Planning to attend the Cars 3 Road to the Races tour with your family? Read these tips first to see what you should bring, what to expect, and even how to save time standing in line! You’ll be glad you did when you’re racing by the line headed to the front!
This past weekend I took my husband and 4-year-old son to the Cars 3 Road to the Races tour event at the Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth. This is the fourth stop on a nationwide tour that’s bringing life-size Cars 3 characters, interactive activities, and a Cars 3 movie sneak peek to fans across the country! You can find dates of the rest of the tours here to see when the tour is rolling into a track near you.
I learned a lot from our 1 1/2 hours at the tour and wanted to share our experience with you so you can make the most of your time!
Tips for the Cars 3 Road to the Races Tour
#1 – Get race lane tickets.
We were generously given three Race Lane tickets for being media that allowed us to skip the initial line to get into the event. There were still some lines in the event (more on that below), but having the Race Lane tickets at least got us in the door without a long wait. The best part is that they’re not reserved for media – you can get Race Lane tickets for your event right here, and like the event itself, they’re FREE!
Make sure to book your tickets right now because they’re only giving out a certain number of front of the line tickets, and I guarantee they’ll go fast. I checked a couple of dates and locations and there are still tickets available for a lot of time slots, so check right now!
If you don’t get Race Lane tickets, it’s still worth going, you’ll likely just have to stand in a line to get in depending on how busy your event is. We went on Saturday afternoon and the line to get in wrapped around the corner of the event. I talked to the people managing admissions and there is a capacity of 150 people at any given time, and they let people in on a somewhat rolling basis as people leave the event. But they tend to do it in larger groups, so it’s not a 5 people leave, 5 people go in type thing. Moral of the story – get a Race Lane ticket if you can.
#2 – Plan to be there for 1 – 1/2 hours.
Depending on how busy the event is, you’ll likely need 1 to 1 1/2 hours to get through all of the activities. Because they control the number of people in the event, the lines tend to be longer when they let a big group in and get shorter as the crowds start to leave (before they let in more guests). If you happen to get in when lines are really short, you might get through quicker but plan for an hour or more to get through everything.
#3 – Bring at least two adults.
While this may seem like something mom could just do with the kids, I recommend going with another adult. You will have lines to stand in and being able to send one adult to stand in the longest line while you play with the cars or do another of the quicker activities is so helpful. I’m not sure we would’ve lasted very long if my son had to stand in all of the lines with me.
The longest lines for us were getting into the sneak peek and taking photos with the life-sized cars, so I’d prioritize those. The other lines were pretty short and sometimes non-existent as the crowds died down.
#4 – Bring a drink and snacks.
This may not apply to everyone, but we’re in Texas and it was hot during our event. I was hoping there would be some sort of food or drinks available, even if we had to purchase them, but other than a small smoothie sample from Dole, there wasn’t anything available. It can get pretty hot waiting in the sun, so also make sure to bring sunscreen (or grab some from the Coppertone booth) and plenty of drinks for your family.
Cars 3 Road to the Races Tour Activities
There were eight different cute Cars 3 themed activities including six sponsor booths with little activities and two main events – taking photos with the life-size cars and getting to see a behind the scenes movie on the making of Cars 3 with a sneak peek at an actual scene from the movie.
These were the eight different activities if you want to plan/prioritize before your visit.
- Alamo Coloring Poster
- Coppertone Change Tires Activity & Photos
- Dole Pineapple Pit-Stop Smoothie Samples
- Crest + Oral-B Photo & Wheel of Prizes
- Photos with the Life-Size Cars
- Cars 3 Sneak Peek + Behind the Scenes Movie
- Racing + Playing with Mattel Cars
- Creating Paper Cars 3 Characters with AccelerationNation.com
Cars 3 Printable Activity Sheets
If your kids love Cars and are as excited for Cars 3 as mine, here are some awesome printable activity pages that you can do together as a family! A memory game, spot the difference, and even an awesome Piston Cup Race Maze! You can download the printable sheets here or by clicking on the image below.
Have more questions? Leave comments, and I’ll do my best to answer based on our experience!
What age group would you recommend? My son is 18 months. Is he too little? I’m sure he’d have fun no matter what but is it worth the hassle of a 45 min drive there?
I would probably recommend it for ages 3+. I think younger kids could have fun if you’re taking them with older kids/siblings or if they already love Cars but most activities are definitely geared toward preschool age and up. I personally wouldn’t do a 45 min drive just to take an 18 month old. If you do, know that there is stroller parking at the entrance, so plan according if you’ll need to carry them.
Can someone post a pic of their tickets they got? I want to be sure mine aren’t fraud
The front of the line tickets Candacr? Email me a picture at britni@playpartyplan.com, and I can tell you if they look like the ones I received. I don’t have the ticket anymore to take a photo for you but would be happy to verify it looks the same as the ones I received!
I have a 3 and 4 year old that I don’t want to be carrying when they are tired. Any opinion on strollers or wagons? Is it a stroller friendly place?? We are going this weekend. Thank you for you’re article!
Hope you enjoyed Amanda!
Hi! Do little kids (under 5) need the fast passes too? Or just adults?
I honestly don’t know Amanda. We had one for my 4-year-old but not sure it was necessary. I would try to get them for everyone if you can.
Thank you sooo much for these tips!!
How long is the sneak peak of cars 3? Do you get to watch the whole movie? Do you feel adults without children can enjoy the event? Thank you.
The sneak peak was about 15-20 minutes but a good portion of that is promo/sneak peek into the filming stuff. You only see one scene from the actual movie. And honestly, it’s more for children but if you’re a huge CARS fan, you might enjoy it. But if it were me, I wouldn’t have gone without my son.