NASCAR Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway with Transportation

On Location Services: Just Say No!

It’s too bad that we can’t write a review on just one aspect of Race Week, that is to say, NASCAR’s partner: On Location. On Location describes itself as “dedicated to curating premium live event experiences with the goal of creating memories that will last a lifetime for our guests.” Unfortunately our experience with On Location and the Rolex 24 Lounge experience was, to say the least, disappointing. On Location failed miserably to deliver that “high end”, once in a lifetime experience we’d hoped for. From the first day On Location’s service coordination/management of the 4 days of racing was clunky and confusing. They (literally) sell you the “sky is the limit” option for experiencing the Daytona 500, but in reality we paid a lot of money for “meh”. The schedule included a luncheon and Q&A with a NASCAR legend. The legend (Jimmy Johnson), showed up after lunch, took a few questions from a radio announcer and left. We were told that he would take questions from the audience, but he didn’t. Once at the track, On Location did a very poor job of providing guests directions nor did they offer any sort of track map, etc. The coup de grace occurred following Sunday’s race. At the conclusion of the race, we immediately left the Rolex 24 Lounge and headed directly to the motor coach parking lot to board our bus back to the hotel only to find that our bus was completely full (we were told by On Location on day 1 that this bus and our driver would be “ours” for the entire event). Apparently the other bus was down due to mechanical issues and On Location representatives told us that a replacement bus was already in the parking lot and that we just had to “go over there” to find it. Imagine standing in a dimly lit parking lot with dozens of buses trying to find the needle in the haystack bus with no signage for our hotel on it and the only guidance being an On Location representative pointing toward vegetation at the far end of a parking lot. While the rain fell and the lightning flashed in the distance, we and other guests walked aimlessly around the parking lot for at least 30-45 minutes looking for the replacement bus. Wading through moving buses in a dimly lit parking lot without high-visibility gear is not for the faint of heart. At one point we did encounter a couple of On Location representatives that tried to help us find the bus but were unsuccessful. The lack of care, coordination and planning was truly astonishing. It was very clear that On Location has not provided staff with any emergency/contingency planning. Thankfully no one was run over by a bus or struck by lightning during our laps around the motor coach parking lot. Finally, we encountered an On Location representative who, after making a telephone call to someone, located the replacement bus and guided us to it. It shouldn’t surprise anyone that it was a bus that we and On Location staff walked by half a dozen times in our search for “the bus over there”. The bus driver did nothing to assist during the chaos. We wish we could say that the saga ended there, but sadly it did not. Once we boarded the bus, it was clear that we were surrounded by several angry guests who shared our disappointment at the way the end of the day unfolded. One would think it would be a simple and short ride back to the hotel, but that was not to be. It became very clear very quickly that our driver was incompetent and should not be driving a large motor coach. She simply had no idea how to navigate the roads and traffic necessary to deliver guests back to the hotel. For example, she exited the speedway and turned left instead of right which landed us in a traffic jam of epic proportions. Once closer to the hotel and because she was clearly very unfamiliar with the area, she attempted a U-turn in the middle of a 4-lane highway to get us heading back to the hotel. All in all, her incompetence added well over an hour to our trip. Similarly, on at least two occasions she violated federal law by not stopping at railroad tracks. More than two hours after the race ended, we arrived, exhausted, at the hotel. Shortly after our return to the hotel, we met with On Location’s concierge and briefly discussed the issues and parted expecting that he and/or On Location would reach out to us within a day or two. That did not happen. Nine days later we reached out to On Location inquiring as to the status of our complaint. After A LOT of back and forth, On Location said they would “look into our complaint”, but we know that is just more placating than reality. This company is a lot of smoke and mirrors and does not take any responsibility for its failure to provide the experience they promised. Suffice to say we will never use their service again and we strongly urge anyone considering using them to just walk away and to save your money!

Response from the operator: Hello alexbD, It appears this review has been posted for the wrong company, as the experience described relates to On Location, which is not affiliated with Gray Line Orlando. We’re very sorry to hear about your experience, as it certainly sounds frustrating. However, after reviewing our records, we’re unable to locate a booking under your name for any of our Daytona 500 transportation packages, and we were not involved in the services outlined in your review. As a local, family-operated business, we take great pride in delivering positive guest experiences, and reviews like this—when posted in error—can have a significant impact on our small business. We kindly ask if you would consider removing this review and reposting it under the correct provider so your feedback can be directed to the appropriate team. If we can assist you in any way, please feel free to reach out. Kind regards, Gray Line Orlando Team

via Tripadvisor

Daytona

1st class and bus on time and great driver and host just not many pick up points and difficult if you are not very mobile,

via Viator

Exciting race!

Great experience. You can bring your own food and drinks in is the best. Get the high seats for best view. But the energy low is cool too.

via Tripadvisor

amazing thrill with the daytona track 6-lap ride around

got my husband a gift for xmas and his feb birthday of 6 laps around the track with a professional driver. the driver went to 170mph and boy, was my husband thrilled.

via Tripadvisor

Fantastic Daytona 500 Trip with Gray Line Orlando Tours

I recently took the Gray Line Orlando Tours trip to the Daytona 500, and it was a fantastic experience. Our host, Brad Allen, was friendly, professional, and made the journey enjoyable with his pleasant demeanor. The bus was on time, comfortable, and everything ran smoothly without any issues. A big shoutout as well to our driver, who did a great job ensuring a safe and smooth ride. The entire experience was well-organized, making it a stress-free way to get to and from the event. I highly recommend Gray Line Orlando Tours and their team for anyone looking for reliable and enjoyable transportation. Looking forward to booking with them again!

via Tripadvisor