A Review of the Test Track Ride at Epcot in Disney World

Test Track was my favorite of all the attractions at Epcot center in Disney World. It is presented by GM, and the purpose of the ride is for you to see what it feels like to sit inside a vehicle while it is being put through rigorous safety tests like cornering, braking, and more. It's like a roller coaster inside a car. I told my wife it was like riding in a car with her.

We waited about an hour to get inside this ride, and that was late on a Tuesday night in early August. The line moved pretty slowly, but at least it was moving. There's plenty of stuff to look at while you wait, so that eased things quite a bit. I really like when they do this for you, rather than just making you wait in a long line where you have to look at all the other sweaty tourists.

The entrance to this ride looks like the inside of a high tech garage. You'll see pieces and parts of cars all over the place, often hooked up to computers to show various tests. There are spinning wheels to show how brakes operate, an axle hooked up to a steering column to show the mechanics of turning, and much more. Videos often show test crashes used to determine safety ratings. For someone who doesn't know much about cars, you might actually learn something while waiting in line.

The ride itself begins with a brief video introduction where a couple of technicians describe what you'll be going through. They do their best to make it sound worse than it really is. This is probably the roughest ride in all of Epcot, though it doesn't jerk you around any more than your average roller coaster. It doesn't take you upside down or anything like that. In a way, it's like being inside a car with a really bad driver.

The ride inside the test car begins with you going over some bumpy roads, then it does a brake test where you accelerate and slam on the brakes. You'll do two tests: one with anti-lock brakes and the other without. After that, you'll get tossed back and forth in your seat while it goes through some sharp turns and a couple other tests.

The real fun takes place when you actually get outside on an open track. Your car displays a speedometer, and at one point it actually showed us going around 50 miles per hour. I don't know how accurate that really was, but it sure felt like it. When we were standing in line outside the ride, you can see and hear people zooming around the track.

I really enjoyed this ride. You don't get to drive or anything like that, so basically you just sit there. What I liked was how realistic the whole thing was. Instead of some kind of weird themed event, you actually felt like you were going along for a ride during a car test, which was the point of the ride. If the line wasn't so long, I would have liked to ride it again before we went home for the night.

Of the many attractions at Epcot center, Test Track is definitely worth the wait.