Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway Now Open: Here's What You Need to Know About Disney World's Newest Ride

Disney theme parks have long been considered the "house of mouse," but for the first time in history, Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse have finally gotten a starring role in their very own ride. Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway opened on March 4 at Walt Disney World's Disney's Hollywood Studios and opens in Mickey's Toontown at Disneyland Park in Anaheim in 2022.

Here's everything you need to know about the new ride.

Disneyland, the world's first Disney theme park, opened in Anaheim, California, on July 17, 1955, but only now does Mickey Mouse, first introduced to the world in 1928 in Steamboat Willie, get to steal the show in his own ride. Incorporating animatronics, innovative trackless ride technology, impressive digital projections, and old-meets-new animation approaches, this attraction puts a state-of-the-art spin on the classic Disney dark ride.

The Chinese Theatre has been a central focal point at Disney's Hollywood Studios since the park opened on May 1, 1989. Previously home to the Great Movie Ride, Walt Disney Imagineers used the 1927 blueprints from Hollywood's Grauman's Chinese Theatre to recreate the famous theater just as it looked on the day it opened. The theater was even featured in the 1933 animated Mickey Mouse short "Mickey's Gala Premiere."

Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway is based on a popular new series of Disney Channel animated shorts. A special short was created just for the attraction and it forms the premise of the ride. Guests arrive at the Chinese Theater for the premiere of Mickey and Minnie's latest film, "Perfect Picnic."

The fun begins with a viewing of the charming "Perfect Picnic" short, featuring an adorably catchy tune, "Nothing Can Stop Us Now," that's bound to become a classic alongside other iconic Disney attraction theme songs. Goofy invites guests to join him on a train ride through Runnamuck Park. We won't spoil it, but a big surprise at the end of the preshow lets you know there's plenty of hijinks in store.

Once "Perfect Picnic" sets the stage for adventure, guests board a "train" driven by Engineer Goofy. Composed of four trackless vehicles, the train cars are able to disconnect and move seemingly with a mind of their own, much like those on Walt Disney World's other recently debuted attraction, Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance.

This is a family-friendly, all-ages attraction with no height requirement, but the motion is no joke. Parents will want to hold onto small kiddos because the unexpected movements send guests sliding back and forth across their seats (kids will love this!).

Animatronic figures and projection mapping on a blend of two-dimensional and three-dimensional surfaces bring the animation style of the shorts to life in creative ways. The hand-drawn look of the shorts appears very flat, and the ride tries hard to stay true to this while still making the guest feel a part of a three-dimensional world. Three-dimensional streetlights are surrounded by flat, seemingly hand-scribbled auras and flat landscapes are dotted with the occasional 3-D flower.

Digitally projected backgrounds are forever in motion as the runaway train cars are propelled from room to room and scene to scene. Riders will find themselves everywhere from the big city to the Old West. Projections, motion and wind simulate plunging down a waterfall and being blown and spun by a twister.

A Mickey Mouse ride 64 years coming had to incorporate plenty of nods to Disney's past, and this one does. Disneyphiles will want to ride again and again to spot all the Easter Eggs (Disney speak for hidden references), from dates like 1928 over a train tunnel-a nod to Steamboat Willie's debut- to punny signs like one during a carnival scene referencing "The Great Moving Ride," an homage to the ride's predecessor, The Great Movie Ride.

The ride even includes an audio Easter Egg-a notable nod to Mickey's very first animated short. The whistle that provides the sound for the train in Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway was first used to create the sound of the steamboat whistle in Steamboat Willie.

Each of the ride's four trackless vehicles provides guests with a different perspective, enhancing this attraction's re-rideability. Different cars will catch different portions of the scenes playing out on screen, so you'll want to try every car to catch everything.

Unlike the second-newest attraction at Disney's Hollywood Studios, Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, which utilizes a virtual queue to manage the ride's massive demand, guests can book a trip on Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway by securing a FastPass 30 days in advance (60 days in advance for guests staying at an official Walt Disney World), or by utilizing the standby queue. It's only day one, but so far, the attraction appears to be moving crowds well. An added bonus if you're unable to snag a FastPass: The queue is indoor and air-conditioned.

No one is new to Mickey and the gang, but this could be guests' first introduction to the animation style and personalities of stars of the new animated shorts. Guests who haven't seen them before should consider visiting the new Mickey Shorts Theatre first. Also opened March 4 at Hollywood Studios, the theater features a new animated short, "Vacation Fun," which packages a mix of original material and memorable clips from the new series and offers a great way for newcomers to get acquainted with this unconventional style.