PW-MAR20-28-29-Ride-Profile.qxp_Feature 30/03/2020 16:20 Page 28
Ride Profile
Nothing can stop them now!
Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway invites guests into a cartoon adventure. North American editor, Paul Ruben has the story
Disney’s Hollywood Studios theme park, part of Walt Disney World at Lake Buena Vista, Florida. The new ride, Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, is a delightful addition, replacing the original Great Movie Ride in the Chinese Theatre in the centre of the park. Following a path similar to the original Great Movie Ride, guests experience the world inside a Mickey Mouse cartoon short without the use of special glasses. They are transported in trackless ride vehicles that take them through 11 different scenes while on board a train driven by Goofy. What could possibly go wrong? Well, everything!
M
New for Mickey Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse hosted a spectacular gala premiere in honour of their new attraction that opened to the public March 4. Flanked by their Disney pals, including Walt Disney World Resort President Josh D’Amaro, Mickey and Minnie welcomed guests to a musical celebration punctuated by fireworks, dancing and, most of all, fun.
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. What was once a theme park that took you behind the scenes, now puts you in the center of your favorite stories.”
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ickey Mouse, the long-time mascot of The Walt Disney Company, was finally honoured with his own ride at the
Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway is the first
ride-through attraction in a Disney park dedicated to Mickey and Minnie. In this bold and innovative new family adventure, guests burst through a movie screen and into the whimsical world of Mickey Mouse cartoon shorts, where “mouse rules apply” and anything can, and does, happen. With an original Mickey Mouse story by Walt Disney Imagineering featuring the new song “Nothing Can Stop Us Now,” Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway is a celebration of Disney heritage and a showcase for state-of-the-art storytelling and at traction design. Over the past several years, Disney’s Hollywood
Studios has evolved into a park that envelops guests in immersive experiences. Guests can now explore a new planet in the Star Wars galaxy, play like a toy with Woody and Buzz Lightyear, learn how to be a champion racer from Lightning McQueen, and much more. It’s a world premiere nearly a century in the
making! When Mickey Mouse burst upon the silver screen in 1928 as the star of “Steamboat Willie,” he changed the world of entertainment forever. Through all of his many adventures, though, there’s one thing Mickey had never done, star in his own ride-through attraction in a Disney theme park. Not anymore.
Anything can happen: The story Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway invites
families to begin their adventure together at the heart of Disney’s Hollywood Studios. They’re ushered inside the theater for the premiere of a new “Mickey Mouse” cartoon short, “Perfect Picnic,” written by
Kevin Rafferty, executive creative director, Walt Disney Imagineering: “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. There is more happening in each and every scene than you could possibly have time to see in just one experience.” “We look at Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway as a musical. The melody of the attraction’s theme song, ‘Nothing Can Stop Us Now,’ takes on all the flavors of the different scenes as you progress through the experience.”
Walt Disney Imagineering and produced by Disney Television Animation. In the story,
Mickey and Minnie set off on a journey to find the best spot for a romantic picnic, taking their little red convertible for a drive through Runnamuck Park. Little do they know Pluto has accidentally stowed
away in the trunk of their car, so when the roadster hits a bump and the dutiful dog flies out and mayhem ensues. It’s at this point Disney magic brings guests through the movie screen and into the cartoon world, where they join Engineer Goofy on a train ride on the Runnamuck Railroad, following Mickey and Minnie through the park on their quest for that perfect picnic. And with Goofy at the helm, what could possibly go wrong? A lot, actually. As they head off to a picnic, they travel through a tunnel where they are disconnected from the locomotive and find themselves in the middle of a stampede through the Wild West. They then visit a carnival, avoid a swirling twister, escape an exploding volcano, dive over a waterfall, rattle through New York City streets, enter a dance studio, rumble through an alleyway, hit the boiler room, escape back to the park, and eventually exit. It’s up to Mickey and Minnie to keep guests out of trouble, all while poor Pluto tries to catch up and bring them their picnic basket. When asked how long the ride was, a Disney
representative said it was about the length of a cartoon. Well, that’s between about three and
MARCH 2020
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