Race Around the Tomorrowland Speedway
Written: Aug 27 '08
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Product Rating:
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Pros: fun for kids
Cons: not environmentally friendly, lines
The Bottom Line: My kids really enjoyed this attraction!
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| goldjay's Full Review: Tomorrowland Indy Speedway |
The Tomorrowland Speedway was on the “must-do” list of my 8 year old daughter. She saw it on the map and couldn’t wait until we got to that part of the park so that she could drive the car. The Tomorrowland Speedway is obviously located in the Tomorrowland section of the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World. It is easy to find as you can hear it before you even get close! It is large enough that you won’t miss it right in the front section of Tomorrowland.
Best Time to Ride
This ride does get quite crowded and the line does get quite long. It is not unusual to see a line that says it is 90 minutes. We rode the Speedway in the late afternoon, right after watching the 3PM parade. We found that the wait at that time was only 20 minutes at that time. There is a sign over the entrance to the line telling guests about how long the wait is expected to be. The wait did not even seem too bad as it kept moving. As cars are constantly being loaded and unloaded, the line does move along. I would guess that the lines are shorter in the early morning but as we couldn’t be everywhere at the same time, we did not find ourselves in that area very early. You should also note that this ride does not offer FastPass. I’m not sure why since it is a ride that does get considerable lines but it doesn’t! So, keep checking the wait times at different times and just “go for it” when the wait time does not seem overly long.
The Ride
This is a ride that has very similar counterparts at other amusement parks. It has very little “Disney” theme to it but still it is fun! However, if you find very long lines and you miss it, it is not a big loss since you surely will find the ride elsewhere at other times.
The line winds around several different directions before you arrive at the loading area. Once you arrive at the loading area, you are asked how many people will ride in your car and you are sent to a numbered gate to await the arrival of your car. If your children have a color preference when it comes to cars, warn them ahead of time that they will not really get a choice at all. Guests are just assigned to cars based on the position in line.
Cars are all brightly colored and have a steering wheel on the left side. The “gas” pedal is basically in the middle of the front floor. This was very smart of Disney! You must be 52 inches to drive a car alone. This is because this is how tall you have to be to reach the gas pedal. But, a younger child can sit in front of the steering wheel and steer the car while an adult sits next to them, pressing the gas pedal. The younger child will feel like they are really doing all of the driving!!
Each car can hold two passengers, usually an adult and a child though it would be possible for two adults to ride together if neither were overly large. When I rode this ride, I rode with my 2 year old son. My 8 year old daughter was tall enough to drive her very own car so she did while my husband got to drive his own car.
Drivers drive their cars around a set track. There is basically a concrete “track” going down the center of the vehicle. The car cannot veer off of the track even if you have a crazy driver, like a 2 year old! So you drive around the track, up a few hills and down a few and around bends. The track itself is about four tenths of a mile long and the entire ride takes only a few minutes. Yet, it is a real thrill to young children to be able to drive their own cars! Even my son who rode next to me felt like he really drove his own car and had a blast! This was definitely one of his favorite rides and he really wanted to ride it again. However, after our first ride was over, we checked the wait time and found it was going to be an hour so we moved on to the next attraction instead.
Recommendations
This was one of my son’s favorite rides. Even though it is not very exciting or different, he was very excited to drive his own car. He had a blast turning the steering wheel, even when we crashed into the concrete track (numerous times)! Both of my children would have loved to have another chance at this ride and will definitely enjoy it whenever we get to go back again!
Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Families
Best Time to Travel Here: Sep - Nov
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Epinions.com ID:
goldjay
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 in Kids & Family |
 - Top 500 |
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Member: Allyson
Location: Maryland
Reviews written: 1017
Trusted by: 274 members
About Me:
Back from our DISNEY WORLD Vacation!! Had a BLAST!!
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