Spoiler-Free Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway Review
Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway is a new trackless dark ride in Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World. In this spoiler-free review, we’ll share offer comparisons to other attractions, thoughts, and commentary about this DHS attraction that will soon be built in Disneyland and likely some of the international parks.
For starters, I do want to note that this will be less vague than our recent spoiler-free Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance Review. That gave away virtually zero details about the substance of the attraction to ensure you didn’t have any of the wow-moments ruined for you. Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway is a different beast by its very nature. It’s like Titanic, whereas Rise of the Resistance is Psycho.
In fairness, Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway is not based upon historical events (to my knowledge), but the very premise of the attraction is “spoiled” by the attraction name. However, there are details, gags, reveals, and key moments that can be spoiled–and specifics of those will be avoided here. However, we’re not going to refrain from discussing the broad strokes, particularly those already given away the name Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway. You’ve been warned…
Let’s start with some quick background for those who are unfamiliar with Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, the new trackless dark ride inside Grauman’s Chinese Theater. There, Mickey and Minnie have invited guests to the premiere of their newest cartoon, “Perfect Picnic.”
Before entering the cinema, guests experience a special exhibit created by the Toontown Hysterical Society featuring costumes and props from the toon world. (All of this is bypassed in the FastPass queue.) After going through the line, theatergoers enter the pre-show, and literally step from the human world directly into the cartoon world.
All of this sets the stage for the ride-through portion of the attraction, which delivers upon the premise of stepping into the cartoon world. The visuals are vibrant and the scenery immersive–it feels like a dimensional version of one of the new Mickey Mouse shorts.
Given that Goofy is your train conductor, it shouldn’t be a spoiler to say that in short order, the attraction switches gears and hits its “something has gone terribly wrong” bump in the scenic road. With that, Runaway Railway delivers upon both a common Walt Disney World and cartoon trope (and the attraction’s name).
From here, you glide through a series of loosely-connected vignettes in a variety of environments. There’s tremendous range in the settings, and the pacing of the attraction becomes fairly frenetic at this point. While I’m tempted to quibble with the tenuous narrative through-line that links the various scenes together, it feels very much in keeping with how a cartoon would bounce around from locale to locale.
All of this is aided tremendously by technology. While Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway is heavy on projection mapping and screens, depth and dimensionality are created via the variety of surfaces and the spatial relationships. This is also aided by how the trackless ride vehicles dart around the environments.
Even the attraction’s larger rooms don’t feel cavernous and empty thanks to the dimensional set pieces and other ride vehicles that are present. It’s a seemingly minor thing, but it’s noteworthy when contrasted with other Disney attractions where this is an issue.
With that said, it’s not just Runaway Railway’s picnic that ends up being imperfect. For starters, I’d urge Walt Disney World fans to temper their expectations with Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway. (It really should’ve debuted before Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance because it would’ve been a great introduction to the trackless technology.)
Runaway Railway is the next evolution of Fantasyland dark rides, not anything revolutionary. While it has a wow moment or two, Runaway Railway is mostly iterative. It takes existing technology that we’ve seen elsewhere in the parks the last several years and integrates that into a dark ride pretty seamlessly.
Like Fantasyland dark rides, Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway is charming and fun. It’s not an epic or jaw-dropping adventure, but it doesn’t need to be. A range of offerings is necessary to fill a theme park’s attraction slate, and Runaway Railway is exactly what Disney’s Hollywood Studios needed on its roster.
While part of me would’ve liked more Audio Animatronics in Runaway Railway, I can’t say I particularly loved the ones that are there. The dimensional renderings of Mickey and Minnie look off, and it’s odd to see Mickey’s nose where his ear should be in 3D. Other characters don’t look much better.
As someone who is a staunch advocate of tactile sets and AA figures, it feels odd to think the latter is what worked the least for me in Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway. I’m not sure what the solution here is–there’s probably no perfect way to translate these cartoon characters to dimensional versions. Admittedly, I’d also be criticizing the attraction if there were no Audio Animatronics at all, so it’s something of a no-win scenario for the ride.
Additionally, there’s one scene in particular that we both felt was out of place and almost exists solely for the purpose of “showing off” the trackless ride vehicle technology. (If you’ve been to Cars Land, this segment will be familiar.) Perhaps this is supposed to be a change of pace, but to us it felt like the flow of the chaotic action and energy came to a screeching halt in this room–we could’ve done without it.
Otherwise, there’s a lot to take in during Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway. In typical cartoon fashion, it’s pure pandemonium. I’m not sure how the frenzied and frantic approach will play with some guests–I suspect kids will love it and some adults will find it disorienting. That was my initial reaction, but found myself enjoying it more upon a subsequent ride-through.
Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway is highly repeatable, with the experience differing fairly dramatically based upon your ride vehicle. There are also a ton of gags, Easter Eggs, and even the obligatory nods to Great Movie Ride and Walt Disney’s love of trains. Fortunately, the attraction has a healthy hourly capacity and does not have any of the reliability or uptime issues of Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance.
In terms of comparisons, let’s start with the obvious one about which Walt Disney World fans will wonder. The attraction that previously occupied the same physical space inside Grauman’s Chinese Theater: Great Movie Ride. Initially, I was inclined to dismiss this comparison out of hand, as the two attractions don’t bear much in common substantively.
However, both Great Movie Ride and Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway do have a loose ‘step into the big screen’ premise, both technically qualify as trackless dark rides, and they’re both a string of loosely connected vignettes. Pacing, technology, and substance all vary pretty radically, but I don’t think it’s a totally absurd comparison.
I’d even go a step further and call each the logical fit for the front-of-park Grauman’s Chinese Theater attraction of their era. Great Movie Ride was the perfect culmination of the Disney-MGM Studios of yore, whereas Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway presents Walt’s most iconic intellectual property in the brand-showcase that is Disney’s Hollywood Studios of today.
It’s not a great comparison, but other direct comparisons will similarly fall flat. The obvious analogies are going to be to modern trackless dark rides, particularly those that heavily utilize screens or projection mapping. There are several attractions at Universal Orlando that are similar; you could make the case for these, but they all utilize space very differently and are less family-friendly in terms of intensity.
When it comes to Disney’s other trackless dark rides, none are all that close to a match. The one that feels most relevant to me is Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure. That may be meaningless to those of you who haven’t visited Walt Disney Studios Park (lucky you), but you’ll understand the comparison once the Epcot version opens in a few months.
Thankfully, Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway fixes almost all of the technical shortcomings of Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure (I hope this bodes well for the Epcot version of the same). The end result is a much more immersive and dynamic attraction that has a distinct personality and charisma.
With that in mind, I actually think the most apt comparison is Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin, which can be found in Toontown at both Disneyland and Tokyo Disneyland. For what it’s worth, this is no knock–I think Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin is criminally underrated, and one of the best dark rides at Disneyland.
The energy, pace, gags, repeatability, etc., are all very similar between Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin and Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway. I’d go as far as to say that Runaway Railway feels like a spiritual successor to Car Toon Spin–how that attraction would’ve been made with the technology of today. On balance, I personally prefer Car Toon Spin, but both are solid attractions.
Finally, there’s the question of whether Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway is a worthy replacement for Great Movie Ride. This is impossible to answer objectively. For me, it’s not. Great Movie Ride had tremendous depth, set design, and was a long attraction bursting with detail. It was a love letter to classic cinema and Old Hollywood that helped define the identity of the Disney-MGM Studios. It was the perfect counter-programming to the Backlot Tour and held tremendous personal appeal to me.
However, the Backlot Tour obviously no longer exists, nor does the Disney-MGM Studios in its original incarnation. It’s quite clear that Great Movie Ride didn’t resonate with contemporary audiences. I lost count of the number of times people suggested it be updated with “relevant” movies. (I’m glad it was retired rather than updated to showcase hot Disney franchises.)
It also doesn’t help that the new Mickey Mouse cartoon shorts are not my cup of tea. They are too rambunctious, and the art design reminds me a bit too much of Ren & Stimpy. (In other news, get off my lawn.) With all of that said, each generation has their version of Mickey Mouse, and this incarnation is tremendously popular with today’s youth. If updating Mickey & Minnie is what’s necessary to keep them “relevant” then I’m on board.
Still, I can’t pretend to be an unbiased voice on the question given all of that. Side-stepping things a bit, I’ll say that Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway reflects the evolution of Disney’s Hollywood Studios and gives Mickey & Minnie a long-overdue attraction that’s worthy of the characters.
Ultimately, that’s where I stand with Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway. It’s a strong attraction that most guests will appreciate more than its predecessor, something that will help connect these iconic characters with new audiences for years to come. It isn’t an epic adventure like Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, but it doesn’t need to be one.
Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway has a ton of heart and personality, and is an absolute hoot. It succeeds incredibly well as a next-gen dark ride that will offer family friendly fun in a park disproportionately full of thrills. Runaway Railway put a smile on both of our faces and is a ride we’ll do each time we visit Disney’s Hollywood Studios. That should speak volumes about its quality and how much we enjoyed it!
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
Your Thoughts
Have you experienced Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway? What did you think of the attraction? Any other Disney or Universal rides to which you’d compare Runaway Railway? Where does this rank among the Disney’s Hollywood Studios attractions for you? Are you interested in seeing a post with photo spoilers of Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway? Do you agree or disagree with our review? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
Thanks for the review!
“Before entering the cinema, guests experience a special exhibit created by the Toontown Hysterical Society featuring costumes and props from the toon world. (All of this is bypassed in the FastPass queue.)”
Sometime I need to figure out a list of Things FastPass Lines Skip.
Suggestions for how to prioritize FP+ in Hollywood with this new ride “on-line”? Was thinking of grabbing a FP+ for Runaway in lieu of Smuggler’s based on Tom’s earlier blog.
We will be visiting in July.
It’s unclear whether MMRR or SDD are the best use of your tier 1 FP+, but it’s definitely one of those two and not MFSR.
The characters on this ride look strung out on something (like Ren and Stimpy). To all those that like this version of the characters: How would they look if all the costume characters in the parks look like this for meet & greets and character dining? Lol, sounds terrifying. Can’t imagine small children running to bleary eyed Goofy for hugs and pics. Will reserve judgement on the ride, but not a fan of the art style. Although happy to finally have a Mickey ride in the parks, not happy to lose GMR.
Who loves ya ba-by?! Thanks for the report! Wait times appear down significantly from Jan and feb. and i noticed splash mountain is up and running. Is the first week of March the best week to visit WDW? Can you swim comfortably? Thanks in advance
We opened it today and rode twice. Also got RotR group 22 and rode Millennium Falcon 3 times. Great day. We love the new Mickey shorts, more reminiscent to the antics of original Mickey. I loved the random scene that showed off the trackless tech, felt very cartoony. The entrance to the loading area was a nice wow as well. Even with a queue of 120 it moved at about 75 minutes. We would ride it again.
Any “must knows” about rope dropping it? Where they’re queuing, waits at rope drop, etc? Thanks!
I too wonder about the motion sickness. I loved TGMR. I knew I could ride it without ever getting sick. It has been a tradition To ride every visit and encouraged our kids to watch some movies they had never seen. Really sad it has been replaced
i cant believe they replaced TGMR with this. Unreal and im so glad iger is gone.
I am wondering about how violent the ride is for people with bad backs and knees. What is disability access? Is it going to have rollercoaster elements? Obviously you are young and don’t have to worry about these things, but your review is kind of lacking this time.
The ride has NO height requirement – i.e. you can take your newborn infant on it. Not violent, no rollercoaster elements whatsoever. Eyes and ears will be overwhelmed, body will experience slow movement thru ride building.
loving the ren and stimpy comps and glad that i’m not the only one who sees this.
i maintain part of GMR’s downfall was being shoved behind that obscene sorcerer’s hat for so long. i kid you not, i heard people, more than once, say they had no idea there was even a ride behind the hat after it’s removal. clearly they had never visited pre-hat, but i heard it.
it’s still a shame the muppet version of GMR never materialized. i still mourn what never will be…
what were the crowds like today?
I am also very curious and worried about motion sickness. Could you please advise what the consensus is for those who suffer like myself? I really am looking forward to riding this during my September trip.
You will not have any problems re: motion sickness. Projections are used to enhance & transform the environments, not to simulate ride vehicle movement.
Thanks for your timely review. We have FPs for Monday and Tuesday, but it now seems that a wait in the standby line is in order first, to get the full effect. And here I was, after two early mornings to score RotR boarding groups, thinking I could kiss early treks to HS goodbye . . .
Thanks for the review Tom! I’m a little worried about the ride now though, since I got motion sickness from Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure. Should I expect the same from this ride?
You will not have any problems re: motion sickness. Projections are used to enhance & transform the environments, not to simulate ride vehicle movement.
So it won’t be part of evening EMH…. Is that likely temporary or long term? I can imagine excluding it from EMH on the short-term basis, to give maximum maintenance time to insure reliability.
But long term, there is NO reason to exclude this ride from EMH. Given the difficulty booking FPs for all of the DHS headliners, not like there wouldn’t be demand during EMH.
With all the cost cutting (they are taking away bread!), are they just trying to save money by excluding the attraction from EMH??
Taking away bread?
Reports are they are eliminated free bread service table service restaurants, at least those inside the parks.
Q: “Do you have any Gluten Free options?”
A: “You want gluten, pal, you’re gonna pay for it!”
Sounds like a) it’s pretty fun, and b) it works.
By today’s standards have to call that a win.
(Side note: Always liked Doug more than Ren & Stimpy; also not a huge fan of the new shorts but my kids love them).
I was waiting for this review!
Having the same Ren & Stimpy snub (ill see your “get off my lawn“ and raise you a “whoops-a-daises”) towards these new characters, I was hoping it would still be a quality ride. Glad to hear your review calls it as so. I can now breathe a small sign of relief that I switched my FP to this for next week.
Also, noticed boarding passes where still available for RotR at 8:45 am EST. Is that a one day only scenario due to new ride opening or are things settling down again you think?
Trying to decide what is better to book the tier one FP for, this or Slinky Dog. It will be our first visit to HS and we want to ride both, but a 75 min line is not going to be worth it to my 5year old!
Tom, I have heard that some guests experience motion sickness on Roger Rabbit and Ratatouille. Would you recommend MMRR for guests who don’t do well with simulators or are prone to motion sickness?
I would like to second this question.
You will not have any problems re: motion sickness. Projections are used to enhance & transform the environments, not to simulate ride vehicle movement.
Thanks for the spoiler free review! I’m excited to try the ride but also struggle with this incarnation of the characters. Ren & Stimpy always made me cringe when it came on and I feel the same way with these shorts. We bought popcorn from MK in December and the bucket with these characters on it is truly frightening. Goofy’s yellow eyes and teeth are the stuff of nightmares!
I agree with you wholeheartedly! I can’t wait till Mickey and the gang go through another transformation.
Completely agree! All the older versions of Mickey were so lovable… this one… not so much! …And don’t even get me started about Goofy! Owwww my eyes!!!
Thanks! I was looking forward to your review. Ratatouille was what sprang to my mind, so I’m glad to hear your comparison (and glad to hear that you think it is somewhat better).
Completely agree! All the older versions of Mickey were so lovable… this one… not so much! …And don’t even get me started about Goofy! Owwww my eyes!!!
Thanks for the review Tom! About how long is the ride?
Actual ride (not counting preshow) is just under five minutes long.
Thank you!