Test Track

History

Test Track 1.0, Presented by General Motors (March 1999 – April 2012)

World of Motion was an attraction that was located in the current building of Test Track and was sponsored by General Motors. When the sponsorship expired, GM was in the process of conducting lay-offs and cutbacks, forcing the company to question whether or not to sign another sponsorship agreement. Upon deciding to sign another agreement, GM wanted Disney to construct a new ride on the site of World of Motion. The new ride would focus specifically around their automobiles, rather than the fanciful history of transportation from the pre-historic (animal transportation) to the modern age (automobiles, trains, planes, etc.) that were previously housed in the space. In 1976, Disney Imagineers had visited GM's Milford Proving Grounds; the Imagineers later made a second trip to the facility as they designed Test Track. After numerous problems encountered during the construction of the ride, Test Track soft-opened on December 19, 1998, but did not officially open until March 17, 1999, nearly two years later than planned.

In November 1995, Epcot announced that World of Motion would be transformed into Test Track. After the attraction closed on January 2, 1996, everything inside the ride building was removed. Meanwhile, the elevated track was already being constructed outside and behind the building, part of the high-speed test portion of the ride. Work outside the building began in the fall of 1995, while work inside the building began in the spring of 1996. The ride was scheduled to open 29 months after World of Motion's closing, in May 1997, but after numerous problems arose, the ride opening was delayed by nearly two years. The cars used on the ride were designed to resemble the look of a test car that is used to go through multiple safety tests.

Throughout the construction of Test Track, numerous problems occurred causing delays in the ride opening. After failing to open as scheduled in May 1997, park officials announced on October 15, 1997 that the opening was delayed until at least sometime in 1998. The first problem that Imagineers had to overcome was that the wheels used on the ride vehicles could not stand up to the demand of the ride course and speed. This problem was resolved but a second, more critical issue caused the ride to be delayed by over a year. For Test Track to run with the highest hourly capacity possible, twenty-nine ride vehicles would be needed. The ride's programming system could only handle operating a maximum of six cars over the layout of the ride, and the system suffered frequent software crashes. The original software was scrapped, and eventually programmers were able to get the computer system able to run twenty-nine ride vehicles at once. Despite some rumors about rain affecting the outdoor segment, park officials assured that weather issues were not a factor in the delay. In August 1998, Disney announced that the opening of Test Track would be delayed once again. Officials told park guests that the technology was new and still being developed. Reports planned to reschedule the opening for 1999. After the problems were resolved, Test Track soft-opened to the public on December 19, 1998. The ride was still prone to breakdowns and did not officially open until March 17, 1999.

Test Track 2.0, Presented by Chevrolet (December 2012 – June 2024)

On January 6, 2012, Disney Parks announced plans to renovate Test Track during the second and third quarters of the year and re-open the ride by fall 2012. As part of the update, Test Track's sponsor became General Motors' Chevrolet marque instead of GM as a whole. The new additions include a pre-show area where guests "design" a new car for testing in the Chevrolet Design Center, then they board Test Track's existing six-passenger ride vehicles, to be known as "SimCars", to see how their design fares on the Center's driving course. The experience concludes in a renovated showroom featuring current and future Chevrolet products. The ride vehicles were repainted and while the track was unchanged, the setting was overhauled. On April 27, 2012, Walt Disney's social media manager Jennifer Fickley-Baker released a set of concept design photos. Within the photos, it was confirmed that the ride will have 4 main tests: capability, efficiency, responsiveness, and power. The ride closed on April 15, 2012 and soon later, barriers were placed along all walkways leading to either the entrance or exit of the ride. Also, a musical show called "Test Track All Stars" was added in front of the former main entrance to Test Track, which closed on December 4, 2012. The refurbished attraction first opened to guests during a soft opening on December 3, 2012. The grand re-opening took place on December 6, 2012.

Test Track was closed on January 13, 2020 for a refurbishment. It then reopened a month later on February 26. On July 22, 2020, it was announced that the attraction was reopened again, since all Walt Disney World parks was temporarily closed on March 16, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic's effect on Florida. On September 2, the attraction was shut down again due to technical issues.

Test Track 3.0, Presented by General Motors (2025–present)

On September 9, 2023, it was announced on the Disney Parks Blog that Test Track would be receiving another retheming, inspired by the original World of Motion attraction at Epcot. Further concept art was released on April 5, 2024, before the attraction closed on June 17, 2024. In December 2024, General Motors announced that it would resume its sponsorship of Test Track when the ride reopened.

On June 16, 2025, it was announced that the third iteration of Test Track would be set to reopen on July 22, 2025, with new scenes, a new musical score and more. Previews for Cast Members started on June 27 and ended on July 10, with previews for the public hosted in the days before the official reopening. Test Track 3.0 officially reopened on July 20, 2025.

Ride overview

1999–2012

During the first part of the queue, guests viewed a sample repair and test shop. As guests entered the queue in the welcome center they were shown tests performed on cars and parts before being released. The queue wound by different tests for tires and car doors, an anechoic chamber for radio receivers, and an area for crash test dummies to be tested. At the end of the queue, a group of guests would be brought into a briefing room where they were shown automobile testing facilities and examples of tests being performed. The host, Bill McKim (John Michael Higgins) told the guests that they would take part in some of these tests and also told the technician Sherrie what tests to set up. Small videos of each test were shown as he spoke. He finally told her to choose one final "surprise test," and a video of a car crashing into a barrier was shown as a door opened for guests to enter the interior queue.

Upon reaching the end of the second queue, guests were loaded into test cars. Upon dispatching from the loading dock, the car was brought through an accelerated hill climb. Next, the car's suspension was tested over different types of road surfaces, including German and Belgian blocks & cobblestones. Next, the car's anti-lock braking system was turned off and the car tried to navigate a course of cones, knocking many over in the process. The anti-lock brakes were then turned back on and a similar cone course was navigated easily. Guests were shown a video overlay of the difference. Then, the cars were brought through three environmental chambers: the heat chamber (featuring 192 heat lamps), the cold chamber, and the corrosion chamber (featuring robots on both sides that spray yellow mist).

The handling of the car was then tested. It climbed a set of hills with blind turns while increasing its speed by 10% each time. At the top, the car almost crashes into an oncoming semi-truck before swerving out of the way. The car was now brought to the final test shown in the briefing room: the barrier test. The car lined up across from a barrier and began to accelerate towards it. Just before hitting the barrier a series of bright lights illuminated and the barrier opened to a track outside. The car traveled along a straightaway into a boot-shaped turnaround over an employee parking lot, then took a lap around the building with banked turns and a max speed of 64.9 mph (104.6 km/h). As the car returned to the loading dock, a thermal scan was taken of the guests and shown on a large screen.

Like many Disney attractions, Test Track exited into a themed gift shop featuring merchandise associated with the attraction. Guests could also view and purchase photos taken of their vehicle on the ride or scan their Photopass to view or purchase the photos later. There was also an area where there was a showroom of the all-new, prototype, or legendary GM vehicles.

2012–2024

The first queue uses the same area as the old but is themed to the Chevrolet Design Studio at EPCOT. "Designers" (as the Test Track Technicians call the guests) pass by two concept cars, the Chevrolet Miray, and the Chevrolet EN-V. Afterwards, the standby queue leads to a section where a small model car is drawn on through projections while one of Chevrolet's employees discusses the design process for cars. Then the standby queue goes by large touchscreens where designers can take tutorials on how to design a car. Once at the front of the queue, designers use their MagicBand, park ticket, or receive a white RFID card called a "design key" and wait for a set of doors to open leading into one of the two design studios. Once in the studio, designers have a set amount of time (depending on how busy the attraction is) to design their own "Chevrolet Custom Concept Vehicle" that will be tested on the sim-track based on four performance attributes: Capability, Efficiency, Responsiveness or Power. Once the time expires, designers move to the second queue which leads to the boarding area. For Lightning Lane designers, the queue goes directly to the main design studios. For single riders, guests use their MagicBand, ticket, or a design key to select a pre-designed vehicle from one of the four performance attributes: Capability, Efficiency, Responsiveness or Power. Once guests select their vehicle, they move to the same second queue. While waiting to board the sim-cars, all designers must scan their MagicBand, ticket, or design key again at the gate to upload their Chevrolet Custom Concept Vehicle to the sim-car.

Once the gates open, designers board the sim-cars and fasten their seat belts; they will be checked and dispatched by a Test Track technician. Afterwards, designers' cars take them through the digital testing environment of the Sim-Track. Along the way, designers will find out how their design choices directly affect their Chevrolet Custom Concept Vehicle's performance numbers by undergoing four different tests: capability, efficiency, responsiveness and power.

In the capability test, the car first connects to OnStar, while passing a snowflake on the left which is composed of World of Motion logos, then accelerates past a rain projection and skids out of control. Next, the continuing path disappears and the sim-car turns around to speed up again. A short time later, the sim-car makes a sharp left turn as a lightning bolt strikes. The car then passes by a futuristic city, which is an unintentional reference to CenterCore, an amazing city of the future from World of Motion. Following the capability test, the results of which car designs scored the best in the test are displayed.

2025–present

The first queue uses mostly the same area as the 2.0 version, but is instead themed as a car showroom. Guests pass by many concept cars, with informational plaques detailing them. The Design Studio preshow and car-design features from the previous version have been removed.

The ride begins as guest past the seatbelt check and look through a window at the opening queue. The car speeds up a hill as guests are introduced to their male narrator and female AI car. The car then enters a city landscape which turns into a digital world to show how the car sees the world. The car accelerates and swerves past a digital car that appears before slowing down. The area goes black except for the road to show how a smart road can charge a car before accelerating again.

The car then approaches a futuristic house as the narrator describes a future where you can design your own car from your garage. The car passes mirrors while the car AI plays with various designs making the car look different as it passes each mirror, an ode to a similar effect in World of Motion.

The car then enters a wooded highway area where the narrator lets the AI take a drive in which she responds, "It's always fun to be free." The car slowly speeds up as it makes turns around the woods. The car then enters a tunnel where it has a near miss with a semi truck.

The car approaches a futuristic car describing the possibilities of the future. It enters a giant dome projecting images of a futuristic city with flying cars. After a small stop, the car then fully accelerates into the outdoor portion going through the out and back loop before slowly returning to the station. Unlike earlier versions of the ride, the wall to the outside was previously permanently open. This is due to an incident during the cast member previews for the re-opening of the ride where the sliding doors did not slide open and the ride vehicle crashed into them, injuring the riders on board. However, as of early August 2026, the sliding doors now operate normally.

Before reaching the station, the narrator and AI thank guests and encourage them to check out the post show.