The “Happiest Place on Earth” is going to get a little slower this summer. Walt Disney World Speedway is closing so the amusement park that owns it can make “transportation improvements” using the property it sits on.

Walt Disney Speedway was built in 1995 by IMS Events Inc., a subsidiary of Indianapolis Motor Speedway Corp. “The Mickyard,” as Autoweek coined it 20 years ago, was designed originally as a venue for the Indy 200 at Walt Disney World. IndyCar, then known as the Indy Racing League, raced on the 1.0-mile tri-oval from 1996-2000. The 1996 race marked the very first event in IRL history. NASCAR also hosted Camping World Trucks Series races at the speedway in 1997 and 1998.

Though no major professional racing series has competed at the track in years, its closure means that the Richard Petty Driving Experience and the Exotic Driving Experience at Walt Disney World will close in late June. Exactly what Disney plans to do with the speedway and its property as part of those “transportation improvements” -– perhaps a new parking lot? –- remains unclear.

“Disney has other uses for the property, and they have the right to do that, and we respect that,” Bill Scott, executive vice president of attractions operator at Petty Holdings LLC, told the Orlando Sentinel. “It’s not without some sadness that we leave Walt Disney World Speedway. We had a great home here.”

The Orlando-based Richard Petty Experience allows racing fans the chance to drive or ride in NASCAR-style race cars at speeds of up to 165 mph. It opened in 1997. In 2011, Petty Holdings opened the Exotic Driving Experience, which allows car enthusiasts to drive Ferraris, Lamborghinis and Porsches on the track.

Scott told the Sentinel that it would be difficult to find a place to open a new speedway, but that Petty Holdings would like to have a road course for another exotic-car attraction in Orlando.

“Frankly, that’s become much more popular,” he told the newspaper.

The target date for the closure is June 28.

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