During my last trip to Disney World I lucked out and ended up being there for the opening day of Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway. This is the ride that took the location that was formally the home to The Great Movie Ride.
The Lines
As with anything new that opens in Disney World these days, the morning was crazy busy for this ride. I got there a little before 7 a.m. (the park officially opened at 8 a.m.) and there was already a good size crowd ahead of me. Cast members started scanning guests in around 7 a.m. to allow us to get to where we wanted to be. Most people headed to the line for the new which was very windy, others headed to Galaxy’s Edge or Toy Story Land.
I have to say, it’s very impressive how organized Disney was with the number of people that were in line. It’s hard to tell from looking at pictures, but there are a lot of twists and turns in this line, and there were a lot of cast members on hand that day specifically to help keep the line in order. The cast members did an amazing job keeping order and they were all friendly and helpful to those asking questions.
The longest part of the line was definitely outside. Once inside the building we were told it was only a 20 minute wait from there. It didn’t feel like 20 minutes, but that might be because the line kept moving, we never really stopped. Guests are ushered into a room with a movie screen in front of them. Here is where the cartoon short “Perfect Picnic” plays. In the cartoon Mickey and Minnie see Goofy in a train and of course things go a bit awry with Goofy. Suddenly a hole appears on the screen and guests can venture through this to get on the ride. This is a really cool feature of this attraction and not something guests were expecting to see.
The Ride
The ride itself is really cute. It’s filled with bright colors and lots of things going on in each scene. The way the ride is designed guests are supposed to feel as though they are in the cartoon and Disney does a pretty good job with this. Keep your eyes open for lots of Hidden Mickeys too, because this ride has more Hidden Mickeys than any other ride.
There are 10 different scenes, including the initial scene before the train gets separated, and they’re all brightly colored digital scenes that make you feel like you are a part of the scene. Each scene has a lot going on, so there is no shortage of things to look at during the ride.
Scenes Include:
- Western Scene
- Carnival Scene
- Tornado
- Waterfall/Volcano Scene
- Underwater Scene
- A Busy City Street
- Dance Class
- A Factory Visit
- The Finale Scene
After you exit the ride you will be let into a room that looks like the room you watched the short “Perfect Picnic” in before the ride. You exit through a hole that looks like the one that appeared in the screen to let you in line for the ride, but it says “The End.” It’s a really cute detail that Disney thought of for this ride.
The digital characters are well done with this ride. They look like they do in the cartoons and it’s fun to see the shutters on the engine open to reveal Goofy. Disney added other characters to different scenes, so be on the lookout with each scene you visit.
Wait times on opening day reached a 300 minute wait. While this ride is really cute and fun, I would not recommend spending five hours of your day in line for it, especially if you are only spending one day in Hollywood Studios. As the day went on it got down to three hours and lately I’ve been seeing more of a 2 – 2 1/2 hour wait, which is still long but not quite as bad as five hours. If you can’t get a FastPass and really want to ride it, then I would get to the park before the official opening time, so you can be closer to the front of the crowd, or go close to when the park is closing.
Are you excited to ride Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway?
Thanks for reading!
Liz
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Liz
I love all things Disney, but my main love is for Disney World and I'm always planning for the next trip. Before becoming a Disney blogger, I was a radio DJ, so I guess I'm just continuing in the communication industry, just in a different form. I love talking Disney and I could talk about Disney all day. That's why I started blogging and created the Facebook group. The Disney community is full of friendly, helpful, and happy people...and I love being a part of it! If there is any Disney subject you would like to see covered just let me know! Need help planning your Disney vacation. Feel free to contact myself or Melissa at Never Stop Dreaming Travel Co. We love helping people plan their trips! Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy! Don't forget to check out our Countdown to Disney app! Feel free to email me with suggestions of things you would like to see in the app :-)
I would be excited if it was the classic animation, but I cannot stand this new animation style! It’s not just Disney, a lot of animation looks like this. It looks cheap and too simple. My family and I love Disney and go every year, but this is a ride that we will definitely skip. Everyone has their own preferences though, so if some folks like it, then great!
They do not have it on the Wait Times app yet.