The New Test Track - Thoughts?

[DisneyFr33k]

We just got back from five days at the World. We tried the new Test Track and found ourselves a bit disappointed and missing the old one.

Anyone agree? Disagree?

[caryrae]

There is a thread about this here. http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=196622&highlight=test+track and here http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=197284&highlight=test+track

[WDWgoofy]

We just got back and we loved it. I think it is a rare re-do that is actually an up-grade

[Donald A]

I enjoyed it. You use your ticket a create a car before going on it. It is the same ride essentially but the "tests" puts you up against other cars based on various factors. At the end you can see how you did overall with the "top designs" of the day.

[k10]

I liked it! I personally had no use for building my ownr car. That being said, it gave people like me the opportunity to pass by those people and get closer in the line. I liked the changes made to the ride and went on twice back to back. The best part is, of course, flying around outside. :joy:

[Melanie]

The best part is, of course, flying around outside. :joy:

Yes, the best part for sure. Weeeee! I wasn't too keen on the update, but I can certainly see how many would like it.

[DisneyDINK]

I prefer the new one.

I like the new queue/loading area better than the old one and I prefer the interactive elements to the old preshow.

Granted, I always miss older aspects of the park, but it is imporant for Disney to keep things new, relevant and technologically up to date. Sometimes they do well, sometimes... not so much, but I think they did a pretty good job here.

[buzznwoodysmom]

We like the new one better! We have always enjoyed TT, but it was getting old and we really enjoyed all the updates.

[BuffaloJason]

I thought the new test track was a major improvement. The industrial feel of the old one just never seemed to fit in Future World to me. The new one feels like a much more worthy successor to World of Motion IMO. Also, the interactive element and post-show are very well done.

[SandmanGStefani24]

sorry, said it before, and will say it again, WDW messed up a good thing. I loved everything they removed. It has gone from being a Test Track, to a motion simulator.

Here's to the bumpy roads, actually being able to SEE something besides neon lights during the ABS test, actually FEELING elements tests, and all the fun that is now gone. Cheers to you! :beer:

[Scrappy2]

We really enjoyed the new TT.

[Butters]

As I've said in a different post I give this update a big thumbs down... Just feels like they went on the cheap and gave us black lights...

[Goofster]

I thought it was just okay...felt like a Spectromagic version of the prior version...a bunch of white LED lights added to everything. I liked the old version as it gave some insight as to how they test the cars. Would I ride it again? Yes, but only because my kids want to.

[tjstrike]

We enjoyed building your own car and competing against other car designs but the new part of the ride was a downgrade from the original.

[PAYROLL PRINCESS]

I had mixed feelings about this. One part of me liked the new look but the old storyline was a big part of the ride also. Basically it's still the same ride, but without the story. It was very pretty though with the neon blue lights.

[Terra]

We loved it! We go a couple of times a month and it's always been a favorite. But the refrub really got both of my young son's attention! They are 4.5 and 6. They ADORED doing all the interactive stuff afterwards and the techy edge to the attraction itself! I see it as progress!

[KatrinaJ91]

I was a bit disappointed overall. I loved the updated look but it was boring. There wasn't any narration telling you what test was being done or anything really. It felt like it wasn't finished.

[DonLefNY]

I like the new pre-ride, but the interior part of the ride is boring.

[hubbyofadisneyholic]

When we got out we looked at each other and said "that's it??".

A little more flashy and glitzy, but that is about all I can say for it.

I have to keep reminding myself that today the goal of EPCOT is to provide entertainment...and don't you dare try to provide anything educational or informative along the way.

[SandmanGStefani24]

I have to keep reminding myself that today the goal of EPCOT is to provide entertainment...and don't you dare try to provide anything educational or informative along the way.

:exactly::pipes:

This is such a sad thing these days, that there's such a backlash against anything even remotely educational. When I first saw Epcot at age 15 I loved everything, especially the educational parts. But now all of that seems to be going away. I've said it before, and I'll say it again.
Heaven forbid we actually LEARN something...

[BTM]

We just got home and would have to say our only let down of the trip was the Test Track re-furb. It has always been one of our favorite rides and a must do at Epcot. We enjoyed the pre and post ride activities but the ride itself was less impressive than before. We never felt like we knew what was going on. Very Tron-ish, and I am a fan of Tron. It's still fun but not a must do like before. To quote my 7 year old son, "The old one was way better and I would ride it again only if I have to."

I am sure we will give it a shot again next time and hopefully have a better opinion.

All of that said, any ok day at Disney is better than being back in the real world. :mickey:

[Ian]

So the original one was, for me, pretty dull and worn out. I really hated the pre-show area with all that clanking and noise so we rarely (if ever) bothered to ride it unless we used a FP.

I actually really liked the refurbed version. It wasn't quite all it could have been, but it looks so much better than the prior version and the kids really liked designing the cars.

Now I thought the middle portion where your car gets "scanned" was pretty lackluster and it was painfully obvious they didn't want to spend any real cash to redo that portion. I also thought the results of the variance in your designs was a bit underwhelming. It seemed like they could have done more with it.

That being said, it took what was rapidly become a "skip it" attraction for us and put it back on the "must do multiple times" list. :thumbsup:

[SBETigg]

I have mixed feelings on it. Some things I liked better, some things were worse. Overall, I liked the old Test Track much better. But this new version isn't as bad as I'd feared. It just seems more generic and I think it lacks staying power. There's nothing really interesting or charming about it. I think they could have done more with it, or left it alone.

[DizneyFreak2002]

Ian, have you been there since they changed the FP lines?

They have recently, maybe within the last few months, rerouted FP into the Standby line so FP people can design their own cars... I have read and heard it is causing huge stand by line wait time increases...

Did you experience that?

[MCeee]

We were at WDW for 10 days end of April/first of May... and while we normally ride TT numerous times (especially during a 10 day trip), we only rode it once.
There were four of us, and we were COMPLETELY UNDERWHELMED.:down:
At the beginning we were having a little fun designing our car, but then the program crashed, locked up completely... and we just stood there waiting for the door to open to get on the ride. We figured these things happen, but maybe the new ride will make up for it. Nope. We really miss the old TT, but that's how it goes.

[azcavalier]

We enjoyed the pre and post ride activities but the ride itself was less impressive than before. We never felt like we knew what was going on.

Yes, exactly. Loved the new queue. Loved looking at the concept vehicles and love the new theme. Loved being able to "design" a car, however, there really wasn't enough time to explore the options.

But the ride itself didn't make a lot of sense. It was confusing in that they might tell you, through signage or a difficult to understand computer voice, that you're about to test a certain aspect, but then you'd run through part of the track unsure why certain things just happened, and how that actually applied to the "test" you were supposed to be doing. They re-themed parts of the track, looked at the aspects they needed to cover, and someone made a decision that "this part of the track most closely resembles this aspect of the test...not quite, but it's as good as it's going to get."

Loved the post-show as well, where you could fiddle with designing your car some more, without a countdown.

Was told by CMs that the FP line does indeed get to design their car as well. We went through the standby line, and it said that the wait was about 30 minutes. In fact, it was 30 minutes from the time we entered to the time we exited the pavilion.

[DVC2004]

We liked the new one better. It was fun to design our car. Our design did pretty well in performance too. I do not miss the pre show movie with the lady pressing the buttons and all that. I could stand to see that type of thing go (like on Dinosaur, too) and be replaced with more interactive things to make the wait go by faster.

[Gator]

Hey, they took out the cobble stone road and some of the intense braking. I'm all good with that.

[BTM]

have you been there since they changed the FP lines?

They have recently, maybe within the last few months, rerouted FP into the Standby line so FP people can design their own cars... I have read and heard it is causing huge stand by line wait time increases...

Did you experience that?

We were there last week and used FP. We were able to design our own car.

Not sure about the increase in standby times. They seemed to be similar to Soarin times.

[Jared]

The first time I rode the new Test Track, I didn't like it. The second time, I liked it much more. It has a different intent than the original version of the attraction. Overall, I think it is probably a slight improvement.

I think the current Test Track at least has its heart in the right place. It's forward-leaning, has an eye on the future and aspires to be more EPCOT than Epcot. It's not necessarily successful the entire time, but it still maintains the values of discovery, exploration and wonder that made EPCOT Center so special.

The original attraction fit the mold of so many from that era: It relied heavily on a linear storyline -- a beginning, middle and end -- to a fault. This is a conversation for another thread, but I think the Imagineers' commitment to linear storytelling is a huge crutch and a hindrance to great work. Just look to Pirates of the Caribbean, Jungle Cruise and The Haunted Mansion for proof. There is a reason why those are still three of the greatest attractions ever developed.

Regardless, while the original Test Track was fun, it was bland and lifeless. It had no vision. The new one does. I just wish it realized it a little more.

[jennsky]

:thumbsup: We really enjoyed it on our January trip. I believe this new refurb felt so much more like a "Future World" worthy attraction than the last version. Maybe it's the Tron-type lighting, maybe it's because of the ability to design your own vehicle (reminded me of the old days of Communicore where there were so many hands-on activities). I even enjoyed the background music they have on the attraction now. Gives it new life.

I will admit though that the Leaderboards throughout the attraction didn't seem to show the correct vehicles. Maybe 50% of the time it did. But I just overlooked that as a by-product of a new attraction. Gotta work out the bugs!

Anyways, our family gives the new Test Track :thumbsup::thumbsup: