EPCOT Test Track to be reimagined

[Mike S]

As a kid one ride I always wanted was a magic carpet through the Cave of Wonders because it was something familiar and cool looking.

Literally had no effect on my hype for Expedition Everest. “Ooooh, a new mountain!!!” If you build a good ride, they will come. Especially with a powerful marketing department like Disney’s. They could put it everywhere, even sneak peaks on Disney +.

 

[Quietmouse]

As a kid one ride I always wanted was a magic carpet through the Cave of Wonders because it was something familiar and cool looking.

Literally had no effect on my hype for Expedition Everest. “Ooooh, a new mountain!!!” If you build a good ride, they will come. Especially with a powerful marketing department like Disney’s. They could put it everywhere, even sneak peaks on Disney +.

To be fair Everest is a giant Himalayan mountain roller coaster. The idea sort of sells itself.

But if it was tied with a popular/beloved Disney ip would the ride get longer waits or would there be higher level of merchandise sales attached ?

My best guess is probably.

From a business perspective, what Disney is currently doing with the ip mandate makes 100 percent sense.

Not that I’m the biggest fan of the concept, but that it simply makes sense on the business operations side of the coin.

 

[larryz]

But if it was tied with a popular/beloved Disney ip would the ride get longer waits or would there be higher level of merchandise sales attached ?

 

[danlb_2000]

I hadn't heard of Memphis before, so I've just looked it up and....yes, looks very familiar!

If you remember the 80's then you know what Memphis is even if you didn't know that was what it was called.

 

[larryz]

My take: Epcot was the Imagineers' sop to Walt Disney's (the man, not the company) dream of the REAL "Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow."

They knew Walt's dream was highly implausible if not outright impossible, so they built E.P.C.O.T.* to represent the technologies and knowledge Walt's dream city would need to come to fruition. (Besides, he was gone and didn't sign the paychecks any more, so they could basically do what they wanted.)

That turned into Edutainment, which worked just fine until sponsorships started drying up and the education system started teaching tests and the Internet made available to everyone everything, everywhere, all at once (not a plug for the similarly named movie).

So as the Epcot kids started growing up, they got bored with Epcot -- having seen it all before -- and asked the serious question, "Why is there a Disney park without any Disney in it?"

And the managers, who by now were all MBAs instead of artists and imagineers, agreed, seeing $$$ in adapting the park to the new audience.

So if they're re-re-reimagining Horizons into Test Track v3, no biggie. If they throw a couple of Cars cars in there, well, it's a natural fit, isn't it? Or if Tesla buys into it with some money and cars, what would be the harm?

Of course, if Tesla joins in, they'll have to make Goofy the main character.

* Every Penny Collected Off Tourists

 

[Gusey]

As someone who visited Epcot for the first time in the 2000, I was bored. World Showcase was mainly shopping, documentaries and at the time 2 rides. Future World leaned too heavily into the education side so much that we went on Ellen's Energy Adventure, walked through the chaos of Innoventions expecting a ride then went straight to World Showcase before eventually seeing Honey I Shrunk the Audience. It wasn't until the addition of Nemo that we went to the Seas pavilion, and that encouraged us to look at the other pavilions in Future World. It was the injection of IP that actually made it worth visiting these areas of the park, especially now for my family who regularly skip Small World, Figment and Tom Sawyer Island for being too boring

 

[zipadee999]

As someone who visited Epcot for the first time in the 2000, I was bored. World Showcase was mainly shopping, documentaries and at the time 2 rides. Future World leaned too heavily into the education side so much that we went on Ellen's Energy Adventure, walked through the chaos of Innoventions expecting a ride then went straight to World Showcase before eventually seeing Honey I Shrunk the Audience. It wasn't until the addition of Nemo that we went to the Seas pavilion, and that encouraged us to look at the other pavilions in Future World. It was the injection of IP that actually made it worth visiting these areas of the park, especially now for my family who regularly skip Small World, Figment and Tom Sawyer Island for being too boring

I think 2000 was a tough time for Epcot. Horizons was gone, JII was gone, and WOM was gone. SSE and Test Track were the only two headliners in future world. Energy was hit or miss after its overhaul, we were stuck with Journey into YOUR Imagination, and Soarin’ was barely even an idea yet. While WoL and the Seas were still operating in their original forms, I wouldn’t call either of them headliners like I would Horizons or JII.

 

[Gusey]

I think 2000 was a tough time for Epcot. Horizons was gone, JII was gone, and WOM was gone. SSE and Test Track were the only two headliners in future world. Energy was hit or miss after its overhaul, we were stuck with Journey into YOUR Imagination, and Soarin’ was barely even an idea yet. While WoL and the Seas were still operating in their original forms, I wouldn’t call either of them headliners like I would Horizons or JII.

Exactly, that's why I don't have the nostalgic love many people have on these boards because I never experienced those. And the newer generations of fans simply don't have the same nostalgic connections to the original park Ips. For many newer generations, Disney Parks should be filled with Disney Movies and Disney Characters

 

[Gusey]

According to your profile…you weren’t “bored” if you visited in 2000…you were learning how to use the potty

I think you need to understand that people can be born in the 1990S and still be a child in the 2000S. I'm not going to dox my age on here, but I was definitely beyond "potty" age in 2004/5. Either way, my age should not negate my perspective of visiting the parks in the 2000s and this is the kind of gatekeeping that makes it hard to discuss anything on these boards

 

[osian]

If you remember the 80's then you know what Memphis is even if you didn't know that was what it was called.

View attachment 812181

Remember the 80s? I WAS the 80s!

 

[ChrisFL]

Some of it was marketing driven but a lot of the stuff people didn’t like was part of a fairly serious and widespread design trend called Memphis.

It was out of place at EPCOT because the architecture was distinctly modernist and Memphis was a strongly post-modern style.

Other than the interior of WoL, I don't know what else in EPCOT could be considered Memphis. WoL was HEAVILY Memphis inspired though.

Edit: Also the Swan and Dolphin hotel since it was Michael Graves...directly part of the Memphis Group

Here's a video about the Memphis Group if anyone is interested:

 

[OptimusPrime]

I feel like my comment wasn’t really about transformers

Yeah you name dropped Epcot I’m dense but I’m not illiterate

 

[DCBaker]

Here's a look from the monorail today as work on dismantling the marquee has started:

 

[zipadee999]

According to your profile…you weren’t “bored” if you visited in 2000…you were learning how to use the potty

Mmmm hmmm…this is another case of “I never saw it…so you have to PROVE to me it happened”

I have great hope for the future of Disney fandom (if it’s still around )

And regardless of who was there and who wasn’t, the proof is in the lineup. If you take a 2024 map of Epcot, a 2000 map of Epcot, and an 80s map of Epcot, the 2000 map is going to prove itself pretty quickly to have the weakest attraction lineup

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

EPCOT was also very much loved by children as well. Including child me in the early 90s.

Sadly, not me. I liked the double decker bus, the friendship boats and the original Illuminations - that’s it. I told my parents the rest “looked boring” - and we spent more time at Studios and MK.

I would have absolutely loved the original figment and horizons - little did I know

Thankfully I’ve gotten to see everything else I missed in that park.

 

[MisterPenguin]

Edit: Also the Swan and Dolphin hotel since it was Michael Graves...directly part of the Memphis Group

A lot of the Swolphin has been deMemphisized in the past decade.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

A lot of the Swolphin has been deMemphisized in the past decade.

What’s the Memphis referring to? I’ve never smelled BBQ or seen mallard ducks in the indoor fountains? (I’m being silly but genuinely interested)

 

[Bocabear]

Real Memphis design was whimsical, modern and fabulous... And there was a lot of it around... Michael Graves work utilized that style heavily...for a while anyway. It was the best of the 80s design trends....

 

[Brer Panther]

Maybe there were people who thought EPCOT was originally boring... but not everyone likes Frozen and Encanto either.

I've only seen Avatar once and I remember very little about it. Pandora might as well have been an original land for how little I care about Avatar. But I still like it.

 

[Gusey]

Maybe there were people who thought EPCOT was originally boring... but not everyone likes Frozen and Encanto either.

100%, there needs to be a good balance and at the moment, there actually is:
IP Based:

1. Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind
2. Seas with Nemo and Friends
3. Journey of Water Inspired by Moana
4. Ratatouille
5. Frozen
6. Three Caballeros
7. Beauty and the Beast Sing Along
8. Celebracion Encanto

Non-IP Based:

1. Spaceship Earth
2. Mission Space
3. Test Track
4. Journey into Imagination
5. Soarin
6. Living with the Land
7. Impressions de France
8. Reflections of China
9. Canada: Far and Wide