Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway Announced for Disney World!
Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway is coming to Disney’s Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World! On this new attraction, guests step through the movie screen and join Mickey and friends on a railway adventure as they take part in the wacky and unpredictable world of a Mickey Mouse Cartoon Short. (Last updated April 8, 2019.)
Walt Disney Imagineer Kevin Rafferty came on stage during the Walt Disney Parks & Resorts panel during the D23 Expo and described Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway as a zany, out-of-control adventure with unpredictable twists and turns, dazzling visual effects, and mind-boggling transformations that happen during the scenes.
April 8, 2019 Update: While the official slated opening season for Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway has been “Fall 2019” for a while, rumors point to the attraction’s debut being delayed until Early 2020. While nothing is confirmed as of yet, and we assume Walt Disney World would like this to be open by the time Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is unveiled in August to help absorb crowds, it now appears that Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway won’t be ready until 2020…
Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway is inspired by the Mickey Shorts on the Disney Channel, with a visual style matching those cartoons. Imagineering has partnered with Disney Television Animation to help bring the attraction to life…
Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway will feature a new story and a new singable attraction theme song (Rafferty billed the attraction as a totally original concept, but also underscored just how closely Imagineering was working with the Mickey Shorts team).
He also indicated that they had developed pioneering technology that Imagineering is calling “2 1/2 D.” This sounds somewhat akin to the glasses-free 3D that James Cameron has mentioned for the Avatar sequels, except the visual style here calls for 2D sets, so I’m guessing this will use similar technology, but with the goal of immersing guests in a different style of environment. The good news is that no glasses will be required.
Rafferty also promised that “this is not going to be a small attraction, it’s going to be game-changing.” That bodes well for Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway, and I think it’s safe to say Imagineering will make every effort for Mickey Mouse’s first fully-fledged theme park attraction to live up to the iconic character’s reputation.
There’s one downside to this: in order to begin to prepare the new home of Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Great Movie Ride presented by Turner Classic Movies has now permanently closed.
It’s not surprising that Great Movie Ride is closing so soon. As we previously reported, Imagineering has already filed a “Notice of Commencement” permit with the Orange County, Florida Comptroller for “Project M — Package 1” with Great Movie Ride’s approximate location identified as where the work is to occur. The expiration of the permit is October 31, 2019.
My Reaction
I can admit where my bias comes into play, and this is unquestionably one of those scenarios. We’ve been reporting on the Great Mickey Ride rumored for Disney’s Hollywood Studios for a year, and during that time, I’ve developed a mental picture of what I assumed the attraction would entail, projecting my own desires and favorite aspects of Mickey Mouse onto that.
That, compounded with the fact that I’ve never really seen these new Mickey Shorts on the Disney Channel (I watched one once and wasn’t really into it) gave me an initially tepid reaction to this. It was not the Mickey Mouse that I grew up watching.
With that said, I recognize that these Mickey Shorts are insanely popular. We know several parents who say that their kids absolutely love them. It’s definitely a distinct visual style, and I can see why there’s appeal. I also “my” version of Mickey Mouse was not the original Mickey Mouse, anyway, and his style has been malleable over the years as different generations of artists made their impressions.
So with all of that baggage out of the way, I remain cautiously optimistic about Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway. A video of very early/rough test footage was shown at the D23 Expo of one of the “mind-boggling transformations” mentioned above, and it looked really cool.
Rafferty was careful to note that was very early, very rough proof of concept footage. If something early looks that cool, I think the visual transformation effects could have a lot of potential. In fact, I could see this being a lot like a next-generation Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin, which I think is a very strong attraction.
The glasses-free nature of the attraction is also appealing, I just hope there’s more than just screens. Bringing a few of these characters to life with cutting-edge Audio Animatronics sounds really, really cool to me…but I’m guessing that is not going to happen.
Maybe Imagineering already mocked them up and it didn’t look quite right to bring characters with a distinctly 2D visual style to life as three dimensional figures, or maybe that just is not the direction they want to go with the attraction. (Or, maybe they will do it!) Even though there was a lot of time spent on this attraction during the Parks & Resorts panel, little substantive information about the attraction was offered.
With that in mind, I still think the potential for this attraction is through the roof. If The Great Movie Ride must close, Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway still sounds like a good choice for a replacement. A cutting-edge Mickey Mouse attraction as the park’s centerpiece behind the famed facade of Grauman’s Chinese Theater sounds almost perfect.
The “almost” part of this is because it still pains me that the Great Movie Ride will be closing. I’ve been preparing myself for this for a while, and the more time has worn on, the more I’ve come to terms with this ride’s days being numbered. While it was once a flagship attraction in the Disney-MGM Studios, that was a different era.
The writing has been on the wall for a while with regard to The Great Movie Ride. It seemed that the TCM sponsorship forestalled the inevitable for a little while and briefly breathed new life into an aging attraction, but without a large-scale refurbishment at that time, that’s all it did.
The Great Movie Ride has felt tired for a while–from the corny script to a few scenes that have not aged well–it would have needed a massive refurbishment to keep it fresh for another two decades. Even if that were to happen, I’d worry about how Disney would choose to update the attraction with its current focus on what IP is hot now, and with that in mind, it’s easier to come to terms with its closure.
By the time Star Wars Land and Toy Story Land are both open in a couple of years, this park will be two generations removed from the Disney-MGM Studios park some of us fans grew up with. While so many of us loved (and continue to love) that version of the park, it has been gone for a while, and there is zero chance of that incarnation ever being resurrected.
In a lot of ways, the Great Movie Ride is very similar to Universe of Energy. Both are old-school dark rides that are slow-moving, both feature long ride-times, and both are largely passive experiences from a different era. While I’d content that Great Movie Ride has much more timelessness and fan popularity, I also think that the replacement concept for Great Movie Ride has a lot of potential and is thematically appropriate for its park. So, this stings a bit, but not nearly as much as Guardians of the Galaxy going into Epcot. This is mostly a positive, I feel.
On the plus side, there is a new vision for the park, and I think it’s a rather strong one that retains elements of old Hollywood while also injecting adventures based on various Disney properties. It may not be as thematically cogent as on opening day, but I think the theme, motifs, and substance will–collectively–make it a considerably better park for guests. If it lives up to the legacy of Mickey Mouse, I think Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway has the potential to be the attraction that ties the entire park together, being Disney’s Hollywood Adventure’s flagship draw. There’s a lot that remains to be seen before we get to that point, but I’m willing to remain cautiously optimistic on this.
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Your Thoughts
What do you think about the concept for Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway? Was it what you were expecting? Do you think this concept has potential, or would you rather have seen a “Great Mickey Ride” that took guests through Mickey Mouse’s classic on-screen performances? Do you agree or disagree with my reaction to this announcement? Hearing from readers is half the fun, so please share your thoughts or questions below in the comments!
My husband and I absolutely love The Great Movie Ride – this is most disappointing! Disney has always feel like home to us and we looked forward to bringing our children on the great movie ride. Truly sad sad news!
My 2 and a half year old daughter and I love the Mickey Mouse shorts – they are so well done and clever, and because each short is in the language of the country it’s set in (French for Croissant De Triomphe, Chinese for Panda-monium, etc.), she’s learned a few words in a few foreign languages. They are so much better than the insipid Mickey Mouse Clubhouse show.
If this ride is inspired by the Mickey Mouse shorts, I think it will be great. I’m very excited about this.
Tom – I do have mixed feelings on this. I remember going on a family trip at Thanksgiving break 1989 when I was 12, and being mesmerized by GMR. It’s always been a favorite, and while it’s probably not in my top 10 of WDW attractions, I still love it. When we were there in January 2017, it was our last attraction on our last night. Not by design, but just the way it worked out. And for whatever reason, for weeks my 3-year old son kept saying it was his favorite ride (probably because it was last and freshest in his mind), despite demanding 7 trips to the Barnstormer, and god knows how many on Pirates (which IS in my top 10). So I’m sad to see it go. That being said, it was kind of a shadow of it’s prior greatness on our last trip – it was still fun, and I still enjoyed it, but it needs something more than a facelift.
On the flip side, I love Mickey, I always have. The aesthetic of the modern Mickey Mouse shorts may not be what you and I grew up with, and like you said, what we grew up with isn’t what our parents grew up with. I can live with that knowing that the characters themselves are timeless. I also know that with Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and Toy Story Land opening that this is no longer the park of old Hollywood, and GMR wouldn’t really fit into the new feel. I’m looking forward to new technology mixed with Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, and I’d have to presume Pluto and Donald (at least). And as a parent, I look forward to sharing these memories with my kids, so that in 30 more years they can be upset when this attraction closes to be replaced by something we haven’t even imagined yet.
So, I wonder – today I was digesting all the news from Saturday and reading about GotG and Ratatouille at Epcot, and TRON and the new theater at Magic Kingdom being ready for the 50th anniversary in 2021. Then I remembered back to my trip in 1989 and everything was brand new, because Disney-MGM had just opened a few months prior. Do you think it’s possible for them to re-name and re-dedicate the park for the 30th anniversary in May 2019? Toy Story will be open probably about a year at that point, they could probably push to have Star Wars ready by then, Do you think it’s possible to build this Mickey attraction in about 2 years? I think it’s entirely possible. Thinking back, work on Star Wars didn’t start in earnest until the fall of 2016 – so in just about 3 years (maybe a little less) they can build an entire new land from the ground up. It’s entirely feasible to gut an existing structure and put a new attraction in in less than two years, I would think.
I have huge affection for GMR so I am incredibly disappointed in this.
It’s been a family tradition since literally the month this park opened.
Also I am a tiny but furious that in a park where half of the attractions are closed, they will close another on August 13th.
I don’t understand it.
And not just because I will be there on 22nd and wanted one last spin…
I am SO excited for this new ride! I LOVE the Mickey shorts. They are adorable and genuinely hilarious. I think this ride will be great and I can’t wait to see it. I will also note that my nephew loves the Mickey shorts, but when we rode the Great Movie Ride he didn’t really get it and he hadn’t seen any of the movies. I can’t wait for the new mickey ride!
Based on others responses, it seems that I am in the minority here regarding the Mickey Shorts. They had them running on loop on one of the resort channels on our last trip and both my husband and myself thought they were great. I am REALLY excited for this new ride. Of course, I am sad to see GMR go, but it is well past its prime, and I am looking forward to something new and fresh in that location. I’m also very optimistic that it will live up to its potential. I think Disney is aware of how pathetic HS is right now, so there is just too much riding on this for it to be a flop. Toy Story Land sounds like it will be geared towards a younger kids and family crowd, and not everyone is a Star Wars fan (I have little interest in this, despite how cool the concept art looks) so I feel HS needs something new for everyone that falls outside of those two groups. Hoping I don’t get burned lol….but I am definitely in the “thumbs up” crowd on this one.
We are so with you! That’s how we learned about the shorts a few years ago and we fell in love. We’ve continued to watch them here at home and excitedly catch each one as it’s released, and watching them reminds us of our trips to WDW. The Disney parks shout outs are great, as are the nods to Disney movies and the appearance of older Disney characters like Ludwig von Drake. As for the art, it just strikes me as a comic-book style (akin to the way the new Duck Tales is in the style of the comic books) so I don’t get all of the hatred. I mean, everyone obv has their preferences but Mickey’s styling hasn’t remained static over the years so if not the current Mickey, which one? There’s always going to be some generation mad that it’s not “their” Mickey in the attraction.
Dude, you REALLY need to proofread. This article reads as if it were written by someone who doesn’t know English.
The rumors have been circulating about the GMR for quite some time, so it’s not like people haven’t been given the chance to get in “one last ride” for the last year or so. We went on it last fall for a “final” visit, then went on it again last week for another final visit. I was surprised it had remained open as long as it had.
With mostly outdated animatronics and many of its scenes belonging to forgotten genres, the GMR has simply outlived its relevance. Like others, I’m concerned about the lack of attractions at the Studios right now, but, seriously, who doesn’t get Parkhoppers? Spend a few hours there then hop over to DAK.
Not everyone lives locally, or even a 3 hour flight away, and can just stop by.
I have been going to WDW for almost 30 years from the UK and had a vacation planned for August 22nd for a year. I have zero chance of ‘one last ride’, on a ride I have been going on since the park opened.
We only recently discovered GMR, but I have enjoyed it, and am glad we had a last ride in June.
I collect vintage Mickey items and the Mickey as we know him, has survived from the 1930″s. Current children’s television programming seems to be the only place this “mickey short” style has become popular.
As Tom has pointed out many times, rides and attractions can date themselves quickly.
I believe this ride has the potential to do that using this “cartoony” style. I think the longevity of any ride they develop would be enhanced sticking to the more classic forms of Mickey.
Oh Yeah, and they really have balls closing yet another attraction at Hollywood Studios and charging full admission prices until Star Wars or at least Toy Story Land is completed next year.
Hmmm. I get that a railway theme lends itself to theme park rides easily, but don’t we have an awful lot of them at this point? It seems like an exploration of Mickey’s life journey (from his creation to his current form, changing over the decades), or maybe a story where Mickey explored the world of movies (vaguely reminiscent of Kingdom Hearts, perhaps) would have been more thematically cohesive. I love the idea of a Mickey and Minnie themed ride, though, and as much as I love it, I agree that The Great Movie Ride has probably reached the end of its life.
Are they really going to use that crappy new Mickey and Minnie animation?
It looks like a 3 year old drew it.
So, what would you guys say is the “new theme” of this new Hollywood Studios park? I still love the park but I can’t really see any sort of cohesion to it anymore. This really isn’t a problem for me at all, but does anyone have any thoughts on what the theme is now? What are they going for?
Also some of these new Mickey Mouse shorts are great. “Yodelberg” is a classic Mickey Minnie short.
the new theme is “we’ll keep raising the prices at least 5 times the price of inflation each year until we price everyone out but the 1%.”
Although my kids weren’t impressed with The Great Movie Ride, I wanted to ride it this year. Since we arrive August 14th, I guess we won’t. Sounds the new ride will be good though.
I am so hyped about this. The GMR has always been a bit of a let-down for me–most of my friends my age (30-something) and younger haven’t seen most of the movies, and while the AAs were cool, the only scenes that I got excited about were those from movies I know. But a Mickey Ride? Ummm…yes please. And the Mickey Shorts are, in my opinion, brilliant (watch “Potatoland” if you need an introduction and are a Disney parks fan). We watch them constantly, having discovered them on the channel at WDW that plays them throughout the day. The story telling is great–even the ones with dialogue in a different language are top notch and incredibly entertaining, not to mention that they incorporate a lot of stuff from the parks into the cartoons, which makes watching them at home really fun. I think this has the potential to be a real home run!
I agree as a 30-something, the Great Movie ride was only a break to sit in the Air Conditioning. The only movie I think I knew in the whole thing was the Wizard of Oz. To make something like this relevant, it at least needed to introduce some information or have captions or summaries, or something. Far too dated.
I’m excited for the new ride, though not sure whether Mickey and Minnie will be roller coaster style, but hopefully not. I’m not familiar with the Mickey Shorts, but I’m sure anything with Mickey and Minnie at Disney World will have major appeal.
For me it was Wizard of Oz, Mary Poppins, and Raiders of the Lost Ark (never saw Alien but was at least familiar with it). The rest were more of a mystery. If you’re a fan of Disney parks and even Disney movies, check out the shorts! “Potatoland” really is excellent. The recent “Swimmin’ Hole” has a great shout out to Bambi in it. It’s little details like that that make us love the shorts so much.
If you haven’t seen Casablanca, then that’s not a fault of The Great Movie Ride. That’s a fault in your movie watching. You don’t have to be old to have seen old movies nowadays. They are widely available. And guess what? Some of them are much much better than most of what is being released currently. If you haven’t seen a bunch of movies people say are great, then it should be with enormous joy that you go find those movies and watch them. That was part of the original purpose of the ride – – to educate. It’s too bad people appear to resent that instead of appreciate it. (btw most of the movies in the ride were released before I was born too, so that’s not the divide here.)
Yep-I get that’s part of the purpose of the GMR and don’t resent it. It’s entirely personal preference that I have zero interest in watching gangster or western films (be they old or new), so there’s really not much chance of me ever going home and catching those, or Alien for that matter. And while sitting down and watching Casablanca at some point would be good, it’s just not something that is a priority right now. Same goes for Footlight Parade. When presented with the GMR or a Mickey and Minnie attraction-particularly one that is based on the shorts that I enjoy and find rather clever–I’ll go for Mickey and Minnie.
I think the biggest disappointment is the lack of notice. My parents , who are huge Disney fans, are visiting August 23rd. The fact that Disney has you start planning your vacation 6 months in advance, make Fastpass+ reservations 60 days in advance, but they will give you less than 30 days notice for a ride closure? And how will DHS continue to charge astronomical ticket rates with another attraction down? Lastly, I am very sad I will never experience someone being scared by a hidden xenomorph ever again.
Agree that they should give more notice before closing rides given how far in advance folks make plans! It is heartbreaking to miss your favorite ride for the last time.
I was hoping to see this one last time as well.
Yea, we’re going late Nov. into December, and had GMR as a must do one more time. Sorry that won’t happen…..
I will miss the GMR, as I miss seeing the working animation studio. But I welcome this attraction into the “new” DHS.
I was a bit disappointed that is was in the style of the new Mickey shorts and not the Mickey I grew up with. But I mentioned this to my daughter and her response was: “I love those shows!”. So Disney is probably aiming it correctly.
I’m with you in having mixed feelings about this change. I still love the Great Movie Ride and I’m disappointed to see it closing so soon. I had hoped to ride it one last time on Labor Day weekend but it will be long gone by then.
I like the idea of a big attraction focused on Mickey and the gang, but I have 3 objections to what was announced
1) From what they showed us there doesn’t appear to be anything Hollywood about this attraction, which makes its location in the Chinese Theater at the head of the different established avenues a little curious
2) as you mentioned, this looks like it will heavily on screens, and that is typically a minus in my books. I am capable of liking rides that have screens included, but if it just feels like I’m riding around from one screen to the next then I start wondering why I didn’t just stay home and watch TV.
3) The style of these new Mickey shorts reminds me more of Ren & Stimpy. While I loved John Kricfalusi’s early episodes, this seems incongruous with the Disney characters as they have been established around the parks for decades. Maybe it’s my association with Ren & Stimpy, but this version of Goofy looks like he’s got some sort of disgusting disease.
I will be open to enjoying this new attraction, but on first look I’m not as enthusiastic about it as I’d hoped to be.
The Ren & Stimpy disease has affected many cartoons. See early seasons of Spongebob vs. later seasons.
This also means that as of August 14, 2017 there’s even less reason to waste time at DHS until one of their projects is actually finished. Why do we even need a ticket to go there this fall?!
I know! What’s the point of working with everything at the same time? There are people going to DHS this year and next one! What are we going to see there in December?
I’m admittedly pretty disappointed by this. I have a lot of nostalgia for the Great Movie Ride from my youth at Disney World. I had recently come to terms with it closing, which was tempered by the opportunity to say a final farewell during our trip this upcoming September. However, it stings a little more now that isn’t a possibility. I’m sure Disney will do a great job with the replacement (the theme for great Mickey Ride or Runaway Railway both seem strong) but I am sad to see the Great Movie Ride depart.