It was announced today at the Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Presentation at the D23 Expo, that the Chinese Theater in Disney Hollywood Studios would be receiving an overhaul. It will now become Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railroad. This kind of goes along with what we were saying a few days ago. The original plans for the Chinese Theater was a Mickey inspired ride. You can read that article HERE. The current ride in the Chinese Theater The Great Movie Ride will close on August 13, 2017 for the update.
This ride will be based on the Mickey shorts that can be seen on the Disney Channel.
According to the Disney Parks Blog
Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway will feature a new story and a new singable attraction theme song as well as a new experience we’re calling “2 1/2 D.” No glasses required. Walt Disney Imagineer Kevin Rafferty said teams are inventing new technologies that turn the flat world of a colorful cartoon short into a “dimensional display of amazingness.”
“This is one of the boldest…most impossible things I’ve ever worked on in almost 40 years of being an Imagineer. And you know what? That’s what I love about it. Well, that, and Mickey,” Kevin said. “This is not going to be a small attraction, it’s going to be game-changing.”
I’m really intrigued by the “2 1/2 D” and I think this sounds like a lot of fun. I will miss The Great Movie Ride, but it really is due for some kind of update. We kind of figured they were getting ready, because the last time we were there Tarzan wasn’t swinging, there was no dialogue playing in the Casablanca scene, and it overall seemed like they weren’t fixing it anymore.
What do you think of the new overlay coming to Disney’s Hollywood Studios? Comment and let us know.
Sad that we’ll be missing The Great Movie Ride before our vacation in the fall. Hollywood Studios will be a short day on our itinerary for sure with all the changes. But that just means we’l have to plan another trip in a year or two!