commonplace norm across the country (I’ve never even heard of them until today…) and most people won’t really be familiar with things like Lidar until they step into a Waymo for the first time. Regardless, I think the ride is very forthcoming about how these technologies are not the future, but rather, it chooses a neat way of presenting the status quo.

 

[Cmdr_Crimson]

It was not a thing of beauty, but it was such a great experience. It felt exactly like what it wanted to be. A big warehouse testing facility for cars. I love the different tests and even rewatching it again right now, I started to laugh so hard when we approach the barrier test. It comes right after the truck scare and it is perfection. From Truck scare to finish, I don't see how anyone could say 1.00 wasn't the best progression.

And it even starts a little before that. When they send you into the extreme temperature testing, it sounds like there's a tinge of maliciousness. Then we get to the corrosion test where they accidentally left the spray on. Whoops. Then we have a fork in the road and we are sent uphill. We are not in control. They are. We climb. We turn. We climb higher and faster. We turn. We climb higher and faster. We turn. We enter a dark tunnel. Bam! Jump scare! Crashed car directly ahead of us. Will that be us? Barrier test surrounded by crashed cars and strewn dummies. We stare at that wall. They aren't really going to--? We speed towards it, it opens at the last second and we are flying free, escaping death and feeling that wind in our hair!

They've removed the suspense. The conflict. The emotional complexity.

And they also forgot the other reason your in a Test Car...Your the Crash Dummies that are testing the car...

Plus they had walk-around Dummies greeting guests in front of the pavilion..

 

[flynnibus]

Nope TT 2.0 was superior in every way to 1.0 and 3.0 is even better.

 

[flynnibus]

Imagine if (in another dimension) guests rode 3.0 then Disney changed it to this? OOF

Yeah... they'd be like... 'but what about the trees man???'

At least the traffic cones MADE SOME SENSE

 

[BasiltheBatLord]

I think this is better than 2.0 but still doesn't top 1.0.

Could be that I'm just not a big enough WoM fan to notice (never rode it), but the WoM connection seems like it was a little overstated.

 

[AidenRodriguez731]

It was not a thing of beauty, but it was such a great experience. It felt exactly like what it wanted to be. A big warehouse testing facility for cars. I love the different tests and even rewatching it again right now, I started to laugh so hard when we approach the barrier test. It comes right after the truck scare and it is perfection. From Truck scare to finish, I don't see how anyone could say 1.00 wasn't the best progression.

And it even starts a little before that. When they send you into the extreme temperature testing, it sounds like there's a tinge of maliciousness. Then we get to the corrosion test where they accidentally left the spray on. Whoops. Then we have a fork in the road and we are sent uphill. We are not in control. They are. We climb. We turn. We climb higher and faster. We turn. We climb higher and faster. We turn. We enter a dark tunnel. Bam! Jump scare! Crashed car directly ahead of us. Will that be us? Barrier test surrounded by crashed cars and strewn dummies. We stare at that wall. They aren't really going to--? We speed towards it, it opens at the last second and we are flying free, escaping death and feeling that wind in our hair!

They've removed the suspense. The conflict. The emotional complexity.

Just gonna say it, I didn't care for Test Track 1.0. In fact, it's so far my least favorite rendition of the ride. It feels weird, outdated, and very pessimistic? or not tonally "Epcot" to have you almost crash into a wall and die. Idk, in my view Epcot is an optimists view of the future and how we all connect to it/can make it better. A warehouse looking test lab doesn't really do it for me. Much prefer this rendition.

 

[flynnibus]

They've removed the suspense. The conflict. The emotional complexity.

but.. but... They said "its fun to be free!" ... can't you just admire the immense thought and effort they went through to think about that easter egg? You're just a hater! /s

 

[andre85]

Just gonna say it, I didn't care for Test Track 1.0. In fact, it's so far my least favorite rendition of the ride. It feels weird, outdated, and very pessimistic? or not tonally "Epcot" to have you almost crash into a wall and die. Idk, in my view Epcot is an optimists view of the future and how we all connect to it/can make it better. A warehouse looking test lab doesn't really do it for me. Much prefer this rendition.

I mean, we didn't die. It's a fakeout (unless you think the outside was heaven? lol).

Anyways, in one sense, I agree with you that 1.0 didn't exactly fit the optimistic sci-fi vibes of that era's Epcot, but it was still at least educational. The ride actually educated while it entertained, and in that sense, it's a lot more true to the spirit of the park than most of the rides since.

I haven't watched 3.0 yet, but I'm liking what I'm hearing, as one who LOVED 1.0 and 2.0 a bit less

 

[Captain Neo]

It’s better than the previous version from what I can see. But no It’s fun to be free remix or reprise? No World of Motion references? Disappointing

 

[Centauri Space Station]

View attachment 867360

Nope

Just gonna say it, I didn't care for Test Track 1.0. In fact, it's so far my least favorite rendition of the ride. It feels weird, outdated, and very pessimistic? or not tonally "Epcot" to have you almost crash into a wall and die. Idk, in my view Epcot is an optimists view of the future and how we all connect to it/can make it better. A warehouse looking test lab doesn't really do it for me. Much prefer this rendition.

TT 1.0 was boring, industrial, felt like a parking garage, used garage insulation as theming. It was just a mess.

 

[flynnibus]

I really don’t know what the people wanting more WoM realistically expected. Did you want them to rip out the slot car tracks and install an omnimover?

You could have used any Marc Davis inspired character designs.. you could have had modern speedtunnels... there is the whole musical tone.. lots of potential throwbacks.

Here I think they took the 'futuristic city' finale and rode that horse...

 

[Centauri Space Station]

It’s better than the previous version from what I can see. But no It’s fun to be free remix or reprise? No World of Motion references? Disappointing

They play the song at the start of the forest drive and say it’s fun to be free in the narration. They show futuristic vehicles in a mirror like the peppers ghost finale and have a future city before the speed test.

 

[flynnibus]

In fact, it's so far my least favorite rendition of the ride. It feels weird, outdated, and very pessimistic?

Maybe because you are too young to have ever understood the social tone and queues the thing was built around. Yes, when you see 80s culture references 30 years later.. they will seem 'weird, outdated'.

TT1.0 was incredibly long in the tooth and it's visual style aged quickly. Perfection it was not by any means... but at least it had a concept that actually made sense.

 

[flynnibus]

It’s better than the previous version from what I can see. But no It’s fun to be free remix or reprise? No World of Motion references? Disappointing

I think the city finale is meant to be their big WoM connection.. as well as the dialog cues.

 

[JackCH]

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

but.. but... They said "its fun to be free!" ... can't you just admire the immense thought and effort they went through to think about that easter egg? You're just a hater! /s

what I personally find odd is not so much that people are critical of Disney, even to the seemingly never-ending degree of some people, I get it- people think the company has gone the wrong direction.

What I find odd is people almost craving the negativity and mocking those who enjoy something.

 

[ChrisFL]

sooo....I just watched a video of the exit area and it looks really bland, way worse than 2.0....hoping they're still adding stuff because wow

 

[flynnibus]

What I find odd is people almost craving the negativity and mocking those who enjoy something.

No one is mocking what they enjoy.. but you can be critical of their attempts at objective justification.

Reality is in this fandom there are plenty of people that are swooned to lala land by their addiction to the company's past aurora.

Many also realize that often the company these days isn't the same, no matter how much they try to cite their past.

 

[flynnibus]

I expect once they post the real videos we'll get plenty of Instagram content from the Imagineers pointing out all their heavy WoM references.

 

[Mickeynerd17]

Someone ping me when the updated BGM is posted on the internet because it sounds wonderful.