Test Track is now on its third life at Epcot at Walt Disney World, the latest in a series of ride retheming projects across Disney parks.
Debuting a little over a year after the ride’s second iteration closed, Test Track 3.0 is built within the confines of the existing ride layout and systems, but with some significant changes to several scenes and the ride’s overall aesthetic.
For a resort built with the “blessing of size,” as Walt Disney put it, Disney World sure loves retheming rides rather than building something entirely new these days. As Test Track 3.0 illustrates, while the upgrades are still welcome, there’s a limit as to how much a ride can be improved when so much of it can’t be changed.
The queue
Before getting on Test Track, you could be forgiven for forgetting that the ride was recently overhauled. The queue space’s look and layout remain relatively unchanged from the second iteration of the ride.
Inside the new Test Track queue (Theme Park Tribune)
Sure, the displays have been swapped out and refreshed, but it doesn’t feel that new or different.
The most noticeable change for fans of Test Track 2.0 will be the removal of the Chevrolet Design Studio, where you could previously design a car that would be “tested” during your ride experience — or at least that was the general idea.
The Lightning Lane queue inside Test Track (Theme Park Tribune)
In execution, whatever you designed didn’t change your ride experience. The design studio itself felt quite dated a decade later, so I’m not sad to see it gone. It was the kind of half-hearted interactivity that Disney loved in the early 2010s that never lived up to the hype.
The ride
None of the ride track was changed in the Test Track 3.0 conversion and longtime riders can easily recognize effects that have been there since the ride’s first iteration. (Take a look at this video from Laughing Place which compares on-ride videos for all three versions side by side by side).
What’s around the track has changed significantly in some sections, starting with the first scene.
What was previously just a vague conglomeration of futuristic colors has been turned into a business district, which quickly transforms in what your car “sees” — a series of lights representing remote sensing technology.
For fans of Epcot’s old “edutainment” style, the first and second sections of the ride — the latter outlining the possibilities of at-home customization of cars — will feel like a welcome throwback.
This is followed by the winding roads familiar from the first two iterations of Test Track, only now themed as a more lush, three-dimensional forest. This section is the only part of the new ride where being tied to the existing layout felt like it held the experience back. The scenery is fine, but feels well below Disney’s standards, and at no point do you feel awed or even all that interested by your surroundings.
The forest section is also where Disney made some half-hearted attempts at stoking 1980s Epcot nostalgia, which amounts to a single line of narration referencing World of Motion and a remix of its “It’s Fun to Be Free” theme song. For all the hype these nods received when Test Track 3.0 debuted, they strikes me as pointless fan service to cover a boring portion of the ride.
Then just before the ride’s outdoor loop finale, the biggest change for Test Track 3.0 is revealed: a dome projection screen showing a futuristic city. You only have four to five seconds to take it in, but it’s a welcome change for what was a mundane transition space in the two previous iterations.
The speedy finale is essentially unchanged. Going 65 miles per hour around the building is still fun, but considering you probably drive that fast on the highway at least once a week, it’s always felt a tad underwhelming.
Is it better than what it replaced?
When Disney World decides not to take advantage of its “blessing of size” and replaces existing attractions, the new version better be a step up from what came before.
Test Track 3.0 meets this standard — sort of. The second version of the ride, with its “Tron”-esque futurism is less beloved than the first, which was themed more like a real, almost industrial-feeling testing facility.
Test Track entrance during the day (Theme Park Tribune)
While the third version doesn’t totally jettison the second version’s aesthetic, I think it’s unquestionably superior thanks to the updated technology (duh) and the additional scenery, especially the large screen right before the outdoor section.
Whether Test Track 3.0 is better than the first Test Track, that I think is up for debate. It’s largely going to come down to which aesthetic is more personally appealing. Then again, is it really impossible to objectively judge a ride that’s been gone for nearly 15 years without nostalgia clouding your opinion?
The verdict
Test Track 3.0 may be considered a success just by securing the ride’s place as a top-tier Epcot attraction for at least a few more years. Every scene was either improved, or at the very least, not made any worse.
The forest section and the outdoor finale could have benefitted the most from a larger overhaul. Ultimately, what holds Test Track 3.0 back from real greatness — having to make due with the existing ride layout and effects.
Unless Disney is willing to invest in more substantial structural changes, this is about the best you can expect from a retheming project.
Grade: B