Happy first birthday to Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway, which opened to the public one year ago today at Walt Disney World's Disney's Hollywood Studios.
The trackless dark ride - Disney's first ride themed to Mickey Mouse - won our Theme Park Insider Award for the Best New Attraction of the Year in 2020, blowing past in the competition by clinching a majority of the votes in the first round. Why is this attraction so popular? As I wrote in our review of Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway:
No attraction in theme park history more enthusiastically embraces the trope of "and then everything goes terribly wrong" than Runaway Railway. The show begins with a Mickey short entitled "Perfect Picnic," in which Mickey and Minnie sing about their upcoming day in the park, when nothing can wrong and nothing can stop them now.So of course you know what's coming next. That they've chosen Goofy to drive the train that will take us along to their "perfect picnic" only seals our fate.
Still, Runaway Railway consistently manages to surprise with how it delivers those things gone horribly wrong.
Enjoy a POV video:
We've also got an interview about the making of Runaway Railway - which is coming to Disneyland in California in a couple of years - with Imagineer Charita Carter.
And enjoy the official "opening moment" for the ride, which also happens to have been the last big Walt Disney World media event before the pandemic closed the theme parks two weeks later.
Here's looking to a much better second year for the ride - one where nothing actually does stop Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway from entertaining Disney World's guests every day of the year.
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I hope it stays open, but I wouldn’t count on it. With states eliminating or reducing restrictions, the progress we’ve made might be erased thanks to leaders who either have never taken the virus seriously enough, or no longer are. I hope I’m wrong though. At least the vaccine will hopefully help make sure the worst is behind us.
Wow! time does indeed fly...can't believe it's been a year already. and what a great, fun and surprising addition this ride is. totally blew away the low expectations i had for it. even worth a long wait in line. not as good as Symbolica at Efteling (imo), which is the only other "trackless" ride system i have been on at this level (does antarctica count?) but what a fun and unique experience it is!
If it opened one year ago, how did it win "Best New Attraction of 2019"?
Because I’m an idiot who wrote this one way too late at night? Fixed now.
It's such a good ride it was retroactively awesome.
@Randy Keith Florida has not had any COVID restrictions at a state level since October. Really hasn't changed how anything operates in the larger cities here (Orlando, Tampa, Daytona, etc.). Plus no FL theme park has had a reported outbreak through nearly a year of this. The Runaway Railway will be fine, along with the rest of Disney lol. Great family friendly ride BTW. I got to ride it a few weeks ago. Lots of cool surprises throughout.
We will see. I don’t think Florida will force Disney to close again, but it still remains possible for things to get worse. So I agree the chances of it closing again are very slim, but still not a guarantee.
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This looks so rad, can't wait for the Disneyland version to open.