Disney is an interesting beast. When it comes to theme parks, they're king. While that's my opinion, I think it hits pretty close to the truth. No one can do theming and the like quite as well as Disney.** With any entity this large, there are bound to be good decisions and bad.
For example, they are always adding to existing rides to make them even better. Years ago, they added a new tombstone outside the Haunted Mansion for Madame Leota. It's really neat, but they didn't need to do it. They just did because it seemed like a good idea. It still looks good. It's in good shape, and I haven't seen it not working.
Then, you have examples like Journey Into Imagination, which is now known as Journey Into Your Imagination. For whatever reason, they decided to re-theme the entire ride. As I'm not part of the Disney decision makers, I can only hope there was some reason that necessitated this mistake. They ripped out what made the ride so adorable and cute to make it more factual. Don't get me wrong...I'm a huge fan of science. It's great.
That being said, there was nothing wrong with the original Imagination ride. This was made clear by the lack of visitor excitement. People were so displeased that Figment was added back into the ride.*** While it could be my imagination playing tricks on me, I remember the original ride having lines pretty regularly. Now, there is never a real wait. Usually, you walk right on. On top of that, some of the imagination displays sit unused in the upstairs.****
You would think that Disney would learn to be a bit more careful when changing their rides. Nothing should be treated as untouchable, but changes should be made for good reasons. After experiencing changes to any ride, you should feel as if the ride is only better. If you walk off feeling disappointed, they've made a mistake. That's pretty much what happened with Test Track.
For those who are unfamiliar with the ride, let me explain what exactly the attraction that was Test Track. While it was never one of my favorites, the lines regularly exceed an hour, and fastpasses are often gone by early afternoon. The ride itself is an exploration of what cars go through in testing. You're exposed to different handling tests, speed tests, and the like. You actually went into a briefing room before getting on the ride where the tests were explained. It was neat. Since Epcot is supposed to be a place to learn, Test Track fit right in.*****
As before, the waits are still long, which is to be expected when a ride re-opens. Diane and I were the only ones riding. On our first day, we had picked up fastpasses but left he park before they were active. We gave them to a family of three to use. On our last day, we had obtained them again, but we decided not to stay that late. Those were also given away. As such, we decided to hop in the single rider line.
The re-done Test Track still has the same track and ride vehicles, but much of what made this attraction Epcot worthy is now gone. Instead of a briefing room where they explain the upcoming tests, you get to design a car in the queue. I give them points for having something more interactive, but it isn't enough to save the ride. In the single rider line, you still get the option to design a car, but we passed since Tim was waiting on us. I'm not sure if we missed out on a great deal of theming by choosing single rider.
Once you're past the creation stations, you quickly reach the loading area. The cars are the same as before except their blue. If you designed a car, you can swipe the card it is loaded onto against readers that will load the car up for testing. As you go through the ride, they tell you how the cars ranked, from most effective to least. It's a cute addition.
Have you ever seen Tron? Whether you saw the old one or the new one, I would hope you would understand what it means when I say they Tron-ed Test Track. For the most part, everything is black with colored outlines, often blue. They call the track the Sim-Track now, implying that you're in the computer. If you want a Tron ride, make one. Giving Test Track a Tron make-over doesn't work. The story behind what is going on is no longer clear. It feels loose and messy. Perhaps worst of all, it's boring.
While they still indicate what the tests are for, it just feels fake. I realize the old version of Test Track was fake, but it made more sense. If they were going for a sense of wonder and amazement with the new version, it doesn't work. It falls flat.
I imagine that the Test Track line won't be shortening up anytime soon, but I wish it would. While I don't care to really ride it much, it would be nice if Disney got a clear indication that this isn't what people want. I could be wrong though; maybe I'm in the minority. This is just my opinion, after all.
*Of course, that's questionable.
**I will give Universal Studios credit for the Harry Potter area. It's amazing, but it is a small portion of their parks. That still keeps them in second place until they can provide consistently amazing theming.
***It's like the changes with Coke. It went from awesome to awful. When they made it closer to the original, it was not so bad but still not as good as the original. I think they were hoping we wouldn't notice.
****I miss the rainbow tunnel. :(
*****I still miss World of Motion.
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