Test Track at Epcot: Coaster or Not?

Just recently joined the club and in building my track record I noticed that Test Track was not included on the list. Wouldn't the high-speed banked element at the end of the ride qualify it as a "coaster" of sorts?

How would one classify this ride? Certainly not a "flat" ride even tho it doesn't have a lift.

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"How was your ride?"

i dont consider it a coaster...maybe a thrill ride...

How in the heck would you even consider Test Track a coaster?

Consider it the same as whatever you consider Indy and Dinosaur. It's basically the same ride system, just faster and not as motion-based.

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- John
I snap flyers.

It's, uh, a car ride? It drives itself, y'know.

Test Track is an elaborate dark ride, if we're relying on a simple coaster/flat/dark ride classification, as far as I'm concerned.

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--Maddie--
What do I Listen-To?
May the Schwarz be with you.

TT is one of the most advanced dark rides in the world. How's that for a classification?

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- John, who says any ride vehicle capable of 90+MPH is advanced enough
Homepark: Cedar Point
Home-away-from-homepark: Paramount's Kings Island
*** This post was edited by Michael Darling 8/15/2003 1:01:14 AM ***

My definition of a coaster would require the ride to "coast" at some point. Test Track does not coast.

Test track is no more of a coaster than the car rides that you find at every park. Now I bring in this question, is Space Ship Earth a coaster? It runs on rails, in a sense its powered by gravity (it doesn't pick up speend due to the train taking up the entire track, so it is allways going up and down the same amount at all times) and I do belive that it was built by Arrow.

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www.RideWorld.com

In what sense is Spaceship Earth gravity-driven?

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--Maddie--
What do I Listen-To?
May the Schwarz be with you.

In no sense.

It goes downhill, thus its powered by gravity. The thing is that it doesn't pick up speed, due to the train also going up hill. Now if they removed half of the cars, it would pick up speed durring its decent and there wouldn't be a question to as if its a coaster.

note: I don't count it as a coaster personaly, but it has gone through my head several times after I saw an Arrow Tag on the train and seeing that it used the same track as the Arrow mine train coasters, and simmilar trains.

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www.RideWorld.com

It's also speed-limited by drive tires. Even if the train where not completing the loop, it'd still be limited by its drive tires.

Test Track goes downhill, too. It's also speed-limited.

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--Maddie--
What do I Listen-To?
May the Schwarz be with you.

The el train I take every morning goes downhill, too.

My track record is gonna get huge! ;)
*** This post was edited by chris 8/15/2003 1:44:12 PM ***

If we are going to use this type of thinking could i claim that Jaws at USF is a water coaster???

Chernabog said:
It's also speed-limited by drive tires. Even if the train where not completing the loop, it'd still be limited by its drive tires.
Test Track goes downhill, too. It's also speed-limited.
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--Maddie--
What do I Listen-To?
May the Schwarz be with you.

Ok, it might be slowed by tires (I have no clue how it is propled or stoped), but they do nothing that trim breaks do on other coasters. Now I want to point this out, and make it clear, I DO NOT consider Spaceship Earth a coaster. I was just making a topic for conversation, as it uses a modified Arrow mine train coaster trains, it runs on Arrow roller coaster track, and it uses tires (if thats what they do use, as I don't know for sure) to move the train and stop the train, jus like many other coasters.

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www.RideWorld.com

In no way at all is space ship earth a roller coaster. And yes the trains are made by arrow, but no they are not modified minetrain trains, they are a completely diffrent design. And I also don't believe that it is powered by gravity, i think that it is just powered by something along the same lines as kicker wheels. I am no expert on this subject whatsoever yet this is what I believe. However I am definitly sure that it is NOT a roller coaster.

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The Coaster Kid

Mark Burleson said:
Ok, it might be slowed by tires (I have no clue how it is propled or stoped), but they do nothing that trim breaks do on other coasters.

Well, to put it bluntly, yes, they do. In fact, they behave exactly the same as trim brakes on coasters -- not other coasters, by the way.

Are you familiar with Matterhorn's ride system? It used kicker wheels to control the speed of the sleds as they made their way around the circuit -- I'm not sure if the same system is still in place today, however.

The book Roller Coasters, Flumes and Flying Saucers gives a good explanation of how it all works.

Spaceship Earth is entirely tire-driven -- every few feet. It's a variant of the Omnimover system introduced in Disneyland's Adventures Thru Innerspace.

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--Maddie--
What do I Listen-To?
May the Schwarz be with you.

I remember seeing Test Track on a TV special. They showed how I think GM made the ride or something to that sort, and the ride uses a motor to propel it around the track. It really is not a coaster, but then again I never rode it.

Test Track is not a coaster... Sure, its borrows a lot of stuff from coasters like:

In addition to the 4 running wheels (the rubber tires), its has 18 others wheels under it! Basically, its fixed to a coaster track.

The supports holding the high speed portion outside is triangular and is mounted on ball bearings, so that way, the track move and sway without damage.

Each car features an electric motor and 2 computers.

Its not a coaster, cause gravity has zero to do with it.

Wooden-
GM had nothing to do with the production of the ride other than sponsoring it once it opened.

Test Track is WDI born and raised.

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- John, who hopes people realize that WDI stands for Walt Disney Imagineering
Homepark: Cedar Point
Home-away-from-homepark: Paramount's Kings Island

OK so I can be clear on this...a ride is not a coaster unless gravity is involved at some point. Test Track just feels like a coaster at times, with the high speed and banking. Can we agree that it is a fun ride?

BTW they had a huge amount of trouble with this ride when it first opened, if I recall it's opening was delayed for months...kinda like TTD today.

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"How was your ride?"
*** This post was edited by micrip 8/16/2003 3:34:06 AM ***