I am fully aware the juxtaposition in these spots on this list is, um, awkward.
As this section grew closer and closer, I struggled more and more with having Runaway Railway come directly after Great Movie Ride for so many reason. For one, it felt too perfect. For another, it feels too likely to be an unintended slap in the face to GMR fans.
The closer it got, though, the more I felt I couldn't justify breaking them up just for the sake of distance on the list. Either I would be artificially overhyping Railway or underhyping GMR. The fact of the matter is: I really just do love them both about the same. One is tainted by nostalgia, and the other still has the shine of newness. It should be fully possible to love one thing, and still love its replacement.
The newness does make a full, lengthy post about Runaway Railway difficult, though. For one, the only attraction I've experienced less on this entire list is Flight of Passage. For another, it just hasn't existed long enough for a lot of think pieces to be written, or popular opinions on its existence to form. Certainly it hasn't yet woven itself into the fabric of my memories much. Also, kind of don't want to spoil it too much for those who haven't been on yet, though if you've made it this far in the article you probably don't care.
It is just so fun, though!
I remember in the early 2000s, reading reactions to Pooh's Hunny Hunt in Tokyo, talking about what an amazing ride it was. People called it a legitimate E-Ticket, describing a trackless vehicle dark ride system, explaining the ways the trackless vehicles slid and spun around the show scenes being something you had to experience to understand just how it improved the dark ride experience. I did not, at all, get it, but I wanted to.
It's possible other versions of the trackless ride system will be showing up on this list, but it took 20 years for Runaway Railway to finally get me to understand what people meant about Hunny Hunt.
It is no secret at this point that I love a dark ride with physical sets. Runaway Railway proves the art isn't dead, but with some really nifty effects. Most notably, the use of lighting technology to project color, movement, and changes across the sets in a way that doesn't feel like a projection is certainly nifty. It paints objects that are in three dimensions, and those are littered with moving objects and animated figures to flesh out a sense of space and scale that isn't just screens.
And the colors Zeke. The colors! The scenery in here is just beautiful to look at. Every scene is a work of art that I want in a coffee table book or on a computer desktop. Where it makes sense, our best friend the Black Light is used to great enhancing effect. I've talked a few times about show scenes I just want to live in, and the carnival sequence here is one of them. So much detail, so much neon, and so much amazing use of light and color, it feels overwhelmingly joyful.
Honestly, here's what it is: it feels like being in a cartoon. More than any other attraction, this feels like actually being inserted into an animated world. I love cartoons, so. . . that's good.
And as with Hunny Hunt long before it, the trackless ride vehicles are used to great effect to make the show scenes not just elements you travel through, from point A to point B. They enhance ever scene with their zig zagging, dancing, and spinning. It feels like you are apart of the scene, not just a viewer. The dance school scene with Daisy is a particular stroke of genius, almost lamp shading the ride vehicle itself. Also, good to see Daisy again! They also set up a load system that gets you through the line and on the ride fast, always incredibly valuable!
Also, this all starts with just a phenomenally clever and surprising preshow-to-load transition that has to be seen to be believed. Enchanted Tales with Belle did not make this list, but if coolest effects were on a list, that attraction's mirror would probably be at the top. The preshow in Runaway Railway might be right behind it.
On a quick note as well, it's good to have an attraction with an original theme song again. Maybe it won't become a classic like "Grim Grinning Ghosts," but for so long, the theme song was an important part of the big attraction. That is the case again here.
In the previous post, I tried to convey that GMR was a masterwork statement on classic dark rides. In a way, Runaway Railway is sort of the yin to GMR's yang, a masterwork statement on modern dark rides. It uses projections, but as an accoutrement to -- rather than replacement of -- physical set pieces, with a unique ride system to make you a part of the experience, but with firmly classical dark ride sensibilities. This is not a competition with GMR, and I do miss GMR, but despite that I manage to love and appreciate Runaway Railway for being a warm, colorful, amusing take on my absolute favorite variety of theme park experience.
Comments