Just about ready to hit the track

When World of Motion closed officially in January of 1996, the general public was told that the General Motors sponsored attraction was gone for good, but that within 19 months, a brand new thrill attraction would be coming to Epcot. Yet, when August of 1997 rolled around, the doors were still shuttered to the new Test Track. After all of the testing and track building of Test Track was completed, the attraction was finally opened to the public in December of 1998, more than a year behind schedule.

Perhaps to playfully acknowledge the delay in opening or as a marker to the attractions storied history, support beams such as the one pictured on the right stand along Test Track's exterior. Broken down, the serial number stands for Test Track (TT), 1997 (97), Walt Disney World (WDW), and the designated position of the pole (48).