Tomorrowland Speedway

Tomorrowland Speedway: attraction at Magic Kingdom Park, Walt Disney World — live wait times, operating status, and planning data on MouseHub.

Wait time history

Historical wait patterns for Tomorrowland Speedway accrete daily as MouseHub records waits every 15 minutes. Charts appear here once enough history exists.

Visitor sentiment

4.1· 927 Google ratings

Visitors say this attraction is a fun, classic ride, especially for kids who enjoy the thrill of driving, and it offers good photo opportunities. They also highlight the short wait times and the nostalgic experience. Some reviews mention the steering can be difficult.

Summarized with Gemini · Report summary

The MouseHub take

Tomorrowland Speedway hands your kid the wheel of a gas-powered car and sends them around a miniature motorway in Tomorrowland at Magic Kingdom. A rail runs down the center of the lane, so the car stays on the road whatever the driver does with the steering wheel. That is why a five-year-old can drive it, and it is also why the car knocks from side to side for most of the lap. Disney's own guest policies say bumping may occur. The engines are loud, the exhaust is real, and both settle over the loading dock on still afternoons.

The track opened on October 1, 1971 as the Grand Prix Raceway, patterned after Autopia at Disneyland, and kept that name until 1996. Height decides how your family rides it. A child who measures 32 inches can drive with someone 54 inches or taller in the car, and at 54 inches they can take a car out alone. Adults touring without kids usually spend the half hour on something faster. Parents watching a child work the pedal for the first time tend to walk off the exit ramp glad they waited.

At a glance

Best for: Families with a kid old enough to reach the pedal and young enough to think driving a car is the best thing that has happened all week.
Skip if: You are chasing headliners, or loud engines and gasoline exhaust are a problem for anyone in your party.
Ride type: Outdoor gas-powered car ride on a guided track
Intensity: Loud engines, exhaust fumes, and steady side-to-side bumping against the guide rail. No drops, no darkness.

The good

Your kid actually drives the car
Disney lets a 32-inch child steer their own car as long as someone 54 inches or taller rides along. Kids who spend the rest of the trip strapped into a lap bar get to be the one in charge here.
The rail does the hard part
A guide rail runs beneath the cars and keeps them pointed down the road, so a driver who yanks the wheel still finishes the lap. Parents can let go and watch.
It has run here since opening day
The track opened with Magic Kingdom on October 1, 1971 under the name Grand Prix Raceway, patterned after Disneyland's Autopia, and carried that name until 1996. Plenty of the adults in the passenger seat drove it as kids.
The gas pedal works, and kids know it
Each car has a working gas pedal and steering wheel. The moment a kid figures out that stepping down makes the engine roar is the whole attraction in one second.
The road bends and climbs more than it looks
The route runs through sharp turns and lush planting, and the cars head up and down inclines rather than circling a flat oval.
You spot other attractions from the roadway
The whole lap runs outdoors, and Disney's own description points riders to the attractions visible from the roadway. It is one of the few rides where the view is whatever the park is doing that afternoon.

The bad

The exhaust smell hangs around the dock
Gasoline engines idling in a row put out a strong smell that collects at loading and along the track. On humid, windless days it is the thing riders remember.
The steering fights back
The wheel takes real effort to turn and the car answers late, so most laps are a series of bounces off the center rail rather than a clean line.
The engines are loud the whole time
Dozens of small motors running at once make a constant rumble across the area. It is a lot for young kids and for anyone sensitive to noise.
The line bakes in the afternoon
Long stretches of the queue sit outdoors with little shade and no air conditioning. Standing on hot pavement here costs more energy than the ride gives back.
Adults ride with their knees up
The seats sit low and the footwell is short, so tall riders end up folded against the dash and climb out slowly.

Veteran tips

Go at rope drop or after dark
The queue and the engine heat are both easier in the first hour of the day or once the sun is down. Midday is the worst version of this ride.
Think twice before spending a Multi Pass here
Tomorrowland Speedway sits in the second Lightning Lane Multi Pass group at Magic Kingdom, so a selection here comes out of the same pair of slots as Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean.
Measure your kid before you get in line
Anyone under 32 inches cannot ride at all. From 32 inches a child drives with someone 54 inches or taller in the car, and at 54 inches they can drive alone.
One wheel per car, so settle it first
Each car has a single steering wheel and pedal, and sorting out who gets them at the dock holds up the group behind you. If your child's legs are short, plan on reaching the pedal for them while they steer.
Kids under 7 need an older rider along
Disney requires anyone under age 7 to be accompanied by a guest who is at least 14. That rules out sending two small siblings off in a car together.
Expectant mothers should sit this one out
Disney's guest policies advise expectant mothers not to ride, and the posted warning about bumping is the reason. Find shade near the PeopleMover instead.
Wheelchair and ECV users transfer at the dock
The classification is Must Transfer from Wheelchair/ECV. A transfer access vehicle and a transfer device are both available, so ask the cast member at the entrance rather than at the car.
Rider Switch covers anyone too short
Tomorrowland Speedway is on Disney's Rider Switch list. Split at the entrance with the whole party present, and up to two people can ride in the second group.

MouseHub editorial, written from visitor reports and official Disney sources. Last reviewed July 26, 2026.