Disney’s Hollywood Studios opened the first ever ride-through attraction featuring Mickey Mouse last night. Mickey’s & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, located behind Disney’s recreation of the Chinese Theater was dedicated in the fashion of a grand Hollywood premiere with Mickey & Minnie and their pals along with Walt Disney World Resort President Josh D’Amaro.
“Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway is a crowning achievement in the multiyear transformation of Disney’s Hollywood Studios,” D’Amaro said. “What was once a theme park that took you behind the scenes, now puts you in the center of your favorite stories.”
Watch the super cute and mercifully short dedication ceremony here:
Runaway Railway does put guests right in the middle of a Mickey Mouse cartoon short experience. Using much the same technology behind Disney’s other recent breakthrough attraction, “Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance,” but creating an entirely different experience, Runaway Railway is an example of Walt Disney Imagineering’s ability to use the latest technologies to tell fully immersive stories better than any other organization on the planet.
The attraction is sure to become a family favorite not just because it dials up the cute to 11, and has one of those theme songs that is guaranteed to become an earworm, but also because it is chock full of Hidden Mickeys, Disney tributes, and other hidden gems that will have Disney fans wanted to ride over and over to see them all.
“We’ve taken our whole grab bag of theatrical tricks and blended them together so seamlessly you won’t be able to tell what’s what,” said Kevin Rafferty, Executive Creative Director, Walt Disney Imagineering. “There is more happening in each and every scene than you could possibly have time to see in just one experience.”
A carnival scene with a lot of great hidden gems both visual and audible. Look for the “Great Moving Ride” poster! 
My favorite scene because it reminds me of Roger Rabbit’s Toon Town Spin. Look behind you to see the newspaper headline tribute to Oswald The Lucky Rabbit! 
The finale scene complete with Mickey shaped fireworks! Look for the “Yensid Valley” sign too.
The attraction opens to the public today. It is a part of the Fastpass+ network, so expect the standby queue to be quite long during its initial opening period. That said, there is a fairly high capacity on the ride. As long as cast members are able to efficiently load and unload guests to prevent a cascade effect back in the attraction itself, it will efficiently take in between 2,000 and 2,200 guests an hour. That means nearly everyone in the park who wants to ride it should be able to if they’re willing to wait.
Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway is the capstone on a number of years of rethinking how Disney’s Hollywood Studios is positioned as a theme park. With the recent addition of Toy Story Land, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, and even Lightning McQueen’s Racing School, the park has a new mix of attractions that are well suited to take the park into the future.
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