Need 2 Speed — Attraction in Reno

Been to Need for Speed both at old location + then recently visited the new location. Now it offers a variety of activities- gokart racing (2 story track), arcade games (a brief stretch/hall of games), mini golf, + bowling.

PROS: ●ATMOSPHERE 5/5- environment nice + gorgeous compared to old location. They have abundant area for seating, including nice couches to watch the track from behind glasses, and ample by general food (I feel you can't see much watching as a track spectator-which is kinda normal but its still cool.the lights+the two stories make it a fun for those go karting.

●Limited noise- my husband and I recently checked out the new Dave and Busters and it was a disappointment (far too noisy/worse than any casino ive been in), smaller than expected+seating was limited to the food area. Here was a step up for me on an atmosphere level.

●Outside patio 5/5-corn holes, plentiful seating (fire pit), ping pong table, bowling pin area. I would say I like this area the most/it is the saving grace. Id argue to say I like it better than the outside of the Eddy.. if they added like jenga towers etc, maybe huge connect four. There is another bar just inside from where you exit to patio.

CONS:

●OVERAL PRICE 2/5: Expensive fast. Arcade has limited selection+ feel the price makes me prefer going elsewhere for what it is.

●GAME SELECTION/PRIZE AREA 2/5: Redemption area is just okay/ehh for me not worth it but remember the main attraction is the gokarts. I ended up getting my son a FAR TOO NOISY light up sound sword+ a screaming chicken (1800 tickets spent) Several games were out of order/oddly glitched- the 50 ball drop machine only let my husband drop x amount of balls ( Somehow there wasn't all 50 to drop and then for 26ish seconds nothing could be done...

●RACE COST: I believe each race cost $32 a person (14 lap), but because this was a company event, I cant speak what deals they offer for groups. 2 story is nice, but FOR ME, not $32 nice. I tried it out but don't think I'll be back for $32. Keep in mind compared to Coconut Bowl these go karts are high grade AND faster but 1/3rd of $100 for ONE RACE? If you are a gokart junkie, take a look but they are FAR stricter on the rules than prior location so dont be caught drifting bumping into each other, refusing to let others pass etc. Placing is based off top lap time.

●Mini Golf:(DID NOT TRY). Not sure if worth $12 for 9 holes.

●FOOD 3/5: Decently good mashed potatoes, breaded chicken topped with cheese, + balsamic with tomatoes was good. I'd AVOID the tritip (especially as a group cateering option). They did a decent job at keeping it stocked, warmth on food wasnt HORRIBLE- neither cold nor hot.. but the meat was a disappointment. 3/5 stars because Id think maybe NON large group events can be better. Tritip was tough+ chewy, flavorless (only tried like 1 piece). By the end of the night, I heard that no one had good things to say about the tritip,+ it was tearing people up (abdominal cramping, nausea, unpleasant gas?). I thought this was more of a laughing joking matter over it BUT I do think theres more to it as a good chunk of us started having experiences by the end of the night. Was typing this as I am experiencing stomach upset- cramping, and lower grade nausea from what I assume HAD TO BE the meat. As gen Zs would say.. the food we had was mid BUT the chicken was the saving grace.

●SUMMARY 3-3.5/5: In the end, come here at least once if you want to check out the karts- form your own verdict on the other amusement aspects. For people who truly love go carts/more of a drifting experience, I hear people Like Carson Raceway+ can actually drift if desired on circumstances. (Haven't gone). However if you have a big family itll be a pricey night. Looking for all over experience/fun- bowling, arcade, axe throwing, VR..etc.. check out GSR if you haven't -offers more options (-gokart) and what may be better bang for your buck for amusement. Coconut bowl is also continually high demand by the younger generations but the Jungle...

Went there for my birthday with the wife and I won't be back. While we were waiting in our carts to start, the riders from the previous race were exiting the track. Two guys started arguing about one of them driving too rough, things got physical, and one guy pulled out a knife. People continued screaming and arguing for several minutes while the one guy continued brandishing the knife and another was screaming about getting a gun out of his car to shoot him, all the while the girls in the group are crying and screaming trying to stop their boyfriends from killing eachother. The staff did nothing to acknowledge or deescalate the situation, just left us strapped in our carts, stuck ten feet from madness. Eventually, someone who I can only assume is the manager, walked slowly over while this was all happening at a pace that showed zero sense of urgency. When he eventually made it across the room, he did nothing to ease the insanity of the situation or even speak to any of the parties involved. The "manager" stood off to the side and was talking to one of the other staff while the guy holding the knife and his group walked out still telling threats. The guy with the knifes group had clearly been there before as well. They make you have ID to ride the carts so they could have easily called the cops and 86ed the whole group or even had the guy arrested for threatening someone with a knife.

There's also a trend with these reviews that I experienced as well. Extremely poor customer service from majority of the staff. I've had DMV appointments where I've felt more welcomed than I did tonight. First girl I tried to talk to at the desk when I came in turned away as I approached and I had to initiate the conversation with her while she faced away from me. She seemed annoyed and bothered that we were there to give them business. The second girl at the counter that ended up actually helping us was very nice and helpful. I think she was also the one that went and grabbed the manager when the fight broke out, so props to her for actually caring about customer experience.

We also experienced a stop mid race with no explanation. From what I could gather from my own observation, one of the employees who decided to go on break and race with us was having issues with his cart and had to switch. There was no announcement or conversation had with us while this happened, despite the fact they have a PA system. We all just sat, not moving, for several minutes, in the middle of the track with no explanation.

The overall vibe in this place is that no one cares that you're there. I've been in restaurant management for a long time and I don't expect a manager to step in between two guys about to literally kill eachother, but doing nothing is absolutely not an option. The fact that none of the staff, management included, even acknowledged the situation to us was wild and completely unacceptable. I won't ever be back, which is unfortunate because actually riding the carts was fun and I'd love to do it with my kids, but I'm not going to pay to be treated like an unwelcome guest at a business that clearly doesn't value...

Over the holidays we were visiting Tahoe so decided to take a day off skiing and swing by Need 2 Speed. In full disclosure two of my kids have Karted since they were 5, competing internationally, with my son Jack recently qualifying P5 in this years FIA Karting World. Championship in England. He can drive a go kart and fast.

When we arrived at Need 2 Speed they told us winning is about lap time and not racing.

However, it’s apparent that speed is mostly decided by a guy with a remote control.

We raced three times. Two of those times my son and I had karts where the throttle would get stuck open. If we took our foot off the karts would keep going. The brakes did work, but they struggled to stop a kart where with an open throttle - I had kart 13 and 8. Yes, I did mention to the pit marshal. He told me it was likely a frayed throttle cable. In my final session I had kart 10, it was night and day better than the other two, it had a responsive throttle and the brakes worked, not that you need them very often.

A track worker regulates your speed through a controller, which felt random. In our races it was clear it was not on ability and they would play with the settings mid session, meaning I got a huge power boost mid corner. In one instance I was on somebody’s bumper, and a boost pushed me into the person ahead. In Kart 13 with the throttle stuck open it became hard to stop. At full speed I could over take on the outside which is comical.

My kids didn’t get any speed increase until the 3rd session.

The purpose is to set a fast lap time, but each time you jump in you get a different speed setting meaning you can’t take any lap time or your ranking seriously.

I saw a 1.4 second speed reduction between my first and second session.

We had a fun time being together, but Need 2 Speed is toy karting and I would not recommend to anyone interested in developing karting skills or racing in league nights.

There is definitely a gap in the Reno market for competitive rental karting as this is the only place we could find.

There are positives:-

Overall we had a fun time. We love karting and we laughed a lot. The track is well designed for the speed of the karts The people friendly.

How to improve:

Maintain the karts better. While my kids and I are experienced, we can handle a kart with a throttle that gets stuck open, not everyone can and it can cause accidents.

The adjustable speed is good for beginners, but why not run slow sessions for beginners and faster sessions for more experience.

Customers should be told their speed setting on their lap time sheet.

Speed should be the same for all drivers in a session. Having people at wildly different or even changing speeds feels dangerous to me and renders the timekeeping pointless.

Anyone that can demonstrate they have raced to high level, karts, cars should be in a...