Disney Rumors for June 2024
Last month, I indicated that we might have some new information on Coco, Journey into Imagination 4.0, and Test Track 3.0.
Well, I don’t have as much intel as I’d hoped, but we still have plenty to discuss in the latest batch of Disney Rumors.
Test Track 3.0
On June 17th, barely two weeks from now, the current version of Test Track will close forever.
For fans of the iconic ride, this is a tough pill to swallow, as Test Track has embodied the best of EPCOT for more than a quarter-century now.
Frankly, the news that Disney would replace Test Track caught many people by surprise, and I fall into that category.
I’ve known for a while that park officials weren’t crazy about Test Track’s uptime and throughput, but those concerns strike me as nitpicks.
Test Track in its current state is unquestionably a top five EPCOT attraction and arguably top three.
So, closing a ride that popular is a bold decision. However, that call apparently didn’t come from Disney.
Since October 1st, 1982, GM has sponsored some version of the attraction in this building.
At first, GM sponsored World of Motion but then pivoted to Test Track in 1998.
When Test Track 2.0 arrived in 2012, GM shifted the sponsorship to one of its brands, Chevrolet.
That’s important to this discussion, as Chevrolet is currently pivoting its entire automotive fleet to electric vehicles.
Test Track decidedly isn’t that…at all. I mean, one of the vital parts of the scoring system is how fuel-efficient your car design is.
Most people blow off that part of the car-building process to create a better Batmobile, one with horrific gas mileage.
Americans prefer going fast to maintaining fuel efficiency.
That’s no longer what Chevrolet is selling, although the two aren’t mutually exclusive.
So, Chevrolet has asked for a new iteration of Test Track, one that celebrates electric vehicles.
Since that’s where the entire industry is headed, it’s a fair request.
Two Birds, One Stone
Simultaneously, EPCOT can pay tribute to its own theme park history with a redesign.
World of Motion was one of the most beloved attractions when the park opened.
This Omnimover emphasized infotainment, which was a calling card of early EPCOT.
The recent reimagining of this park has moved toward Neighborhoods and hangout spots instead.
Still, many of the additions like CommuniCore Hall & Plaza pay tribute to the EPCOT of old.
Test Track 2.0 flies in the face of that, as it has even moved away from the original crash test dummy concept of Test Track 1.0.
The prevailing belief is that the next version of Test Track will take a year to complete, slotting its arrival next summer.
This update will create a sort of retro version of World of Motion disguised as Test Track.
Disney will presumably dial down the historical parts, but the early rendering shows a kind of bubble car in a jungle setting.
So, we may get a bit more World of Motion history than we’ve had since 1998.
Best Current Guess About Test Track 3.0
Alternatively, Disney will set this attraction in different locales to give it a more international vibe.
That decision alone would represent a hallmark change from the current, relatively claustrophobic setting where you’re at a testing facility.
Even if that’s still the case, the backdrop will at least change during your trial test. That’s a welcome update.
With a year to build the new Test Track, Disney appears committed to a full reboot akin to Tiana’s Bayou Adventure.
That’s a much better change than a less involved overlay of some sort.
So, Test Track 3.0 will apparently eliminate all the current shortcomings of Test Track 2.0 while honoring EPCOT’s past.
I have vivid childhood memories of the first time I rode World of Motion, and I want it back in some form!
Current rumors here are frankly all over the place, but most of them align on the World of Motion and electric vehicle parts.
I’ll add that an influencer posted a video suggesting a $100 million cost for this renovation, which would be massive.
He listed sources as people working at Test Track. Cast Members actually working at Test Track were first in line to reject that assertion.
They claimed they hadn’t heard anything. So, that’s how muddy this entire conversation is.
Even the people working there aren’t quite sure what to expect.
The Coco and Figment Attractions
I’m gonna jam these two stories together because there’s something else I want to cover this month. But I promised.
So, here’s what I know about the Figment rumors. As near as I can tell, they’re currently overblown.
Disney has filed the paperwork to perform changes at the Imagination! pavilion.
However, nobody is sure that this filing applies to Journey into Imagination with Figment.
After all, the Joy character spot just switched to Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
Ergo, a change here could be as simple as reworking the infrastructure for another character greeting.
Disney keeps these filings generic for a reason. It prefers to hide intent when possible.
Now, I have written an article with suggested re-themes that will probably go live soon.
I specifically discuss Figment in that piece because, frankly, this version of the ride needs to go.
Eric Idle is the star of it, yet he literally pretends it doesn’t exist. He’s disavowed it.
Figment deserves a better attraction, but if one is in the offing, I can’t find anybody willing to confirm that to me.
Coco is a different story, though. There is a Coco attraction in the offing, and it sounds spectacular.
In fact, at least one person believes that it’s Soarin’ 3.0, an even better version than Avatar Flight of Passage.
The concept involves a ride on the back of alebrije (like Dante in the movie).
You’ll take a sweeping journey through the Land of the Dead as you soar on your spirit animal.
This one sounds so amazing that it’ll break my heart if it doesn’t happen.
I believe it will, with the primary question being which park gets it.
The Moana Boat Ride
Finally, I still don’t know where it will happen, but the dots are connecting for the Moana boat ride.
As a reminder, when Disney showed the initial images for DinoLand U.S.A. back when it was blue sky, park officials showed images.
One of them was a Moana boat ride that frankly had more detailed illustrations at the time than Test Track 3.0 has now.
Generally, when a project is that far along, Disney builds it because it’s passed all the requisite internal hurdles.
Recently, Disney CEO Bob Iger suggested that Moana will gain a heightened park presence.
I don’t think I’m going out on a limb here by saying that this seemingly ready-to-build Moana boat ride is likely happening.
Now, we know how they stack up against other titans of media.
The only question is where Disney builds the attraction. It could be Disneyland Resort, Magic Kingdom, or Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
No matter where it goes, Disney has this one ready, and it’s promising to add more Moana at the parks.
So, this is the sleeper project falling beneath the radar as we discuss upcoming expansion.
Even after discussing these four possible attractions, I’m still chasing down at least eight more stories along these lines.
I’ll get two more kicks at the can with Disney Rumors before the 2024 D23 Expo reveals all the future expansion attractions.
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