January 27th is a big day for Disney fans!

The Walt Disney Company is kicking off celebrations for its 100th anniversary on that day, and most of the party will take place at Disneyland Resort. As part of the event, Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway is opening at Mickey’s Toontown in Disneyland! Come along with us now to get a SNEAK PEEK at the new ride and check out all the hidden Easter Eggs inside!

Mickey’s Toontown is going through a major remodel right now, and the full land will open on March 19, 2023 (a delay from its originally anticipated March 8th opening). However, the land’s major headliner attraction is opening early, on January 27th, as part of Disney’s 100th celebrations.

We got a chance to get a preview of the ride, which is very similar to the one found at Disney’s Hollywood Studios over in Florida. However, there are a few key differences that you’ll want to see!

Come with us to Disneyland where we got our FIRST look at the queue for Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway! pic.twitter.com/o0A9AKpDBH

— Disney Food Blog (@DisneyFoodBlog) January 25, 2023

 

 

 

 

 

First of all, this ride is located inside the El CapiTOON Theater, and the storyline is that you’re invited to view an exclusive showing of Mickey’s new short-film, “Perfect Picnic.”

Moment of truth, do you think this one beats the queue in Hollywood Studios? #Disney100 pic.twitter.com/Wkx4VDRPnj

— Disney Food Blog (@DisneyFoodBlog) January 25, 2023

 

 

 

 

Before you head inside to watch the film, you’ll walk through an exhibit of famous Toontown movie props and memorabilia called “Mickey Through the Ears.”

This exhibit is the Disney Imagineer’s way of taking guests through Mickey’s evolution from “Steamboat Willie” to the highly stylized Mickey cartoon shorts.

The queue is full of fun details and movie “props,” including movie posters of “High School Goofical 3,” “The Absent-Minded Profesor Von Drake,”…

…”Toonsies,” “Mickey, I Shrunk the Nieces”…

…and “Goofy Friday.” These posters feature some rarely-seen Disney characters, like Mortimer Mouse, Donald’s co-stars from DuckTales, and Minnie’s nieces.

Check out the History of Toontown’s Hometown Theater display to see some Toontown”memorabilia” like a vintage popcorn box, the ribbon and scissors used during the theater’s opening day (those scissors were borrowed from Willie the Giant, according to the plaque!), the first ticket sold at the theater, and some of the first concessions sold (don’t eat the Hot Dog).

You can even see the right arm of Fred R. Femur, who was apparently “Skeleton #3” in “The Skeleton Dance”!

Let’s head further into the queue to discover more surprises.

First, you’ll spot this ship wheel, which is an actual prop from “Steamboat Willie,” according to the sign next to it! It’s “100% authentic, the wheel deal.”

Other “props” on display include Yen Sid’s spellbook from Fantasia…

…the beanstalk from “Mickey and the Beanstalk” (look for a Hidden Mickey in the light by this prop!)…

…and props from “Pluto’s Christmas Tree.”

Peek inside the Christmas cards on the mantle of this scene to see messages for Mickey and Minnie!

There’s a “concession stand” in the queue as well, and you’ll want to look closely at some of the snacks for sale here.

Specifically, check out that popcorn!

The pieces are shaped like Mickey, Minnie, and Donald!

The snacks also nod to other Disney characters and cartoons, such as these Powerlime candies (named after Powerline from A Goofy Movie). They’re made by the “Bowling Allie Candy Co.” The “Bowling Alley” is the name of a building on the campus of Walt Disney Imagineering and was where graphic designer Allie Wong worked.

The “laugh-o-grahams” are named after Walt Disney’s original Laugh-O-Gram animation studio! They’re manufcatured by “Sweet Fridays in Kansas City.” Kansas City is where Walt Disney lived for part of his childhood, while the “Sweet Fridays” pays homage to Walt Disney Imagineering’s Senior Creative Director, Jonathan Friday.

The Mallard Cups are made by E+A Schwartz Schweetz — that’s a nod to Walt Disney Imagineering’s Lead Concept Designer Jennifer Schwartz. Her kids’ names start with an “E” and an “A.”

The Gummi Bears are “juiced by Lomboy.” Jeanette Lomboy is the Site Portfolio Executive at Walt Disney Imagineering.

Witch Hazel Nut Candy is by “Luna Belle Treats.” No, that’s not a nod to Duffy’s friend. Luna Belle is actually the name of the dog of a former Imagineer who worked on Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway!

Golly Pops are manufactured by “Flower Street Treats.” Flower Street is the street in Glendale, California, where you’ll find the offices of Walt Disney Imagineering. The Polka Dots is made by “Wowza Bouza Candy.” Walt Disney Imagineering’s president is Barbara Bouza.

McDuck’s Chocolate Coins are made by “Ben & Hudson’s Candy Kitchen.” Those are the names of the two sons of Jeff Shaver-Moskowitz, Executive Producer of the ride.

And don’t walk past the condiment station without checking out some details here. The condiment pumps are branded “Begorra Orchards,” which is a reference to Patrick Begorra, the “Little Man of Disneyland.” According to the story, he lived in an orange orchard on the land where Disneyland Park now sits.

You might want to be careful with that “Special Sauce,” though…it looks like someone just crossed out the expiration date on the mayonnaise and “re-branded” it! 😂

Now let’s get into the ride and all the details you can look for there!

Look for a newspaper with the headline “Oswald Wins!” This is referencing Oswald the Lucky Rabbit — the cartoon character created by Walt Disney before Mickey was born. The Iwerks and Uwerks Waterworks Treatment Plant is named after Disney Legend Ub Iwerks (the animator credited with sketching Mickey Mouse for the first time).

You’ll ride past a 1401 Flower Shop, which is an homage to the Walt Disney Imagineering headquarters in Glendale, California.

Watch for the numbers 1901 and 1928 throughout the ride — these are references to Walt Disney’s and Mickey Mouse’s birth years!

While you’re riding through the carnival scene, look for a sign that claims tickets are “5 for a dime.” This is a nod to the former Five & Dime Shop at Mickey’s Toontown.

In the city scene, look for a shop called Kevin’s Aloha Shirts. This shop is named after Disney Imagineer Kevin Rafferty, who helped conceive and develop Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway.

If you’re planning to ride Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway in Disneyland, don’t forget that you’ll need to enter the virtual queue to reserve your spot. A standby queue will not be offered when it opens.

The times that you’ll be able to join the virtual queue through the Disneyland app will be at 7AM and 1PM daily. There will also be individual Lightning Lanes that you can purchase to get on the ride, but both those and the virtual queue have limited availability and can fill up. Unlike the individual Lightning Lane, the virtual queue is free to join.

Stay tuned to DFB for more updates on all the latest Disneyland news!

Click here to learn more about the reimagining of Mickey’s Toontown in Disneyland.

 Are you planning to ride Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway in Disneyland? Let us know in the comments!

Disclosure: In nearly all circumstances, Disney Food Blog writers and photographers pay full price for their own travel, hotel, food, beverage, and event tickets. We do this because it’s important to us as journalists to ensure not only that we give you unbiased opinions, but also that you can trust us to do so since we’re paying our own way. On rare occasions, when we are invited by a company to attend a preview as media, and when we choose to accept that invitation, we will always make you, our readers, aware of that situation. Today, we were invited by Disney World to attend their media preview of Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway in Disneyland. Note that when we attend events as media we are 1) Not required to review that event/food on any of our channels, and 2) Not required to review that event/food favorably. You can always count on DFB to give you a 100% unbiased and honest review of any event that we attend, food that we eat, or beverage that we drink. You can see more in our Disclosure Policy. Thank you for reading. — AJ