Ride Review of Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway

Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway is Disney’s Hollywood Studios newest ride and is the first ever attraction at any Disney park to star Mickey Mouse and friends! Step inside the colourful and zany world of cartoons on your next Disney holiday to Orlando.

Aimed at all ages, this trackless dark ride opened on 4th March 2020 and is located within the Chinese Theater at the end of Hollywood Boulevard. The theatre has been an icon at the park for decades and was originally home to The Great Movie Ride, which took guests on a journey through some of the most iconic scenes of their favourite movies, from Casablanca to The Wizard of Oz, and Indiana Jones to Alien. It’s lovely that there’s a link between both this ride and the new ride, highlighting a ‘step into the big screen’, as well as keeping an association with the theatre.

The classic exterior of the Chinese Theatre has been preserved which is wonderful to see, however once you step inside things have totally changed into a charming new Disney attraction, featuring our most loved characters!

FUN FACT - Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway currently has more Hidden Mickey’s than any other Disney attraction!

Upon entering the Chinese Theater, guests experience a special exhibit created by the Toontown Hysterical Society featuring costumes and props from the toon world. (Take note however, that all of this is bypassed if you access via the FastPass queue.) Cartoon posters adorn the walls, preparing you for what’s to come, with each poster representing some of the Mickey shorts, which will be shown in the ride.

Before climbing aboard the Runaway Railway train, riders will see Mickey and Minnie on the big screen, as their newest cartoon “Perfect Picnic” premieres. This is where guests literally step from the human world directly into the cartoon world, but we won’t give anything away on how this happens. Shortly after, Goofy your train conductor takes riders on a railway journey, where you meet with Mickey and Minnie. Now that you’ve stepped inside the cartoon world, there’s no telling where this train is heading, so prepare for a wild ride through Mickey and Minnie land, as you bounce from scene-to-scene.

FUN FACT - Being a trackless ride system there are four different ride experiences you can have on Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway, depending on the train you’re in. It’s a perfect ride to experience multiple times!

This Mickey Mouse attraction will certainly captivate children’s imaginations and is very impressive to look at as an adult. There is wonderful animation, visual effects, vibrant lighting and a mix of 2D art with 3D surfaces, keeping you mesmerised throughout. Disney Imagineers invented new technologies for this ride, which they call 2½-D; it is very similar to 3D, but no 3D glasses are required. Essentially, Disney have used high precision projection mapping and movable flat surfaces to create a world that brings the 2D medium of cartoons to our 3D life.

There’s a catchy theme song throughout the ride, which makes it even more magical and charming. Look out for all your favourite characters too, including Donald Duck, Daisy Duck, Goofy and Pluto. It’s an attraction not to miss, and with Mickey and Minnie being featured it makes it so much more special to experience. It’s not an epic or jaw-dropping adventure, but it doesn’t need to be. Runaway Railway is exactly what Disney’s Hollywood Studios has needed at the park.

FUN FACT - Imagineers wanted to keep the experience as authentic as possible, so they went back to their roots and used the same whistles as were used in Steamboat Willie to create the train whistle!

Keep an eye out for Disney World’s next newest trackless dark ride too; Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure. The attraction was originally scheduled to open in Summer 2020, however this has been delayed and Disney have not yet announced any updates on the opening, but we’re hoping it will open in 2021! Follow us on our social media pages for the latest ride updates.

If you’re looking for accommodation in Orlando, take a look at our villas closest to Disney World, which are all around 10 to 20 minutes drive of the Disney parks, so you can be as close to the magic as possible!

Image credits:

• Chinese Theater: CC by Jedi94
• All other images from Disney