Runaway Railway Pt. 3: A Not-So-Perfect Picnic

Once the ride began, I was greeted by the incredible projection mapping in the first scene. Everything looked ripped right out of the modern Mickey Mouse shorts but now with some depth and texture. And, that was only the start as the next scene showed off Goofy, Mickey, and Minnie in all of their glory. Despite being a two-dimensional character, Disney made use of musion technology to give Goofy a three-dimensional background behind him with a shadow. He looked like something out of Who Framed Roger Rabbit? Meanwhile, Mickey and Minnie had some awesome bouncy animatronics with a 2.5D style, where their bodies were 3D figures and their faces were 2D projections. This appearance made them look like cartoon characters that had popped off of the screen. They did a great job adding to the whole aesthetic of the ride, where it felt like 3D and 2D worlds had mashed into one.

However, our peaceful ride became short-lived as Mickey accidentally hit the track switch, sending the train cars with the riders away from Goofy. And then, it was up to Mickey and Minnie to rescue the riders and wrangle the rogue train cars. The rest of the ride took us through various wild locations from the western deserts to a carnival to a tropical island to a bustling city. Along the way, we ran into other major Mickey Mouse characters like Donald Duck, Peg Leg Pete, and Daisy Duck. At the end of the ride, we were saved from being smashed in a factory by Mickey and Minnie, where the factory turns back into Runnamuck Park. Goofy returned to pick us up, and we finished the ride seeing Mickey and Minnie on their picnic. We then exited the ride through the screen once again and headed back into Toontown.

Now besides the magic of cartoons, Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway uses a brilliant form of technology to bring this experience to life. The train cars that we ride in are not linked together train cars but autonomous vehicles that can move about on their own. Think of the trains on the ride like a bunch of Roombas moving in sync with each other, and you have the basic principle behind how the vehicles move. And in this case, the ride vehicles are allowed to move independently of each other, becoming a key part of the storytelling. It's like how in old cartoons any object can come alive and suddenly have a mind of its own. And that's genuinely fun to experience, you know?

The ride vehicles on Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway are capable of moving all over the place and even making moves like rumbles and kicks as seen in the city and Daisy’s Dance Studio scenes. These movements can be startling to people who are not expecting a ride car to move like this, but I argue that it is made up for by just how smoothly they happen. Every turn, spin, and sway feels very low in its intensity, so even the slight bumps along the way are not too rough. For a first time experience with a trackless ride, I highly recommend this one over Luigi’s Rollicking Roadsters or Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance.

There are only two aspects I would advise some caution over: loud sounds and bright lights. As of the time I rode Runaway Railway, the ride’s sound quality is good but very loud. Two particular scenes are good examples of this potential issue: the city scene and the tornado scene. With the city scene, most of the sounds are jackhammers and cars in traffic. These sounds can get a bit grating especially to someone with overly sensitive hearing, but thankfully, they’re brief and are easily canceled out by a good pair of sound dampening headphones or earplugs. However, the tornado scene presents a pair of issues in that you have both loud noises and bright flashing lights. The roar of thunder echoes quite loudly in this scene especially as you spin around the tornado. Meanwhile, the flashes of lightning while not too bright could still be triggering if you are photosensitive. While knowing these things shouldn’t make you nervous to try this ride, just know yourself and the people you travel with before riding.

Most of the other bright lights in the ride are more from the projection mapping. And in my personal opinion, it isn’t a blinding experience to deal with because of just how well done it is. Looking back at what I filmed from the ride, I can’t even tell which elements of the scenery are painted and which elements of the scenery are textured and colored by the projection mapping. This in my opinion makes the colors and textures feel like just something that is a part of the world rather than jarring. At that moment, you are caught in the pure whimsy of the world you are traveling.

Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway has definitely earned its place as Disneyland’s newest E-Ticket attraction. And despite some issues that I am sure Disney will fine tune as the ride lives on, I can honestly say that it is the ideal starting ride for someone who wants to try both higher intensity dark rides and the trackless ride system. The brighter colors and the louder noises might be a bit intense for those who are more sensitive to such things, but the excellent projection mapping as well as the incredible abilities of the ride vehicles makes it more fun than frightening. There aren't things that get in your face or actively frighten you because that's not the point of the ride. You are supposed to feel like a cartoon character, where even the most dangerous of situations feel silly.

If you or the Autistic adventurer in your group loves Mickey Mouse cartoons and wants a fun ride experience, I highly recommend this attraction as an experience.