Test Track Opinions

[General Grizz]

Here's a great way to look at WOM's loss (though its meaning lives on forever as long as we exist..)

Walt has some great birthday presents up there for his 100th!

Boy, now I am happy! :sohappy:

 

[conntom]

It's a Car. To me it's no fun I drive a car every day big deal.
I don't go on Vacation to go on a ride thats a car. I wish
WOM was still inEPCOT not Test Track sorry to all that love
this ride.

 

[jcrb]

Test Track does things in a car that you can normally not do.

High Speed Loops!

 

[SirNim]

Originally posted by jcrb
Test Track does things in a car that you can normally not do.

High Speed Loops!

Pushin the pedal to the metal - Vrooom vrooom! It does things I would LOVE to do on a freeway (skewed interpretation of a WDW vacation planning video - a guy who was interviewed and said that same thing, more or less):animwink: :lol:

 

[SirNim]

Can't remember exact words...:lol:

 

[darthdarrel]

I think test track is ok,but not great!

 

[jaylenofan86]

TT is ok, nothing real good. I could do the same thing in my car, or go to the autobon(sp) in Germany! No speed limit there! That brings up something, is there still the racing experience at WDW Speedway? You could do 3 or 10 laps I think.

 

[mickeyfanatics]

Just a few comments here....Test Track is OK, but it is no ToT.

It is not a family attaction since you have to be 40 inches to ride, not all of the family can ride. Also, the moron who designed the seats only made them 3 across (average family 4) instead of 2+2 or 4+4. Now they need that stupid single riders lane to fill in the empty seats (Six Flags anyone?).

Second, it has the longest line on average of any attraction at WDW and runs out of Fast Passes the earliest. This ride it not worth more than a 15-20 min wait.

BTW, they could have built a new building behind WOM to house TT and still had it loop around the WOM building!

 

[Main Street USA]

I really don't think Epcot "needed" a thrill ride. The fact that it had the slower, more relaxing and educational rides set it apart from Magic Kingdom for quite a while.

World of Motion was one of my favorites, and I miss it dearly. All of the memories I has as a kid, are just that, and I can't ever have the opportunity to experience the real thing again.

Test Track was a LONG awaited attraction, supposed to be open, not open, supposed to be open, not open........
When I finally did get to ride it, I wasn't let down. I didn't think the theming was skimpy or lacking. I did lack the theme SONG, however, which is a pretty big part of what an attraction should be.

Overall, I'd have to say that I actually love both rides, and I wish TT could have been built NEXT to WoM, but, it wasn't. If I had my choice to pick one or the other, I'd choose WoM in a second, because of those memories, and because it was a BRILLIANT example of what Epcot was supposed to be.

AND, for those who think I'm being a tad over-dramatic, I'd be willing to bet you didn't grow up riding it. I only visited once a year, but when something is there that long, it still becomes a part of you, and seeing pictures of it hurts a little. Horizons, of course, is the same story, but that's for a different thread.

 

[jaylenofan86]

That was deep man. Anyway, I only rode WoM once! The next year I came back, it was gone! I loved that ride so much, I had been waiting all year to ride it!

 

[Erika]

Originally posted by mickeyfanatics
Just a few comments here....Test Track is OK, but it is no ToT.

It is not a family attaction since you have to be 40 inches to ride, not all of the family can ride.

Plenty of families consist of people all over 40 inches

My boss just got back from a trip with his family of 5 (aged 7 to 12) and this ride is a favorite among all of them. However, only 2 of them will even consider stepping onto a ride such as IASW (one of my favorites).

Unfortunately, often rides which accomodate the entire family don't appeal to the entire family. I think that, overall, Disney has a pretty good balance.

 

[SpongeScott]

Originally posted by Scooter
As for Test Track...I rode it and was dissapointed. I thought the queue area was boring. I thought the displays were unrealistic, and I thought the ride itself and the "Simulations" were done poorly.

When I'm on Pirates of The Caribbean, I feel like I'm emmersed in a real Pirates World. When I'm on Haunted Mansion, I feel like I'm really in a Haunted House, When I ride Splash Mountain, I feel like I'm actually IN the storybook and when I'm on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad I really feel like I'm on a runaway train. The list goes on but I think you all get the point.

Nothing on Test Track even seemed remotely real to me and if I want to simulate going 55 mph I'll just ride on the Interstate with my Windows rolled down.

Funny, I find the queue area one of the best because of the displays that they have while you go through the line. My father is a retired GM employee and he commented that the things you are seeing are the real deal of what you would see on the assembly line and the such. Now, I have never been in a real pirate's world, so I don't think I could make a comment that I was in a pirate's world. How do we know what it was like? We're going off of someone's best guess. The TT displays are more actual/factual than POTC or the Haunted Mansion will ever be simply because there is more concrete evidence to base TT on. But, to each his own if you feel that way; it's all about how an attraction/ride comes off for each individual.

And I said this on a post earlier about TT--the point and purpose of EPCOT to me is to educate while also entertaining. TT gives you the chance to see what an actual car testing facility is like and to provide a few examples. Sure, you can go down the interstate with the windows open and get the same feeling, but the point is for you to experience what cars are put through before you go to the dealership and plop down your $25.000 to drive it home. Hopefully, you were educated on the process of testing a car and seeing what it goes through before you ever see it.

Obviously, for me, I enjoy TT; not as a thrill ride, but as educational/informative and seeing it come alive through the eyes of my children. Were it not for them, I would never ride it again because I've gotten my maximum benefit from it.

My two cents....

 

[Disneynutcase]

I think you guys, particularly Grizzlyhall, hype TT up way too much as being a so-called "thrill" ride. So it goes a little fast in places.

To compare it to the Mountains at MK, or Dinosaur, or ToT or RnRC (which my Air Force Colonel Father-in-law, my bro-in-law, and myself all claimed was SO well done that it was worth the price of our four day passes) is ridiculous.

It's just not the same kind of "thrill ride."

It is, in fact, more family than thrill. My 3 year old nephew went on it (made the height requirement) and loved it.

With that said, it was also a ride that my sister-in-law (who can't have sudden jolts due to a serious medical condition) couldn't ride. But my 68 year old mother could.

So to those of you, like Grizz, who constantly moan that it isn't ""family friendly," all I have to say is get real. It's a helluva lot more family friendly than ToT or RnRC. Hell, the Alien scene in the GMR did in four kids (ages 2-8). They were ready to wet their pants and didn't get back into the ride until the Wizard of Oz scene. And the GMR, according to Grizzlyhall, is allegedly a "family-friendly" ride.

With that said, let's leave our prejudices and loose interpretations and labelings of certain rides alone and concentrate on the question at hand.

I like TT. Thought it was fun. And I totally think it tells a certain story. But I also think in all it's alleged coolness that it reeks a bit too much as a living ride-thru commercial for the auto industry, particularly GM. But I like the movement, the speed, the break through the wall part...

On the negative side, I think the lines it draws are completely ridiculous. No way I'd ever ride this thing w/o getting a Fast Pass. It's really not worth the wait. But I don't think RnRC (one of my faves) and Splash Mountain (excellent ride also w/ way too long lines) are worth more than a 40 minute wait as well. Thank God, and whatever Disney genius that came up with Fast Pass, for Fast Pass!.

Now I don't have to get an ulcer thinking about all the other things in the parks I could be doing by not being stuck in an insanely long line. And I'm happy that the majority of the public still doesn't "get" how to use Fast Pass.

Oh yeah, I also miss WoM very much and think they are stupid to pull it when adding TT to WoM would make it a nice multiple-attraction pavilion. I find Epcot's practice of pulling attractions a bit offensive since they have space to totally add to the park. Last new attractions that weren't replacements were Norway and WoL--back in '88. That in itself is pathetic!

And we have several recent threads on this board about what they are replacing next instead of just adding a new attraction to this very wonderful park.

 

[SpongeScott]

Well said, Disneynutcase.

 

[Merlin]

WOM was a great attraction (better than Horizons in my opinion, but not as good as Spaceship Earth...I always kind of lumped the three into the same category since they were all three the "history of" something). On that note, I prefer TT because it is quite unique among theme park attractions. From what I know about Walt, he was kind of a techno freak so I would think he'd have been impressed by the technology of the attraction (more computers than the shuttle program!). It is a little tame compared to what I'd expected before riding it (i.e. early in the ride when you slam on the brakes without the ABS, I wish they'd have you spin out more), but I still think it is a great attraction. It educates in an entertaining way, which is Epcot's mission, so in that sense I think it is very "Disney".

On the downside, I think there are two things they could have done better:

1) The queue area is not very interesting. For an attraction where they clearly anticipated long waits, they should have spiced that up a lot.

2) The loading area seems very disorganized after you come out of the "training film" room. It is easy to lose your place in line at that point and that is frustrating.

 

[Erika]

Originally posted by Merlin

1) The queue area is not very interesting. For an attraction where they clearly anticipated long waits, they should have spiced that up a lot.

I am reading this from a lot of people and I think it's one of those things where you either love it or hate it. My brother in law is a Chevy technician and he was thrilled with it. My husband, another car guy, also loved it. I have to agree with them that it is pretty cool, though I am usually pretty bored by almost anything having to do with cars.

 

[dreamer]

Personally, I don't like TT very much. It's not a very good thrill ride and the only theme is information about cars. I think the latter fits Epcot's mission, but what I learned didn't amaze me. I was just waiting for the thrill part, which is disappointingly short.

It either needs to be more entertaining or more thrilling. I definitely preferred World of Motion and think they should have updated that concept (keeping a lot of it) instead of building a whole new ride.

 

[KathyG/poohbear]

I think the ride is themed just fine. It could easily be a world's fair attraction so I guess it's fine for Disney. I just don't like it. I think all the PR, etc. prepares you for something better and after you have rode it once I just don't see the attraction. I would never wait over 20 minutes for this ride. My son is 17 and thinks it is wonderful. Everyone has a different opinion and no one is right or wrong.

 

[garyhoov]

I like it, but my opinion isn't particularly important. What is important is it is a very popular ride. We can pontificate from our ivory towers all we like, but the bottom line is more people want to ride test track. World of motion never had the lines that Test Track has, and I'm guessing it had a lower capacity.

I think if it was possible to ask Walt Disney if he would rather have a ride that he liked or that his guests liked, he would give them the one they wanted (as long as it doesn't stray too far from his core principles).

 

[Disneynutcase]

Truth is, WoM was a high-capacity ride. Almost all omnimover rides are. So I'd bet WoM's lack of line was mainly because it was easy to load and unload. There's got to be figures out there somewhere about passengers per hour and I wouldn't be surprised if WoM had double what TT currently has.

TT surprises me by how slow the line goes. At first I thought it was because of the pre-show, but that is inherently designed to break up the wait. Because once you're out of the pre-show, there's still usually a 5-10 minute wait until you're loaded into the ride vehicle.

Not sure if it's the 3-across/lack of seats or if they are just kind of naturally slow because everyone needs to be strapped in suffiently for safety. But the loading seems agonizingly slow. And I think, by many posts, people are saying that the ride (whether you like it or not) isn't really worth that kind of wait.

Hopefully M:S will pull people from this line and then the proposed additions to Epcot w/in the next few years will bring TT line down to a sane level.
But I'm a bit skeptical about that happening since I think the long lines are due to the inherent loading/unloading flaws.