While everyone is getting excited for Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway, Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance continues to be the big crowd draw at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
Last night, Walt Disney World President Josh D’Amaro teased a Cast Member preview of Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway that was subsequently announced this morning. Having a Cast Member preview for an attraction not only allows operations a chance to try and work with some amount of crowds, but it also gives Cast Members working the attraction a chance to work out bugs before the attraction opens to the general public.
With Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway already being delayed for months, and Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance experiencing operational instability, it’s crucial that Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway opens to guests as smoothly as possible. A Cast Member preview works on a much more important level though beyond operations. When the average guest visits a Disney theme park and asks Cast Members what the latest and greatest attraction is like, they should be able to answer from a point of first-hand experience.
When Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance opened to the general public back in December, it did so without general Cast Member previews. For whatever reason, Disney opened Rise of the Resistance to all guests after just a few days of media previews. While it seems unlikely that Cast Member previews would have solved the ongoing operational issues that the attraction is going through, at least Cast Members would have been able to assist guests who have questions about the attraction.
Recently, Disney announced that Cast Members will be getting a chance to join the fight against the First Order via Cast Member exclusive opportunities. While Disney didn’t detail what or when, they did say that more information would be provided “later this year”. As of publish time, Cast Members continue to be blocked out from visiting Disney’s Hollywood Studios through April.
With so many Cast Members working hard to bring the magic to Walt Disney World, we’re happy to see that there will be some magic brought to them as well via the Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway preview and exclusive Rise of the Resistance experience. From the outside, this appears to be a concerted effort by newly minted Walt Disney World President Josh D’Amaro to invest in Cast Member morale.