News Test Track to be reimagined

[Drdcm]

Looking forward to a refresh. I wonder how long this will take

 

[James Alucobond]

I kind of hope they leave most of the queue alone. The interactive elements can get tossed out for all I care, but the overall visual style of it is quite compatible with the Epcot aesthetic and doesn't really need changing much. The primary focus and money should be on improving the actual ride.

I feel like the current queue aesthetic also meshes well with the new awning, so hopefully that’s exactly what’s happening.

 

[Captain Barbossa]

I'm going to really miss the queue music. I have no idea why, but it has always just sounded like "Disney vacation" to me. Weird.

Unfortunately, 2.0 didn't age well. Here's hoping 3.0 is another step up!

Some of my favorite attraction music. The first minute or so has a nice futuristic vibe to it. I listen to it pretty often.

 

[trainplane3]

Yep I think most people are actually glad to see it close with hopes of a good v3.

I'd toss this pavilion in with the good refurbs. Regular refreshes while keeping a bit of the same theme but making it new all again.

I liked the props of 1 and the debut of the ride system. I briefly liked the Tron-ness of 2 until it sunk it there wasn't much to look at but the soundtrack was solid and the goofy car design was fun. Here's hoping 3 will give a good Epcot "positive future" feeling with a bit of WoM tossed in on top.

They all stuck to edutainment decently well in their own ways while constantly bringing in guests. I wish all of the FW pavilions could be like this (except The Land, it's mostly perfect).

 

[Homemade Imagineering]

Time to rewatch @marni1971 tribute videos once again!!

 

[danlb_2000]

I posted this in another thread... Looks like they already started work on the outside loop before it closed.

 

[gerarar]

I posted this in another thread... Looks like they already started work on the outside loop before it closed.

View attachment 792429

Those support columns on the loop have had scaffolding for a couple of years now.

From 2023:

Even on the track portion of the front of the attraction also had scaffolding (+ scrims) for some time. Was taken down months ago iirc.

 

[Moth]

All I really want from this is a return of Fun to be Free and something to look at while I’m riding. The Sea Serpent would be a welcome addition.

Free in mind. Free in spirit. Free to follow the distant star of our ancestors to a brighter tomorrow.

 

[lazyboy97o]

It's not a permanent closure, and no one seems to be really big on version 2.0, so it's not really surprising.

And if you were big on it, it hasn’t been fully functioning for awhile now.

 

[EagleScout610]

It's down again.

 

[DreamfinderGuy]

It has gone down twice in the last half an hour. Still currently down.

 

[Moth]

Hedging bets on an early end for TT 2.0. Do I hear twenty? Twenty dollars to entertain and amaze!

 

[Kirby86]

They'll pull a country bears and let the people in line take a picture of the loading platform them give them a poster.

 

[EagleScout610]

Hedging bets on an early end for TT 2.0. Do I hear twenty? Twenty dollars to entertain and amaze!

$5 Disney Gift Card and a Dole Whip

 

[DreamfinderGuy]

Hedging bets on an early end for TT 2.0. Do I hear twenty? Twenty dollars to entertain and amaze!

Stock on that bet may have just went up. They have announced that they expect to be down for longer than anticipated. Most of the queue has emptied out, but they are not forcing anyone to leave yet

 

[EagleScout610]

App says 65 minutes at the moment. Hasn't rolled over to 'Temporarily Closed' of doom yet.

 

[Moth]

Stock on that bet may have just went up. They have announced that they expect to be down for longer than anticipated. Most of the queue has emptied out, but they are not forcing anyone to leave yet

DO I HEAR FIFTY! FIFTY DOLLARS!!!!

 

[Streetway]

DO I HEAR FIFTY! FIFTY DOLLARS!!!!

I will be forever sad that this happened to original bears and that they never got a true final show.

 

[EagleScout610]

It's back up! Vehicle testing has resumed

 

[C33Mom]

And if you were big on it, it hasn’t been fully functioning for awhile now.

We really liked doing it (and explaining how designing cars differently would impact their component scores) to our kids— but on our last 3 trips, we often skipped it because of insane lines (and looong LL returns or mid-wait breakdowns) and when we did do it, more often than not we didn’t actually see the scores for our cars on the ride at all, which upset our kids. Maybe it was intentional to make people like our family less upset about the closure and redesign.

Thought about trying to make it out one last time but the above frustrations discouraged us from going and the reports of closures on and off today make me feel even better about the choice—but I’m very happy for the folks there that they did make the effort to bring the ride back up tonight.