What's up with Test Track?

[dlavender]

We have attempted to RD Test Track 3 times in the past 18 months (obviously very small sample size) and each time we arrive at TT it's down due to technical difficulties. This obviously kills our chances at riding the rest of the day since its usually down at least an hour and then it effectively becomes a 100 minute stand by wait with all the FPs raining down on it the rest of the day. My question is, what is up with TT that is has so many technical problems? Was TT 1.0 this riddled with technical issues? We ended up getting an anytime FP for TT due to another issue someone in our party had so it all worked out this time, but it got me curious to find out if this is a normal occurrence or if we have just had bad luck.

 

[Schneewittchen37]

I'm just pulling stuff out of my bum, but wasn't this ride delayed a year or so before it even opened?

And you're not crazy, earlier this month we had an 9 am FP for TT and it was down all day, so we ended up using the magic FP for Soarin instead. I've got to remember to book my TT FPs for later in the day....

Anyway, for giggles, next time you walk by TT while it's operational, put your hands on the pillars as the ride vehicle goes by. Watch the pillars move.

 

[gorkt]

This one breaks down ALL the time, and has since it opened. I think it is just the nature of the ride, sadly.

 

[TheConsciousness]

Test Track always seems finicky when we're there. I bet Disney is super excited to be able to repurpose that plot of land sometime in the future.

 

[Brett Wyman]

Test Track always seems finicky when we're there. I bet Disney is super excited to be able to repurpose that plot of land sometime in the future.

Id be super excited if they did as well. TT feels old and tired after riding Radiator Springs Racers.

 

[pitpat]

The advice I usually see is to FP Test Track for that reason. Better off hitting Soarin or FEA at RD.

 

[dlavender]

The advice I usually see is to FP Test Track for that reason. Better off hitting Soarin or FEA at RD.

Yeah, I think we will finally be heeding this advice. Fool me three times..

 

[dlavender]

Test Track always seems finicky when we're there. I bet Disney is super excited to be able to repurpose that plot of land sometime in the future.

Especially with Guardians going in pretty close, gotta expect the interest for TT to diminish substantially. Hopefully they replace it with something that works a little more...

 

[tinkerbelletreasure]

I don’t remember the exact dates, but I’m pretty sure I read it was going down in early 2020 for a couple weeks for refurb. Hopefully, they can work out some of the kinks. I think it will always go down in the rain though.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

TT is so unreliable. We rarely even try to ride it anymore. When we attempt to, we take bets on where we will be in the line when they, inevitably, shut it down and make us leave the building.

 

[rwdavis2]

It’s a software driven ride that had a separate safety module installed when initial testing had it crashing into walls. The reset procedure takes time. (I used to work with one of the consultants that developed the safety module.)

 

[YawningDodo]

I'm just pulling stuff out of my bum, but wasn't this ride delayed a year or so before it even opened?

You're correct--I don't remember the precise timeline, but Test Track had substantial delays before it opened. For when it was built, it was an exceedingly complicated ride system that had to stand up to demands they just hadn't done with other rides--all those stops and starts, uneven terrain, rapid acceleration, etc. I don't remember TT 1.0 going down too frequently, but it did go down more often than many of its neighbors--and it doesn't surprise me that as it's aged it's having significant downtime. If you look at DCA, Radiator Springs Racers has tons of downtime, too, even though it's a newer ride and theoretically they would have worked out the bugs between iterations of that vehicle system. We found RSR to be absolutely worth the long wait, but we only rode it once during our four-day trip because it was always either down or had massive lines from having been down earlier in the day.

tl;dr Test Track doesn't always work and that seems to be typical for both it and its sister attraction in California

 

[mamaofsix]

I watched a video recently where an analyst talked about how often TT was "down" first thing in the morning - it was something like 25% of the time! That's just crazy to me. It was also down for us on our last trip and we never got to ride.

 

[WawaCoffee]

Our first rope-drop, ever, was at Epcot last January. My girlfriend and I were very confused as to why only a handful of people split off to head to Test Track, but we continued to power walk anyway.

Well, when we finally got to Test Track, we realized why... total disappointment.

Below: Photo from that morning when we finished our power walk, only to find it was closed. Would've been nice if they told us at the rope!

 

[Schneewittchen37]

You're correct--I don't remember the precise timeline, but Test Track had substantial delays before it opened. For when it was built, it was an exceedingly complicated ride system that had to stand up to demands they just hadn't done with other rides--all those stops and starts, uneven terrain, rapid acceleration, etc. I don't remember TT 1.0 going down too frequently, but it did go down more often than many of its neighbors--and it doesn't surprise me that as it's aged it's having significant downtime. If you look at DCA, Radiator Springs Racers has tons of downtime, too, even though it's a newer ride and theoretically they would have worked out the bugs between iterations of that vehicle system. We found RSR to be absolutely worth the long wait, but we only rode it once during our four-day trip because it was always either down or had massive lines from having been down earlier in the day.

tl;dr Test Track doesn't always work and that seems to be typical for both it and its sister attraction in California

I'd noticed the same with RSR. The only way I've been able to ride it was to race to ride in the AM to get a Fastpass for the evening and then pray it actually didn't go down.

 

[dlavender]

Our first rope-drop, ever, was at Epcot last January. My girlfriend and I were very confused as to why only a handful of people split off to head to Test Track, but we continued to power walk anyway.

Well, when we finally got to Test Track, we realized why... total disappointment.

Below: Photo from that morning when we finished our power walk, only to find it was closed. Would've been nice if they told us at the rope!

That's what I don't get. The three times we've RD to find a broken TT no one said anything. It would be pretty helpful if they gave a heads up. Then we could all at least make RD more worthwhile and head somewhere else earlier instead of making this meaningless stop......

 

[1lilspark]

I'd noticed the same with RSR. The only way I've been able to ride it was to race to ride in the AM to get a Fastpass for the evening and then pray it actually didn't go down.

RSR and Test Track are the same or close to same systems

 

[Mal6586]

When we did the Future World tour at Epcot, our tour guide said that part of the reason Test Track goes down so much is that it has a huge amount of safety sensors that all have to be green for the ride to be operational. It's a delicate balance that any one thing being off can cause the whole thing to go down.

And yes, like somebody else mentioned, watch the pillars and that big swish turn structure. There's a ton of movement (and it's made to do that) to compensate for the speed and motion.

 

[kwdw]

In addition to the safety checks, it also goes down in the rain..... so add the two together....

While RSR is a MUCH better ride - I still love TT, too. I think it needs a length refurbishment with a new overlay - but I think its sticking around as a ride.

 

[Lumpy1106]

Was TT 1.0 this riddled with technical issues?

In short, yes. The first time my wife and I rode TT 1.0 we actually returned to EPCOT on 3 separate days, only to find it down each day. To add to its technical difficulties it also shuts down at the first sign of lightening - which is pretty much every afternoon in the summer. Funny story - when we finally did find it open the line was crazy long so we single-rider'ed it. I got on first and my wife ended up in the following car. I got off and waited at the exit...and waited, and waited. when she finally did get off I gave her a hard time - how do you get lost in a car travelling on a fixed track? It turns out the car got a flat tire and was automatically pulled backstage - I think as the car was doing its checks before the first hill. They got everyone out and walked them back to the front of the line and got in another car.

Believe it or not we have found TT 2.0 to be much more reliable. RSR too.