Richard Petty Driving Experience

[Dizzy over Disney]

I want to surprise my husband with this. I do have a couple of questions:

1. Time -wise.. If I schedule a 1pm time.. how much time should I allot for the experience. I know we have to be there 30 minutes prior, but about how long will it take after 1pm?

2. For those that have done it.. is the Rookie experience enough? Should I go for the King's ?

Any other thoughts .. please share!!

Thanks so much

 

[sympatico]

You should post this on the theme park strategies boards.
http://www.disboards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=2

I know of one person that did the basic deal of being driven around the track and after he finished asked if he could upgrade to doing the driving himself. He really liked it.

 

[3girls4me05]

I did a ride along while I was there. DH gave me a gift card for the right amount (somewhere just over $100 I think). It was great! I went three laps around. We got there shortly after 9 and we were done by 11 in the AM. I would not want to have done the whole driving thing there because that does take way more time and I wouldn't want to take that much time away from Disney.
HTH

 

[Poohbug]

I gave this to my DH and he loved it. I think you should figure about 4 hours for the Rookie but it really depends on how many are in the class. I would do the rookie as the King would take all day. Driving the car is really intense and I think the Rookie is great for the first time.

If you are going along you can take pictures, check out the cars and watch them drive.

 

[CrazyDisneyMommy1]

I would do the King!!!! My husband did the Rookie in 2007 and loved it, but wished it was longer. So he did the King this year. It did not take any longer as you drive 8 laps for the Rookie and with the King you Drive 10 laps, rest and other people go and then you drive again for 8 laps. Now my husband liked it, but wished he would have done the King the first time instead.

*** If you have AAA tell them when you book through 1-800- be-petty as this will get you 20% off, which is a huge savings.

He will love it. My husband wanted to try it back in 2005, but would not spend the money. So I bought it for him in 2007 for his birthday. When he came off the course, I said " So was it worth it"? He said "Every dam penny" with a huge smile!!!!!

 

[Andrea from PA]

We gave my DH the Rookie last year (Dec 2007). He LOVED it!

He did it in the morning. It took 3 1/2 hours.

He wouldn't have liked the KING as it would have taken too much time away from family stuff.

How much time do you want to allot?

My husband LOVED the a.m. run for 2 reasons --1. allowed the rest of us to sleep in & then go to MK in late morning. 2. Cooler on the track. Even in December it can get hot out there.

Definitely book via the phone number if you have AAA -- the website cannot accept the AAA.

 

[SherylWrites]

My husband did the one at Daytona and it was worth every penny. He drove the 10 laps.
It takes about an hour to get there but the track is also significantly bigger and if you are a NASCAR racing fan, it's a thrill to be down on the track. I'm not a racing fan, but it was cool for me to be in the press room (I'm a writer!).
Absolutely worth the time and expense. IT's an experience my husband will never forget and they really do it up right with Richard Petty. If there is rain however, you need to figure that into your equation because they WILL NOT race on a wet track. That happened to us at Daytona and they had to dry the track and we waited for hours.
Have a great time!

 

[THUNDERMOUNTAINMOMMA]

I want to surprise my DH for his birthday with this, too! He's gonna love it!