The opening time frame has been moved backLast week there was a big announcement regarding Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway. We learned that Disneyland is going to get its own version. It will be located in Mickey’s Toontown (Disneyland still has one of those) and it will open in 2022.
In the announcement there was also a small bit of information that was slipped in, almost as an afterthought. (As a writer, I can truly appreciate the way that it was done.) The official Disney Parks Blog post mentioned that the Disney’s Hollywood Studios version of the ride is going to open in spring 2020. This is later than originally announced. Until that post, it had been said that the new ride at Disney’s Hollywood Studios was expected to open later this year.
That is where the questions start. Why the delay? Does it have anything to do with the opening of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge? Remember, the new DHS land was originally supposed to open in “late fall 2019”. August 29 is summer, and not even really late summer. (The first day of fall this year is September 23.) That’s up to four months earlier than we thought it would open. I’m not complaining that Galaxy’s Edge has been moved up, but does the later time for Mickey & Minnie have something to do with it?
I can’t help but wonder if the delay is just to spread out the timing. With Toy Story Land in 2018 and Galaxy’s Edge a little over a year later, Disney’s Hollywood Studios seems to be on expansion overload. Maybe the powers that be decided to hold off on Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway so that guests will have another new adventure coming up at the park.
Then again, it could also be that the ride just will not be ready earlier. Things happen. This is Disney, and it is the first ride that is based on everyone’s favorite mouse (be it Mickey or Minnie). I am sure that they want to make sure that the ride is done right.
I’ve heard people say that they doubt that the ride is going to be any good. I think that Disney will prove them wrong. I personally think that they are trying to make Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway a ride that will appeal to all. I can’t wait to see what they come up with, even though we now have to wait a few extra months.