Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway takes lots of wacky twists and turns — after all, when you’re chuggin’ along in a cartoon train with Engineer Goofy at the helm, you can expect things to get a little kooky!
But what fascinated us the most about the new ride is how much attention went into every detail!
While Disney told us to expect a subplot and secret Easter eggs hidden throughout the ride, we didn’t fully realize what we’d be entering into!
Click here to read everything you need to know before you ride Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway!
You see, there are so many hidden Mickeys, and subtle references sprinkled throughout the new attraction. We think you’d have to have super-human powers to spot them all on your first try!
Before we get too carried away with all the special touches and extra goodies the Imagineers cooked up for Mickey and Minnie’s very first Disney park ride, we’re blowing our little wooden train whistles to let you know there are spoilers ahead — so reverse course if you haven’t gotten a chance to ride this one yet!
Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway A and B Plots
Plot A
Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway’s lead story follows Mickey and Minnie on their way to a picnic, but this can’t be just any ordinary picnic, right? Especially with the name “Perfect Picnic”! After all, Mickey and Minnie live in the zany world of cartoons where nothing ever really seems to go according to plan!
Things start to go awry fairly quickly. As the pair of lovebirds go over a set of bumpy railroad tracks in their sporty red roadster, Pluto and a pie go airborne. This pie lands in the smokestack of Goofy’s train (of course) and hilarious chaos ensues, resulting in the screen in front of you exploding. Through this hole, you enter the cartoon world — and that’s when things start to get really interesting!
Naturally, you’ll narrowly miss disaster after disaster as you stampede through the Wild West, visit a carnival, avoid a swirling twister, escape from an erupting volcano, and plummet over a waterfall. You can read about our first entire ride-though experience here!
Plot B
But what about that special Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway subplot we were told about? Remember how we told you Pluto and the picnic basket got ejected at the beginning? Well if you keep your eyes peeled, you’ll see Pluto trying to catch up to your train, and he’s carrying the picnic basket! After all, he’s Mickey’s best pal and he knows it can’t be the “Perfect Picnic” without the yummy food!
Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway Hidden Easter Eggs
Similar to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge’s Rise of the Resistance, depending on where you’re seated, your ride experience may vary. We also think some of the Easter eggs will be easier to spot than others depending on where you sitting, so try mixing it up each time you board Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway!
The Dapper Dans
In the very first scene, a quadruplet tandem bike drives by on your right side with four passengers! If you pay special attention to what they’re wearing, you’ll notice their outfits look just like the ones the Dapper Dans normally sport! If you haven’t caught this famous Disney World barbershop quartet before, try taking in one of their performances next time your at Magic Kingdom!
Yensid Valley
Watch out for a directional sign in the first and last scenes which each have one arrow pointing to YENSID valley — this is a special reference to the sorcerer’s name in Fantasia from “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice”, which is also Disney spelled backward!
Numbers and Their Hidden Meaning
You’ll see a lot of numerical digits throughout Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway, and many hold some sort of significance. The “1928” that appears overhead as you leave the first scene refers to the year Mickey Mouse was born. You’ll also see “1901” in the sewers — a reference to Walt Disney’s birth year, and the address to the Flower Shop in the busy city street scene is 1401, which is the street number of Walt Disney Imagineering’s headquarters in Glendale, California!
Oswald Wins!
There’s a newspaper near Jackhammer Pete in the city scene with a headline that reads, “Oswald Wins!” This is a nod to Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, a cartoon character created by Walt Disney that predates Mickey Mouse!
Iwerks Waterworks
As you go through the water treatment plant, there is a fountain that says “Iwerks Waterworks” — named for Disney Legend Ub Iwerks, who was the animator credited with sketching Mickey Mouse for the first time!
The Great Moving Ride
In the carnival scene, there’s a poster advertising an attraction called “The Great Moving Ride” — an homage to the building’s former inhabitant, The Great Movie Ride!
Miss Fortune
Also in the carnival scene, you may spot a sign for a fortune teller that reads, “Miss Fortunes”. This is an additional reference to a another Disney World attraction. Once called “Miss Fortune Falls” the Miss Adventure Falls waterslide is still at Typhoon Lagoon, should you be brave enough to try it out!
“Steamboat Willie” Whistle
Disney had already shared with us the new attraction would feature several sound effects created the old-fashioned way, so we kept our ears open for every noise. Some of the new effects were developed using Disney Legend, Jimmy Macdonald’s, original equipment from the 1930s. In fact, the exact same tri-tone whistle originally used in Mickey Mouse’s debut cartoon in 1928, “Steamboat Willie,” was used to record the locomotive whistle sound for Goofy’s Runamuck Railway!
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Have you ridden Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway and spotted any Easter eggs we didn’t mention yet? Let us know what they are and where you spotted them in the comments below!
Megan says
Fun article. Is that the only nod to The Great Movie Ride? My favorite homage to a prior ride is definitely the picture of Mr Toad handing over the deed to Owl.
Kate says
Was able to ride in March 6th it had a less than hour wait and was well worth it.
We asked the folks walking around the Hand and Footprint section why Warren Beatty was the keystone feet and hands and not Mickey and no one knew…. then they asked who was Warren Beatty…….. One went so far as to walk down to the curb to see that Warren’s name was the first one you see….. No one had an answer for why, Warren is the first name and not Mickey or Minnie.
Warren says
The reason Warren Beatty has a sidewalk signature and handprints is because he is a famous actor with about 262 films to his credit at the time of the parks construction and the ride was originally called “the great movie ride” not the great Mickey ride. The sidewalks are randomly placed and there is no reason his is where it’s located.
Jason Anderson says
What does the “RRR” on the backs of the cars mean? I thought “Runaway Rail Road” but it’s called Runaway Railway. 🤔