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==Attraction History==
Like many early Magic Kingdom attractions, what would eventually be known as the Tomorrowland Speedway, actually traces its origin back to Disney. The Tomorrowland Speedway’s predecessor was an attraction known as Autopia. Located in Disneyland’s Tomorrowland, Autopia allowed guests to board cars and travel on the highway of the future (Disneyland’s Autopia opened before President Eisenhower signed Interstate Highway legislation into law). The attraction proved to be extremely popular in California, and thus it was an obvious choice for addition in Walt Disney World.
The Magic Kingdom’s version of Autopia opened as the Grand Prix Raceway with the rest of the park on October 1, 1971. Unlike the Disneyland version of the ride which was themed to look like a futuristic highway, the Grand Prix Raceway was instead created to look like an international car race. TGrand Prix Raceway was originally sponsored by Goodyear, who supplied tires for all of the attraction vehicles.
In 1999 Disney and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway announced that they would partner to change the theme of the Tomorrowland Indy Speedway. Famous items from the Indianapolis Speedway were added to the attraction including:
Also, panels of the Indy 500, Brickyard 400 and the Grand Prix Raceway were added to the loading area.
In 2009 the Indianapolis Motor Speedway ended their sponsorship of the attraction and the the "Indy" was dropped from the name of the attraction. ALthough Although now sponsorlesssponsor-less, the theming remains the same.
==Attraction Plot==
The Tomorrowland Speedway allows guests to drive their own "race cars" around a 4/10 mile, four lane track. A guide rail keeps each guests guest in his or her lane, but can lead to a sometimes bumpy ride. The attraction is especially popular among younger guests who can not cannot yet drive a real car. The Tomorrowland Speedway is themed to resemble the famous Indianapolis Speedway. To add the to the illusion, environmental sounds from a race track are actually pumped in through speakers on each car. Each car is also equipped with an acceleration pedal and a steering wheel. The cars reach top speeds of 7.5 mph. Famous announcer Tom Carnegie can be heard announcing the "race" as cars travel around the track, which takes minutes to complete. At the end of the race, a checkered flag waves for every rider that finished the race.
==See The Attraction!==
==Fun Facts and Trivia==
* From 1994-2009 when guests rode the Tomorrowland Transit Authority over the Tomorrowland Indy Speedway, Mr. Johnson would give a traffic report. He would always say: "Hi there Tomorrowland travellerstravelers. This is Mr. Johnson in Skyview Hovercraft One, bringing you the latest Tomorrowland traffic report. As usual, everything is perfect on Tommorowland's Tommorowland’s Super Highways"
* Mr. Johnson is actually a reference to a character from Mission to Mars, a former Tomorrowland attraction.
http://www.wdwradio.com/2007/09/tomorrowland-indy-speedway/
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