Disney has revealed a new Mickey cartoon short-inspired poster art in their special series celebrating the March 4 debut of Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
The new “Three-Legged Race” poster features Mickey and Pete teaming up for a big race after Minnie chooses to partner with Daisy. As you can see in the cartoon video short below, Mickey wants to win “fair and square”, but not every racer agrees with that approach, including Pete!
Before stepping into an amazing cartoon world, you’ll see posters of existing award-winning Mickey shorts that might have previously premiered at the Chinese Theatre – all created specifically for the attraction by Walt Disney Imagineering and Disney Television Animation.
And as many of you may also know, during adventures on Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, you’ll be entering the NEW Mickey Mouse cartoon short “Perfect Picnic!” for a one-of-a-kind experience where anything can happen. Why? Because here, mouse rules apply!
Disney’s Hollywood Studios has once again altered its operating hours. Now through January 26, 2020, the park will open at 7:00 AM, which is a change from the scheduled 8:00 AM openings.
January 2020
January 21-23: Park hours extended to 7 AM (Previously 8 AM)
Morning Extra Magic Hours have been shifted to the evening in January as well, with these occurring on January 12, 19, and 26. Extra Magic Hours are from 8 PM to 10 PM and are for registered guests staying at participating Walt Disney World Resort hotels and Official Walt Disney World Hotels.
Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance has always touted itself as more than just a ride, but a return to form, a fully immersive experience packed with audio-animatronics where you’re actively recruited by the Resistance and mercilessly intimidated by First Order officers. Not only is the winding cavernous queue packed with props to further envelop guests in the story, they lead to a key part in the attraction’s storyline.
First, guests enter a makeshift briefing room where Rey appears via holo-transmission alongside dutiful droid BB-8 to welcome the new Resistance recruits.
Then they board a nearby Intersystem Transport Ship (I-TS) navigated by Lieutenant Bek and Nien Nunb.
These pre-shows are arguably the favorite portion of the ride for many, and are pivotal in understanding how exactly you end up captured aboard a First Order Star Destroyer. Now, imagine if you didn’t get to experience any of this. For guests at Disney’s Hollywood Studios today––many of them experiencing this attraction for the very first time.
Guests took to social media today frustrated after waking up as early as 4:30 AM and bearing the heavy crowds for a Boarding Group only to experience a partial ride-through, with no customer recovery attempts, like FastPasses, distributed for those guests affected.
Guests were funneled in from the queue and backstage directly into the First Order Destroyer scene, where they went on to be loaded onto the attraction without much development of the story. It is unknown whether this was caused by issues or malfunctions with the I-TS transport shuttle or other issues. In recent weeks, the attraction has had a number of its audio-animatronics break or go on B-mode, and the attraction has suffered from full operational breakdowns since opening day.
While issues with the pre-show are a new development since the ride’s opening, it seems it has only affected a handful of boarding groups, but we suggest that everyone planning on seeing it to temper their expectations, and if any issues arise, to kindly inform a Cast Member or Guest Relations for the chance to experience the attraction in full, as it was meant to be experienced.
The only way to ride Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance at Disney’s Hollywood Studios is by obtaining a Boarding Group via the My Disney Experience app, and with constantly-changing park hours and opening operations, it’s hard enough for locals and Annual Passholders to obtain a reasonable Boarding Group (if one at all), and practically Byzantine for guests attempting to obtain a Boarding Group on vacation.
Today, the attraction saw its shortest Boarding Group distribution time to date.
all Boarding Groups (including Backup Boarding Groups) were distributed within 23 minutes after park open. That’s 7 minutes shorter than yesterday, which clocked in at 30 minutes. Overall, Boarding Group distribution has been subject to blips and trends. On Tuesday, groups were available until 11:19 AM, and New Year’s Eve is notorious for high-level crowding.
Reports on social media indicate that issues with the My Disney Experience app crashing, combined with extended downtime for the attraction due to various breakdowns, has wrought havoc on today’s Boarding Group process.
Guests who were issued a Backup Boarding Group have since received notifications stating that their groups will not be able to be accommodated due to downtime.
With the release of the new movie and the end of holiday offerings at the park, the refreshed nighttime spectacular now features scenes from the movie. While there were no major modifications to the show, some sound and character clips were inserted into certain places throughout which pertain to the final episode of the Skywalker saga.
You can check out the full fireworks show in the video below!
