Disney Changed One Of The Most Popular Rides At Epcot And I Rode It 10 Times In One Day To Give You My Honest Review.
Test Track, an attraction that opened in March of 1999, has been on of the Epcot's most popular rides since it opened. When it opened the theming of the ride was that you were in a test car, acting sort of a as a crash test dummy, going through trials cars would need to pass before being put on the market. In April of 2012, the original Test Track closed for a re-theme and reopened in December of 2012. This re-theme was focused more on attributes cars could have and how to strike a balance between them. Riders could build custom concept cars on tablets before entering the ride and tap their ticket or Magic Band to touch points just before boarding the cars. The car concepts would then be displayed thought the ride to see how they did on tests. The concept cars, along with the car you were in, were tested on the car's speed, capability, efficiency, and responsiveness. The scores of every vehicle in the car would be displayed in ranked order of how they did on the given test. After getting off the ride, there were cars to see (and even purchase if you wanted) just like in the first version (the ride is sponsored by General Motors), but this iteration also had interactive areas to see who designed the best car of the day, tweak your car's design, and make a car commercial to email to yourself or a friend. This version of Test Track closed in June of 2024.
Test Track 3.0
Before the ride
I joined the virtual due on the My Disney Experience app at 7:00 am and got a spot in group 29 for the day. I went to Epcot and my group was called to ride around 10:45 am, I headed over as soon as I was called. The exterior had a new Test Track sign outside as each previous iteration had. I scanned my Magic Band and entered the line. The first room the line was in looked mostly the same, except it had new concept cars in place of the old ones, and a small window at the top of the room where you could see cars going up to the seatbelt check for the ride. The room you enter next, previously had the tablets to create your own concept car, but that feature is no longer a part of the ride. It is now a room themed to General Motors (still sponsoring this iteration of the ride). It features some of the eco-friendly initiatives of the company, as well as some smaller concept cars. Then you just have one more hallway before you reach the loading dock, and this looks the same as all the versions that had come before.
On the Ride
The ride vehicles look pretty much the same and the seatbelt check is also the same. My first ride was a bit of a let down, however, upon a second ride I realized the ride had an audio track that your car was meant to play, and my car's audio was off. The track for the ride was identical to the previous version so fans of the old version will know the car's next move, but the inside theming was totally different.
Riding again
After the first ride guests were invited to re-ride as long as they used the single rider line. I did this nine times. All ten rides took me about two hours, and many of my re-rides were essentially a walk on. I will, for say my first three rides I was in the back row, and then for my fourth ride I was sat in the front. I felt that it really improved my experience a pretty significant amount to be placed there. I am on the shorter side, but I felt it was harder to see in the back row than it was in pervious versions. There were little Disney touches that could be spotted by eagle eyed fans thought out the ride, but for the most part it was pretty devoid of Disney touches as previous versions were.
So how was it?
The ride updated ride was very similar to previous versions, and as someone who has ridden all three versions, and rode 2.0 with some frequency, it did feel very familiar due to the track being the same. I did miss the interactivity of the custom concept cars that were introduced in Test Track 2.0 in this version, but the new interior scenes were quite cool. To me, this version felt a little more like an ad for GM than previous versions did. It felt that the ride was an ad for the future of the company and their tech, rather than cars in general. This wasn't necessarily a negative for me, just an observation I had. The final room was quite cool with a large overhead screen you saw right before you exited to the outdoor track. I will say I miss the doors that used to open to take you outside, now there is just an opening the you go though, which takes the suspense out of what's to come. The audio track was fun and having ridden with and without it, I can say it is definitely a vital part of the ride. After the ride, the area to get your ride photo is the same, but the fun interactive parts of the rooms after the ride are gone. I think this will be sad for many, especially those with children. I used to see people in there with kids even without riding. I believe it was a popular spot for non-riders to wait with kids while the rest of their party rode. The cars on display are still there (as are the car salespeople), with a lovely sports car being the first you see post ride. I did miss the interactive parts of the exit queue as I'm sure will be a common consensus.
My final thoughts
I talked to many other guests about what they thought and the overall consensus was that this was not an upgrade. I don't know if it is just people being sentimental for what used to be there. I suspect this may be the case as many I talked to still said how they missed Test Track 1.0. I would agree with the majority, however, that this is not my favorite version of the ride. It did grow on me the more I rode it, but as of right now I would not consider this to be my favorite of the Test Track versions. Overall, I was just happy to have Test Track back! Even though so far this isn't my favorite version of the ride I can't wait to ride it more and try to notice even more details. The ride felt like it was a good blend of elements of what I knew and loved, and new innovation. If you have a trip to Epcot planned soon I would say Test Track remains a must do!
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