News Test Track to be reimagined

[RobbinsDad]

I know it's a downer mentality, but I don't trust this. All the rethemed EPCOT attractions in the past 30 years have dumbed down the edutainment component. I can't see this suddenly bucking the trend. I'd love to be surprised.

 

[ChrisFL]

Purely Speculative and just playing around but...

It looks like from the concept art we are going to get physical sets/elements in the attraction and I think we can agree/hope for that. What if it was a ride through different biomes or terrain with physical and immersive sets? Obviously from Chevy they could speak to all terrain and weather no matter where you live. But the story and future tech is where I get hung up. Maybe to much like the Land living with the land and Soaring with cars.

Drive through forests/redwoods
Ocean Highway/coast/cape cod
Dessert/sedona
Everglades/swamps

Just give us something that is immersive and true Disney like. Not a cheap redo like 2.0

I don't think the redo was cheap at all

 

[Disnutz311]

I don't think the redo was cheap at all

I should have stated more so looks cheap cause everything with Imagineering is at government pricing and timing. Blue Tape for corrections is probably $345 a roll. Test Track 1.0 is a way better ride with better story integration into EPCOT and its ethos. Version 2.0 is a lighting designer's wet dream with screens, lights, Tron like outlines as 95% of the ride changes and the story is Chevy OnQ tech and it just seems cheap and inexpensive. I bet that demo bill was pretty big though.

 

[Cmdr_Crimson]

We better get Pig Man back.

I'm all for the Sea Serpent to be back instead..

 

[Earlie the Pearlie]

I'm all for the Sea Serpent to be back instead..

How about both?

 

[aladdin2007]

I know it's a downer mentality, but I don't trust this. All the rethemed EPCOT attractions in the past 30 years have dumbed down the edutainment component. I can't see this suddenly bucking the trend. I'd love to be surprised.

it will be what GM wants and what they want they will get...there is clearly inside love and respect for world of motion to some extent. This was a nice big surprise yesterday and by the looks and sound of things so far, I think it will be done well so lets see what happens before writing it off too much. Its more than anything Disney would have done had it been theirs.

 

[FettFan]

I'm all for the Sea Serpent to be back instead..

The sea serpent would be representative of "clean" electric vehicles in a world where we still stubbornly reject building new nuclear power plants.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

No inside info, but considering TCM wasn't much more than putting their name on the ride, and Chevrolet paid for essentially everything since Test Track was first conceived in the 90s...

TCM was new lobby decor, new pre-show video, post show upgrades, as well as the overall sponsorship of a major attraction. I do not think it was nothing.

Its more than anything Disney would have done had it been theirs.

So you think somebody from GM is a world of motion fan? That GM out of the blue said “let’s make this world of motion!”

 

[aladdin2007]

TCM was new lobby decor, new pre-show video, post show upgrades, as well as the overall sponsorship of a major attraction. I do think it was nothing.



So you think somebody from GM is a world of motion fan? That GM out of the blue said “let’s make this world of motion!”

I dont think thats the plan at all, I think the company still has a liking for it and wants to infuse some of that spirit. of course were not getting world of motion.

 

[ChrisFL]

I should have stated more so looks cheap cause everything with Imagineering is at government pricing and timing. Blue Tape for corrections is probably $345 a roll. Test Track 1.0 is a way better ride with better story integration into EPCOT and its ethos. Version 2.0 is a lighting designer's wet dream with screens, lights, Tron like outlines as 95% of the ride changes and the story is Chevy OnQ tech and it just seems cheap and inexpensive. I bet that demo bill was pretty big though.

Completely disagree about 1.0 being better. 2.0 fits way more into what EPCOT Center stood for, futuristic vision with showing concepts of advanced technology and basically being in a digital testing area which is how a lot of things are done in a design process these days.

1.0 was stuck in the mid 90's with an annoying queue and all of the advancement of a home depot parking lot....but that's just my opinion

 

[WaltsTreasureChest]

Completely disagree about 1.0 being better. 2.0 fits way more into what EPCOT Center stood for, futuristic vision with showing concepts of advanced technology and basically being in a digital testing area which is how a lot of things are done in a design process these days.

1.0 was stuck in the mid 90's with an annoying queue and all of the advancement of a home depot parking lot....but that's just my opinion

Then you should love 3.0

 

[TTA94]

I wonder if they really are considering enclosing the outdoor section of the track. It’s always a weather problem and it’s a ugly view of backstage. If they enclosed it they could do some really awesome lighting effects or projections as you ride through it.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

I wonder if they really are considering enclosing the outdoor section of the track. It’s always a weather problem and it’s an ugly view of backstage. If they enclosed it they could do some really awesome lighting effects or projections as you ride through it.

I know i read/ heard an imagineer say it was looked at for 2.0 and it was going to be too expensive. Did Kevin work on this? Maybe it’s in his book.

 

[UNCgolf]

TCM was new lobby decor, new pre-show video, post show upgrades, as well as the overall sponsorship of a major attraction. I do not think it was nothing.

I didn't say it was nothing, but that's a tiny drop in the bucket compared to what GM has spent on Test Track.

More importantly, the entire issue here is paying for a new ride or overhaul, not what was spent in the past. TCM wasn't going to pay for an overhaul -- if they were willing to do so, we'd still have Great Movie Ride.

 

[trainplane3]

Test Track | FWSS — E82 | The Epcot Legacy

www.epcotlegacy.com

Unfortunately those are still just recordings. Still hoping Disney will release more ride and area audio one day.

 

[Disnutz311]

Completely disagree about 1.0 being better. 2.0 fits way more into what EPCOT Center stood for, futuristic vision with showing concepts of advanced technology and basically being in a digital testing area which is how a lot of things are done in a design process these days.

1.0 was stuck in the mid 90's with an annoying queue and all of the advancement of a home depot parking lot....but that's just my opinion

We can agree to disagree, and that's ok.

EPCOT's Future world is what you said in having a Futuristic Vision/Advance concepts but also more than that. It had Edutainment and Storytelling even more so. If we breakdown each original ride (and those added by '83) which you can agree was the heart and soul of what EPCOT was born from, I believe Edutainment and storytelling was 3/4 of every ride and the Future and Tech part was the last part of the ride and exit experiences. That is the part that could have always been updated. Test Track 2.0 lost the storytelling and edutainment all together and went all in on tech and future.

Universe of Energy - Learn about energy, gas, power of current day. Go back to see where it all came from (Crude Oil and the Dinos) and a blurb at the end about the future with screens before docking.

Horizons - Dreamers and doers of the past, and its society, meets the future and where it could go. This one is a 50/50 split

World of Motion - Story of transportation throughout the ages and the future.

Imagination - Pretty self explanatory with the entire ride being edutainment and storytelling. The Imageworks was the future and tech.

The Land - Learn about earth and it's different biomes with education and then future. The future was/is the greenhouses with Hydroponic, Fish Farming etc which was a small percentage of the said greenhouses.

The Living Seas - Some storytelling and more about modern day tech back then and the experiences of conservation/life of the sea.

 

[Cmdr_Crimson]

How about both?

 

[Mike S]

So you think somebody from GM is a world of motion fan? That GM out of the blue said “let’s make this world of motion!”

I think it’s entirely possible for some executive old guy to be feeling nostalgic. Plenty on this board alone, just minus the executive part

 

[Mickeynerd17]

So you think somebody from GM is a world of motion fan? That GM out of the blue said “let’s make this world of motion!”

You'd be surprised.

When I chatted with the lounge manager in 2018, his office had a large World of Motion poster inside along with TT 1.0 items.

It does seem to be that they care about the history of their pavilion.

 

[MrPromey]

I've always wondered why they didn't enclose the outdoor track and have you travel through the WOM City of Tomorrow.

64.9 miles per hour feels a lot faster with the wind in your hair than it does driving through an enclosed tunnel.

If you mean creating a huge building to house the entire back area AND the track, it would have been insainly expensive to basically build a giant oblong dome roughtly the size of wonders of life for one show scene visible for maybe 15 seconds that would be slightly difficult for people on the outside seats to even see and that most people wouldn't be focused on... and still would have diminished the feeling of speed on the track for what it actually is.