Test Track is broken down over 40% of the time

joejccva71

joejccva71

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I was watching some videos from Touring Plans and Brian was doing a video on testing times on going to Epcot's major attractions. I remember a few other videos prior to that one talking about Epcot and how Test Track was broken down a lot. Even when they help you plan, they take into account that Test Track breaks down quite a bit. They did numbers and said it was broken over 40% of the time.

And today, I look on my Disney app and guess what....Test Track is broken down again and is temporarily closed. Seems to be power problems the last few times it's broken down.

What's with this attraction? Needs major renovating? Electrical issues? Seems like every other day something is going on.
 
marni1971

marni1971

Park History nut
Premium Member
It doesn’t "break down" nearly as much.

The biggest issue is weather. Lightning within a defined area will cease operation, even if you can’t see it. If it rains or has rained it will cease operation until the exterior track can be dried.

Often a ride control sensor will get a reading - false or not. This isn’t a break down. But it can stall the ride or trigger a ride stop. They can last a few seconds to a few minutes.

Test Track is still one of the most advanced overall ride systems out of WDI.
 
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RustySpork

RustySpork

Oscar Mayer Memer
I'm going to have to dust off a really stale meme for this one, but..

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M

MAGICFLOP

Well-Known Member
joejccva71 said:
They did numbers and said it was broken over 40% of the time.
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It is such a mechanical ride with sensors and such with so many special effects and add to that the cars duck outside into the elements, it is just asking for problems. I bet if it was completely indoors it would be more reliable..
 
raven

raven

Well-Known Member
As an attraction attendant I can tell you that the majority of time thata ride stops is due to a safety issue, not because the ride is broken. If a safety sensor stops the attraction, know that it’s for your own good. The ride stop is doing exactly what it was designed to do.

Also understand that many rides stop due to guest related issues.
 
ShoalFox

ShoalFox

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
Yes
Am I correct in remembering that the initial issues with the ride control computer have never really been fully fixed?
 
Chef Mickey

Chef Mickey

Well-Known Member
EricsBiscuit said:
Still boggles my mind why they replaced WoM with a ride that can't operate almost half the time.
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You can't trust the 40% number. I don't believe it. Some of it's weather, the rest of it is someone exaggerating without actual facts.

Let's say in a typical week, Test Track runs an average of 10 hrs/day. That's 70 hours of "up time" per week. 40% down time would be 28 hours per week (4 hours per day) literally not running. If a ride stops running for 10 minutes, it takes a lot of 10 minute intervals to get up to 240 minutes of down time. You rarely see a ride down for hours at a time if it's not weather related.

I've probably been to EPCOT 300 times since Test Track opened. I was there for the "soft opening" in I believe 1998 or 1999 and it probably was down 50% of the time. It's gotten much more reliable.
 

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