The Best Times to Enjoy Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway

Are you hoping to enjoy Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway during your next Disney trip? Check out our best tips to enjoy this ride with low wait times and extra doses of Disney magic.

Runaway Railway

As the curtain closed on The Great Movie Ride in August 2017, Walt Disney World announced that Mickey Mouse would receive his first-ever attraction.  Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway found a home in the Chinese Theatre at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

On March 4, 2020, Guests climbed aboard Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway. Many saw this as a great fusion of two of Walt Disney’s loves, which were trains and Mickey Mouse.

Disney has described the attraction as: “Once you step into the cartoon world of Mickey and Minnie, you’ll board a train with Goofy as the engineer. Then, one magical moment after the next leads you to a zany, out-of-control adventure filled with surprising twists and turns.”

Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway features a new technology called 2 and 1/2D, which is 3D without the glasses. This special technology will give depth to 2D environments.

The entire journey takes you through both white-light and black-light scenes. There was even a special paint engineered to ensure Goofy’s train maintains its “flat” cartoon look throughout the attraction and still looks good in all light!

Hollywood Studios

“Nothing Can Stop Us Now” to enjoy Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, but a long wait time may put a damper on your day. If you want to enjoy this attraction without the purchase of Disney Genie+ or to ride it more than one time then we have a few suggestions.

The first may be less popular depending on your traveling party. Disney’s Hollywood Studios offers three great categories of attractions with different guests in mind. At rope drop, priorities are often divided for younger guests or the young at heart Toy Story fans who plan to dash straight to Slinky Dog Dash.

Next are the loyal Star Wars fans who hope to climb aboard Rise of the Resistance at Galaxy’s Edge (word of warning this attraction often has technical issues at park opening that may delay enjoying this attraction. Finally, the last group of people seek out the “Thrill Attractions.”

If you happen to fall in the last category, this touring strategy is for you. At rope drop, head straight down Sunset Boulevard, you can enjoy Tower of Terror, Rock ‘n’ Roll Roller Coaster, and then head towards Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway. If there are no technical difficulties, you can enjoy all three attractions in 30 minutes using Disney’s Early Entry.

Even later in the day, you can still enjoy lower wait times for Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway. There seems to be a dip around 3:00 p.m. for this attraction. As we head later into the afternoon, lower wait times can be enjoyed around 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. Finally, those guests who stay for park closing and do not want to enjoy Fantasmic! can enjoy low wait times from 8:00 p.m. until park closing.

ToonTown

Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway can also be enjoyed by Disneyland guests. Although these attractions are almost identical, the overall experience is so much better at Disneyland. First, the animated land of ToonTown sets the stage for guests to enter CapitToon Theatre to enjoy this attraction.

The queue for the attraction is an entire experience from favorite props from Mickey Mouse films to the many Hidden Mickeys in the concession booth. There are few visual elements of the actual attraction that are better than the Walt Disney World attraction too.

Best Time to Ride

At Disneyland, the best time to ride Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway is either right when ToonTown opens or right after the fireworks. Let us explain why these are the two best times. First, guests rope-dropping Disneyland can enjoy many attractions before ToonTown even opens. ToonTown does not participate in Early Entry.

This means you can enjoy many great attractions as soon as the park opens, and then make your way over to ToonTown to be among the first in line to enjoy Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway.

Second, after the evening fireworks is the absolute best time to visit in my (Donna) opinion. There is an alternate firework viewing location in front of “it’s a small world” near the entrance to ToonTown.

This causes ToonTown to close for guests at 8:00 p.m. until typically 10:00 p.m. on nights with fireworks. This allows for fireworks to be displayed above “it’s a small world.” The best strategy on these nights is to enjoy this smaller version of the fireworks show and then be among the first in line for ToonTown.

A line begins to form near the entrance to ToonTown and after a brief wait, Cast Members lower the rope to reopen this animated wonderland. There are three reasons why this is the best time to visit. First, this space is totally transformed as the sun sets and the lights turn on. It is simply breathtaking.

At Disneyland, the best time to ride Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway is either right when ToonTown opens or right after the fireworks.

Second, Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway is typically a walk-on for the remainder of the night. You can enjoy this attraction over and over to your heart’s content.

Lastly, you can meet Mickey Mouse in one of his newest ensembles. Guests are invited to meet both Mickey and Minnie Mouse inside their respective homes throughout the day. When ToonTown reopens at night, Mickey Mouse greets guests on his front porch in his newest outfit.

How adorable is he? On this night, I headed straight to the home of Mickey Mouse and was the first in line to meet the “Big Cheese.” A small line formed behind me, but this line grew pretty quickly once he arrived.

The interaction was so special, and afterward, I headed straight to Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway to enjoy the attraction with no wait. Guests can also enjoy the fun interactive elements of ToonTown without the bustling crowds as well.

These reasons are what make after fireworks the best time to enjoy Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway at Disneyland. When is your favorite time to enjoy this attraction? Share your thoughts with us and share these great tips with your fellow Mouseketeers.