Test Track at Epcot is great fun, but not the sort of ride to try if you value your carefully arranged hairdo! It is a very, very popular ride and the Fast Passes for it go very quickly, so perhaps you should head for it first when you go into the Park. Even if you arrive for a Fast Pass at 10 a.m. you might find that the time slot you are given for coming back is late in the afternoon.
The experience begins in the queuing area, which is set up as an industrial testing laboratory, and is full of authentic equipment and bits of cars. It shows you how they test the different components of the vehicles - seat belts, airbags, suspension, brakes, windscreen etc and there are several TV screens showing films of tests on vehicles. There is plenty to see and do as you make your way round, and if you are fortunate enough for there is no queue for the ride, you might want to walk slowly through this area anyway.
Next you are introduced to the testing procedures by watching a TV screen, and you get a description of the types of tests there are and the different tests that they have decided that you will experience that day.
After all the preliminaries it is time to get into your open top, six-seater test car and set off. First of all you are taken through an area where they test the car on a bumpy and uneven road surface, then you climb a steep incline for the hill test. Next you need to hang on tight as they perform the test on the car’s brakes. Now, depending on your own style of driving when you are out in your own car, you may not find the brake testing bit to be very much different from normal driving, but it is worth hanging on tight at that point! !
There are other tests that you will go through and there are some surprises, so I won’t mention them here as it may spoil it for you. However, after all these tests, you have the big final test – the High Speed Test.
For me, this was the best bit, but it won’t be your favourite part if you are worried about ruffling your hair! The car goes outside the building on a raised track rushing along at 65 m.p.h. round some steeply banked curves. Wonderful!
The experience begins in the queuing area, which is set up as an industrial testing laboratory, and is full of authentic equipment and bits of cars. It shows you how they test the different components of the vehicles - seat belts, airbags, suspension, brakes, windscreen etc and there are several TV screens showing films of tests on vehicles. There is plenty to see and do as you make your way round, and if you are fortunate enough for there is no queue for the ride, you might want to walk slowly through this area anyway.
Next you are introduced to the testing procedures by watching a TV screen, and you get a description of the types of tests there are and the different tests that they have decided that you will experience that day.
After all the preliminaries it is time to get into your open top, six-seater test car and set off. First of all you are taken through an area where they test the car on a bumpy and uneven road surface, then you climb a steep incline for the hill test. Next you need to hang on tight as they perform the test on the car’s brakes. Now, depending on your own style of driving when you are out in your own car, you may not find the brake testing bit to be very much different from normal driving, but it is worth hanging on tight at that point! !
There are other tests that you will go through and there are some surprises, so I won’t mention them here as it may spoil it for you. However, after all these tests, you have the big final test – the High Speed Test.
For me, this was the best bit, but it won’t be your favourite part if you are worried about ruffling your hair! The car goes outside the building on a raised track rushing along at 65 m.p.h. round some steeply banked curves. Wonderful!