The Wandering Disciple

A Petty Driving Experience racer comes hard out of turn 3 at the Walt Disney World Speedway. Built to host the IndyCar series in 1995, the Walt Disney World Speedway was later home to the Richard Petty Driving Experience until Disney decided to close the track in 2015. (Photo: September 29, 2012)

A race car fans dream can come true at the Richard Petty Driving Experience, where the average fan can become a driver.  Whether you want to drive along with a professional driver or learn to race yourself, they have it all.  While the one here at Walt Disney World Speedway has been closed for a few years, there are other locations throughout the country where you can strap in and put the pedal to the metal.  (Photo: September 29, 2012)

A NASCAR race car speeds down the straightaway at Walt Disney World Speedway. The Richard Petty Driving Experience gives the everyday race fan an opportunity to get behind the wheel of a race car and experience what it is like to be a race car driver. (Photo: September 29, 2012)

Walt Disney World Speedway roars to life with the Richard Petty Driving Experience.  Here race fans can get a first hand look at life as a race car driver with ride along packages or driving school.  (Photo: September 29, 2012)

A replica of Dale Earnhardt Jr’s NASCAR makes a high speed pass down the Walt Disney World Speedway. The speedway’s primary tenant, the Richard Petty Driving Experience allows NASCAR fans to experience the sport from inside the race car. Fans can choose between a ride-along with a professional driver all the way to a race it yourself experience. (Photo: September 29, 2012)

Dale Earnhardt Jr's National Guard Car does a ride-along at the Richard Petty Driving Experience at Walt Disney World Speedway. Here you can learn to drive a NASCAR or just hop in the passenger seat and take a high speed ride-along with a professional driver. (Photo: September 29, 2012)

Lake Buena Vista, Florida: Tucked away in the fourth largest parking lot in the world lies a hidden gem of Walt Disney World. The Walt Disney World Speedway comes to life daily as race fans life out their dreams of getting behind the wheel of race car. Built in 1995, the speedway was built to host sanctioned races. The one mile asphalt tri-oval was designed by IMS and was dedicated in late 1995. It didn't take long for the speedway to host their first event as they held the Indy 200 at Walt Disney World in January 1996. They would continue to host the Indy Racing League through 2000. In 1997, the speedway added a second event as they added the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in 1997 and 1998. Unfortunately sanction events would not last long. Scheduling conflicts, parking and crowd control issues and big accidents caused sanction racing to come to an end at the conclusion of the 2000 season. With the loss of sanction events, the future of the speedway was uncertain unt...

Lake Buena Vista, Florida: After several failed attempts, we finally made it back to Disney World to renew our passes and visit the parks. This is our first trip back to Disney since my wife fell and injured herself at Hollywood Studios in January. We decided to go to the Magic Kingdom for the day. We originally planned on renewing our passes back during the January trip, but after having to depart early due to the fall, we did not get it done. But the staff of Disney worked with us on getting the renewal accomplished and honored our original passes. They reinstated our passes, gave us the renewal rate and transferred over our credit from the previous account. They truly showed that they are there to serve their guests. The day trip to Disney is a rarity for us. Because of the three hour one way drive, we typically make a weekend out of it. But finances and scheduling prevented that from happening at this time. So I had forgotten how inconvenient it is to go to the Magi...