came here for a bday party for a friend. The staff handling our actual racing was nice & attentive. Be warned that there are many hidden fees. I booked a reservation for a bday of 8 people. My confirmation breakdown email didn't include the 10% gratuity which is ($68!!) & a non cash fee for 3.25% ($25!!). It was listed in a fine print at the bottom but not included in the fee breakdown of the receipt nor communicated over the phone OR in person. It's obvious this is intentional. The grand total was around $777 (without food or table) and it's highly unlikely people would carry that much cash on them. Overall it was way more expensive than just going there yourself and waiting in line. Not worth the money for the private reservation. read more

On Jan. 4, 2025 around 9pm, one of the workers with a description of a tall man with a black afro was extremely rude to our group but mainly my girlfriend, he even made her cry with the amount of times he yelled at her, and it really was for no reason. She had not broken any rules and he targeted her the whole time. For example he kept pointing at her and at the end of the race, he pulled her aside, and by the time he was done talking to her, she began to cry. Would not recommend, definitely will not be coming again!! read more

They don't answer their calls. Unprofessional. No employees there to help. Their phone system doesn't work. You'll wait forever and they just hang up on you. read more

Initially I gave k1 speed a 1 star after a terrible management experience happened with a broken car, but then I switched it to a five because a supervisor called and went out of his way to make sure customers are happy. K1 is super fun if the right people are in charge;) read more

Today I took my sons and their friends to celebrate their birthdays. This was my first time at K1. Upon check in I was asked to have every rider check in and sign the waivers. I then reviewed the pricing from the above monitors and agreed on the 3 race package for each child. There was no mentioned that I would be billed for a "annual membership fee" with each driver and also an additional credit card fee. I was only aware of this because I asked for a receipt. I went back up to the customer service counter and asked for a refund and was told after my boys raced I would be offered a refund for the annual membership. Once my boys completed their race, I went back up to get my refund and a short balding "supposedly general manager" quickly got aggressive with me and said no refunds are offered and pointed at some signs that were on the counter stating that a membership is required for each driver. He was very rude and aggressive. He offered no resolution. Deceptive marketing and advertising practices. Finally, on my boys last race, there was another group of "regular K1 racers" that were very aggressive and purposely tried running my sons and friends off the track. In fact, due to their aggressive driving, my son's friend crashed so hard that the track was shut down for several minutes and workers came running to assist him out of fear of him being hurt. The track had to be repaired. It was a violent crash. See the below photo. My boys stated that the workers knew these other drivers and talked to them before entering the track. Unfortunately they were allowed to race and put my boys in harms way and were not shut down. Luckily our son's friend is ok- just bad whiplash. The track workers do not care about your safety. read more

K1 Speed Irvine - Deceptive pricing and hidden fees tacked on to your bill. - Amusement Parks Near Me - Irvine, California

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This K1 Speed was the worst one I have been too in all of California. My parent checked me in and then the works said I couldn't go on the go cart because of my name being my parents and not mine. Then then worked started being mean to me and saying that I wouldn't have done go. Then I ignored him and we only got refunded half the money I pay for my race. read more

If I could give a negative star I would. Jane from customer service reached out publicly on yelp, but did not actually do anything. I emailed them as she requested, and never heard back. I guess this is a ploy to make it appear as if they care to serve their customers, when in fact they do not. read more

This place is super easy to find! On a Friday around 3:30/4, it's pretty close to empty. Check in for 3 people took about 15 minutes and we had to wait 15 minutes until it was our turn to race. Being able to watch other racers while waiting for our turn added anticipation and made everyone so excited. The actual race lasted a little over 5 minutes but we're able to get at least 10 laps in. At the end of your race, head to the cafe to get a print out of your times! Always a good time racing against friends read more

K1 Speed Irvine - Amusement Parks Near Me - Irvine, California

This review is for Matt , he is the race coach at k1 speed ,he is fantastic very attentive and caring and professional not the kind who gonna make your kid hate the activity. My son he is 7 and he loves Matt they are like buddies . My son when he started he placed 7th in the junior league after one lesson with Matt he placed 2nd and he is more confident. Thank you Matt you are amazing read more

Zero enforcement of on-track etiquette. They obviously don't explain any of the flags, so be prepared to sit behind the slowest person on track for four of your seven or so laps while the ref uselessly waves the blue and yellow passing flag. Here's a tip, before each session, at the very least explain the passing flag, because that's the one that everyone seems to have a blind spot for. Or better yet, just use the English "Let Pass" sign. And if they don't, maybe do literally anything to facilitate a pass, like slowing down the cart in front. My experience was not enhanced by the use of actual flags when everyone else just ignored them. No punishments for intentional ramming, beyond holding up a sign that says no bumping. Which doesn't help when people don't care. So if you get put into a wall by someone, don't expect anything to happen other than a stern look from the ref, if they were even paying attention. Would absolutely never go to this location again. The experience was supremely un-fun due to the other people on track being completely oblivious if not outright malicious, and total apathy from the staff about it. read more

Horrible experience! Started from the inquiry!!! Poor communication! Check in was horrible, there was no direction, cars didn't work properly, staff on cell phones, food came out late! This place was not prepared for back to back events!!! Please do not book any events at this location, not worth a dime!!! I wanted a refund and only willing to give $80!!!!!!!! read more

I check-in 12:19 PM to take my boys for one race, waited until 2 PM until they were allowed. Spoke with the manager, Danny he gives me the explanation they are busy! Pretty ridiculous. Stay away, unless want to wait almost 2 hours! No apology, no concern at all for customers time. read more

My friends and I came here for a bachelor night. Came in happy ready for a fun night when the girl at the front desk was the most rude person imaginable. She looks and acts like she absolutely hates her job. I actually felt bad for her for a moment. But she was so incredibly rude to us she rolled her eyes when we asked questions read more

I went came in hopes of having a nice racing experience. The cars felt old and after our first race I realized that my speed was being controlled. I lost a bet with my friends and was shocked to see my slow auntie beat me in the race. She was just passing through casually while I was pressing on the accelerator. I didn't bump and cars nor hit the sides of the track but still my car was slowed down most of the time. It didnt feel fun and we went with a large party paying full price and this wasn't cheap. Won't be going here again it shouldn't be called k1 speed bc theres no speeding! read more

Front desk, great. Track guys, not at all. Will put their friends on the track with young drivers to shorten the race. No one is fooled. Avoid this place. read more

This is not a bad review per say but a cautionary safety advisement regarding the management at this K1. Please note that we are fairly experienced cart drivers and racing enthusiasts. Yesterday it was my daughter's first time and she spun out. Our friend ended up t-boning her and the cart launched and landed on her. The k1 team was quick to react and get her out of that situation. However, they did not have a medic on hand. Even though these cars may not be as dangerous as the Dromo carts, these can also cause some serious injuries. From my angle, it did not look so bad but hours after, she told us the cart did hit her helmet, her visor broke and her hand/fingers are bruised with little mobility and she's got a tire print bruise on her shoulder. Overall she is ok but I really do think they need a trained medic on staff to access an accident. None of the workers had this training and just gave her band-aids and ice packs. In fact 10 minutes later a similar accident occurred on the 2nd track but this time the cart landed on her leg. That driver's leg was injured and again, no medic. On another note, the cart my husband drove, stopped working mid race and when he hailed the workers to slow down traffic, they didn't see him and he was plowed into from behind. Again unlike the old Dromo cars, these are electric and electric carts have issues. Management should have given him a redo race even though he was 4 laps out. That just isn't good customer service and above anything, having a dead cart on the track during a fast lap, at a turn, is a safety hazard and poses a threat to all the other drivers. read more

I wish I had read the terrible reviews before booking a party here. It is true- the service is terrible and staff seems unmotivated and at best getting by with least amount of effort. I don't blame the staff because they are obviously not well trained or well compensated. This is a corporate management issue. The CEO's name is David Danglard and his wife Susan Danglard co-owns K1 Speed. It is such a disappoint especially with the cost of the parties. It looks like corporate doesn't want to invest in organizational culture and the results speak for themselves. It is a shame businesses like this that is in the entertainment and service industry in unable to deliver the quality that customers deserve. read more

Told us there would be a free birthday race. Later to change up and charge us full and no refunds. Thanks for ruining the evening! Bait n switch tactics. Dishonest business. Response to comment: we purchased 8 races. Still denied. Called for support, and they told us we needed to buy 9 for the free one. Ridiculous made up policy's to get out of falsely advertised perks. read more

No soap in bathrooms and even the employee s don't wash their hands after using the bathroom, I asked several times for soap and they did nothing. The employee used the bathroom and I asked if he was going to wash his hands he said no and walked out. Place is dirty and we will not come back here. The ticket games are broken and don't work either. Place is a dump read more

I am extremely disappointed by the customer service of this location, I booked my sons birthday party over a month ago. All my guests arrived around 1:00 pm to make sure everyone was signed in and all waiver forms were filled out for a 1:30 race. The kids didn't race till 2:15 due to the lack of staff, help, and organization. The pizzas were supposed to be done and ready after the first race, and that didn't happen. Not one person came to me and ask me if I needed anything. I'm sorry after spending over $1000 I would expect better. If I can give zero stars I will. I defiantly will not be coming back and my guests that I had who are well known celebrities made a comment they will not be coming back either. read more

We celebrated our sons bday at K1 and it was so much fun! Staff was super nice and helpful! They were great from the reserving the spot to checking in, to racing and party in the paddock. We had nine racers but a bunch of family came to hang out and watch and they totally accommodated us. We ordered additional pizzas, no problem, and put a card on file for anyone to add drinks, super! Really good pizza, right out of the oven and it was plenty for everyone to have several slices each! Our son was super stoked and everyone had a great time! We highly recommend K1 for parties or a group hang! Our group is so competitive they're already talking about when we can go back and race again! read more

K1 Speed Irvine - Fam - Amusement Parks Near Me - Irvine, California

If you don't want to have a disappointed junior driver then don't go to any K1 speed races.

Poor service with broken car. This is not some type of cheap racing game. We did not pay so much for a broken car to drive around. After 2nd lap I noticed there are some problem with the car. It can't even go half of its speed and the car is shaking, even the worker in the middle of race track notice me. After that race he asked me what is going on and I told him the car is broken and shaking. He then went to other worker who seen like a supervise or something and told him what happened to me. The supervisor then said he will take a look and let me know and guess what, no one come to me....... Great customer service, awesome job. The money just go waste. Btw I found out that one of our friend has the same problem too. I guess you just might randomly get into broken car then. read more

Fun track, but rude workers unfortunately from my experience. I wish people would just do their job without all the attitude.

I use to go to K1 a lot! Having raced over 100 times at $20 per run you can do the math on how much I've spent going there over the years. It's a cool place and lots of fun but is tragically ruined by stupid strangers on track that don't know what they are doing. You pay $22, geniuses keep hitting each other and the walls and you end up stopped or creeping under caution at least half the time, then the track Marshall's turn down the juice because people can't handle it and you end getting maybe 3-5 actual laps out of the 14. Probably the only way to do it is to go with a big group or reserve track time. I'm more advanced than most and it's just a waste of money to poodle around with Sunday drivers and little kids... I don't know how this could be fixed but there has to be a way... read more

5 stars for service! Came here with a few kids to celebrate a birthday. Manager Danny was so helpful! Super kind, patient and accommodating. Exactly what you need when you are a mom who knows nothing about go kart racing and you have a bunch of boys excited to get on the track. On top of that, the place was clean and the restaurant area was well kept. The menu is surprisingly large. Much better than expected! read more

This place is fun! If you check in with your Yelp app, you get a deal for $5 off. This is great if you don't already have a coupon. There's a $5.95 drivers' license fee that is good for an entire year. After that you just pay for races. Mon-Thurs they have buy 2 races get 1 free deals. Mainly the first race is going to cost you $25 without any discounts. After that it's up to you if you want to go back for more. The races are fun and you can get a big group together to race on one of two tracks. There's a board that keeps track of your times and best laps. At the end of the race you get a sheet that touts your performance. There is a lot of waiting though. If it's busy you could be waiting around for an hour. My first time out, I got 5th place. Not too shabby since I did crash into someone coming around the first turn, but that was because he was in my way. Other than that I was just trying not to get lapped by the other people in my race. It's really fun for a date or goofing around with group of friends. The only drawback is the price. But you can buy in bulk, get discounts at Costco (apparently) and you can live out your Nascar dreams in real life. read more

K1 Speed Irvine - Me in the racecar - Amusement Parks Near Me - Irvine, California

Staff were fantastic. Looking for a place after Dromo closed down. Pretty good speed. Two different tracks to choose. Lot of fun!

Came on a Saturday afternoon. No lines. Less than 5 minutes before in the waiting area. Another 6 minutes listening to safety instructions. Another 4 minutes to put on smelly headsock, helmet, and wait in cockpit. New Members... Check in with Yelp = $5 off one race = $15 per race + $ 6.95 mandatory membership fee = $21.95 for first race. So for two, $43.90 total B1G1 w/ Clipper Magazine Coupon = $20 + $6.95 + $6.95 = $33.90 total. They also have a Buy 3 get 1 free for $45. You can stack the $5 off Yelp check in with this deal but you MUST purchase during the weekday. It was really fun. My palms hurt the following day--I guess I was gripping. Tips: -Brake before turning. -Cut the corners on the inside. If you turn too wide another driver may overtake you. -Immediately after last turn, pedal to the metal and don't let go until you have to brake for the first turn. Next time, I would call in first because I went to the Anaheim location and it was packed. read more

K1 Speed Irvine - Amusement Parks Near Me - Irvine, California

I was looking forward to visiting this location after having such a great experience at the Las Vegas location. I came in when there was a minimal wait time. The girl with curly hair at the register had such a bad attitude. She did not ask if it was our first time, she didn't tell us when our race would start or what track it was on. I think the only think she told us was how much to pay. We did two races and after the first race, I didn't know where the results were so I went back up to her to ask. She snapped at me and told me that they print them out. I asked if she could just tell me what place I got and she snapped back saying "if you ask". There was no one in line so I was not holding up anything. We did our second race and one of the drivers was not letting people pass, they didn't use the blue flag to let her know. Instead, they yelled at us for not slowing down for her. She continued this to the point that her friend hit her and her helmet flew off. This could've have been a better experience if the staff didn't suck the fun out of it. I think they staff needs to have a day off to do some team building. read more

Female associate at the counter let another party not waiting inside the roped area for the line, skip ahead of my party and many others. When I told her about it, she threatened me with not allowing my party to buy tickets. read more

Review is for Matt, the driving instructor here - You can buy 8 races (~1hr track time, with other people on track + wait times) for $120, OR $100 for a 1-hour private track session with a great coach who'll not only help you with driving but also teach you how to improve yourself. I know what I'm choosing. read more

Went here for a birthday party and was told that our group had to buy a membership just for 1 race. It was pricey but we all ended up just pulling the trigger and doing it. We get out on the race track and immediately notice 2 teenage boys bumping into everyone and spinning out other racers. Their dad was with them and didn't care because he was making comments that were right in line with their behavior. We end up getting stuck with them again for race #2. This time one of the girls in our group sits out because it's no longer fun. I end up side by side with 1 of the teenage boys and once again he's spinning people out and crashing into them. So far not one of the employees has said anything to him or the other teenage boy that's doing the same thing. But everyone on the side is watching and seeing what's happening. Finally we pull in to the pits and one of the teenage boys is behind me. I'm pulling up and slowly stop because there's a car in front of me stopping and he doesn't even brake so he hits my car so hard that my helmet slams into the back and my arm hits the back of the seat. I yell out WTF! I would think that he would understand that I'm over his BS and act right. So we pull up a little more to get out and he does it again!! SLAM! Right into the back of my car! I get out and again yell WTF! You're doing this on purpose! He gets out with a big smirk on his face and his dad is clearly ok with him being a punk to everyone there. I'm fuming and telling his dad that him acting like this is not cool and someone's going to get hurt. The dad just stands there smirking too! Unbelievable! I get out and tell them that this shit isn't funny and the boy says "F.U. Bitch". Like it's my fault they assaulted me with their car. Yes.assaulted because now I have bruises on my spine and neck from the incident and a cut on the back of my arm from where it scraped the seat. I tell the manager because I'm beyond pissed. The guys running the race should have pulled him out. Not to mention everyone in the pit was saying how they hit them too and spun them out. All the manager did was "flag" the teenager. What the hell does that even mean? I shouldn't be walking out of a birthday party with neck and spine injuries! They ruined what was just a chill time. We all left and will never go back so the membership is pointless. Just another way of getting an obscene amount just to race some punk ass brats. The people working there need to pay attention to what's going on before someone gets seriously injured. I know you sign a waiver but they are being negligent by not pulling bullies on the track. Beware if you race because the employees don't care if other cars crash into you or the walls. Basically there are no rules. I heard some bad crashes right as we were walking out too. read more

K1 Speed Irvine - Neck injury from being slammed into by teenage boy. - Amusement Parks Near Me - Irvine, California

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If you're a competitive person, Then you won't like K1!The entire time (on the lap board) I had second place running wheel towheel with the first place person "Cody"They cheated the results check the gap I had second the entire time, so if like paying a bunch of money and racing against your friends to be cheat out of your place this is the right place, thanks K1 for running my experience and wasting my hard earned money. Why even have trophies to give out and a podium IF your going pull each person place out of a hat!. Well my group did a 3 race package Race 1 - practice Race 2- qualified by fastest lap Race-3 base on place (position) Being that i had the second fastest lap out of my group of 9 every time on the track and was in second the entire time and my girlfriend was is 3rd at the finished flag and the you red lcd screen said that i was in second and her was in 3rd when we pulled off and walked over to the podium... I have my AMA pro license so I understand transponders. You guys gave 7 place to 3rd and 6 place to 2nd and handed out trophies, I had a good time till the moment and me and my girlfriend actually was considering Comming back for more weekend fun but now what's the point... not even sure how kids could enjoy this. read more

K1 Speed Irvine - Here you can see you email me still wrong and does not match the first pic of the paper you handed me, very unprofessional. - Amusement Parks Near Me - Irvine, California

I brought my family here for a fun family outing and we were sorely disappointed.  Our family event was spoiled by a "serious" go cart racer harassing my teenage daughter and I on the track.  This was a middle aged man who evidently takes his go cart racing very seriously.  The racer rammed my teenage daughter and I repeatedly after I asked the staff to help moderate his aggressive and harassing behavior.  I spoke with the general manager Danny Tabbaa however he took no action to moderate the racers behavior. This is not a family friendly venue.  Your kids may be bullied by middle aged men fantasizing of NASCAR while driving a go cart. read more

I once made the mistake to NOT call ahead and showed up with my kids to be told my children could not race due to a birthday party booking the track. It is understandable that a business like this would get booked for a party. Not wanting a repeat of my previous experience, I called ahead and was told with great specificity - there are no parties booked. Upon showing up, there were in fact two groups celebrating birthdays, creating significant wait times. At one point, both myself and another parent I did not know, spoke to management about the 2 hours in-between races. We paid for two races, and almost left without completing the final race. Add to that, during the final race, one of my kids had a car that was at least 50% slower than all other cars. Add to that, both of my kids had cars that did not restart when all other cars did after a pause in the race. In short, at $30 a race, we paid for two races and had POOR experiences in half of the races we paid for. The racing is fun, when the cars work. The staff is nice, however need greater accountability when it comes to customer experience. Both of my kids were extremely excited to return to K1 before this recent experience. Only one wants to return now. My youngest, who is 8, wanted to write this review herself. I wrote it instead as she would have RIPPED INTO K1 UNMERCIFULLY as she was beyond disappointed her last time there. read more

It all really started for me when I watched entirely too much Top Gear on Netflix. Jeremy Clarkson and the boys hamming it up driving multi billion dollar handmade cars at absurd speeds. It was epic and suddenly I had dreams of driving fast as the wind. I remembered an ad for K1 Speed and I thought to myself, "Yeah! Let's do this!" So I went armed with no less than a small fortune to lay down so that I could satisfy the need. The need for speed. Hell it was practically written right into the name of he place! So I plunked down a couple hundred dollars and got a buncha races. Away I went, putting on my helmet and getting assigned one of the kind of cool electric carts I was off and racing and Wow! That first race! I was power sliding and drifting and tearing it up! What fun! I figured this it! I've found it! So I go out for another race and "something happened." The car was sluggish and all the people I was passing on the last lap were suddenly cruising right by me. No zip. No zing. The haunting sound of the top gear hosts laughing at me. I was being governed. The kid who stands in the middle of the track waving flags is also the one who simply doesn't let your car live up to its potential. But I bought my son and daughter a couple hundred dollars of races too. We all went, and raced and generally enjoyed although steadily I was getting the realization that it was pretty much only me that was getting limited. I suppose I can understand why... Imagine for a moment the Chuck E Cheese of yore. You know the place where all the kids used to go with video games and pizza and animatronic mice dancing and singing to old beach boys songs. Remember how the poor people who worked there kind of had that bedraggled almost "kill me" kind of look? Well Chuck E Cheese is gone and they all needed a place to go to work. Which is here. The lines of people are long because as was so well put, "they don't give a s@*t" which is about right. Generally 2 seconds after you strap in they are slapping butt and generally goofing off. They take delight in making you go slow all the way from the first time you check in until the last time you like me just give up in frustration. The last time there I had to go remind the people at the front desk twice that we were waiting so they put us in a car and left us there the whole time while another race was at play. Yep. Sitting there baking in the hot helmet since I "complained" that they basically forgot me. (Tip for you guys doing this: we can hear inside the helmets still.) So if you don't mind getting treated like crap after spending $600 and I mean utterly and completely at every turn from getting races to racing to buying a drink. If you don't mind paying top dollar to inconvenience their Chuck E Cheese rejects, then knock yourself out. It was a poignant note that on the very last race I will ever go on there that the fellow finally did not limit my car. A Christmas miracle I say! For a moment I waxed nostalgic but then I realized it was one out of dozens of races. I paid to have the fun and heart and soul sucked out of racing. WTF? I've never gone to any other location in my travels but I tell you now I never will. Ever. You got the last red cent you will get from me. Tip: spend it on people who understand what you are selling and treat high paying customers the way they should. I have some fairly large disposable income. You don't deserve a penny of it. Update. K1 reached out to express their concerns and well... probably to try to get me to remove this review. I responded the same way I was treated after spending a fairly large amount of cash. I ignored them and then laughed at them. read more

K1 Speed Irvine - Amusement Parks Near Me - Irvine, California

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The junior cars aren't maintained and don't hold their charge- don't expect credit or a free race if your car breaks down. Their customer service is awful - just read the reviews. Also, know before you go and pay full price (plus an undisclosed 3% transaction fee if you use a credit card!) - I don't mind paying full price but after spending over $600, I expect to get what I paid for - a well maintained and fully charged car that can finish the race! read more

I had a great time here and I will definitely comeback. This was my first time I tried racing. This place was so fun and energetic which made me smile a lot, of course a little bit scary ^^!. 1 round will be 14 times of topographic there and I bought 4 rounds with $44. There is a guy there who will show you carefully about everything inside the car. He is very friendly, nice and professional. He also shows everybody about the meaning of different kind of flags which are signals on the road. The cashier was nice and funny. They all have a sense of humor. I love it. When I asked her there were any flip over situations while driving, she laughed and joked me. She says "I hope you will be the 1st one set a record on that. Let's rock". Haha, she is so funny. Thank you for reading my review! ^_^ read more

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I had a corporate team building event at K1 in Irvine. The staff took great care of us especially Justin, Adrian and Mariah. And most importantly the racing was extremely FUN. I'll definitely come back here for a few more races in the future! read more