Test Track 2012 Update

[nicholas]

Yesterday:

"Well Test Track was very disappointing. We all designed cars but the rfid cards did not work at the loading area or anywhere else."

Seems they still have a little tweaking to do.

It's fine, I had that problem too.

[Mo Noyz]

Agreed.

[RuddyWDW]

Last time I visited in 2008 TT was very run down & was really showing its age, hope its a little better for my trip in Feb!

[HauntedGabe]

Well the jury is still out on Test Track 2.0 but I do like their new garbage cans.

[clj2]

I was in both pavilions this spring. I can't tell you the last time I was in them before that. Imagination is in far worse shape than WoL ever was. Painted plywood walls about the first level. Nothing much in the after show area other than a tiny gift shop. Energy, like always is in need of help, worse the pre-show and ride is just so long. I continue to have the feeling I'm being held captive. We ducked into Energy after exiting WoL flower exhibit because it was pouring, only reason.

If this was the new Universal Parks that are moving quickly to update their parks, all three building would likely be razed to move forward. The grounds in Future World look very dated now. Fountains replaced with dirt and upgraded to landscaping planters from interesting water creations. The concrete pond near the Land kinda icky and the Odyssey still doesn't know what it wants to be.

The only new addition that I know coming to FW after TT is Starbucks.

A little late in commenting, as I just saw this (been busy), but in response to these posts about Imagination and Energy not being popular...while that's pretty true, while they may not be as dated, I don't see people busting the doors down at The Seas or Mission Space, either. They're newer, but that's the only advantage I think they have. The last couple of times I've been there, I thought The Seas' attendance seemed on par with JII. Your legs nearly fall off walking through the queue to get to the actual Seas ride.

FW needs so much work. Soarin' and TT are the only attractions you hear about.

[HauntedGabe]

I do agree. I tend not to pick on Mission Space, I don't like the attraction, the two times I rode it messed with my equilibrium so I don't ride it anymore. So it is hard for me give a thumbs up or down on that one.

Until they fixed Test Track (I hope) they could have just closed down Future World to the Odyssey and gutted it for 2 or 3 years and held a grand re-opening. They really need to address Norway too, that attraction is disgusting.

[nicholas]

I do agree. I tend not to pick on Mission Space, I don't like the attraction, the two times I rode it messed with my equilibrium so I don't ride it anymore. So it is hard for me give a thumbs up or down on that one.

Until they fixed Test Track (I hope) they could have just closed down Future World to the Odyssey and gutted it for 2 or 3 years and held a grand re-opening. They really need to address Norway too, that attraction is disgusting.

Well I woulden't say shut down the whole thing at the same time, take it one step at a time.

[clj2]

I do agree. I tend not to pick on Mission Space, I don't like the attraction, the two times I rode it messed with my equilibrium so I don't ride it anymore. So it is hard for me give a thumbs up or down on that one.

Until they fixed Test Track (I hope) they could have just closed down Future World to the Odyssey and gutted it for 2 or 3 years and held a grand re-opening. They really need to address Norway too, that attraction is disgusting.

I posted on here last year some fixes that Disney could do to make Future World presentable again (I don't even remember what they all were, now). The Land as a whole is fine, SSE is fine, Test Track now is fine (I assume). The rest of them need serious help. The concepts of all of the troubled pavilions mentioned are very good, but the execution of them is either poor, outdated, or both.

I am strongly against razing UOE or Imagination. The ride part of UOE needs to be left as is. The dinosaurs are awesome but the films ruin it. The films need to be re-shot (lose the celebrities) and made shorter to where the whole experience is maybe 25 minutes tops. Imagination needs a new film, period. Disney HAS shown they can do a solid refurb in recent times when they do them. I wouldn't mind seeing the current ride experience toned down and re-worked to include a re-introduced Dreamfinder, Figment, and a cameo from Dr. Channing, perhaps. Find a happy medium that appeals to adults and kids. The overall mechanics of the ride could probably be left as is. Even a little TLC would work wonders for FW.

Mission Space has a great concept (astronomy), but needed a mass-appeal execution. Disney was insane going down the route they did with it. It has too much stigma, for good reason. The lines there are always so short for it to be a big-scale attraction.

[Mo Noyz]

The film for Soarin' needs some serious help as well. Saw it a few weeks back, and while still an awesome ride, the artifacts on the film are bordering on outright distraction.

[supernova]

I do agree. I tend not to pick on Mission Space, I don't like the attraction, the two times I rode it messed with my equilibrium so I don't ride it anymore. So it is hard for me give a thumbs up or down on that one.

I take it that was on the Orange and not the Green side? The non-spinning one won't mess with your equilibrium. It's an easy ride.

[HauntedGabe]

I posted on here last year some fixes that Disney could do to make Future World presentable again (I don't even remember what they all were, now). The Land as a whole is fine, SSE is fine, Test Track now is fine (I assume). The rest of them need serious help. The concepts of all of the troubled pavilions mentioned are very good, but the execution of them is either poor, outdated, or both.

I am strongly against razing UOE or Imagination. The ride part of UOE needs to be left as is. The dinosaurs are awesome but the films ruin it. The films need to be re-shot (lose the celebrities) and made shorter to where the whole experience is maybe 25 minutes tops. Imagination needs a new film, period. Disney HAS shown they can do a solid refurb in recent times when they do them. I wouldn't mind seeing the current ride experience toned down and re-worked to include a re-introduced Dreamfinder, Figment, and a cameo from Dr. Channing, perhaps. Find a happy medium that appeals to adults and kids. The overall mechanics of the ride could probably be left as is. Even a little TLC would work wonders for FW.

Mission Space has a great concept (astronomy), but needed a mass-appeal execution. Disney was insane going down the route they did with it. It has too much stigma, for good reason. The lines there are always so short for it to be a big-scale attraction.

The Land is a mere shell of what she use to be with offerings. I do enjoy Listening to the Land and
Soar'n. Soar'n needs its film cleaned up, it isn't nearly as sharp as it once was and the screen should have been replaced long ago.

You may be the first I've heard that wants UOE actual attraction to stay as is.

[HauntedGabe]

I take it that was on the Orange and not the Green side? The non-spinning one won't mess with your equilibrium. It's an easy ride.

I'm sure it was the Orange side. When it opened did it have two color choices?

[clj2]

The Land is a mere shell of what she use to be with offerings. I do enjoy Listening to the Land and
Soar'n. Soar'n needs its film cleaned up, it isn't nearly as sharp as it once was and the screen should have been replaced long ago.

You may be the first I've heard that wants UOE actual attraction to stay as is.

I don't want it to stay as is, necessarily - the only things in there worth keeping are the dinosaur animatronics/ride part, which are fantastic and can be interesting to kids and adults. Everything else needs to be done away with. The films in the attraction ruin it. I'm no Imagineer, so I don't know what kind of concept they could use for a theme, but I say slash the length of the film segments so the whole experience is around 25-30 minutes. Do something with that boxy, open queue area. Basically I am for keeping the ride part overall but overhauling any movie part. There are probably a lot of people that would like to see/take their kids to see the dinosaur animatronics but don't because the rest is so long/boring. I think it just makes more sense to do a massive re-tooling of UOE to make it more interesting and mass appeal than to raze it and build something new, especially in that location.

As for The Land, I enjoy those too - I'd love to see the Circle Of Life film replaced, but for some reason don't see Disney doing anything with it. I pointed The Land out because at least it is successful and somewhat kept up. The film on Soarin' does look bad - I think the UOE one looks better, almost, but I'm not sure. I was struck last time by how bad the France film looked, was almost on front row. One of, if not the worst looking ones in the World.

[Mo Noyz]

I'm sure it was the Orange side. When it opened did it have two color choices?

No, that wasn't offered until many years later due to all the complaints.

[supernova]

No, that wasn't offered until many years later due to all the complaints.

A death or two didn't help matters any, either.

I'm sure it was the Orange side. When it opened did it have two color choices?

Next time you're there, give the Green Team side a shot. It's a much smoother ride and more enjoyable if spinning isn't your thing.