Test Track is Ruined (spoiler alert!)

[Bloopers]

Went two days ago and a car was stuck on the ride so they issued fast passes for everyone in line.

But I did get to go on the ride a few days before that - I thought it was fun. One thing though - when they show us our car performance (like during the ride), it changed too quickly and we'd actually see the cars designed from people behind us, not ours. They should fix that!!!

 

[Susan Savia]

We rode it a half a dozen times in the past 2 weeks and love the new look. We skipped the design portion. Great ride!

 

[DVC4bestvacations]

While I don’t hate the new version I do find it disappointing. First off they made no attempt to build the story line into the old brake testing area of the ride. The truck should have been removed it just doesn’t fit in. I do like the computer graphics throughout the ride.

As a side note for those that have'nt had a chance to ride TT2.0 the videos on youtube etc. don't come close to giving you a good idea of what the ride is like.

 

[scoobygirl39541]

Rode the new version once and I'm already bored with the "design your own car" portion. While we were always eager to ride TT1, we're already bored with TT2. I really miss the premise and the testing elements. Now its just, oooh shiny! That's the difference for me. It's all personal preference though.

 

[George Lucas on a Bench]

World of Motion was an Epcot Classic. TT2.0 is much closer to an EPCOT Center Classic then TT1.0

It comes about as close to being an EPCOT Center classic as the current Journey Into Imagination, which is about as close as you can come to experiencing catastrophic failure on a Disney ride. Test Track isn't that bad, obviously, but it doesn't come anywhere close to really feeling like an EPCOT Center attraction. Blue lights and disembodied vaguely robotic-sounding voice does not = EPCOT Center.

 

[Tom Morrow]

Rode the new TestTrack last week and I regret to say that I was very disappointed. :-(

My disappointment was not with the ride system, as this has remained exactly the same.

It was not with the branding- I expect and respect the sponsorship aspects of Disney attractions (how much more would admission be if the attractions weren't sponsored?... or how much less detailed?) I have heard tons of people complain about the Chevrolet branding; I guess no one noticed the GM branding previously??? (Do people know the are the same company?)

I thought the queue area was more boring compared to the old testing lab, but the new decor is nice to look at.

The interactive car designer was cute, and I can see how today's, impatient, tablet-oriented, video-game culture would appreciate that over looking at the more museum-like testing lab, but in reality I felt it was a complete waste if time- seemed like it took longer than the original pre-show and worst of all, in my opinion, had absolutely nothing to do with the ride itself, while pretending that it did...

Which bring me to why I did not like the ride as I used to... I felt that the new version lacks a solid premise.

The ride system by itself is a strange, jerky, stop and go roller coaster of sorts... The previous version of the ride put these motions into context. (At least better than they do now)...

"Let's do a hill climb"- the car goes up a hill.
"Let's test different road surfaces"- the ride gets bumpy.
"Let's test the anti lock brakes"- the car stops and slides a bit.

Then there were the tongue and cheek elements like the foreshadowing of the head on collision during both the pre show and the animatronic car crash (which didn't work most of the time) that you see just before the "barrier test."

The new visuals on the ride are very nice and I like the use of the technology: lasers, video projection mapping, but to me the elements were just there along-side the ride, and did not seem to complement or enhance it. I felt like the ride I was experiencing had no connection to what I was seeing and very little to what I was hearing.

...and back to the car designer aspect- I honestly didn't get how that was connected to the actual ride in any way.

I still think the ride is good, but I don't think the changes were an improvement. -sad.

Very good analysis, and I'm willing to bet that the general public probably feels about the same way regarding the changes. Its funny because when I first rode it I raved about it, but now I think my excitement and enthusiasm mostly stemmed from just seeing the Test Track ride path with completely new visuals.

I think it could all work so much better with a little more premise and context of what you're doing, and either make the custom car designs matter more to the ride or ditch the idea completely. Maybe have a pre-show that explains what the SIM-car is, and that it'll be testing a pre-selected design. Heck, I'm sure the ride could be configured to "randomize" each physical ride car's stats, and maybe randomly choose one area that that design excels most at out of the four categories. (as opposed to somehow comparing up to 6 different user-uploaded designs... which still doesn't work)

The truck should have been removed it just doesn’t fit in.

I feel like it fits in more now than before. Why was it in the middle of a physical vehicle testing facility? Now, its in a computer grid simulation that can generate virtually any "obstacles" for the car.

 

[RogueHabit]

SO disappointed with the reimagined Test Track. The old queue was so much more interesting. Now it is just a big commercial. The ride itself is just a dark ride with some neon. I almost missed seeing the truck near-collision effect. And those acid and cold tunnel effects were so fun. The educational aspects of how vehicles are tested is completely missing from the experience. The new interactive "choose your vehicle and see its performance" did not grab me at all. Some of the exhibits after the ride did not even work. Why oh why did they ruin this Epcot classic?

Everyone has an opinion I guess. Haven't riddenm it yet, but from what I have seen, I am looking forward to it.

 

[montyz81]

It comes about as close to being an EPCOT Center classic as the current Journey Into Imagination, which is about as close as you can come to experiencing catastrophic failure on a Disney ride. Test Track isn't that bad, obviously, but it doesn't come anywhere close to really feeling like an EPCOT Center attraction. Blue lights and disembodied vaguely robotic-sounding voice does not = EPCOT Center.

I disagree completely. Before I respond, I have to ask if you have ever been on WoM, TT1.0 and TT 2.0?

 

[martinthesparta]

I think any time something changes, someone will think it was the worst decision that could have been made. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, as long as subjectivity is not pushed on others. However, I think it is fun to discuss the reasons why or why not something may or may not have been a good idea.

It is funny how we seem to get more attached to something once we know it will be gone. Test Track was never my favorite attraction, and I probally took it for granted. Now that I know the original is gone and I can never ride it again, I definetly miss it in a way resent the new attraction.

The revamp looks good, but I also can't understand why Disney needs absolutely everything to be "interactive". It's overkill, and most of the interactive aspects are so rudimentary that they are generally unimpressive and uninteresting (the hitchhicking ghosts are the extreme exception however).

 

[midwest_mice]

SO disappointed with the reimagined Test Track. The old queue was so much more interesting. Now it is just a big commercial. The ride itself is just a dark ride with some neon. I almost missed seeing the truck near-collision effect. And those acid and cold tunnel effects were so fun. The educational aspects of how vehicles are tested is completely missing from the experience. The new interactive "choose your vehicle and see its performance" did not grab me at all. Some of the exhibits after the ride did not even work. Why oh why did they ruin this Epcot classic?

I agree that the que is very boring now. With the old test track there was so much more to watch and read. Now it seems like a longer wait

 

[cheezbat]

Rode it yesterday and I was underwhelmed. While parts of it look cool, the ride just doesn't make as much sense as the original version...