Just weeks before its grand reopening, EPCOT’s newly updated Test Track has already made headlines for all the wrong reasons. During a Cast Member preview on July 1st, a Test Track crash occurred when a ride vehicle slammed into a set of foam sliding doors that failed to open properly. Four guests were injured in the impact and received treatment on-site. Fortunately, none required hospitalization—but the timing couldn’t be worse for Disney as it gears up to relaunch the ride to the public later this month.
The exterior of Test Track 3.0 at EPCOT in Walt Disney World – YouTube, Attractions Magazine
The crash took place during the ride’s climactic finale scene—where vehicles accelerate toward a pair of themed doors that are supposed to fling open just before launch. That didn’t happen. Instead, the doors remained shut, and the vehicle barreled straight through them. The doors are designed to be made of soft, breakaway foam as a safety precaution, and they did break apart on contact—but not without consequence. Guests aboard the vehicle were jostled hard enough to suffer minor injuries.
The Test Track crash instantly triggered operational changes. Disney removed the sliding door effect from Cast Member previews effective immediately, opting to run the ride without it for the time being. Whether the doors will be reprogrammed, rebuilt, or scrapped entirely remains to be seen.
If you’ve followed Test Track’s history, this isn’t shocking. The attraction has always been temperamental. This marks the third major redesign of the ride since it opened in 1999. Originally, Test Track simulated safety tests like brake checks and crash walls. Its second iteration had guests design their own vehicles before testing them through virtual performance categories. Now, with Imagineering once again teaming up with General Motors, the latest version of the ride showcases real-world automotive tech and a futuristic vision of transportation.
The doors in question weren’t just for thrills—they played a functional role in the storytelling. The closed doors helped darken the final indoor space so projection effects could light up a future-themed tunnel just before the vehicle launches outside. Removing the doors means those visuals will likely be diminished. Whether or not Disney finds a workaround or brings the effect back before the official opening is still unknown.
The exterior for Test Track 3.0 at EPCOT in Walt Disney World – YouTube, Attractions Magazine
Cast Member previews resumed on July 2nd with the door effect deactivated. Passholder previews begin July 13th and run through July 19th, followed by the official public reopening on July 22nd. That gives Disney less than three weeks to rebuild trust in a ride that just suffered an early and very public mechanical failure.
While no lives were ever in danger during the Test Track crash, the incident casts an awkward shadow over the debut of a major reimagining. EPCOT has already been under a microscope as it struggles to deliver on promised enhancements, and the last thing Disney needed was a headlining glitch during a controlled preview. Now, all eyes are on July 22nd—not just to see how the new version plays, but to see if Disney’s operational team can keep this aging attraction on the rails.
The queue for Test Track 3.0 at EPCOT in Walt Disney World – YouTube, Attractions Magazine
For now, what was supposed to be a high-speed showcase of innovation is a cautionary tale. Let’s hope this was the only crash Test Track has in store this summer.
Are you going to ride Test Track 3.0 after this crash? Sound off in the comments and let us know!
CORRECTION NOTICE:
A previous version of this article mentioned that guests experienced “bruising and back pain” during the Test Track crash. That was reported in error. We regret the error and have updated the article to reflect only what is known: that four guests received medical attention on-site and none were transported to a hospital.
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