Epcot's revised Test Track opens next month, this time with Chevy sponsor

Of the last 4 times I've been in EPCOT (1999, 2000, 2002 and 2012) I have ridden test track once. Twice I waited in line (99 and 2000) for almost an hour only to have it break down for the day, and in 2012 it was closed for this refurb. The one time I did get to ride it it filled me with an enormous 'meh'. I hope the imagineers have really thought this one through and are able to add something fresh and worthwhile to this ride.

The only time I've been down there in recent memory we got on in about 20 minutes and loved it. Then got on later in the day and it got shut down for a torrential storm while we were on it. It came back up and we did the outdoor portion through the pouring rain. It sucked at the time, but in retrospect, was actually kind of awesome.

When they were doing their big "dreams" promotion (whatever it was called), some dude gave us a pair of passes on a lanyard for some sort of ERT after the park closed. Did it a few times... it was kind of neat for a family ride.

Test Track has a single rider line, and has two rows of 3 in each car (thus with all the families of 4 out there or couples you need a lot of single riders.) You will wait a max of 20 min for this ride in that line.

PS-Same is true for Radiator Springs Racer @ Cars land. Stand bye wait: 3+ hours, single rider line: 30 min.

Here's a POV of the New Test Track. I know the video can never show how good a ride really is, but I think I like the old Test Track better. The new one seems way to busy.

Link just lands on Youtube home page.

It was testing while I was there last week, but alas, the construction walls never came down, and we never got to ride it.

Link works for me...on my phone, at least.

It's a TPR POV.

I fixed the link, should work now.

I thought Test Track was ok. Test Tron, however, looks pretty neat!

That's the first thing I thought of. I might be one of the only ones that liked the warehouse feel, it felt like a Test Track. I don't really know what to make of it now. I think it's going to be a great attraction, but its no longer a Test Track. It's just a design a car attraction where you run the course with nice graphics.

This one seems more boring than the last, where at least there were bumps and the crash test joke.

I don't foresee waiting in even a 10 minute line to meander around inside for a while until the climax of traveling 60mph... in a car... on a paved road. I know people like this attraction, but I honestly don't understand why.

From what I'm hearing many people say the pre and post "shows" are more impressive than the ride. Lots of people have expressed excitement about the design portion of the ride and are saying the ride has a high "rerideability" factor just for that alone.

That's what our tour guide on the Segway tour said, who did get a spin during a cast member preview. He called it "Tron Track" and thought the interactive spin made it more interesting.

wahoo skipper said:

From what I'm hearing many people say the pre and post "shows" are more impressive than the ride.

Disney changing the game again? The 'ride' part isn't even the main attraction but just the middle part of the experience?

Yes, I'm asking. :)

I like things like that because I enjoy people not getting it at first. Plus, he idea of the 'ride' being just a part of the bigger experience sounds like something I'd enjoy.

I think you touched on exactly what Disney is after and why so many people enjoy Disney Parks so much. It is about the experience more than the ride itself. This concept is lost on a lot of enthusiasts (both Disney and coaster alike).

I think many in the Disneyana community *do* get that. It's one reason, IMO that New Fantasyland is being so well received. The two new attractions (so far) really aren't all that special, but the placemaking is really outstanding. The same is true over in the Circus area. I'll admit I did not expect much over there, but that area is really well done. It's particularly beautiful at night, with the lighting package on the dueling Dumbos.

Oh, and the Dumbo line-that-is-not-a-line is a huge win. I saw several families ask if they could *stay in the queue area* when their pager went off rather than go get on the ride...

The circus area was much better than I expected. Although we had no child with us, and there was no line, the Dumbo play area and paging is brilliant. The new Fantasyland overall I think puts pressure on the rest of the park, because it's a higher standard of theming. It looks a little funny at the moment with the Dwarves coaster a construction mess in the middle, but it'll be tip top when it's done.

Jeff said:
It looks a little funny at the moment with the Dwarves coaster a construction mess in the middle, but it'll be tip top when it's done.

It'll even be tipple-topple! (*Seven Dwarves Mine Train has been high on my radar since the initial "tilting cars" announcement).

Brian Noble said:

Oh, and the Dumbo line-that-is-not-a-line is a huge win. I saw several families ask if they could *stay in the queue area* when their pager went off rather than go get on the ride...

Now that that area has opened I was hoping to hear more about it.

We're officially one step closer to everyone virtually queueing. (which, I'm required by law to point out , some of us have been talking about for the better part of a decade)