Walt Disney World has announced that Test Track 3.0 will soon be added to the extra hours attraction lineups at EPCOT. This covers details, plus our commentary about how this changes morning park touring strategy, arriving via International Gateway vs. front entrance, and more.
Let’s start with the basics, which is that Test Track will officially open on July 22, 2025 at EPCOT. Regular ticket holders have to wait another full month (almost) before taking a spin on the reimagined ride. In between now and then, there will be a range of previews and (hopefully) a few days of soft openings.
Imagineers along with teams from Chevrolet reached back into history for inspiration from the original World of Motion, and brought that spirit of optimism to the third iteration of Test Track. They’re pushing innovation forward and celebrating humanity’s enduring drive on the thrilling road to a brighter tomorrow. If you want spoilers, have at them in this Ride-Through of Test Track 3.0 at EPCOT.
Along with this, Walt Disney World has since confirmed that Test Track 3.0 will use a standby line once it reopens on July 22, 2025. This 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.
Speaking of which, Test Track will be part of Lightning Lane Multi-Pass when it reopens on July 22, 2025. It 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.
Test Track will join the Tier A of Lightning Lane Multi-Pass, with Soarin’ Around the World downgraded to Tier B. As explained at length in Lightning Lane & Line Changes Coming to EPCOT for Reimagined Test Track’s Reopening, both of these attractions are likely to be the most popular Lightning Lanes in their respective categories. Despite the downgrade, Soarin’ will probably become the toughest Lightning Lane in all of EPCOT as a result.
All of this has led us to wonder about extra hours, and whether or not it would be a similar return to the old normal at EPCOT…
We can now confirm that starting July 22, 2025, Test Track will be open for Early Entry at EPCOT from to
Although Early Entry times can vary by date at the other parks, that’s typically not the case at EPCOT. I cannot recall the last time official park opening was anything other than 9:00 AM. Park closing has been extended to 9:30 PM or 10:00 PM during peak seasons, but I cannot recall a time when EPCOT opened before 9 AM since…probably Summer 2022?
One thing I do want to mention here is that Walt Disney World “announced” this change with an update to the official Test Track website, which now lists Early Entry hours for July 22, 2025 and every date thereafter. As you might know, the official website has been wrong about this stuff in the past, with changes sometimes made based on assumptions and past precedent that no longer holds true.
Fearing this might be the case–that sometime in Disney IT saw Test Track reopening, that it was previously part of Early Entry, and put that together without knowing for sure–I reached out to Walt Disney World for confirmation. We’re happy to report that, yes, this schedule is correct. As always, things are subject to change until they actually happen, but Walt Disney World’s intent is to operate Test Track 3.0 during Early Entry from the jump.
We can similarly confirm that Test Track will be open for Extended Evening Hours at EPCOT starting on Monday, July 28, 2025.
Note that this is the first Extended Evening Hours (ExEH) after Test Track reopens. We’ve had a lot of posts about Extended Evening Hours scheduling recently, and the light bit of ‘drama’ about ExEH bouncing around from Magic Kingdom to Animal Kingdom to Disney’s Hollywood Studios in July and August. None of that impacts EPCOT, which continues to reliably host ExEH on Mondays.
July 28 is the first Monday after Test Track returns, and the ride will be open to guests during those extra hours from 9 PM until 11 PM. This is an especially big win for Extended Evening Hours. The exclusive perk is much more popular during the summer months due to high heat during the day, but if even one attraction breaks down (as happens often!) it can throw a monkey wrench into the entire evening.
Even when things are running smoothly, the other headliners are all in opposite corners of the park. That’s no exaggeration. During the last ExEH at EPCOT that I attended, I spent much more time walking between rides than I did waiting in lines. At least, until the very end when Cosmic Rewind broke down and I was stuck in line for over an hour before the queue got dumped around midnight. That was fun!
Having both Cosmic Rewind and Test Track open–two attractions that are basically right across from one another–and using standby lines for the first time ever during Extended Evening Hours will be a huge. A potential game-changer. That’s also not an exaggeration.
In addition to this, there’s a wildcard extra hours offering: After Hours at EPCOT. This upcharge event is about halfway through its ‘season’ and will have the remaining dates left on the calendar once Test Track reopens:
- July – 24 and 31
- August – 7, 14, 21 and 28
- September – 11 and 25
Currently, Test Track is not listed on the ride roster for After Hours at EPCOT. However, there are still several dates left before Test Track reopens, which could explain that. Adding Test Track to the list could create confusion, since it’s not open yet.
It’s also possible that Walt Disney World is wary about complaints from guests attending earlier After Hours nights when Test Track is not offered, so they either won’t announce until right before the 24th–or they’ll keep Test Track closed for “continuity” of the event.
I’ve also reached out to Walt Disney World about this, and haven’t received official confirmation either way. My guess is that Test Track will be open for After Hours starting July 24, 2025. If it’s open during the “free” extra hours, it stands to reason it’d be open during the paid ones. I’d put the chance of it being open at 90% or higher. Still, stranger things have happened–hence that lingering 10% doubt.
For those who are unfamiliar with the on-site extra hours guest perks, Early Entry is offered at all 4 theme parks every single day and offers 30-minute access to guests staying in on-site hotels at Walt Disney World. See our Guide to Early Entry at Walt Disney World for more info & strategy.
Extended Evening Theme Park Hours occurs only two nights per week in total–for two hours each night. This benefit is exclusively for guests staying at Deluxe Resorts, Deluxe Villas (Disney Vacation Club), or other select hotels (Swolphin and Shades of Green). Guests staying at Value or Moderate Resorts are not eligible for Extended Evening Hours. See our Guide to Extended Evening Hours at Walt Disney World for more rules, eligibility, strategy, etc.
Additionally, we have over a dozen “Extra Hours” Photo Reports, with more coming later this month as a result of this change. Early Entry reports are my emphasis since they’re relevant to more readers–and also because I’ve found that it’s much more difficult to replicate results during ExEH at EPCOT due to the aforementioned breakdowns (I’ve done close to a dozen ExEH at EPCOT, and no two of them have been the same).
I would hazard a guess that we’ve done Early Entry 50 to 75 times since it debuted a few years ago. My general perspective is that fans undervalue it. We see a lot of complaints that the perk is “only” 30 minutes, which is objectively accurate. (Well, most of the time–sometimes it starts a bit earlier, especially at DHS.)
However, this understates the value of that time and just how much you can accomplish. As I’ve demonstrated in our EPCOT morning reports, I’ve accomplished multiple rides during Early Entry and also beating the regular rope drop rush to my next destination at ~9:00 AM.
Fans also underestimate the subjective value of Early Entry. By that, I mean that morning is the second-best time of the day at all 4 of the parks–behind only late nights. There’s something special about watching the sun rise over the parks, and I love savoring my strolls around World Showcase, watching the countries “wake up” for the day.
With that said, Early Entry at EPCOT hasn’t been good/great since Test Track went down for refurbishment. As a result of that closure, the bulk of the crowds are basically all heading to two destinations: Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure in World Showcase or Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind in the former Future World.
Some guests do head to Soarin’ Around the World or Frozen Ever After, but those have become secondary stops for the most part. At least on 5/10 crowd level days or higher, it can be a challenge to knock out 2 headliners before the rope drop rush arrives.
We are expecting Test Track’s return to change that.
My hope is that we’re basically able to utilize the “Easy” EPCOT Early Entry Plan for Low Waits at Guardians of Galaxy Cosmic Rewind, but slotting in Test Track first. That might sound backwards, which is precisely the point. Stay tuned for actual field testing results, though, because things often don’t unfold in real life as I lay them out on paper. That’s why we test the plans in the first place! I’ll be doing extensive actual testing and will report back with my results sometime later this month or in early August 2025. So stay tuned.
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YOUR THOUGHTS
Will you be doing Test Track during Early Entry or Extended Evening Hours at EPCOT? Or will you still do the Rat Ride and Frozen Ever After if entering via International Gateway? Thoughts on extra hours at EPCOT? What’s your preferred approach to mornings or evenings at EPCOT? Agree or disagree with our advice? 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!
