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Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway - Disneyland
- Thread starter GiveMeTheMusic
- Start date
mickEblu
Well-Known Member
Finally rode MMRR today. Like I said earlier, I wanted to love it but somehow it fell short of my expectations that were already kind of low due to years of Not-so-Great reviews. I really want to stress this. I had this reservation for today booked 90 days ago. Ive been following news on this attraction closely since it was announced in 2017. I wanted it to be great. The concept really could have made for an amazing ride experience if executed properly.
I really wanted to believe that there was just something not coming across on the ride through videos that needed to be experienced in person. This wasn't the case. The lackluster ride experience doesn't meet the expectations that the elaborate and fantastic queue and pre show set. @Rich T said it best when he called it a D ticket in E ticket clothing. I guess I'm not a huge fan of these trackless rides that seemingly have to take place in these huge barren warehouses. I just crave more intimacy in a dark ride. The rooms are too big. There's too much distance between you and the set pieces/ screens in most scenes. I wanted to feel immersed in 360 degrees of cartoon and yet it feels like most of the time you're just staring at one or two walls of screens/ projections with not much else. The ceilings didn't bother me as much as I thought they would, especially towards the end as they are so high you really have to crank your neck back to look up there. I also went on Snow White and Peter Pan today and the intimacy of those old school dark rides cant be beat. You wait 10-20 minutes for most of them and get a lot of bang for your buck. Not the case with MMRR unless it ends up in the 30-40 minute wait range after the hype dies down.
Now that I got that out of the way... I didn't hate the ride by any means. It's cute and a super solid addition to Toontown. It’s a happy and lighthearted ride. I think it will be much better received and appreciated once it becomes just another ride in a sea of rides at DLR. This ride will get better with subsequent visits. I'm just slightly disappointed that it didn't meet my low expectations. I kind of kept waiting for one WOW moment or surprise to change my perception of the ride in real time. Not surprisingly, the more intimate scenes were my favorite. The movement and wind in the tornado scene is fun and is a good way to utilize the ride system. I really enjoyed the waterfall scene as it along with the tornado is one of the only times you feel like you are really there and it's all happening to you. All the tunnels work including the sewer. My favorite big scene is the Big City as it's staged really well and has a nice blend of physical set pieces with the screens. Good movement with some of the props/AA's. You're also much closer to all of the action. I wish some of the other big scenes felt more like this room. I wanted more movement in Daisy's dance studio and the climax at the factory fell really short. ROTR uses the trackless ride system much better.
Both Mario Kart and MMRR fell short in their own way. Mario Kart because they decided to prioritize weak gameplay over racing and MMRR for reasons I mentioned above. The queues for both attractions are top notch. Super Nintendo Land is a lot of fun and my son had much more fun there. No contest. To be fair we re comparing a whole new land, ride and mini games to one ride. When it comes to Mickey v Mario, Mano a Mano, Mario gets the W. It’s more of a traditional dark ride with more intimate scenes. The gameplay makes it more repeatable and there is at least one solid WOW moment with the Rainbow Road scene.
Now just to bring this back to DHS v DL… wow DHS really got shafted. MMRR is not a centerpiece or signature attraction. It should have been put somewhere else and GMR should have been updated. At DL, it’s a cute ride in Toontown tucked away at the back of the park. And we lost nothing for it. Ours also has a FANTASTIC queue. If you love Mickey and Mid century modern aesthetics you’ll love it. Its in the Top 3 queues at DLR. Maybe 4 depending on where you consider Mansions queue to end.
Oh ya, that song really gets stuck in your head.
I really wanted to believe that there was just something not coming across on the ride through videos that needed to be experienced in person. This wasn't the case. The lackluster ride experience doesn't meet the expectations that the elaborate and fantastic queue and pre show set. @Rich T said it best when he called it a D ticket in E ticket clothing. I guess I'm not a huge fan of these trackless rides that seemingly have to take place in these huge barren warehouses. I just crave more intimacy in a dark ride. The rooms are too big. There's too much distance between you and the set pieces/ screens in most scenes. I wanted to feel immersed in 360 degrees of cartoon and yet it feels like most of the time you're just staring at one or two walls of screens/ projections with not much else. The ceilings didn't bother me as much as I thought they would, especially towards the end as they are so high you really have to crank your neck back to look up there. I also went on Snow White and Peter Pan today and the intimacy of those old school dark rides cant be beat. You wait 10-20 minutes for most of them and get a lot of bang for your buck. Not the case with MMRR unless it ends up in the 30-40 minute wait range after the hype dies down.
Now that I got that out of the way... I didn't hate the ride by any means. It's cute and a super solid addition to Toontown. It’s a happy and lighthearted ride. I think it will be much better received and appreciated once it becomes just another ride in a sea of rides at DLR. This ride will get better with subsequent visits. I'm just slightly disappointed that it didn't meet my low expectations. I kind of kept waiting for one WOW moment or surprise to change my perception of the ride in real time. Not surprisingly, the more intimate scenes were my favorite. The movement and wind in the tornado scene is fun and is a good way to utilize the ride system. I really enjoyed the waterfall scene as it along with the tornado is one of the only times you feel like you are really there and it's all happening to you. All the tunnels work including the sewer. My favorite big scene is the Big City as it's staged really well and has a nice blend of physical set pieces with the screens. Good movement with some of the props/AA's. You're also much closer to all of the action. I wish some of the other big scenes felt more like this room. I wanted more movement in Daisy's dance studio and the climax at the factory fell really short. ROTR uses the trackless ride system much better.
Both Mario Kart and MMRR fell short in their own way. Mario Kart because they decided to prioritize weak gameplay over racing and MMRR for reasons I mentioned above. The queues for both attractions are top notch. Super Nintendo Land is a lot of fun and my son had much more fun there. No contest. To be fair we re comparing a whole new land, ride and mini games to one ride. When it comes to Mickey v Mario, Mano a Mano, Mario gets the W. It’s more of a traditional dark ride with more intimate scenes. The gameplay makes it more repeatable and there is at least one solid WOW moment with the Rainbow Road scene.
Now just to bring this back to DHS v DL… wow DHS really got shafted. MMRR is not a centerpiece or signature attraction. It should have been put somewhere else and GMR should have been updated. At DL, it’s a cute ride in Toontown tucked away at the back of the park. And we lost nothing for it. Ours also has a FANTASTIC queue. If you love Mickey and Mid century modern aesthetics you’ll love it. Its in the Top 3 queues at DLR. Maybe 4 depending on where you consider Mansions queue to end.
Oh ya, that song really gets stuck in your head.
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TP2000
Well-Known Member
There's something so devious and yet fabulous about this that I just love it. God bless the human mind!
Rich T
Well-Known Member
Great, great review, and I’m not just saying that because I agree with everything you said. I was actually hoping you’d enjoy the ride more than I did and that you wouldn’t be disappointed.
The city scene is my favorite part, too; I wish it lasted longer. In fact, I’d gladly see the Daisy scene replaced by more of the city, but I get the feeling the Daisy scene serves as a flexible buffer to hold the trains until the factory room is clear.
The combination of the projections and huge rooms just kills any sense of involvement for me, and the factory climax is the best example. We’re looking at a flat projection of cartoon machinery up ahead, and we’re supposed to feel some kind—any kind—of peril about that?
Y’know, if the best elements of MMRR and Mariokart were combined, we’d have one great ride instead of two cute-but-underwhelming rides.
yensidtlaw1969
Well-Known Member
Runaway Railway as executed feels like a proof of concept for a much better ride where most of the things actually happen.
Having the smasher in the factory be totally projected absolutely kills any meaningful suspense there. Had that been done with any sort of practical effect - especially the transformation immediately after - there'd be a buildup and a payoff that are actually worthwhile. The moment calls for an illusion but instead is only illustrated. It represents what we're supposed to be worried about, but doesn't actually make you worried about it. And then the "threat" is gone before the final car of the train even gets to process what it was supposed to be. The staging is ineffective. Too many moments feel like they're using a projected B-Show in place of an actual effect that they just haven't gotten working yet - but obviously the projections are the A-Show.
There's also a huge disconnect between some of the physical elements and the projected ones in the ride - this shows up in everything from the Tornado to the characters themselves. Goofy and Donald only ever show up in (admittedly impressive) 2D Transparent-screen form, but Mickey and Minnie jump back and forth from 2D to 3D, and the difference between those styles is significant.
I'm someone who loves Animatronics and generally feels the more of them there are the better, but I almost wish they'd stuck with the Transparent screen effect for creating the characters here. It would create a fully consistent visual language for the ride, that method can fully capture the specific style of the Rudish cartoons (unlike the "Haunted Mylar Balloon" Mickey and Minnie animatronics), it would further differentiate the style of the Runaway Railway cartoon world from the Toontown we just left, and the tech does have the ability to create some impressive "2.5-D" layering effects if they'd actually give you a chance to focus on them and notice it.
There's also a huge disconnect between some of the physical elements and the projected ones in the ride - this shows up in everything from the Tornado to the characters themselves. Goofy and Donald only ever show up in (admittedly impressive) 2D Transparent-screen form, but Mickey and Minnie jump back and forth from 2D to 3D, and the difference between those styles is significant.
I'm someone who loves Animatronics and generally feels the more of them there are the better, but I almost wish they'd stuck with the Transparent screen effect for creating the characters here. It would create a fully consistent visual language for the ride, that method can fully capture the specific style of the Rudish cartoons (unlike the "Haunted Mylar Balloon" Mickey and Minnie animatronics
), it would further differentiate the style of the Runaway Railway cartoon world from the Toontown we just left, and the tech does have the ability to create some impressive "2.5-D" layering effects if they'd actually give you a chance to focus on them and notice it.I can't help but think of that "Blackbox" Dark Ride that was being bandied about for the Studios, where virtually everything would be projected and it could be changed from one thing to another overnight . . . Runaway Railway too often feels like that instead of the permanent construction it's intended to be.
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Rich T
Well-Known Member
Totally agree, and your spoiler-tagged paragraphs perfectly lay out the major problems with this attraction.Runaway Railway as executed feels like a proof of concept for a much better ride where most of the things actually happen.
Having the smasher in the factory be totally projected absolutely kills any meaningful suspense there. Had that been done with any sort of practical effect - especially the transformation immediately after - there'd be a buildup and a payoff that are actually worthwhile. The moment calls for an illusion but instead is only illustrated. It represents what we're supposed to be worried about, but doesn't actually make you worried about it. And then the "threat" is gone before the final car of the train even gets to process what it was supposed to be. The staging is ineffective. Too many moments feel like they're using a projected B-Show in place of an actual effect that they just haven't gotten working yet - but obviously the projections are the A-Show.
There's also a huge disconnect between some of the physical elements and the projected ones in the ride - this shows up in everything from the Tornado to the characters themselves. Goofy and Donald only ever show up in (admittedly impressive) 2D Transparent-screen form, but Mickey and Minnie jump back and forth from 2D to 3D, and the difference between those styles is significant.
I'm someone who loves Animatronics and generally feels the more of them there are the better, but I almost wish they'd stuck with the Transparent screen effect for creating the characters here. It would create a fully consistent visual language for the ride, that method can fully capture the specific style of the Rudish cartoons (unlike the "Haunted Mylar Balloon" Mickey and Minnie animatronics
I can't help but think of that "Blackbox" Dark Ride that was being bandied about for the Studios, where virtually everything would be projected and it could be changed from one thing to another overnight . . . Runaway Railway too often feels like that instead of the permanent construction it's intended to be.
CastAStone
5th gate? Just build a new resort Bob.
Something I posted in the DHS thread on the ride that I’ll repeat here is that if you consider that this was intended to be a D ticket from the start, you’ll love it 100X more. It’s one of the best D tickets they’ve made IMO but it’s absolutely not an E ticket.
Like with Webslingers, I’m really not sure why the expectation is that this will be an E-ticket ride.
Brer Oswald
Well-Known Member
Mickey Mouse and Spider-Man are two of the biggest IPs ever. That’s probably why
RobWDW1971
Well-Known Member
Oh, I don’t know, maybe because at DHS it replaced the focal centerpiece E ticket attraction that defined the theme of the entire park?
yensidtlaw1969
Well-Known Member
It's a shame, too, because with a little work both of those Runaway Railway and Web Slingers could be grand-slam family-friendly E-Tickets for the ages.
Unfortunately, they both bunt on the execution.
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mickEblu
Well-Known Member
Yeah it is a shame. Overall I’d rank the new ride at DLR…
1. ROTR
Wide Gap
2. MMRR
3. Smugglers Run
4. WEBSLINGERS
With that said, Smugglers Run (pilots) may be the better overall experience over MMRR but since the other 4 positions are garbage I have it in 3rd.
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NobodyElse
Well-Known Member
Go ahead and start with an "E". You can always downgrade it later, just like Disney used to when there really were A-E tickets.
CastAStone
5th gate? Just build a new resort Bob.
Since TGMR opened as the focal centerpiece of the park, it had been replaced as the must do attraction by, variously, Star Tours, Tower of Terror, Rock’n’Roller coaster and Toy Story Mania, and it would fallen even further down the list once Slinky Dog, MFSR, and Rise opened. Every ride at DHS opened as THE must do at the park other than MMRR and Alien Saucers. So I’m not sure TGMR still warranted that vaunted status with the current line up. If it was still pulling 60 minute waits on low crowd days, it wouldn’t have closed.
Anyway at Disneyland, here, it’s intended to be a people eater that settles into the second quartile of popularity, and I think it does that fantastically.
mickEblu
Well-Known Member
That’s fair but even if GMR had to go I think they could have done better considering its prominent location, the lack of attractions at the park and what it was replacing.
At DL, MMRR will take some pressure off Fantasyland which is a great thing.
mickEblu
Well-Known Member
I think it has the scope/scale of an E ticket which is what might throw some people off. With that said, personally I had my expectations in check.
RobWDW1971
Well-Known Member
GMR was the center icon that defined the theme of the park and therefore had the expectation that what replaced it would warrant that location.
Its wait time at the end or introduction of other entertaining E tickets since the park opened is irrelevant.
That is why the expectations were so high and the reaction was so disappointed.
Disneyland will not suffer that comparison as it’s a random addition at the back of the park (which is what it deserves).
BuzzedPotatoHead89
Well-Known Member
GMR needed an update to be sure but given it’s placement in the park and theme it was clearly designed as the thesis statement of the park.
Replacing GMR with with MMRR is akin to replacing Spaceship Earth with Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters. It upsets the thematic balance and vocal point of the park. And it speaks to TDO misunderstanding their audience.
What should add more insult to injury is there is still plenty of space to add MMRR elsewhere in DHS… a park with a meager number of attractions as it is.