Epcot’s Test Track recently received a major renovation, the third iteration of the Walt Disney World thrill ride. The attraction resides in World Discovery next to Mission: Space and just a few steps away from Guardians of the Galaxy – Cosmic Rewind. This post reviews the new edition of Test Track, sharing photos, our thoughts and a brief look into the touring strategy for the ride now that cars are zipping around again.

I’ve never been much of a car person. I like watching them do cool things in movies! Getting me from one place to another is nice and, being a California driver, I enjoy going fast. But I’m not one to geek out about different brands or models. That has probably played some role in a lack of connection to past iterations of Test Track.

That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy the ride. Like I mentioned, (in my best Ricky Bobby voice) I like going fast! Before Cosmic Rewind came around, speeding up to 65 MPH as the car banks around a corner was the Epcot’s biggest thrill. But even with a somewhat disappointing Epcot attraction roster in the 2010’s, Test Track was never a favorite. When a refresh was announced a couple of years ago, I was really happy to see something new was coming. Imagineering made it known that the reimagination would be inspired by World of Motion. That made me optimistic about the attraction, as I always prefer old Epcot vibes to the new Epcot.

The optimism wasn’t unfounded – Test Track 3.0 is an improvement on the previous two versions. It’s not a perfect ride by any means, and we’ll get to the negatives soon. But let’s start with the positives! Spoilers ahead…

One of the reimagined ride’s highlights are the practical effects. Test Track 2.0 wore down thanks in large part to a futuristic look that wasn’t novel after the first few years. That’s always been a problem with theme parks at large – you build a Tomorrowland and, before you know it, tomorrow is here! Practical sets are a great way to combat this and 3.0 does a great job of combining those with a futuristic look.

After the initial ramp into the ride, guests are greeted by a small city scape. The set isn’t meant to blow you away but it looks good (much better than the other physical sets). After a quick glimpse of that, the whole set turns digital, showcasing what the car would see. Lights show up all around and the automated voice, who talks to a human voice throughout the ride, explains that this is how the car interacts with surroundings. It’s a brilliant bit of ‘edutainment’ that adds a wow factor to the ride.

The car zipping around outside is still a blast and the main reason for Test Track’s popularity. There’s less of a setup to this moment than previous iterations but it’s just as successful. Again, going fast is fun!

On the flip side, Test Track 3.0 takes a moment to slow down and showcase some designs. As I mentioned, the ride is narrated by a human voice and automated voice interacting with each other. They talk the most in the scene that’s showing off different models of cars. The riders and vehicle are shown in a mirror and eventually the ride vehicle, which looks nearly identical to the Radiator Springs Racers vehicle, is overlayed with different models and styles. Guests routinely got a kick out of this, as the sequence is paced well and interesting. There’s also a little bit of classic Epcot cheesiness in it too.

Another undeniable moment in this new version is the large domed building right before the launch outside. Cars are only in there for a few seconds but in each of my five times riding Test Track, there were audible “whoas” from guests. I’m a pretty quiet person on rides but couldn’t help letting out a shocked reaction at this domed room that I can best describe as a projected, moving mural. This is my favorite moment of the ride. The colors are vibrant and the tone is hopeful.

That’s in contrast to the rest of the dimly lit attraction. Frankly, I thought this choice was disappointing. There’s a section after all of the ‘edutainment’ is over where guests drive through a forest. It’s supposed to play as a joyride and works okay. But it’s so dark in there that you can’t see the forest through the trees. You can barely see the trees in the first place! I like the idea to make Test Track 3.0 a little less industrial but the execution here falls a little flat.

Some of the ‘edutainment’ doesn’t quite work either. Shortly after the cityscape turns digital, there’s a section that showcases an inductive charging road. There’s not much explanation and a few charging props on the side. I thought this section was a little bland.

Both of those instances are more a case of scenes that are just okay instead of downright bad. There’s nothing about Test Track 3.0 that is downright bad, just more vanilla than I would hope for.

The narration is another aspect that doesn’t do a lot for me. The script takes a more optimistic note than other versions, which I appreciate. But the personality of the ride is lacking. At the end of the ride, there’s a joke the human voice makes. Then the automated one comes in and says to leave the jokes to them, like it’s been telling jokes all ride. I genuinely didn’t understand this or realize the automated voice had been making jokes during the ride. Test Track 3.0 could have used a few more cheesy moments or quotable lines.

Test Track 3.0’s good but not great experience extends to the queue and post show. The former is a very open space filled with models of different futuristic vehicles. Everything in the room is a curved line, including the line itself, to make the experience feel like a step into tomorrow. It’s a well executed queue, if not a little pragmatic. There is some entertainment with the vehicle models and a few videos but gone are the days of designing the most ridiculous car you can think of in the queue. This makes the line more efficient but loses some personality.

Once off the ride, guests are greeted by a beautiful mural that replicates the aesthetic of that domed building in the ride. I love that addition! Following that up is literally a General Motors show room. If I were more of a car person I’d probably find this exciting, instead it feels like when you see blatant product placement in a movie. To be fair, GM is the sponsor of Test Track and likely the only reason we’ve gotten a fresh ride two different times. If that’s the cost of doing business then I’m okay with that. The corvette in the show room always seemed very popular in passing through.

While the ride may lack personality in some areas, it does feel more cohesive with the rest of Epcot. That is not something I’ve written about the park very often in the last decade! Not only is there fan service and World of Motion inspiration, but it’s easy to feel and see the connection to Spaceship Earth too. The optimism of the ride is in the same vein, as is the showstopping view before blasting off outside.

That cohesiveness wins me over with Test Track 3.0. Despite a few flaws, there’s a feeling to the ride that wasn’t there before. The hopefulness reminds me of not only Spaceship Earth, but Living with the Land. That might come with a little self-seriousness but we could all use more optimism right now. That feeling might not wash over you, but it does all lead up to bursting out on the open track at 65 MPH.

Touring Strategy

Test Track 3.0 will draw long lines. That’s especially true over the next few months, with it still having that fresh car scent. Even after that fades, it’s one of very few Epcot thrill rides so we expect the wait times to stay around an hour or more most of the time.

To avoid the long wait, you can rope drop Test Track but we prefer Cosmic Rewind in that slot. If you can finish one and get in line for the other before Early Entry ends , that’s the best way to go. But that does require getting to Epcot before 8 and maybe closer to 7. That makes for a long day, especially when the rest of the attraction roster is lacking.

That has us recommending watching Test Track wait times for a late morning lull. You don’t necessarily need to wait for the actual wait to drop, if you walk by the ride and there’s hardly any outside queue then the wait time is probably less than an hour regardless of posted wait. Another option would be saving Test Track for the last ride of the night but that would mean you’re skipping the fireworks.

The path of least resistance is the single rider line at Test Track. We like the queue fine but don’t feel like guests are missing out on much by skipping it. The ride vehicle sits 3 so single riders make their way through the queue pretty quickly. Even when the single rider line was nearly outside, the most I’ve waited to get on Test Track was 30 minutes. The downside is that you’ll be separated from your party which may be a nonstarter for some families. We think it’s well worth considering though!

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