All aboard the Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway hype train! We’ve been monitoring the courtyard of the Chinese Theatre at Disney’s Hollywood Studios closely this past year, and with the new Runaway Railway attraction opening in just two months, it seems work has begun on some final exterior details.
A set of new “hidden Mickey” lanterns appeared at the attraction’s extended queue back in August, and with the exception of the removal of former TCM signage, few changes have happened at the Theatre entrance in the past months. Today, we noticed new entrance marquees installed for the FastPass+ and Stand-By queues, as well as new exit signs.
The above concept art shows you what the final look for the Chinese Theatre will be at the grand opening of the attraction. A large, neon attraction logo marquee will be hoisted up right in the middle, with the potential addition of grand palms down the center of the courtyard (save the handprints!), and bright yellow entrance signs for Stand-By and FastPass+.
Two glaring yellow decal stickers now cover up the new signs.
At first, we thought they were the base for new signage to be stacked on top, but upon closer inspection, these are merely protective stickers.
On the right, you have the Stand-By entrance, which will feature a digital marker displaying current wait times.
Beneath the protective decal, you can make out the new font, which features sharp, angular lettering inspired by Chinese characters.
Over on the left, you have the FastPass+ sign, where they’ve decidedly kept the old analog clock from the golden age of the Great Movie Ride.
Here, you can also make out the new font, a sharp contrast from the rounded Art Deco-style font that was featured here.
Once the logos are ready to be revealed, the yellow decal will come clean off the surface.
Here’s a look at what the entrance signs looked like up until now, with a black decal covering the old FastPass+ sign:
The old Stand-By wait time sign from Great Movie Ride was also still up until recently:
Off to the side, new signage has also appeared at the attraction exit:
Off to the right, you can see where construction took place early last year to modify some Cast exit ramps as well.
New “Exit Only – Do Not Enter” signs line the four exit doors.
Are you excited for the big signage reveal, as well as the arrival of the huge neon sign? We sure are. In the meantime, you can shop for the new Runnamuck Railroad attraction vehicle toy train in select stores across property.
Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway opens March 4th, 2020 at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and in 2022 at Disneyland Park. If you can’t wait for either of these attractions, check out our full scene-by-scene walkthrough to get a better idea of what they’ll be like.
When would you expect updated Fast Pass tiers to be announced for Hollywood Studios with the addition of this ride?
This will not work. Plus if they want to show a Mickey Mouse they need to show the old Mickey.
Mickey’s design has changed a lot over the past century
Jon says it won’t work. Disney must be very nervous. They should probably consider shutting down. Just like those that were correct and spot on when they said Frozen wouldn’t work, replacing the Maelstrom, or Mission Space replacing Horizons. No offense but idiot…
Have they said when they’ll start accepting FP+? I’m going there in the first week of March and it wasn’t available on opening day.
Save the handprints!