Memory 050 – Test Track

Come and join us for another installment of the WDW-Memories podcast, where I try to make it possible for you relive your Walt Disney World Memories when you can’t actually be there.

It’s finally here, 50 shows. It seems like only yesterday I began this podcasting journey. In reality it’s been almost 5 years. You may not know this, but I released my first episode back on September 21, 2006. I started out with good intentions, hoping every week I would release a new show, but I quickly realized that took far more free time than I had, and I quickly attempted to switch to a bi-weekly format. Sadly over the years I’ve released on a very inconsistent schedule, and that get’s us to where we are today, 50 shows (plus some bonus ones) in 5 years, but I’ve hopefully found a rhythm now, and feel like things are getting more consistent. And it seems to be paying off too, as our numbers are starting to grow. So I thought I’d take this moment to welcome all my new subscribers, and maybe reintroduce myself and this show.

So to recap, my name is Lou. I’ve been a lifelong Disney fan, but it really took hold probably in my teenage years. Our family began making day trips to Walt Disney World when we’d go to beach in Clearwater, FL every year, and I soon came to love everything that the parks had to offer. The music, the rides, and the theming are always the gold standard I compare everything too, and it became a hobby of mine to keep up to date on rumors, to read all I could on the history of the parks and Walt Disney himself, and to collect all the pictures I could find of the parks. Then technology caught up, and a personal website was born. I could share my pictures and thoughts on the parks. I also became a Disney Store Cast Member, and continued to fan the flame of my passion there. At some point, I earned a free pass to the parks through work, and decided before I went over that I wanted to record some of the musical acts that I loved in the park. I picked up a MiniDisc recorder, and a cheap microphone and went to the park. I got a few good recordings of the live acts, but thought I’d try it out also on a couple of attractions, and soon discovered I could see the ride in my “minds-eye”, and feel just like I was there while I was listening. I’ve upgraded equipment over the years, now using Binaural Earbuds to get a true life representation of what I hear, and now I don’t take a trip to the parks without my recorder running.

Through the years I’ve shared these recordings online through many different sources, but when Podcasting came along, I soon realized this was my ideal medium for sharing. I began this podcast as a way to share my time in the Parks, riding rides, or catching shows in a live format as a way to allow you the listenter to experience it as if you were sitting right there. I don’t actually live in Orlando, so my recordings are not always up to date, but I like to think that they are still timeless really. So if you have a favorite show or ride, going back to the past even, I might have some recording of it somewhere.

So that’s enough about the past, let’s get on with this weeks memory. Today we’re going to visit that great thrill attraction at Epcot, Test Track. This request was from an email I received an email from Brendan back in February. He wrote:

I love the roar of the motors and the wind blowing on my face and screaming in my ears as I go whizzing around the track.although my favorite part has to be when you supposedly go through a wall and they snap your picture ,although I always have my head down.

Now Dan pointed out on Facebook that this doesn’t really translate to an audio only podcast, but that’s the beauty of using your memories in conjuction with my audio. I want you to close your eyes and in your minds eye you’ll be able to relive that memory too.

Daniel on Twitter thought:

Absolutely the GREATEST ride in Epcot!! Can’t wait to hear this!!

Richard said on Facebook:

I would like to hear it

Robert said on Facebook:

Awesome

Personally, I’m with all of you guys. I don’t know why I love this ride, but I do. I have a car, I drive it on the highway every day, but for some reason I love riding this ride. I guess who doesn’l love hi-banked turns at 65 mph in a convertible? Or maybe it’s the wind whipping through my hair? I don’t know, but it’s pretty much a don’t miss when in Epcot.

Anyways, today’s recording is in Binarual as usual. It’s May 2007, and Traci and I are joined today by my in-laws. It’s been a beautiful day and we’ve been having a great time at the Flower and Garden Festival in Epcot, and are planning to Park-Hop over to the Magic Kingdom for some fun this evening. We’ve done quite a few rides and shows as crowds are light, but we’re still going to utilize our FastPass for Test Track, and get to jump strait to the pre-show pens with no wait. We’ll join this memory outside the pre-show area as they’ve got a large group of us waiting for the doors to open. Soon, they open up for us, and we cram into the littleroom to see the pre-show video explaining what’s about to happen. We’ll stick with the audio in the following short queue (I may cut some of it out) and then we’ll take our exhilarating ride around the GM Testing Facilities with Test Track.