Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway Review (The Hollywood Studios Version)
Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway is a trackless dark ride at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. It replaced The Great Movie Ride, which closed in August 2017. The attraction sits inside the park’s iconic replica of the TCL Chinese Theater. This review of Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway will discuss specifics for experiencing the attraction, including what to expect, Lightning Lanes, and the best times to ride. We’ll also provide a photo walk-through of the entire experience.
We think Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway is an excellent ride that most guests will want to experience at least once during their Walt Disney World vacation. So join us as we go off track on this fun adventure. You’ll see what I mean soon!
Below is a quick reference chart with essential details for the Runaway Railway.
| Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway | Hollywood Studios Attractions |
|---|---|
Location: | Hollywood Boulevard |
Height Requirement: | None |
Lightning Lane: | Yes, Tier 1 Category with Multi Pass |
Ride Type: | Slow Moving, Screen-Based, Dark Ride |
Seats Per Vehicle: | 4 per row |
Rider Switch: | None |
Early Theme Park Benefits: | Yes |
Extended Evening Hours: | Yes* |
Good For: | Everyone |
Scare Factor: | Mild |
Must-Do List: | High Priority |
Perfect For: | Fans of Classic Characters |
Special Mention: | Newest Attraction at Hollywood Studios |
Additional Information: Guests must transfer from a wheelchair or ECV to the ride vehicle. This attraction offers audio description and handheld captioning. Details for those with mobility issues (e.g., wheelchairs, ECVs) can be found on Disney’s site.
*It is rare to see the extended evening hours benefit offered at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
Make sure to check our one-stop Lightning Lane Guide to plan your attractions.
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Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway
Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway is a popular attraction that often boasts waits of up to an hour. Since the ride is fast-loading with a decent capacity, the line tends to move along efficiently. However, it also occasionally goes down, so it’s not uncommon to find yourself at a complete standstill while waiting. If the ride were to go down, guests are usually offered a multi-experience pass to use elsewhere or return later when the ride is operating.
Often, the queue for Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway extends outside the attraction’s entrance. The more guests waiting, the more the queue snakes around the outside of the Chinese Theatre.
When the line extends outside the queue area, you’ll find someone holding an end-of-the-line sign like the one in the picture below. On this day, we got in line, and the estimated wait time was one hour. We only waited approximately 25 minutes. However, it’s not standard to see that much gap between a projected wait time and actual wait time.
Here’s a look at a portion of the outdoor queue, which is in direct sunlight most of the day. These umbrellas help some, but they aren’t perfect.
As you enter the interior portion of the queue, you might notice a few familiar things from the attraction’s predecessor. This area remains untouched, except for a few movie posters advertising Mickey Mouse Shorts.
Eventually, you’ll make your way to the pre-show. Here, you’ll watch a short cartoon where Mickey and Minnie are headed to a picnic. They run into Goofy, and as you can imagine, things quickly get out of hand. After a small explosion, fake smoke fills the air, and the projection screen is damaged.
You’ll then continue through the screen as though you’ve stepped into the cartoon. The next room is a significant change. It’s Goofy’s barn, where he stores his train. Each train has four cars with two rows each. So, each train carries up to 32 passengers.
Here is a preview of the ride vehicle.
Each row comfortably seats about four guests.
If you look around, you can tell you’re in a barn.
After everyone is seated, you’re off on the cartoon world train ride of a lifetime. Now it’s time to take a sneak peek at the actual ride experience.
At first, everything is calm and pleasant. Mickey and Minnie Mouse make an appearance early on in the ride. They are on their way to a perfect picnic until things begin to unhinge. Disney used projection mapping on these audio-animatronics to create their unique looks. This attraction is considered 2D, so 3D glasses are not required.
Before you know it, the train cars detach themselves, and Mickey is determined to rescue you. You are now in a trackless ride vehicle, and the other cars are scattered all around. Hence, the Runaway Railway. Remember how I mentioned that this was Goofy’s train? The attraction then proceeds through various rooms that change scenes.
Notice how the cars have separated in the photo below. You can see the vehicles’ markings left on the concrete floor.
Trackless ride systems have become popular at Walt Disney World’s theme parks. Guests can experience other trackless rides a Disney World, like Rise of the Resistance in Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure at Epcot. As for Mickey and Minnies Runaway Railway, you’ll encounter a variety of rooms. Each room goes from either a heightened dramatic tone to a calm, relaxing mood or vice versa.
There are a few elements where you feel a bit of movement with the screen ahead of you. For example, you’ll experience some feeling when Mickey and Minnie are about to go over the waterfall.
The next room offers a bit of a jolt due to construction work in the area. Your train car will feel the vibration as Pete uses the jackhammer to break the concrete.
You’ll quickly hop off the street and wind up in Daisy’s dance studio! Inside, Daisy Duck chants, “One, two, three,” and calmly instructs her students. Within seconds, you’ll go from simple dance moves to the Conga! It’s another one of those instances where the mood goes from calm to intense in a matter of seconds.
At this point, I felt like the whole Runaway Railway was modeled after my life. Unfortunately, the next scene gets even more chaotic as your train car is about to get obliterated in a giant machine press. It chomps away as you slowly edge toward its doom. Thankfully, Mickey and Minnie save the day, and the surrounding screens reveal you’ve made it to a moonlight picnic at Runnamuck Park.
You probably won’t even be sure of what you witnessed. But as you can see in the photo below, everything works out in the end. Mickey, Minnie, and Pluto are enjoying a picnic as they sing the endearing tune, Nothing Can Stop Us Now.
Goofy soon reappears and gets everyone back on the track. Whatever position your car was in at the beginning will be completely different by this time. You’ll head along back into the barn to exit the ride.
Oh, and by the way, I forgot to mention that Perfect Picnic is the name of the cartoon you visited. The poster for it is just outside the theater’s entrance.
Other Versions of Runaway Railway
- Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway (El Capitoon Theater, Disneyland Park) Disneyland’s version of the attraction is said to have a bonus room that’s not included at Hollywood Studios.
The Resorts Gal Spin on Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway
We give Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway the green light. We wouldn’t miss it and think that it’s a fun attraction that’s perfect for all ages. If you’re a first-time visitor, we think it’s a must-do! This attraction is a Tier 1 category Lightning Lane with Disney’s Multi-Pass system. We think it’s an excellent option, but if you don’t get a Lightning Lane, try riding this attraction first thing in the morning or later in the evening.
Resorts Gal Traffic Signals
Green Light
We give an attraction the green light if we consider it a must-do, regardless of the posted wait. We also give the green light for attractions we deem suitable to experience anytime. For example, some attractions have high capacities. Therefore, the lines continuously move and you shouldn’t have a long wait unless the attraction experiences downtime.
Red Light
We recommend checking the posted wait times for red light attractions. Then, make a quick judgment call on whether to wait, skip it, or return later. We also red light some attractions that we feel might not be suitable based on our experience.
Final Thoughts
For more about this park, try our planning guide for Disney’s Hollywood Studios, or check out these individual reviews:
Resorts Gal specializes in providing Disney World Hotel Reviews. You can also browse the entire list of Walt Disney World Resorts.
In the Comments
Have you experienced Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway at Disney’s Hollywood Studios? Did you enjoy this attraction? Feel free to leave your thoughts or questions below in the comments.
