Test Track 3.0 Review: An Improvement

I was able to preview the latest version of Test Track today – June 27 – during the first few hours it was open. Below are my initial thoughts.

Summary: I think Test Track 3.0 is an improvement on the previous iteration. The first two new ride scenes are very detailed and explain new technology to guests in a way that fits perfectly into what EPCOT’s supposed to do.

That said, the ride feels half-finished. Substantial sections of the ride experience are essentially darkened hallways with nothing to see. And one entire show scene is … trees? Read on for more.

Waiting in Test Track’s Standby Line

Test Track’s remodeled standby line has removed the computer terminals that had guests ‘customized’ their ride vehicles while waiting in line. That also means that the entire customization part of the ride is gone.

In its place are futuristic-looking ride vehicles from General Motors. And the cars look like they’re from the future, so that part of the new ride design works. It would be even better if each ride vehicle was accompanied by a sign or video explaining what the designers were going for with each specific prototype.

The loss of customization terminals is not a big deal. For one thing, I can’t remember the last time they actually worked. And even if they did, the old version of Test Track gave you the exact same ride experience no matter how you designed your car.   Given the expense of updating and maintaining those terminals, and the fact that it didn’t change the ride, there was no point in bringing them into this next iteration of the attraction.

Test Track’s Updated Ride Vehicles

Another bit of good news: Test Track’s updated ride vehicles really have a ‘new car smell’. How long that’ll last in the middle of a humid Florida summer is anyone’s guess. It’s a nice touch for now.

Besides that and some new seatbelts, Test Track’s cars appear to be similar to the previous ride’s: two rows of seats, with three seats per row.

The New Test Track Ride Experience

I think we can break down the new Test Track ride into four distinct sections:

• Business District
• Garage of the Future
• Drive-Through Forest
• High-Speed Outdoor Loop

The Business District Section of the New Test Track

This section of Test Track is completely new and is the best part of the updated ride.

In this scene you’re driving through a typical city business district, with sidewalks and shops on either side of your car. At a certain point, the on-board ride narration tells you that you’re about to see how the car’s assisted driving system “sees” the road in front of you using LIDAR.

The scene goes dark and you see small pixels of light covering every edge and corner of the scene’s buildings, pavement, and sidewalk. LIDAR assembles these pixels into a coherent 3-D image in front of the car. This enables the assisted driving system to know, for example, what’s “road” and what’s “building.” It also helps identify any obstacles in the car’s path.

This part of the ride is good for two reasons: First, it’s a visual explanation of a particular kind of technology that most people probably don’t know about or don’t think about, but that is in use every day. Second, that kind of explanation about technology is at the heart of what EPCOT is supposed to do as a park.

Test Track’s Garage of the Future

The Business District transitions into a scene I’m calling the “Garage of the Future”. The on-board ride narration explains this scene by saying that in the future, you’ll be able to customize your vehicle’s features at home, after you’ve purchased the car.

In a bit of good timing for Test Track, this is actually happening right now in the real world. It’s not General Motors – it’s a company called Slate Auto. Slate’s base vehicle platform includes the ability to change body panels, seating, and more.

Here’s what Slate’s base truck looks like:

And here’s what the same vehicle can look like with customized body panels and seating:

I like this scene for the same reason I like the Business District scene: it fits into EPCOT’s mission to tell guests about new ideas and technology. I mean, I don’t have the patience or mechanical skills to do this sort of thing.  It’s a little awkward that Slate Auto is actually implementing the thing General Motors says is the future, sure. But I like the fact that this tells guests it’s possible.

Test Track’s Drive-Through Forest

The third and final new scene in Test Track is a drive through a forest. And I have no idea what the show designers were going for here. This section is a flop.

I mean, it’s attractive enough as a forest. And to Disney’s credit, the piped-in “woods” smell works well. But there’s no explanation as to why we’re driving through trees in a ride called Test Track. If I didn’t know any better I’d say Disney was out of ideas and money.

There’s also a brief callback to the original World of Motion attraction here, but it’s literally a single line saying “It’s fun to be free”, and some almost unrecognizable arrangement of the song by the same name. It’s so brief as to be condescending, like “Oh, you love EPCOT? Here are some words from a better version of this attraction back when our executives had vision and took risks. Enjoy the nostalgia, nerds.”

This section of the ride is so bad that I’ve promised myself to go back and look at Imagineering’s social media post that previewed it. I want to see if the people in that video were blinking their eyelids in Morse code to say they’ve been kidnapped. Honest to God.

Test Track’s Outdoor Loop, aka General Motors Presents: Osceola Parkway

There’s a really nice new graphic projection in the speed-up tunnel right before your car launches outside for a high-speed loop. I still enjoy the outdoor section of the ride and yelled “Faster! Faster!” today while on it. But this section of Test Track is now 25 years old.

Unlike water-based attractions, which are different with each ride, this part of  Test Track offers nothing new to repeat guests. And it’s not even that “new” to first-time EPCOT guests: I guarantee that everyone who drove to EPCOT this morning went faster than Test Track on the way to the park.

I know there’s zero chance this part of the ride ever changing. There’s no way to explain how the cost of modifications would directly increase Disney’s share price, so it’d never get approved. And that means that, like The American Adventure, EPCOT has built a ride that’s too expensive to update.

Test Track’s Post-Show

Test Track’s post-show scene features a really nice, updated mural themed to the driving experience of the future. It looks great and fits in well with other EPCOT murals.

The rest of the post show, for this preview at least, consisted of a few General Motors cars on display. That is, it doesn’t feel like it’s finished, so there’s nothing to comment on yet.

Overall Rating

Half of the ride is really good. Half isn’t. That’s not enough.

In reviewing Universal’s Epic Universe, I’ve rated Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment as 4.5 stars out of 5, and Harry Potter: Battle at the Ministry at 5 stars out of 5. I think Disney’s Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is also a 5-star ride.

Test Track is not in the same league as these attractions. With two of the ride’s four show scenes either unintelligible or old, it’s hard to say it deserves even four stars. I’m giving this version of Test Track 3.5 stars.

Let me know in the comments below what you think of the new Test Track.