An underappreciated icon at Disney World
Disney’s Hollywood Studios has the highest ratio of legitimate bangers in Orlando. When Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster – soon to feature the Muppets – is open, there are 10 rides available.
Of those 10, as many as half could qualify as top-tier amusement park rides, depending on how the Rock ’n’ Roller Coaster refurb turns out. And then there’s Rise of the Resistance—a ride so ambitious it might just be the best attraction in all of Orlando.
Slinky Dog Dash is a legitimately great family coaster and ascends to another level at night. Tower of Terror with its Twilight Zone theming is one of the most iconic amusement park rides in the world.
The fifth? Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, of course.
What is Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway?
Located in the Grauman’s Chinese Theater, Runaway Railway replaced the Great Movie Ride when it opened in March of 2020, taking guests inside the cartoon world inhabited by Mickey, Minnie and their friends. It opens with a preshow involving a cartoon movie in which Mickey & Minnie are preparing for a picnic when they meet Goofy driving a train.
Chaos ensues as Goofy bursts through the screen, sending guests into the loading area to board ride vehicles for one of Disney World’s three trackless dark rides, alongside Rise of the Resistance and Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure.
Guests are whisked away through a 2.5D – there’s no 3D glasses but the effects can make it feel like you’re in a 3D – landscape filled with more hidden Mickey’s than you thought humanely possible. Mickey and Minnie join engineer Goofy for a train ride but their rail cars disconnect from Goofy’s locomotive and the Runaway Railway chaos ensues.
Moving from one scene to the next, Goofy tries to get things back together and the ride careens through a variety of adventures that include a tornado – with excellent wind effects – a surprisingly effective waterfall that really makes it feel like you’re dropping, and a visit to a dance studio where Daisy is conducting class.
Keep an eye out for Pluto bringing up the rear and salvaging the day. We face a volcano, go underwater, and through a nighttime cityscape as well as a carnival.
In the end, the picnic is saved as Mickey and Minnie, joined by Pluto, finally have their outing while singing a rousing chorus of “Nothing Can Stop us Now.” The ride itself is about 5 minutes long and is the only ride featuring Mickey in Walt Disney World
Is it a good ride?
It’s better than good. It’s fantastic. I would ride it multiple times in the same trip, if wait times fell the right way.
It’s a fun, exhilarating dark ride, the spiritual successor to classic dark rides like Mr. Toad’s and Snow White’s Scary Adventures. The ride vehicles are comfortable and the trackless experience makes for a much smoother go.
The theming – heavily featuring Mickey, Minnie, Goofy and Pluto – is well done. You feel like you’re in the cartoon world with your favorite characters. Did I mention it’s the only ride in Disney World featuring Mickey and Minnie? Despite not actually being 3D, the effects really feel like it, especially the tornado and the waterfall. It’s a kids ride that is perfectly suitable for adults. And again, it’s just fun.
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Why is Mickey & Minnie’s underrated?
There are a variety of factors at play. First, it’s surrounded by giants. Rise of the Resistance is an unparalleled theme park achievement. Slinky Dog Dash at night is so beautiful you could hang it in the Louvre. Tower of Terror has reached iconic status and maintains a strong connection to the Hollywood theming of Hollywood Studios. And Rock ’n’ Roller Coaster remains a high-octane fan favorite, especially for thrill-seekers, even as it awaits its next chapter.
That puts Runaway Railway—in my book—the fifth best ride in the park. And people tend to take the fourth best of anything for granted. Add to that the fact that other attractions like Toy Story Mania and Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run draw heavy crowds, and there’s simply a lot of competition within its own park.
Also, certain segments of Disney fans tend to ding anything new that replaces something older. The Great Movie ride was an interesting idea that really connects to the original theming of the park. It was a slow moving, guided journey through Hollywood history. It featured scenes from movies like The Wizard of Oz, Singing in the Rain, Aliens, and more.
There were a lot of positives – chiefly it was a ride about movies in a Hollywood themed park – but it was a strange ride as well. The Great Movie Ride was part Jungle Cruise, part Living with the Land, part Carousel of Progress, and more. It had bad acting, bad animatronics, and somehow managed to have a scene featuring the Xenomorph from Aliens popping through a wall that didn’t scare anybody.
It wasn’t a great ride, but guests loved it in part because of its flaws.
Is Runaway Railway better than The Great Movie Ride?
I never want to yuck someone else’s yum. If you think The Great Movie Ride was better, then you’re right. But in more objective terms, Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway is simply more fun and likely more entertaining for a higher percentage of guests. That’s especially true as some of the movies—even absolute classics—have aged out of the prominent cultural place they held for decades.
Also, in a park that takes you to Hollywood, inside Toy Story, and into a Galaxy far away, stepping inside Mickey and Minnie’s world is pretty great. It’s a little crazy that Mickey doesn’t have more of a ride presence in the parks. He’s the big cheese after all.
Do I need a Lightning Lane for RR?
If you’re purchasing the Lightning Lane Multi Pass anyway, it’s not a bad idea to use one for RR when you get the chance. And honestly, the Multi Pass is a good idea in Hollywood Studios anyway. With so many good rides, you really get some value out of the Multi Pass here.
However, partially because of the nature of the ride and it’s place in the Hollywood Studios hierarchy, you don’t NEED to buy Lightning Lane just to make sure you get on this ride.
Wait times are usually reasonable and RR is a good rope drop or second ride after rope drop candidate.
The best plan, in my opinion, is buy the Individual Lightning Lane for Rise of the Resistance. Then you should target Slinky Dog Dash and Tower of Terror for your other Multi Pass choices. Finally, rope drop Runaway Railway.
