Tomorrowland Speedway
| Tomorrowland Speedway | |
|---|---|
| Park | Magic Kingdom |
| Land / area | Tomorrowland |
| Type | Guided-track car ride |
| Opened | October 1, 1971 |
| Designer | WED Enterprises |
| Height req. | 32 in (81 cm) |
| Status | Operating |
Tomorrowland Speedway is a guided-track automobile attraction in Tomorrowland at Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World in Florida. Guests drive small, gas-powered race cars around a closed circuit, steering for themselves while a central guide rail keeps each car on course. Opened with the park in 1971 as the Grand Prix Raceway, it is Magic Kingdom's counterpart to Disneyland's Autopia and one of the park's surviving opening-day attractions.
History
The attraction traces its origin to Autopia, which opened at Disneyland in 1955 and imagined driving on the highways of the future. For Florida, Imagineers adapted the concept but changed its theme: rather than a futuristic roadway, the Grand Prix Raceway presented an international automobile race. It opened with Magic Kingdom on October 1, 1971, sponsored by Goodyear, which supplied the tires for the ride vehicles. The original track measured about 3,118 feet.
The circuit has been shortened repeatedly to make room for the park's growth. It was briefly expanded in 1973, then shortened in 1974 during construction of Space Mountain. A further shortening followed in 1987 to accommodate Mickey's Birthdayland, the area that later evolved into Storybook Circus in Fantasyland. In total the track has lost roughly a third of its original length.
The attraction's identity changed with its sponsors. During the 1994 reimagining of Tomorrowland it became the Tomorrowland Indy Speedway, and in a later phase of the partnership with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway the surroundings gained references to that track's landmarks, including the Yard of Bricks, the scoring pylon, and Gasoline Alley. When the Indianapolis partnership ended, "Indy" was dropped and the ride took its current name, Tomorrowland Speedway, in 2008.
Most recently, the speedway closed on January 3, 2019, so its track could be rerouted to clear space for the construction of TRON Lightcycle / Run. It reopened on May 19, 2019, on its adjusted alignment, which it retains today. Versions of the driving attraction have existed at most Disney castle parks, though Florida's racing theme has always set its version apart from the freeway theme of the original Autopia.
Experience
Guests board two-seat cars styled as miniature race cars, finished in bright colors with racing numbers. The cars travel at a governed top speed of about 7 miles per hour, powered by small gasoline engines, and a lap of the roughly four-tenths-of-a-mile circuit takes about five minutes, passing beneath the Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover and offering views across Tomorrowland toward Space Mountain and TRON Lightcycle / Run.
Drivers steer with a real wheel and control speed with a foot pedal, but a rail in the center of the track limits how far a car can stray, so younger drivers can genuinely take the wheel without leaving the course. The height rules reflect that design: guests must be at least 32 inches (81 cm) tall to ride, and at least 54 inches (137 cm) tall to drive alone. Guests between those heights may ride as passengers or steer while a taller companion works the pedal.
For many children, the speedway provides a first experience of driving a car, and that simple appeal — noise, smell, steering wheel, and open track — has kept an essentially 1971 attraction in operation for more than five decades.
See also
- Tomorrowland
- Magic Kingdom
- Space Mountain
- TRON Lightcycle / Run
- Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover