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Walt Disney World Epcot Discussion Thread

p. 118 - EPCOT Destination D23 news roundup!

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I was at the final weekend of the Food and Wine festival today, crazy busy....I even ran in to Robb, Elissa and company. Despite that I still had a great time

 

Seriously, nice to finally meet you Robb and Elissa, the people who keep the best theme park site on the web open for all of us.

 

Thanks for the cruise advice!

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Disney has put out a new press release regarding more details on Test Track...

 

Walt Disney World Resort guests will experience the thrill of designing their very own virtual vehicle – then putting their design through its paces – when the re-imagined, multi-sensory Test Track Presented by Chevrolet grand re-opens Dec. 6, 2012.

 

The iconic Epcot attraction, a new collaboration between Chevrolet Design and the creative team of Walt Disney Imagineering, celebrates how meticulous design not only shapes the look of Chevrolet cars and trucks, but drives their performance on the open road.

 

For inspiration for the project, Walt Disney Imagineers made numerous visits to Detroit, collaborating with Chevrolet designers and touring the inner sanctums of Chevrolet’s design studios.

 

“As storytellers, to be able tell Chevrolet’s design story was fun for our Imagineers,” said Eric Jacobson, senior vice president of WDI. “Chevrolet designers come from the same creative roots as Imagineers. Test Track Presented by Chevrolet will become, for Epcot guests, an exciting part of their visit to Walt Disney World Resort.”

 

Amid upbeat music, eye-popping lighting effects and a collection of Chevrolet concept cars and model vehicles, guests themselves will become automotive designers – and peer into the future of personal transportation in the process.

 

“Through an enduring partnership, Chevrolet and Disney continue to inspire generations to imagine the impossible and innovate,” said Chris Perry, vice president, U.S. Marketing, General Motors. “The re-imagined Test Track reflects the personality and values of Chevrolet design and offers guests a behind-the-scenes look at a discipline that drives our business. This first-of-its-kind automotive design attraction represents the best of Chevrolet design and Disney innovation.”

 

Test Track guests enter an all-new, interactive pre-show area – completely retooled and re-imagined from the garage-like testing area of the former GM Test Track. The sleek new “Chevrolet Design Center” invites guests to create their own virtual custom-concept vehicle. Car design wannabes will get to shape their own virtual car, truck or crossover vehicle and learn how their design choices perform against four important attributes:

  • Capability
  • Efficiency
  • Responsiveness
  • Power

At design kiosks, rows of touch screens become canvasses for guests to try their hand at design magic. Here, they can virtual-draw – maneuver their vehicle design by shape, length, width and engine size. Once they create the design of their dreams, guests complete their creation with even more choices. They can make a design statement with an expressive front grill, order up wheels by size and style, add paint and other graphics and trick out their vehicle – top to sides, front to back – with the latest accessories. Then comes the crowning touch of their design – adding Chevrolet’s world-famous bowtie logo.

 

Their virtual Chevrolet vehicle complete, the adventure then shifts into high gear as guests – armed with a card encoded with their personal design that travels with them – board their 6-person “SimCar” ride vehicle. Ahead: a thrilling journey into a dazzling multi-sensory digital experience as guests put their personal design through a series of performance tests – the exhilarating heart of Test Track Presented by Chevrolet.

 

Along their route, riders experience changing terrain and extreme conditions as their designs are scored for Capability, Efficiency, Responsiveness and Power. How does their design stand up on the challenging hills, switchbacks and straight-aways of the Test Track circuit? How well does it navigate through bumpy roads, icy conditions, turn-on-a-dime curves and other surprises? Their design skills are put to the test – at speeds of up to 65 mph.

 

The fun and excitement continues in the post-show area.

 

Scoring their design. Guests get to compare their car’s results to that of a baseline SimCar – and also see how they performed against their fellow “designers.”

 

At a digital driving table laying out a road course, guests can race their virtual custom-concept vehicles against other guests’ designs, over changing terrain and encountering extreme conditions.

 

Brand-new car designers can create their own commercial – starring their virtual car.

 

In another experience, guests get to pose with actual Chevrolet vehicles. Through green screen technology — with a few taps on their touch screen – guests can suddenly find themselves posing with their Chevrolet on the lunar surface, arcing across the galaxies, navigating the bright-white of a polar landscape or other thrilling scenes. The images become easily sharable on social media, sending virtual postcard greetings to family, friends or co-workers back home.

 

New and concept Chevrolet vehicles are laid out showroom-style. Guests can get behind the wheel of Chevrolet’s latest models. Chevrolet product specialists are on hand to answer any questions.

 

Test Track Presented by Chevrolet is included in Epcot admission. For more: http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/parks/epcot/attractions/test-track/

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I wonder, since its 6 people in a car, what will happen to groups of 2 or 3? Like how do they decide which of the group designs the car will use.

 

Otherwise, I'm excited to see the changes. Even though, I always enjoyed the original Test Track.

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My guess is that nothing will change on the ride itself. Everyone will be scored against the sim vehicle. You will design your vehicle and get your card. On the ride your score will be displayed along with everyone elses as you go along. Just my thought on how it could work.

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My guess is that nothing will change on the ride itself. Everyone will be scored against the sim vehicle. You will design your vehicle and get your card. On the ride your score will be displayed along with everyone elses as you go along. Just my thought on how it could work.

 

This is exactly how it will be. The SimCar you design in the pre-show will go with you on the ride to be scored against the "ideal" car you are riding in. You'll get your scores at the end of the ride and will be able to take your SimCar into several post show experiences to further put it to the test.

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Yeah, I would guess that each seat would have an individual screen that shows their car and its scores.

 

I originally thought that six riders would design their car collaboratively (like CyberSpace Mountain and Sum of All Thrills) and then the car would adjust parameters to react to the ride elements accordingly (rougher/softer through the blocks, faster/slower in the speed section, etc), but it doesn't look like that's the case.

 

I'm still looking forward to it though. Hopefully I'll be able to go down to Orlando again this coming summer...

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Looks pretty good! Very smart of them to incorporate your car in the after-ride exhibit. I might actually stop in that area the next time I visit. I never did before because it was always too crowded for what it was.

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My guess is that nothing will change on the ride itself. Everyone will be scored against the sim vehicle. You will design your vehicle and get your card. On the ride your score will be displayed along with everyone elses as you go along. Just my thought on how it could work.

 

That sounds right. I am very curious to check this out, as the old Test Track was my favorite attraction at Epcot.

 

dt

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Ahh, I get it now. That makes a lot more sense then what I was just originally thinking. I wonder if Disney has thought of a way they can make your designed car into a toy and sell it.

 

I imagine they could do it with a decent high-end 3D printer setup.

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Smooth, real smooth.

 

http://nj1015.com/epcot-center-sneak/

 

Man Tries to Sneak Into Epcot Center by Impersonating Federal Agent

 

Seventy-four year old Emerito Pujol wanted to to explore Disney’s Epcot Center, but he didn’t want to pay the hefty $99.79 admission fee. So he devised what he surely thought was an innovative plan to get inside the theme park’s gates for free.

 

At the turnstile, the Miami man flashed a badge declaring he was an “honorary member” of the American Federation of Police. Then he told the ticket collector he was a police officer looking for somebody who may be in the park.

 

When the Epcot employee balked at his explanation, Pujol quickly changed it up. Now he was a federal agent “guarding somebody important.”

 

That didn’t work either and the real police were called in. Instead of trying to trick them with his fake badge, Pujol ‘fessed up and is now being charged with unlawful use of a police badge, falsely impersonating an officer, and petty theft.

 

Spaceship Earth and Future World are pretty cool, and may even be worth a C-note to check out. But at the price Pujol was willing to pay, we’d have to say Epcot’s probably not worth it.

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http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2012/11/first-look-renderings-of-the-new-test-track-chevrolet-design-center-pre-show-released/

 

While the reimagined Test Track – Presented by Chevrolet is still a few weeks away from opening at Epcot, we have a sneak peek of the attraction’s new pre-show to share with you today.

 

Upon entering the attraction, you’ll be invited into the Chevrolet Design Center where you can design your own virtual custom concept vehicle at design kiosks. Here, you’ll be asked to make a few selections that really allow you to create a unique vehicle design that’s personalized to your taste.

 

First, you’re asked to draw an outline of your vehicle. If you don’t have the steadiest hand, don’t worry because you’ll have a chance to smooth out the shape before moving on. Next, you’ll be asked to make some choices that adjust the shape, length and width of your vehicle.

 

Then you’ll select your type of engine, choosing among several fun choices, including Solar Drive, EV Hybrid, and Plasma Burner, among others.

 

Next up, you’ll make choices on your design’s aesthetics. Here you choose the face of your car, the paint color and graphics, and even choose the wheel size and style.

 

And you’re design is complete and ready to be put to the test. From here, you’ll board a SimCar to see how your design compares, as they’re put to the test in the categories of Capability, Efficiency, Responsiveness and Power at different points along the attraction’s track.

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Plasma burner? That sounds fun.

 

Now that I think about it, the Design Center game would be super cool if Disney put it online as well, and you could have your card ahead of time or something.

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Ahh, I get it now. That makes a lot more sense then what I was just originally thinking. I wonder if Disney has thought of a way they can make your designed car into a toy and sell it.

 

I imagine they could do it with a decent high-end 3D printer setup.

 

Totally! They HAVE to have at least considered this as an option. Isn't Disney already piloting a 3D printed toy somewhere on property already?

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^They're doing the Han Solo and Princess pieces, but those take weeks to actually get out to the consumer. They could do something like that, but that would kind of ruin the moment.

 

Didn't Robb do something at BGT earlier this year where a machine made an elephant statue for him? Seems like they could do something along that line to make a model car (though it would likely be stationary and not have moving wheels and what not).

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