Mickey and Minnie are easily the stars of the Disney realm, and now they’re getting their very own (first-ever!) Disney Parks ride-through attraction: Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway.
The innovative, family-friendly ride opened today at Disney’s Hollywood Studios inside the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. Guests will settle in for a winding journey through the movie screen — inside a recreated Chinese Theatre set (photo below) — and look back at the origins of the lovable mice on TV, starting with Disney Television Animation’s Mickey Mouse animated shorts.
Families will experience how anything can happen at the most magical place on Earth and follow along with an original Mickey Mouse story by Walt Disney Imagineering, Picnic Perfect. This new short also features an original song, “Nothing Can Stop Us Now.” During the short premiere, and with a little Disney magic, guests “enter” the movie screen and journey throughout the cartoon world to finish the story.
Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway ride aims to celebrate its rich Disney heritage and showcases state-of-the-art storytelling and detailed attraction design. The ride features a combination of physical sets, audio-animatronic figures, animated media, and projections that sync in time with trackless vehicles and an upbeat musical score. Several scenes even make transformations before fans’ very eyes through the use of theatrical effects never seen before in the park.
This new ride will serve as inspiration for a brand-new line of Disney merchandise based on the ride’s lighthearted spirit. Get ready for whistles, pullback cars, mugs, light-up spinners, MagicBands, pins, apparel, and a new Wishables collection starring the characters and settings from the ride. The ride inspired the latest Disney Parks Designer Collection ears, which Imagineer Kevin Rafferty created based on Mickey and Minnie’s picnic from the short.
Disney’s Play Disney Parks mobile app also adds a new trivia game to celebrate the new ride and then new Mickey Shorts Theater (which also opened today). With “Mickey & Minnie’s Trivia Time – Mouse Rules Apply!,” families can play together and test out their knowledge of Mickey, Minnie, and friends.