Written by: Kate Langevin. Kate@TEplanners.com
We were lucky enough to make it to Disney World right before the pandemic and we even had the chance to ride on Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway! My husband, son and I went to Hollywood Studios on Saturday, March 7th, a couple days after the ride opened. We got to the park about 30-45minutes before the parks opened and they were already directing people to the queue for Mickey & Minnie’s RR and of course Star Wars. They could not give us an approximate wait time, nor tell us if the ride was opening early-but it seemed like it did based on the movement of the queue. I didn’t think we would make it waiting in line with our two year, however a nice cast member had suggested one of us could wait in line while the other did some rides with our son. This was a lifesaver and we both got to take him on Toy Story Mania, which he loved! Once we were a little further, we kept hearing from different cast members that the wait time was always longest in the morning, often 2-3 hours, and that it died down to about 60 minutes in the afternoon. Who knows how the wait times will pan out after Disney reopens! They even let the rest of my family (Dad, Mom, Brother and Sister-in-law) join us at the front of the line (we waited close to 3 hours to get on).
Before Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway opened, it was the Great American Movie Ride. I really did love the Great American Movie Ride, it was my Dad and I’s “ride” that we did together, so it held a special place in my heart. It was even more special that my dad was with us for our first experience on Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway. I did not watch any videos beforehand; I wanted to be completely surprised and I am so glad I chose to do that. When you get to the “video part” (the beginning of the ride) it’s almost like being on Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster when Steven Tyler and the gang are on screen. A cartoon starts with Mickey and Minnie “going on a picnic.” It’s the classic version of the Mickey/Minnie Cartoon but the colors are vibrant, almost appearing flat (if that makes any sense). I thought “aw, this is cute,” but then the screen explodes and you get to walk through it…we all were so amazed, and our excitement level jumped through the roof!
The queue at M&MRR reminded me a little of Thunder Mountain and you start off on a train with Goofy as the conductor. We were in the front row and at first we almost switched because you couldn’t see anything, but then the train split into four different parts and everyone had a great view! The music was awesome, the colors were beautiful, and the ride took you back into that classic cartoon era with a modern twist. The ride was decently long, similar in length to the Great American movie ride, so you could really sit back and enjoy. Our favorite part was when we “danced with Daisy”. They have Daisy doing ballet front and center and all the cars sort of “dance to the music”, it was really something. The actual ride was very smooth and comfortable, the cars are big just like the Great American Movie ride, but the engineering is much more advance.
The entire time all my family and I kept saying was, “wow, this is awesome,” “look there and look there”. Three generations of my family were entranced, and my Dad and I agreed it was time for a ride like this and we let go of our sadness of the finality of the Great American Movie Ride. All and all it was an incredible, must-see attraction, for families of all ages. However, I still have not done any of the Star Wars rides, so I have yet to make any comparisons to that and what to ride/use Fast passes on. I would say to go later in the day and wait the 60 minutes if that’s how it ends up being when Disney reopens! I didn’t want to give too many details because I think it’s a ride everyone should go on and experience for themselves. It was a “Magical Moment” for my family this past trip! Let me know if you have any other questions about the ride!
To take advantage of our complimentary expert planning services contact Kate Langevin at kate@teplanners.com today!