Exotic Driving Experience Archives

Disney has decided that the space currently used by the Richard Petty and Exotic Driving Experiences will close. The reason is that they want to make some improvements for transportation.

Both driving experiences operate separately from the Disney Company, but Disney is going to try to place some of the employees in other areas of the resort.

The company is hoping to open a road course in Orlando to keep the exotic-driving experience in the area. As stated in the Orlando Sentinel by Bill Scott, executive vice president of attractions operator Petty Holdings LLC. :

“Scott said it would be difficult to find a spot for a new traditional speedway, but Petty Holdings wants to open a road course for another exotic-car attraction in Orlando.

‘Frankly, that’s become much more popular,’ he said.”

The Richard Petty Driving Experience has been at the Walt Disney World Speedway since 1997 and the Exotic Driving Experience has been there for four years.

The date they are targeting for closure is June 28.

Information from the Orlando Sentinel.

For a review of the Exotic Driving Experience, click here.

To book a vacation and take a drive around the track before it closes, you can contact me at liz@startswithawishtravel.com.

(Update: Both the Exotic Driving Experience and the Richard Petty Driving Experience will be closing on June 28, 2015)

Today I want to tell you about something that is offered at Disney that doesn’t scream Disney. It’s something that is good to do if you need a break from being totally immersed or if you have someone in your party that may not be as in to Disney as you are. My husband is a perfect example. Don’t get me wrong, he has fun when we go, but he isn’t a Disney enthusiast like me. So, for our last trip I wanted him to be able to do something that wasn’t all about Disney without actually leaving Disney property. So for Christmas the whole family chipped in and we were able to reserve him a car with the Exotic Driving Experience at Walt Disney World Speedway.

You can reserve a car and a time online at Exotic Driving Experience Orlando Track and Disney also has some info on their website, Exotic Driving Experience at Walt Disney World Speedway. The cost depends on the car you reserve and how many laps you want to do. They also have gift cards available on the website.

Once your driving day has rolled around you now need to find your way to the Speedway. If you have a car, I would recommend just driving there. If you are staying on property you will have to take a few different modes of transportation to get there. First you will need to take a bus or monorail to get to the Magic Kingdom and then hop on the ferry that will take you to the Ticket and Transportation Center (TTC). Once you are at the TTC, make your way to the Lost and Found building (it is a tiny building off to the side).When you get to the Lost and Found building a shuttle will come to pick you up and take you to the Walt Disney World Speedway. It almost feels like you are making your way to some super secret underground group or something and will need a password to get in when you finally get there. Don’t worry though, no password needed. At least on the ferry ride you get to see some of Disney’s beautiful hotels.

Grand Floridian

Contemporary and Bay Lake Tower

Monorail, Boat, and Buses

The Polynesian

(The view might be a little

different now, with the

construction of the bungalows)

Once you have arrived at the Speedway you will need to go to the back to check in. They will take your name and give you a lanyard that has a flash drive on it. The flash drive will be plugged into the car when you start driving and will give you a video of your driving experience as well as your stats.

After you have checked in and received your lanyard, there is a class that all drivers must attend before getting in the car. The class lasted around 30 minutes, with the video they show, and they give you a rundown of all the cars and safety procedures. One thing to be aware of is that the instructor in the car with you does have control of the throttle, so you can’t get too out of control. They don’t have their own brake, but they can dial down the speed, if you’re getting too crazy.

The flash drive closed.

The flash drive open.

When they class is over, everyone will make their way out to the cars. Here is where you will get your picture taken with the car. You will have the option to buy those pictures later (you can get them on a plaque too). There may be multiple people driving the same car, so they will let you know where in line you fall to drive the car. My husband was supposed to drive the Lamborghini Gallardo LP570-4 Supperleggera, but his height was a problem. Since each driver has to wear a helmet, it can be tricky if you are on the taller side to drive the Lamborghinis. He was told he could try the Lamborghini Gallardo LP 560-4, but his knees might be close to the key fob and if he broke the key fob it would cost $1500. So, he opted for their other offer…he had to settle for the Ferrari 430 Scuderia (poor baby).

This is the car he was too tall to drive.

The Lambo with the $1500 key fob.

This was the car he had to drive instead.

(Again, poor baby)

Since he was not able to drive the car we booked, and that package was more expensive, they gave him an extra couple of laps to make up the difference, which was really nice of them. Once the driver is in the car with the instructor they plug in their flash drive to start recording their experience. Here are a few screenshots from the flash drive.

On pit road waiting to start.

Lap 2

Picking up the speed on lap 4.

The first couple of laps the instructor will have you take it slow so you can get a feel for the car. Once you have been around the track 2 or 3 times they will let you open up. It’s pretty cool to watch (there is a viewing area on the other side of the building for friends and family to watch the drivers) and the sounds of all the different supercars is pretty amazing. They allow three cars on the track at the same time and if you end up passing someone when you get to the passing section, they will give you an extra lap. My husband had a blast with the Ferrari and we had fun watching!

The hubs having a pretty good day!

All three cars on the track.

This is the point on the track where

you can pass another car.

Look to the left.

That’s hubby opening it up on the long stretch.

A video of one lap around the track. (The video is a little shaky, sorry! )

After you have finished all of your laps, you can head inside and look at your video and pictures to decide if you want to buy them. They will also give you a print out of your laps with your times.

This was a great experience for all of us. My husband had so much fun driving the car and we had a lot of fun watching him and all the other cars. It can be on the pricey side (depending what package you get) but if you have a gear head in the family, the experience is definitely worth it. He’s already thinking about which car he wants to drive during our next trip and maybe I’ll drive one too!

If you do decide to do the Exotic Driving Experience and are staying on property, just make sure to leave enough time to get there. Remember, you have to take 3 different modes of transportation and that can take some time. One other thing to note, they don’t take Magicbands. While they are located on Disney property, they are not actually part of Disney. So make sure to have a credit card, cash, or Exotic Driving gift cards on you, since they operate separately.

So, bottom line, it may take some time to get there and it can be expensive, but I definitely recommend it!

Thanks for reading!

Liz ⁰o⁰
mainstreetwishes.com