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EPCOT Test Track to be reimagined

HMF

Well-Known Member
Insiders have mentioned they *could* create a whole new Yeti with a different swiping routine that wouldn't bend rods and pop pistons, and dislocate joints. The old Yeti is easily removable and, thus, a new one could easily be put in its place. ("easily" being relative)

Problem one: If the Yeti is still over the guests, then there is a whole slew of updated safety codes it has to pass. No one wants a one ton AA dropping on guests.

Problem two: There is internal conflict over whose budget this comes out of.

And both problems don't seem insurmountable (pun intended), but, yet... they seemingly are. Not even Deadpool could shame them into fixing it.
Problem Three-WDW doesn't like to shut down attractions until it is critically needed for refurbishment because they fear upsetting international or one-time visitors. Anaheim gets routine refurbishments all the time and their rides are mostly in objectively better shape because of it.
 

HMF

Well-Known Member
The more I reflect on it the more deeply I agree as well. That one should have been kept in perpetual storage (to emphasize, I realized immediately they just wanted to cash-in from MJ death) ...The cringeworthy parts I forgot about (or never noticed as a child) are indeed exponentially greater than the nostalgic slivers I remembered. I watched its predecessor, Magic Journeys, online with a friend a few weeks ago...same thing happened to me as when I watched EO in 2010...the cringe was ten times greater than the nostalgia 😬 EO was my attempt at an analogy. Still would like something done with that Magic Eye Theater besides "shorts festival"
Well, Magic Journeys was probably the closest thing to a vehicle to promote LSD to children at the time.
 

HMF

Well-Known Member
The more I reflect on it the more deeply I agree as well. That one should have been kept in perpetual storage (to emphasize, I realized immediately they just wanted to cash-in from MJ death) ...The cringeworthy parts I forgot about (or never noticed as a child) are indeed exponentially greater than the nostalgic slivers I remembered. I watched its predecessor, Magic Journeys, online with a friend a few weeks ago...same thing happened to me as when I watched EO in 2010...the cringe was ten times greater than the nostalgia 😬 EO was my attempt at an analogy. Still would like something done with that Magic Eye Theater besides "shorts festival"
HISTA would be preferable to the shorts festival and that literally inflicted more damage to the pavilion and led to the sad state it is in now.
 

HMF

Well-Known Member
2007 ending was "OKish...ONCE." I loved 1994 ending. I LOVED 1986 ending. No memory of 1982 ending :(
I am just going to put the final sentences from the 94 and 07 versions here for comparison.
94-Since the dawn of recorded time communication has revolutionized our lives and changed our world. We now have the ability and the responsibility to build new bridges of acceptance and cooperation between us. To create a better world for ourselves and our children as we continue our amazing journey aboard Spaceship Earth.
07-Well, I think the future you created looks quite promising, don't you agree? So here's to the next thirty thousand years on Spaceship Earth. While no one knows for sure what we will see or do, I do know it will be quite an adventure, an adventure that we will take and make together. See you in the future!
 

HMF

Well-Known Member
If they never brought back Captain EO, do you think they'd still have Shrunk the Audience in the Magic Eye Theater? Or would it have still eventually turned into the Disney Shorts Festival?
To be fair the one redeeming aspect to versions two and three of the ride is that they did bring a consistent overall concept for the pavilion along with HISTA. The problem was the rides sucked.
 

HMF

Well-Known Member
It's sad to see such a huge complex sit completely unused.
I am personally perplexed why Disney has not put two and two together and used the popularity of Inside Out to revive Wonders Of Life. I have had that idea since the day the first film came out and most of the time I am not fond of shoving characters into EPCOT for no reason. But this one was too painfully obvious.
 

Brer Panther

Well-Known Member
I am personally perplexed why Disney has not put two and two together and used the popularity of Inside Out to revive Wonders Of Life. I have had that idea since the day the first film came out and most of the time I am not fond of shoving characters into EPCOT for no reason. But this one was too painfully obvious.
Because it'd be too much work for Iger's cheapo Disney?
 

Tom Morrow

Well-Known Member
Finally got a chance to ride this and just wanted to add my own $0.02. Rode twice, waited 1 minute each time in single rider after standing for a bit in the standby queue and then realizing that the single rider queue doesn't really miss much of anything in the main queue.

Overall I think this is a slight improvement over 2.0, but 1.0 remains the best version.

Positives:
- No pre-show. The ride is really basic and self explanatory and doesn't need it. 1.0 version’s pre-show was more necessary to set up the educational aspect and the barrier test gag, but this version isn’t educational and explains itself well enough on the ride.
- Removing the "interactive" design your car element. This was such a half baked idea. Much of the time it didn't work, and it had no effect on the ride, only the screen at the end which is already predetermined just by comparing the stats of each uploaded car.
- Making the interior overall darker. The ride feels faster from the increased darkness and looks less like a big open warehouse.
- The overall tone of the ride feels more whimsical like classic Epcot. Technologies being presented as sources of wonder and inspiration rather than sterile and serious.
- I kind of like that you're just "cruising" and not performing tests.
- I like that you can see the dispatching cars from the queue again.
- Despite being a corporate sponsored ride with a car showroom as a post show, the ride refrained from feeling like a General Motors advertisement. It’s more of an overall statement on how automobiles are using technology to become safer, not “Here’s how General Motors specifically is making driving safer.”

Negatives:
- A bit narratively empty. Not that Test Track needs a strong story, but it does seem like there should be more of a reason for why you're doing the things you're doing. There is no buildup to the outdoor loop. Like Tiana's, Disney currently seems wanting to de-emphasize having a perceived buildup to the thrilling portions of their rides.
- The queue is very dull. The music is nice.
- The post show is literally just a car showcase... awful.

This is the biggest negative for me - The "customize your car at home" segment is a huge miss. So much ride time dedicated to one gimmick. A gimmick that, unlike the other technologies presented, is completely cartoony and outlandish. Also, as another poster put it, having 3 different rooms do the same thing, and having that entire section devoted to one “technology”, makes the ride feel shorter even though it isn't.

The other technologies presented are LiDar scanning and AI awareness - we have this now, and what the ride presents is likely to become standard within the next decade. Induction charging roads are within the realm of possibility. We have this on our phones, why not cars?

But "you can magically shape-shift your car to look completely different in your own home!", I'm sorry, what? It's insultingly stupid and not at all a thing anyone actually wants.
 
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jah4955

Well-Known Member
I am just going to put the final sentences from the 94 and 07 versions here for comparison.
94-Since the dawn of recorded time communication has revolutionized our lives and changed our world. We now have the ability and the responsibility to build new bridges of acceptance and cooperation between us. To create a better world for ourselves and our children as we continue our amazing journey aboard Spaceship Earth.
07-Well, I think the future you created looks quite promising, don't you agree? So here's to the next thirty thousand years on Spaceship Earth. While no one knows for sure what we will see or do, I do know it will be quite an adventure, an adventure that we will take and make together. See you in the future!
you're right...day and night...I realize I was way too nice to 2007!
 

gerarar

Premium Member
Cars were added to the outdoor loop area around the newly painted logo.
Photos from this morning (9/26):
1000021256.jpg

1000021263.jpg
 

ChrisFL

Premium Member
This is the biggest one for me - The "customize your car at home" segment is a huge miss. So much ride time dedicated to one gimmick. A gimmick that, unlike the other technologies presented, is completely cartoony and outlandish. Also, as another poster put it, having 3 different rooms do the same thing, and having that entire section devoted to one “technology”, makes the ride feel shorter even though it isn't.

The other technologies presented are LiDar scanning and AI awareness - we have this now, and what the ride presents is likely to become standard within the next decade. Induction charging roads are within the realm of possibility. We have this on our phones, why not cars?

But "you can magically shape-shift your car to look completely different in your own home!", I'm sorry, what? It's insultingly stupid and not at all a thing anyone actually wants.

I wouldn't call it TOTALLY outlandish because GM actually promoted something they used to have in the Test Track postshow called the "Skateboard" concept where the same underpinnings of a whole EV drivetrain would have different car designs above it

X2CO_CC019L.jpg
 

Tom Morrow

Well-Known Member
I wouldn't call it TOTALLY outlandish because GM actually promoted something they used to have in the Test Track postshow called the "Skateboard" concept where the same underpinnings of a whole EV drivetrain would have different car designs above it

X2CO_CC019L.jpg

Yeah, but would anyone feasibly be able to do it themselves, on a whim, in their own home?

Seems like it may have been better to portray the scene as a factory to emphasize “modular” vehicle building.
 

Kamikaze

Well-Known Member
I wouldn't call it TOTALLY outlandish because GM actually promoted something they used to have in the Test Track postshow called the "Skateboard" concept where the same underpinnings of a whole EV drivetrain would have different car designs above it

X2CO_CC019L.jpg
That's how Subarus are built now. All their cars are built on the same platform. (excluding a couple of joint built vehicles)

Being able to customize & change your car at home? Never going to happen. Too much money thrown away trying to get people to buy new vehicles.
 

DisneyCane

Well-Known Member
Cars were added to the outdoor loop area around the newly painted logo.
Photos from this morning (9/26):
View attachment 884875
View attachment 884876
When it was themed to an actual test track it made sense to have other vehicles parked inside the high speed loop. Now that you are taking a drive somewhere, it doesn't make thematic sense to speed by a bunch of cars parked in a circle.
Yeah, but would anyone feasibly be able to do it themselves, on a whim, in their own home?

Seems like it may have been better to portray the scene as a factory to emphasize “modular” vehicle building.
The only thing that might ever come "close" to that fantasy would be integrating OLED screens into the body and allowing some changes to "paint job" depending on your mood. There is no way it will ever be practical to change the body at home.
 

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