Junior Ride-Alongs at Richard Petty Driving Experience in Walt Disney World Offer Pixar Themed Thrills for Kids

Hi everyone!

We were invited to a social media event at the Richard Petty Driving Experience, where we had the opportunity to see the new Pixar themed cars for kids. While we will be heading back in the next couple of weeks for an adult ride-along and will write about that this month, I wanted to share what now consists of 25% of the business at the Richard Petty Driving Experience at Walt Disney World.

Earlier this year, the Richard Petty Driving Experience debuted Aiken Axler and Sage VanDerSpin as part of their Junior Ride-Along program, which is available to kids ages 6-13 years old and at least 48 inches tall. The custom cars were created by “Cars” creative director Jay Ward, and I wish they were made for adults too! The youth-sized seats were designed by The Joie of Seating for maximum safety, but that also means that these custom seats sometimes won’t fit the older children (we know 13 year olds that are taller than me!)

Junior Ride-Alongs don’t travel as fast as the adult version, but still at about 100 miles an hour for child-size thrills. And if that is a little too fast, kids can give a signal to go slower. Adult experiences are usually not on the track with the Junior Ride-Alongs – and if they happen to be, these get priority for safety reasons. During our visit into the shop at the Richard Petty Driving Experience, safety was brought up continually. Even the maintenance on the cars is done much earlier than when issues should ever arise, to make sure that vehicles are rarely stuck on the track. All rides are with professional driving instructors, we have done the ride-along previously and felt very comfortable.

The Junior Ride-Along program is available from 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. daily at the Walt Disney World Speedway, which is near the Magic Kingdom and Disney’s Polynesian Resort (just through the Magic Kingdom tollbooth). There are a few days that the Speedway doesn’t open, and inclement weather can close the track. Race on over to the Richard Petty Driving Experience official website for more information! For kids that are visiting Walt Disney World and always wanted to take a turn in a race car, it is a reasonably priced and easy to drive to, or guests can catch a shuttle from the Ticket and Transportation Center.

Junior Ride-Alongs currently cost $59.

Have you participated in the Junior Ride-Along program at the Walt Disney World Speedway? Let us know what you thought of it!