VOTD: Mickey And Minnie's Runaway Railway Video Shows Off The New Disney Ride's Groundbreaking Projection Mapping

This week brings the opening of Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway, a new attraction first arriving at Disney's Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World down in Orlando, Florida. We've gotten a sneak peek at the state-of-the-art ride that uses advanced projection mapping and visual effects to bring riders into Mickey Mouse's animated world, but new footage from within the ride itself shows how breathtaking and mesmerizing the animated visuals of this ride are. Check out a Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway ride through video below.

WDWMagic provided this video of the pre-show and the ride itself, and you'll be stunned by how incredible the projection mapped animation looks in this video. The ride makes it look like live-action people have actually entered an animated world, as if they were living out their own version of Who Framed Roger Rabbit. The 2D animated style of Mickey Mouse cartoons is projected seamlessly into a 3D space, making it feel real and tangible. See how this is possible right here:

The technology on display for this ride reminds us of the similar stagecraft technology that was recently used on the live-action Star Wars series The Mandalorian. However, this seems like it might be more impressive since it's unfolding in front of the eyes of riders who are experiencing these environments themselves instead of seeing them refined with visual effects in a television series. These visuals have to be fully immersive right then and there in order to make riders feel like they're inside this animated world.

We're wondering if this kind of technology can be used in films and television shows. Seeing how crisp and clear the projection mapped animated elements look in this ride through makes me think that this kind of technology would make production on a movie like Who Framed Roger Rabbit infinitely easier than it was back in the 1980s.

We'll have more coverage of this attraction from our own Peter Sciretta and his Ordinary Adventures YouTube channel very soon since he's down in Florida checking out the ride this week, so stay tuned for that.

If this is your first time hearing about Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway, here's the official description:

This first major Mickey-themed ride-through attraction will put you inside the wacky and unpredictable world of a Mickey Mouse cartoon short where anything can happen! Once you step into the cartoon world of Mickey and Minnie, you'll board a train with Goofy as the engineer. Then, one magical moment after the next leads you to a zany, out-of-control adventure filled with surprising twists and turns.

With an original story and lovable theme song, Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway uses state-of-the-art technologies and dazzling visual effects to transform the cartoon world into an incredible and immersive multi-dimensional experience.

Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway opens at Disney World on March 4, 2020, but won't arrive in Disneyland until 2022.