Test Track REOPENING Date for Rethemed Attraction Later Than Expected

Test Track is one of the most popular rides at EPCOT at Walt Disney World. Test Track allows guests to use the Chevrolet Design Center to create their own virtual concept car that guests then get to race after it undergoes a series of rough terrain and obstacles.

The Test Track theme at EPCOT feels a bit tired for many guests as the sponsorship of Chevrolet is honestly the main focus of the theme. Disney agrees with this sentiment as it was announced that Test Track would be completely reimagined with a brand new theme.

We now have the timeline for when this new attraction will reopen at Disney World and some thoughts on this later opening date than expected.

Test Track Retheme Timeline

The reimagining of Test Track was first announced at Destination D23 in Fall 2023. Imagineers and teams from Chevrolet will be “reaching back in history for inspiration” to the original World of Motion ride to inspire the reimagining of this popular EPCOT attraction. You can see the original Disney Parks Instagram post with this announcement below.

 

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We have now received a little bit more about the new attraction. The new ride queue will include six exhibits with each one focused on different vehicles and the people who created them. They'll focus on how those vehicles have brought us to the next developed vehicles.

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.

In a recent social media post, we could see parts of the inside of the attraction completely gutted with scaffolding everywhere. It really looks like they are making substantive changes to this ride.

We have now received more clarity on when the attraction will open in 2025.

Disney has shared that the ride will have a return in late summer 2025. This is later than we have speculated about the new ride. We expected that it would reopen in Spring or early Summer 2025 aligned with a bigger marketing push that includes the new nighttime parade at Magic Kingdom and new villains show at Hollywood Studios.

The fact that the new ride isn't debuting during this period definitely means that they need more time to finish all of the work being completed on the retheme of the attraction. The early summer date would have been the preferred opening period for the attraction from a marketing and operations perspective which means that there is actually work still being completed here.

We will have to wait and see when this later opening date actually means as we get closer to the actual opening of the attraction.

World of Motion at Walt Disney World

World of Motion was a transportation themed pavilion that was located in the area previously called Future World at EPCOT. The main feature of this area was an omnimover attraction that looked at the history of transportation. World of Motion was an original EPCOT opening day attraction and was replaced in 1996 by Test Track.

Scenes from World of motion included the origins of transportation such as cavemen using their feet as “foot power” to model the first mode of transportation, the earliest modes of water transportation, the invention of the wheel at Babylon, the Trojan Horse, exploration on the high seas, scenes from the Age of Flight, steamboats, and finally focusing on the car with the first ever traffic jam in 1910.

Historic figures were present in the attraction like Christopher Columbus, Leonardo da Vinci, and Mona Lisa. Although I doubt we'll see the return of Christopher Columbus, it could be likely we'll see historic figures incorporated once more.

The attraction ended with a futuristic note as guests taking a trip through the datascape of TRON. Now that Walt Disney World's TRON attraction is complete, keeping this callout to TRON in would create a nice synergy between EPCOT and Magic Kingdom.

Test Track Closing Date

Test Track at EPCOT closed on June 17, 2024, for its reimagining.

How long this closure takes will depend on how quickly Disney Imagineering moves to transform the attraction. Since the racetrack portion of the attraction won't need reworking, they are likely only transforming the interior of the ride which currently takes guests on different vehicle performance tests. The ride queue could also receive updates. Chevrolet will remain the sponsor of Test Track and they are working with Imagineers to reimagine the attraction.

We do not know if the ability to design your car will remain. It is possible that the design element can be incorporated into the inspiration from World of Motion but it is unclear quite yet if it still be a part of the attraction.

NEW Test Track Concept Art

Disney also released new concept art of the reimagining of Test Track. This doesn't give us too many clues although we can see that the exterior of the building will get an updated more sleek and futuristic look.

The other concept art shared previously shows the interior of the attraction where the prior performance tests took place transformed with lush greenery and what appears to be sunlight? This does remind me of the historic look through time World of Motion embodied with different scenes in history as transportation technology evolved.

Notice as well the redesign of the cars, these ride vehicles are far more futuristic in appearance and look less like a traditional Chevrolet ride vehicle. This design likely does not bode well for the future of the ride design interactive element that took place before the ride, I don't see that fitting in with this redesign. But nothing there has been confirmed quite yet!

This is just one of many steps that Walt Disney World is taking to transform the parks as Animal Kingdom makes first steps towards transforming Dinoland into the Tropical Americas along with the expansion of Magic Kingdom.

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