Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway confirmed

[KBLovedDisney]

They could have used the Main Street Cinema front as the entrance and the actual ride could have gone back where the theater area that never came to be was supposed to go. I'm sure the queue needs would have easily covered the distance needed to get people back there.

This would have of course, required some thought with the bypass but I'm pretty sure they could have come up with a satisfactory way to make a walk-over-under for the the un-themed piece of asphalt back there to make this happen.

I wish they had done that and left GMR alone except for some TLC.

 

[MrPromey]

I wish they had done that and left GMR alone except for some TLC.

I'm sure that spot is making more money for them as a store, though.

When was the last time we saw them replace retail with attraction space?

 

[BubbaisSleep]

I loved the GMR. That being said, I like to let ppl come up with their own opinions before i inject mines. Every trip someone in my party fell asleep along with another stranger or two in the car. I remember because being a lover of theme parks & Disney, I would feel bad for these fools haha. Saying opinions like “well my family loved it” are great but sure most of you already put that opinion in some your party's head before riding.

Should they have gotten rid of it though? No! An amazing update would have been fine. I’ve never been more sure Disney can make us ride the movie after ROTR, RSR, & Guardians. Disney could have totally given the ride a new life & the attention of the younger generation. This would have been an opportunity to shove in as many IP’s which might have sold more than the random Mickey cartoon. Which I’m shocked Disney didn’t do being Disney today. Mickey’s ride could have gone in Animation Courtyard & even the animation theme if they wanted to keep it.

 

[retr0gate]

There’s little doubt that Mickey fits the Chinese Theatre. People seem to forget Mickey was considered a Movie Star in his heyday. Heck, the first appearance of the Chinese Theatre in Disney media was a meta Mickey Mouse Cartoon.

Could they have gone farther with the concept? Sure. Is GMR better than what we got? Idk maybe? But I’ve seen the debate about theming and I think now is a good time to express the fact that it fits just fine.

I’d go as far to say that thematically speaking, this ride fits even better. The premise involves you going to a premiere in the Chinese theatre as opposed to walking in the Chinese theatre and all of a sudden being on a soundstage.

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

Got to ride MMRR today - it's cute, but now I'm actually more conflicted over the loss of GMR.

For all intents and purposes, the "Studios Redevelopment" is virtually complete, with MMRR serving as the marquee attraction. Thanks to its location, MMRR arguably represents the soul of DHS. GMR certainly did.

That said, I've been thinking a lot lately about GMR's final montage (pre-TCM), which was an emotionally resonant reminder of how films touch us. It packed comedy, tragedy, drama, horror, and grit into 3.5 minutes like nothing else in the parks, challenged its viewers (who expected to see Freddy Krueger?), and gave MGM/DHS a reason for being. I don't miss everything about the GMR, but that montage was something special.

Perhaps TCM screwed it up anyway, but regardless, that's all been replaced by a colorful but one-note dose of Mickey because yay, we know him! It's not bad (actually the animatronics are, in a hilarious way), and the park needed something like this, but it feels too simple to anchor the entire park. Would've been perfect for an updated Animation Courtyard.

This replacement also weakens the non-Disney sections of the park. Hollywood Boulevard, the Brown Derby, etc. are all less compelling when they're no longer anchored in the mythology and magic of Hollywood. Same with the park's updated entrance music, or the Mickey Shorts Theater. It's thematically appropriate and I like it on the surface, but a few hours at DHS have become so one-note.

Maybe there's another place to discuss this (perhaps we could create a thread on overall DHS redevelopment thoughts), but with MMRR effectively tying it all together, figured I'd share here. It's cute. No denying that. But I'd rather watch the GMR montage on YouTube 10 more times than wait another 80 minutes for MMRR.

 

[999th Happy Haunt]

This replacement also weakens the non-Disney sections of the park. Hollywood Boulevard, the Brown Derby, etc. are all less compelling when they're no longer anchored in the mythology and magic of Hollywood. Same with the park's updated entrance music, or the Mickey Shorts Theater. It's thematically appropriate and I like it on the surface, but a few hours at DHS have become so one-note.

Since GMR closed DHS has felt a little different, and I couldn’t really put my finger on it until reading this. At least Tower still delivers with some Hollywood mythology, but if it were to go down, there’d be no point keeping any of the classic Hollywood theming.

 

[Magenta Panther]

So when was the last time the Imagineers created a Mickey Mouse AA? The Mickey Mouse Review, back in the frickin' 1970's or something? And now they finally get the chance to make another one...and it looks like it was designed by Zombie Pablo Picasso (no, that's not a compliment).

I was initially enthusiastic for this ride, and the initial videos looked good...but I just can't get past the awful balloon-headed AAs. They look cheap and sloppy. It's so disappointing. A fully-articulated Mickey Mouse AA, done in the 1930's style, could have been amazing. (Ditto with Minnie and Pluto and Pete). And it would have been much more timeless than the Mouse from the new toons...although, really, the Mickey in those actually looks okay when he's on-model. He doesn't look all that flat and cardboard-y. The Imagineers just didn't adapt that style to the AAs very well. What a drag. It's a flaw that hurts the whole ride experience if you're a Mouse fan. Maybe it all looks okay in person, but I doubt it...

 

[Rich Brownn]

Got to ride MMRR today - it's cute, but now I'm actually more conflicted over the loss of GMR.

For all intents and purposes, the "Studios Redevelopment" is virtually complete, with MMRR serving as the marquee attraction. Thanks to its location, MMRR arguably represents the soul of DHS. GMR certainly did.

That said, I've been thinking a lot lately about GMR's final montage (pre-TCM), which was an emotionally resonant reminder of how films touch us. It packed comedy, tragedy, drama, horror, and grit into 3.5 minutes like nothing else in the parks, challenged its viewers (who expected to see Freddy Krueger?), and gave MGM/DHS a reason for being. I don't miss everything about the GMR, but that montage was something special.

Perhaps TCM screwed it up anyway, but regardless, that's all been replaced by a colorful but one-note dose of Mickey because yay, we know him! It's not bad (actually the animatronics are, in a hilarious way), and the park needed something like this, but it feels too simple to anchor the entire park. Would've been perfect for an updated Animation Courtyard.

This replacement also weakens the non-Disney sections of the park. Hollywood Boulevard, the Brown Derby, etc. are all less compelling when they're no longer anchored in the mythology and magic of Hollywood. Same with the park's updated entrance music, or the Mickey Shorts Theater. It's thematically appropriate and I like it on the surface, but a few hours at DHS have become so one-note.

Maybe there's another place to discuss this (perhaps we could create a thread on overall DHS redevelopment thoughts), but with MMRR effectively tying it all together, figured I'd share here. It's cute. No denying that. But I'd rather watch the GMR montage on YouTube 10 more times than wait another 80 minutes for MMRR.

I remember loving the montage but thinking (back in the day), man Disney doesn't have a lot of films to represent it (the running gag was the studios actual name was Disney-EBU Studios. Everybody But Universal). Of course, no one expected them to literally buy half the studios in there at the time... lol

 

[Steph15251]

I never cared much for the great movie ride montage since it barely got updated.

 

[HauntedPirate]

For me, the exterior sign really works visually.

Haven’t been on the ride yet, I think Monday after rope drop for a RotR BG is the plan right now.

 

[disneygeek90]

It was a bit jarring walking back into the Chinese theater. Lots of GMR feels, especially the first time walking through.

When I got home last night I watched a GMR POV online. Hits the spot when I’m missing it, but it was nice to get back in the theater after nearly 3 years.

 

[UNCgolf]

This replacement also weakens the non-Disney sections of the park. Hollywood Boulevard, the Brown Derby, etc. are all less compelling when they're no longer anchored in the mythology and magic of Hollywood. Same with the park's updated entrance music, or the Mickey Shorts Theater. It's thematically appropriate and I like it on the surface, but a few hours at DHS have become so one-note.

I was arguing something along these lines in another thread. The entire front of the park is themed like golden age Hollywood/Los Angeles, and changing part of it -- in that case changing the Sunset Ranch Market (LA original farmer's market) into something Pixar related -- would make the entire theme incoherent.

I hadn't considered the impact of MMRR replacing GMR, and I do think you're right to an extent. The fact that the Chinese Theatre facade is untouched (other than the neon sign) makes me think the theming still works for now, but if they make any further changes, they may be at a point where they should just redo the whole park and give up on the LA/Hollywood theme.

I would hate that, because that's one of my favorite things about DHS (may be my favorite period), but there'd be no reason to continue to use a broken theme. Of course, I doubt they would regardless, because it would require spending a lot of money.

 

[WDWBigEd]

Alright got in line at 4:51pm. Posted wait time is 105 minutes. Queue is outside. I’ll update more as I go.


5:44 we were standing just outside the entrance of the building. Standby time posted as 120 minutes now.

6:11 we are inside and stopped outside the preshow theater

6:40 we are in the gift shop.

I felt to me like they were running the maximum amount of cars that they could tonight and they just didn’t have the timing down. in the small queue right before boarding it gave the breakdown spiel but it started right back up. this also happened to us in almost the last scene as well. I believe it was just because as I said they were running all the cars.

The ride was really cute I did enjoy it and look forward to doing it again! It made me happy that they kept the original look of the queue from GMR, but there was a lot of empty space in there and I wish they would’ve either kept some costumes or added some Mickey and Minnie costumes. The new parts that they had to build on looked excellent as well.

 

[donsullivan]

Back in FP line for my second attempt today. Attraction dumped just before I boarded the vehicle earlier this afternoon. They gave everyone a floater FP good for all but Rise for today only. A friend said the posted 105 minutes was actually 45 minutes as of getting line at 4:15. Also, they are using both preshow theaters now- only one was in use earlier.

 

[JD2000]

I am visiting WDW soon and may go to DHS.

But I am concerned about FastPass+ selections; how fast are they gone come the 60 day window?

 

[POTC]

I went to the park today to ride for the first time. Arrived at the park around 6am and got on the ride at 7:50. I definitely didn’t need to get there that early, but I didn’t want to take any chances

I went back to the ride around 11:30 and the posted wait was 105 minutes. The outdoor queue was only about 2/3 full, so I hopped on and the wait was only about 45 minutes. If I had to make a guess, I would say that you’re looking at an hour wait if the outdoor queue is full, but not overflowing into the walkway. The line moves a lot faster than you would think

 

[ChewbaccaYourMum]

I went to the park today to ride for the first time. Arrived at the park around 6am and got on the ride at 7:50. I definitely didn’t need to get there that early, but I didn’t want to take any chances

I went back to the ride around 11:30 and the posted wait was 105 minutes. The outdoor queue was only about 2/3 full, so I hopped on and the wait was only about 45 minutes. If I had to make a guess, I would say that you’re looking at an hour wait if the outdoor queue is full, but not overflowing into the walkway. The line moves a lot faster than you would think

How did you like it??

 

[PandoraPreview]

It's amazing how much you agree with this poster...

Not sure if you are being willfully ignorant or not reading my posts.

 

[nickys]

They basically showed all of Rise. Really annoying if you want to stay unspoiled.

It’s possible to avoid them. Just don’t watch.

I haven’t watched any POV videos of rides I want to experience first: Smuggler’s Run, Rise, MMRR or FoP. I just don’t press play.

 

[POTC]

How did you like it??

I thought it was a really fun ride! It’s no RotR, but I went in knowing that. IMO, it’s one of the best family dark ride in the American parks. My only complaint (without giving anything away) is that I wish we spent more time in each showroom. The cars move way too fast and on both ride-throughs I found myself missing important story beats.

DHS still isn’t my favorite park, but it’s definitely the best place to be when it comes to E-ticket attractions.