Autistic children and Indy Speedway

[JohnnySharp2]

Has anyone taken their autistic child on the MK Indy Speedway with them ?

We are thinking that this time when we go to MK we would like to try Joshua on Indy Speedway as a passenger and me at the controls. He likes watching the cars go by. Are you strapped in ?

As we are staying at a WDW resort we are going to MK on an early morning opening, so would try to get on this ride without queues if poss. We will have a GAC card.

Julie not

 

[DIS-NH]

I'm the father of (2) Autistic boys.....The speedway is one of the few rides we avoid. The noise is too much for my youngest.

Best of luck

 

[OKWMom]

We also avoid Indy for the same reason as the previous poster. DD couldn't even tolerate the noise level while waiting in line. DH said it got a little louder the closer you got to the loading area (he rode with our other child), but the loading area was the loudest point. So, I guess what I'm trying to say is if your son tolerates the sound level while waiting, the noise won't be a problem on the ride itself.

I couldn't remember whether or not there were any restraints, so I looked at last year's pictures. There are no restraints in the shoulder area and I couldn't see any across their laps. DH said he did not think there were any restraints in the cars.

 

[SueM in MN]

I'm the father of (2) Autistic boys.....The speedway is one of the few rides we avoid. The noise is too much for my youngest.

Best of luck

It is very noisy, so if noise is a problem for your child, it's not a good attraction.
I have not been on it for a while (not a favorite of ours), but I think there is one seatbelt that goes across both seats. The DIS site doesn't have anything about seatbelts, but allearsnet.com says you are strapped in.

Some of the other sensory things at this attraction (which may or may not be an issue):

• -the cars have gasoline engines. For some people the gas smell might be a negative. For some it might be a positive; someone told me once that her DS liked the smell of the gas and wanted to stay in the area.
• -cars behind you can possibly bump your car. They are not supposed to bump each other, but if a car behind you gets too close, they may bump the back of your car.
• -the ride can be jerky. Some of the cars have rather jerky acceleration and stopping. The sterring can also be jerky. I'm not sure how to explain this, so it may not make sense, but here's a try.

You steer the car, but there is a bar on the track and guides under the car to limit how far you can go (the pictures on this page from the DIS site show the guidebar on the track). If you steer so that the track bar stays at the center of your car, the guides on your car may never hit up against the track bar. If you go to far to the side, the guides on the car will bump up against the track bar to guide you back into place. That little bump might be an issue for some poeple.

 

[tmli]

Strangely enough this is one of my ds's (10, ASD) favorite attractions. For all the reasons listed he should hate it....but he loves it.

 

[JohnnySharp2]

Thanks for your replies.

I think we will give it a miss, noise, fumes and heat