Test Track breakdowns

GrumpyFannyPack

GrumpyFannyPack

Member
Original Poster
I've been told TT is plagued by frequent breakdowns and/or interruptions. When we visited in Sept. '09 we experienced one such breakdown and had to be led out of the ride. Just how often are these to be expected? Say, in a two week period, how many times do you think Test Track will break down?
 
goonie007

goonie007

Active Member
I always hear about it but in all the times i have been on the ride or in the vicinity it has not broken down.

I think it would be cool to be on the ride when it had a malfunction :p
but that might just be me :wave:
 
erasure fan1

erasure fan1

Well-Known Member
Yea the ride breaks down all the time. I can not remember a trip that it did not go down at least a few times. We have been on it when its broken down, my favorite is when the car is barely moving and the tires are screeching like you are doing 100mph.:lol:
 
Bravo 229

Bravo 229

Member
goonie007 said:
I always hear about it but in all the times i have been on the ride or in the vicinity it has not broken down.

I think it would be cool to be on the ride when it had a malfunction :p
but that might just be me :wave:
Click to expand...

I've been on it when it stopped for a few minutes once. We were going through the S-Curves and the car started to slow down, then stopped quickly. The whiplash wasn't much fun and we had to hear the "stay in the car" speech twenty times, but I was able to see a few details I'd never noticed before!
 
GrumpyFannyPack

GrumpyFannyPack

Member
Original Poster
goonie007 said:
I think it would be cool to be on the ride when it had a malfunction :p
but that might just be me :wave:
Click to expand...

Yeah, it was actually kind of cool. Almost like a backstage tour only with a jittery 12-year old that didn't want to go on the ride in the first place. I was hoping to get a chance to see if LBJ was driving the big rig, but we weren't led that way.
 
Tomi-Rocket

Tomi-Rocket

Well-Known Member
We've never experienced TT breaking down in all the times we've ridden it. I don't think it would be too bad to be on a ride that broke down as long as it wasn't one where it stopped while I was upside down, then we'll have a HUGE problem because I would totally freak out. :eek:
 
adv.bluedude

adv.bluedude

Active Member
The only time I've been on TT when something malfunctioned was two weeks ago during EMH. At the very end of the ride, as the cars go back to unloading, the very last TV screen had the windows XP logo on it instead of whatever is usually there(ride picture?)
 
wbc

wbc

New Member
That thing is down all the time. It's been that way since it opened. Hell, it did't even open on time cause it took so long for them to get the thing running.

Think about it, it's not like a roller coaster with a train of cars. Each car is individual. I can only imagine what it took to accomplish all the timing. Then, if ONE car messes up, the whole thing has to shut down.


Luckily I've never been on when it goes down.
 
Testtrack321

Testtrack321

Well-Known Member
Test Track suspends operations usually under two circumstances:

1.) Heavy rain/lighting within 15 miles of the ride.

2.) A ride vehicle skips too many main computer check-ins. Think of it being a teen ager not calling their mom after the movie, the mom doesn't know where the kid is and plays it safe. These calls home tell the computer where the cars are and the status of the vehicles (tire pressure, speed, etc).

Both force a stop of the ride, with the second usually the only one requiring an evac. Obviously there are other reasons too (including the car reporting a fault in one of the check in locations and the ride shutting down) but those are the two main culprits.

This ride is incredibly complicated still to this day. While there are many shut downs it has continuously gotten better through the years.
 
fractal

fractal

Well-Known Member
Was down when we went back w/ our fastpass in May 2009 - never got to ride it.


Also went down in May 2007 -came back the next day and rode it.
 
Jeters_Boy

Jeters_Boy

New Member
GrumpyFannyPack said:
I've been told TT is plagued by frequent breakdowns and/or interruptions. When we visited in Sept. '09 we experienced one such breakdown and had to be led out of the ride. Just how often are these to be expected? Say, in a two week period, how many times do you think Test Track will break down?
Click to expand...

One of the most memorable experiences of my WDW vacations comes from Test Track...

My wife and I were riding, and just before the part where you floor it into what seems to be a wall, only to have it open up, the audio messed up and our car started acting different. It was slow but jerky where it wasn't supposed to be.

Then, our car absolutely floored it! In those few seconds as we headed for the doors, all I could think was, "Please open, please open!"

Of course they did, but we will never forget that particular ride!
 
X

xcrashx15

Member
I've been to Epcot a handful of times since TT opened, and I've only experienced malfunctions on one of those days. The first time we rode it that day, it was similar to what another poster mentioned (car moving slowly despite screeching tire audio). Then we rode it later that day and our car got stuck sideways in the outdoor park. It was actually pretty cool b/c we were there for 10-15 min. and I was able to pull out my camera and take a (non blurry) photo of the "showroom cars" they had out there. When we got back to the unload area, they let us ride again without exiting the vehicle and it seemed like that trip was extra fast to make up for it (even though it was probably my imagination!).
 
me_stitch

me_stitch

Premium Member
when we rode it in Dec. '09 it didn't have any problems, a few days later though we rode it a couple of times and some of the audio was missing from the brake test and on one occassion it didn't even do the brake test. but I didn't care, it's still fun.
 
wbc

wbc

New Member
me_stitch said:
when we rode it in Dec. '09 it didn't have any problems, a few days later though we rode it a couple of times and some of the audio was missing from the brake test and on one occassion it didn't even do the brake test. but I didn't care, it's still fun.
Click to expand...

That was a problem for a while. IIRC, they fixed it. I was there in Dec. 09, too. :wave:
 
D

drossjr

New Member
goonie007 said:
I always hear about it but in all the times i have been on the ride or in the vicinity it has not broken down.

I think it would be cool to be on the ride when it had a malfunction :p
but that might just be me :wave:
Click to expand...


Same with me, never had a problem in all my years.
 

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