Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway has its new opening date & more.
Disney Parks Blog today announced an opening date for Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway as well as a raft of news for upcoming shows, restaurants and the Star Wars hotel.
Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway
The ride replacing The Great Movie Ride at Hollywood Studios has it’s new opening date. Originally set to open in 2019 the new rides opening date is March 4th 2020.
The new trackless dark ride taking over the Chinese Theater will be the first ride based around a Disney TV show. It will also be the first Mickey Mouse themed ride in any Disney Park. No pressure.
This will be the first Disney ride-through attraction featuring Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse, that will draw guests inside a Mickey cartoon for a fun-filled adventure where “Mouse rules apply” and anything can happen!
The ride is set to also open at Disneyland, California in 2022. If you haven’t seen our history of The Great Movie Ride check it out at the bottom of this post.
Sticking with Hollywood Studios also announced was more details on Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser
Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser
The year of opening was announced as 2021 for the new two day cruise like experience on board the “Halycon”. (The name of the ship guests will be spending their two day adventure on). Two new concept arts were also released, detailing how guests will enter the hotel and how guests will be transported to Batuu. No specific date was announced in 2021 but construction on the hotel is moving at a fast pace.
The concept art above is the Galactic Starcruiser Terminal where guests will check in before being ‘launched’ to the Halycon. Below is the concept art for the transport ships that will whisk guests away for their adventure on Batuu.
Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser will begin transporting you from Walt Disney World Resort in Florida to a galaxy far, far away beginning in 2021, Walt Disney Imagineering announced tonight. This is a new type of immersive vacation that only Disney could create – a two-night, cruise-style itinerary where you’ll become the hero of your own adventure in an experience that surrounds you 24/7 in Star Wars storytelling.
The new hotel will have screens instead of windows and will keep that immersion until you land on Batuu or finish your two day adventure.
Also announced was the new Mickey Shorts Theater that will debut in March 2020. The new area will feature the Mickey Shorts in the same style as the Mickey Mouse Disney TV show and have photo op locations. The new theater is rumored to be in the old Sounds Dangerous location.
Epcot
Heading over to Epcot now where the opening dates of the following new films were announced.
The Beauty and the Beast Sing-Along, Awesome Planet and Canada Far and Wide will all debut on January 17th 2020.
January 17th is also the first day of the fourth annual Festival of the Arts.
The Beauty and the Beast Sing-Along film will open in the France pavilion at the World Showcase. It will run in rotation with the current film ‘Impressions De France’ which will also be receiving a 4K upgrade. The new sing along will be a twist on the tale as old as time with narration from Angela Lansbury.
Awesome Planet will open in the Land pavilion and will be a 10 minute long show featuring imagery from around the planet as well as in cinema special effects. The score is created by award winning composer Steven Price who is best known for his work on the movie Gravity. Awesome Planet will be in the same location as the Circle of Life: An Environmental Fable which closed back in February of 2018.
With spectacular nature photography, immersive in-theater effects, and space sequences created by none other than Industrial Light & Magic (which provided the cinematic foundation for the Star Wars franchise), “Awesome Planet” will stir Epcot guests and deliver an environmental message that will resonate far beyond its final scenes.
Canada Far and Wide in Circle-Vision 360 replaces the previous “O Canada” film narrated by Martin Short. Located in the Canada pavilion the new film will have new scenes, a new score and now be narrated by Eugene Levy and Catherine O’Hara.
More Epcot announcements
Also coming to Epcot is a new World Showcase adventure featuring Duck Tales on the Play Disney Parks mobile app.
As well as this were some more details on the Space 2020 restaurant and the Regal Eagle Smokehouse coming to the American pavilion.
Plenty of news announced today while all the media are in town for the Rise of Resistance opening. Expedition Theme Park will be there on Thursday morning for the opening day so keep an eye out on our Twitter and Instagram for updates. We will have an opening day Expedition out about Rise of the Resistance coming on that day too.
If you are missing The Great Movie Ride check out the Expedition we did on it below.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_pS2Z6cFXA[/embedyt]
