Previews of Test Track 3.0 are now over at EPCOT for APs and DVC, and Walt Disney World has officially announced technical rehearsals of the reimagined ride for all guests before it officially reopens. That’s right: soft openings are now underway! Here’s what to expect, how to take advantage, and more.
As a reminder, Test Track will officially reopen on July 22, 2025 at EPCOT. The attraction has been in Cast Member, Annual Passholder, Disney Vacation Club, and other affiliation previews for over a month at this point, as work wrapped up with plenty of time to make its ‘late summer’ reopening target. Targeted previews have likewise gone pretty well, with Test Track not having downtime woes.
We’ve already covered Test Track 3.0 in countless posts–and will have a full review soon. The high-level overview of the reimagining is that Walt Disney World along with teams from Chevrolet reached back into history for inspiration from the original World of Motion, and have brought that spirit of optimism to the next iteration of Test Track. They’re pushing innovation forward and celebrating humanity’s enduring drive on the thrilling road to a brighter tomorrow.
Walt Disney World has now soft opened Test Track 3.0 for all guests at EPCOT!
Test Track will be open to guests on July 20th and 21st ahead of its previously announced July 22, 2025 grand opening. Guests will be able to join a standby line during these soft opening days. This is unlike the AP previews, which used a virtual queue.
During the soft opening, Test Track will not participate in Lightning Lane Multi-Pass. It is expected to utilize the Single Rider line as demand allows, but this is often more sporadic and could close without notice.
Unlike the Starlight soft opening, don’t expect Walt Disney World to make any parkwide announcement for guests inside EPCOT. Although this soft opening was officially announced, it was done so via media. As of publish time, we have not received a push notification about Test Track via My Disney Experience and there’s no posted wait time in the app, either.
However, this could change if word doesn’t get out and Test Track is a perpetual walk-on throughout the morning. If this news hasn’t been sufficiently disseminated through unofficial channels, the announcement might be pushed to all guests to entice them over to Test Track.
Either way, we expect this soft opening to be the best time to experience Test Track for the foreseeable future. Maybe there will be some slower days in late August, but we wouldn’t bank on it. Assuming no downtime or delays, this is probably the easiest and best time to do Test Track.
The reasons for that are fairly simple and straightforward. One being that many (if not most) guests in EPCOT won’t even be aware that it’s open. Even if they are, it’s a pretty quiet weekend during Diet EPCOT when the weather is “surface of the sun.” Plugged in locals already got their rides in, so they might balk at the high temperatures in the forecast.
Not only that, but the lack of Lightning Lanes means the standby line will flow freely. All in all, a winning combination for repeat rides on Test Track. Hope to see you all there!
For those who are unfamiliar with the term, soft openings are also known as trial operations or technical rehearsals, and are basically an unannounced and controlled test period. They provide an opportunity for theme parks to open an attraction prior to its official opening and conduct operations and Cast Member training in a more forgiving and low stress environment.
Typically, these are not publicized via official resources: not on park maps, the official Disney Parks Blog, annoying TikTok videos, wait time boards, or even in the My Disney Experience app. As a result, they always draw significantly fewer crowds than official openings. They’re a nice perk for guests who are already in the park and the most plugged-in Walt Disney World fans.
Walt Disney World had moved away from soft openings in the last few years, before bringing them back with TRON Lightcycle Run two years ago. That was the last big brand-new attraction to debut, before Tiana’s Bayou Adventure last summer, which did not have soft openings.
Speaking of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, this ride reimagining is also a sharp contrast to that because, comparatively, Test Track has been smooth sailing (err, driving). The reopening of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure was a multi-month meltdown that took until early this year to finally fix. Test Track has had one minor issue, but downtime has been minimal–about on par with what the ride experienced before.
As covered previously, Test Track 3.0 will use a standby line once previews end and it reopens on July 22, 2025. This alone is a strong signal that ride reliability is high, and means that there will NOT be a virtual queue for Test Track. It’ll either be waiting in the regular ole queue like every other attraction (right now) at Walt Disney World, or line-skipping via the pay-to-play Lightning Lane system.
Test Track will also be part of Lightning Lane Multi-Pass when it reopens. Already, demand has been high for Test Track ride reservations, making it the #1 Lightning Lane Multi-Pass in EPCOT, likely through at least 2026. Test Track will NOT be part of Lightning Lane Single Pass, meaning it cannot be purchased on an a la carte basis. It’ll be part of the ‘bundle’ option that features two tiers at EPCOT.
Beyond that, Test Track will immediately join both of the ‘extra hours’ lineups at EPCOT as soon as it reopens. There are several other major reimagined rides or not-so-new attractions that still haven’t been added to Early Entry or Extended Evening Hours! Test Track is zooming right back to where it was before, and starting July 22, things will be just like they were before the attraction closed for over a year.
Technically a bit before then, as the soft openings should basically mean that Test Track is reopening 2 days early. Good luck catching one if you’re in EPCOT over the next two days! It’s absolutely worth weaving Test Track into your EPCOT itinerary, and making a stop here after you ride Cosmic Rewind.
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YOUR THOUGHTS
Will you be in EPCOT over the next few days? Planning on heading to World Discovery to take advantage of Test Track soft openings for regular park guests? Agree or disagree with us? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!