Disney World Delivers Rare EPCOT Center Win
Fans tired of common EPCOT Center Ls can rejoice for a brief bit, there’s a rare win to report as the reimagining of Test Track 3.0 races forward. This post takes a quick look at photos of the construction and demolition progress, plus the latest news about the third incarnation of this Walt Disney World thrill ride and most recent permits Imagineering has filed.
To bring you up to speed, the second incarnation of Test Track closed earlier this summer after a little over a decade of existence, following an announcement last fall that the ride would be reimagined. In the couple of months since the closure, work has revolved around demolition of existing sets and the queue. Large dumpsters are visible within the construction walls from the EPCOT monorail loop.
During the Parks Panel at the 2024 D23 Expo earlier in August, as Chairman Josh D’Amaro reiterated that Walt Disney Imagineering is collaborating with Chevrolet to push innovation forward and celebrate humanity’s enduring drive on the thrilling road to a brighter tomorrow. Today’s update confirms this in one very important regard: Test Track’s exterior!
Before getting too far down this winding road, Test Track will celebrate today’s innovation while highlighting the past, present, and future. The queue will feature six distinct exhibits, and within each room celebrate the vehicles – and people behind the vehicles – that push the envelope and help get people to our next chapter in our motion journey.
New show scenes will be added showcasing technological advances and how our lifestyles and relationships to mobility connect everyone. Enjoy a joy ride through scenes focusing on onboard technology, customization and personalization. Followed by a trip through a scenic outdoor route reminding us all of the joys of driving, taking in the world around us and spending quality time with friends and family.
Walt Disney World also announced that the reimagined Test Track will open at EPCOT in 2025. We strongly suspected this, but it’s nice to have official confirmation. From everything we’ve heard, this is a rather ambitious project with an aggressive timeline, but it still could take around a full year to finish. Imagineering is on a race against the clock to get Test Track 3.0 done by Summer 2025–and it’ll probably be a photo finish!
A few weeks after removal work began, Test Track is officially canopy-free as of August 28, 2024 for the first time in over two decades! This sight is likely a joy to behold for fellow EPCOT Center old-timers, as this pavilion didn’t have the canopy during its World of Motion days. Unfortunately, that classic dark ride is practically ancient history–a “relic” of the good ole days that has been gone since the mid-1990s.
I don’t know the exact date when the canopy went up in front of the pavilion’s facade, but it’s definitely had a canopy for more of its existence at this point than it was canopy-free. (That ‘fun fact’ will probably make some longtime Walt Disney World fans feel old.) In fairness, the canopy always had a temporary look, even though it was old enough to vote and buy beer by the time it finally came down.
Anyway, ditching the permanent canopy that looks temporary (and industrial) is a huge win. While it served a practical purpose (shade and cover from the rain), it was also an eyesore. We all just collectively got used to it as it had been there for so long. It was a similar story with a lot of temporary clutter around the former Future World, all of which I’ve been happy to see go. EPCOT’s overhaul may have been a mixed bag (to put it very charitably), but some of the best parts were simply the addition by removal that resulted from removing junk to reveal the clean design underneath.
To that point, above is concept art of the original World of Motion to show how sleek and futuristic the original pavilion looked. Or rather, looks again. To be perfectly honest, I think World of Motion was the blandest of the OG Future World pavilions–but the competition was also staunch, and the architecture on all of them was or is stunning. World of Motion was simpler and more elegant as a result–definitely better than how Test Track looks.
The thing is, Test Track still largely looks like World of Motion. Sure, there’s the track around the outside and the cylinder’s cutaway to the dark ride is gone, but the sleek wheel-shape of the pavilion is largely intact. Ditto the General Motors lounge above the entrance.
Creating a new permanent entrance awning that’s smaller and lower than the current canopy is a great move. The Test Track 3.0 concept art looks fantastic, and will allow the elegant architecture of World of Motion to shine through.
I really love this move to remove the Test Track canopy–and I say that as someone who has no shortage of criticism for New EPCOT. It’s been an especially brutal summer for old school EPCOT Center fans, as CommuniCore returned…but in name only. The substance of the World Celebration overhaul is laughably bad, but somehow “finished” [Insert big “Mission Accomplished” banner.] Nevertheless, Disney meant what they said, as EPCOT was the lone Walt Disney World park that didn’t get an announcement of any new attractions at the D23 Expo.
Accordingly, we’ll take the EPCOT wins where we can get them, and this canopy removal definitely counts as a small victory. The Test Track 3.0 reimagining is already off to a fantastic start, and we haven’t even seen the substantive fruits of it yet! I’m also happy to see the current marquee go. It looks like a mushroom.
With all of that out of the way, let’s take a look at construction/demolition photos of the fully-removed Test Track canopy, revealing the clean pavilion behind it:
In related news, Imagineering has been very busy filing construction permits for the reimagined ride. We’ve already updated you on many of these in our main post about the Test Track 3.0 Reimagining, but there have been a couple more in the last week.
The latest of these is a notice of commencement permit for electrical work to be carried out by Pro Sound & Video. This vendor has previously worked with Walt Disney World on a wide range of projects, including but not limited to Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, Spaceship Earth, and more.
Most notably, this permit contains the standard one-year expiration term, which is consistent with the others filed later this summer. That suggests that Test Track 3.0 is still on track to debut by Summer 2025, which is when we’re expecting some sort of ‘celebration’ that’ll be anchored by the new Disney Starlight nighttime parade at Magic Kingdom, reimagined Test Track 3.0, and who knows what else. Hopefully drones at Animal Kingdom and a distinctly patriotic celebration of the Muppets not dying at Disney’s Hollywood Studios!
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Your Thoughts
Happy to see the transportation pavilion finally canopy-free after two-plus decades of Test Track? Did you think the old canopy likewise looked temporary and industrial, or were you fine with it? Happy to see more of EPCOT decluttered? What do you think of the Test Track reimagining? Excited for Test Track 3.0, or will you miss the current version? Which version of this pavilion is your favorite? Hopeful that World of Motion inspires more than just a sense of optimism in the new ride? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback—even when you disagree with us—is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
From their definition of the ride it sounds to me like it will no longer be a bit of a thrill ride. Thrill being used due to the fast part around the track. this version talks of scenery & country drives which makes me wonder if they removed the thrill part of the ride. My thrill seekers will be disappointed. Do you think it sounds like it will be a stroll in the park rather than a race down the track?
I never thought much of the queue or the ride. But, what I *did* find entertaining was the fact that you could speak with GM representatives (I assume not technically auto salespeople, as Disney wouldn’t have the license for that) in the post-ride area and get a close look at the display Chevys there. Park guests could sit in the car and presumably get a fair amount of info from the agent in a manner that left out the annoying pressure tactics and quasi-lying that actual dealerships do. I used to wonder whether anybody followed up on buying a new Chevy back home based on what they saw and learned inside Test Track.
You can still do that right now! I chatted with one of the reps for like 10 minutes the other night. Not about Chevy, about cameras. (Don’t tell his boss!)
A couple of things Tom….
You’ve made a laughable point about Communicore Hall being bad….I guess you missed it in all of the press releases and articles that it is supposed to be a multipurpose space to be utilized for events and festivals. When it was completed, there were no events….therefore….nothing was happening there.
EPCOT was the only park that didn’t get an announcement at the D23 Expo? Did you miss the last 4 years of construction? Ohhhhh…..you were expecting them to take up valuable time on Test Track 3.0. Since they’re in demo mode….I’m guessing that they’re not ready to announce anything yet.
I love what you do here Tom….but sometimes you fixate on the dumbest things.
There’s a festival going on right now. It somehow looks even worse.
Perhaps I’d be more forgiving if they didn’t waste 4+ years and hundreds of millions of dollars, while also cancelling key components of the overhaul. The park is better today than in 2019, no doubt about that, but there’s also so much squandered potential and ‘what could have been.’
I respectfully disagree Ray, comparing what they promised to what they delivered and to what we know they’re capable of… In fact, for me, it’s an insult to everyone who takes a (very) expensive vacation in WDW, we deserve better.
The canopy blocked the view from the VIP lounge. You couldn’t see the walkway up to the entrance of the building. It was a giant eyesore that was only there to protection of the Fast Pass machines. Even though the ride didn’t run during the rain (which is a common occurrence during the rainy season), don’t get me started on what happens during the hot summer months.
Disney/GM also needs to cover the outside track area so it can operate during the frequent Florida rain storms.
Nothing will ever be as good as “World of Motion”. sponsored by GM. It always made me believe in possibilities. Corporate lounge wasn’t half bad either.
Let’s not even bring up Horizons. Still a sore spot.
If you can dream it, you can build it.
I almost always skipped test track. To me it wasn’t worth the long wait in a boring queue. The fast loop was a bit exciting but too jerky and all the scenes leading up to it were super boring. I can’t remember the old world of motion ride but I know it had many fans so I’m excited about the update. Hope it has a more interesting queue. I love how they have the lounge for GM employees and retirees. It’s a nice perk for them.
Being sponsored by Chevrolet, eight out of every ten ride vehicles will get sidelined for a recall.
As an engineer and amateur rallycrosser, the 2.0 version was fun! You could do the single-rider line, walk right on most days, and spend as much time as you want playing with the cool car design app before getting on the ride.
That said, I’m delighted EPCOT still has a corporate sponsor willing to spend big bucks on a pavilion! I can’t see myself buying a GM car anytime soon, but enjoy seeing their new cars after the ride. Given Walt’s fascination with different modes of transportation this fits in perfectly at a Disney park.
Ah! I actually liked the canopy; it gave shade and some cover from rain if I recall. I hope that the build-a-car part of the experience stays. My daughter loved creating the cars and competing for highest score.
I’m excited for the new version. Test Track 2.0 was garbage. All the digital outlines, instead of the beautiful scenes of the original. I can’t imagine ANYONE will miss this version!
Agreed. What they’ve shared thus far of Test Track 3.0 sounds very promising. The last version simply did not age well, and was looking rough by the end. It’s highly unlikely that this will be worse, with plenty of potential for it to be much better.
park hasn’t been called EPCOT Center in years.
It hasn’t been EPCOT center for years ☹️
Bring back “Da Boid”!