Last year, The Great Movie Ride closed forever on August 13, 2017, to make way for Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway a new attraction featuring everyone’s favorite mouse. And while we got a basic overview of this new attraction last summer (which will be the first ride to feature Mickey Mouse and will have a visual style inspired by the current Mickey Shorts airing on the Disney Channel), some additional interesting details about what guests can expect aboard this ride have been revealed over the past few days.
The Great Movie Ride vehicles will still be used… and that’s not all
Image: Disney
Last week new concept art for this attraction was released, and while the image above clearly shows more of the distinct art style that will be used in this new ride, eagle-eyed Disney fans will notice that Goofy’s “train” that is being driven in the background looks a lot like the tram-style vehicles that were used for the Great Movie Ride. This is of course, not an accident, and is confirmation that this new attraction will be using the exact same ride vehicles as the former attraction that occupied this building. And that’s not the only thing from the former journey into the movies that will be repurposed inside this new attraction.
Though we won’t re-publish it here, Theme Park Insider has published a detailed room-by-room breakdown of this new attraction and it seems like the ride layout is basically identical to that of the Great Movie Ride with a few small adjustments. You can read the full description here, but be aware that this article is full of spoilers, so if you don’t want to know what happens on the attraction, steer clear!
Image: Disney
Of course, this wouldn’t be the first time Disney used a previous ride system as the basis of a “new” attraction, as Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout and Frozen Ever After are both essentially re-skins of the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror and Maelstrom, and both have been exceedingly popular and allowed Disney to work quickly to get these new attractions ready.
A new pre-show area is being built
Image: Disney
Though the ride path and vehicles are largely remaining the same, one big change that is being made to the former Great Movie Ride show building is the addition of a brand new pre-show area, which will be split into two different rooms occupying former queue space in the front of the building.
We’d assume that this construction is to facilitate the previously-announced pre-show that will show Mickey and Minnie getting ready for a picnic while introducing the ride vehicle in the background as a “train” being worked on by Goofy, who is trying his hand at being an engineer. After this pre-show concludes, guests will literally be able to step through a screen while boarding their ride vehicles, literally stepping into the cartoon. This sounds like it could be a really interesting effect, and we’re eager to see how Disney might pull something like this off in a practical way, as the similar effect of stepping through the mirror at the Enchanted Tales with Belle attraction is quite impressive, and we’d hope to see something similar here.
Though the addition of these new pre-show areas in former queue space may make things a little tight for guests waiting in line (we’d imagine if this ride becomes popular the extended, outdoor queue will be used quite frequently), it sounds like a necessary addition for the “story” of the ride.
Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway will open in 2019
Image: Disney
While they haven’t provided an exact opening date just yet, Disney confirmed at the recent D23 Fan Expo in Japan that Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway will open sometime in 2019. This lines up with rumors that swirled last year, and seems like a commonsense move, as 2019 will also bring Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge to Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and this park is going to need some additional new attractions to draw guests away from this new area, which is expected to bring massive crowds to the park. And while 2018 will bring two new rides to the park in the forthcoming Toy Story Land, the park will need another “E-Ticket” style attraction to really draw guests, which is probably why the rush is on to get Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway ready in time for Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.
Image: Disney
Are you excited to experience Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway when it opens next year? Do you feel like whis attraction will be a fitting replacement for The Great Movie Ride? Let us know what you think in the comments!
