Disneyland’s Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway Details Are Nostalgic

As you enter the attraction, you’re taken through the El Capitoon Theater, inspired by the El Capitan Theater in Hollywood that Disney owns. In the lobby of the El Capitoon, you’ll see your first Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway easter eggs, which are movie posters on the walls that are Mickey Mouse versions of some of your favorite Disney films. For example, there is a Toonsies poster which looks exactly like Newsies, but with Mickey Mouse as Jack Kelly instead of Christian Bale.

If you grew up watching the Disney Channel and were obsessed with Disney Channel Original Movies like High School Musical, you’ll love the High School Goofical 3 poster on the wall. It features Max Goof and all his friends from A Goofy Movie posing like Vanessa Hudgens and Zac Efron do on the High School Musical 3 poster.

Right next to The Feisty Ducks — aka The Mighty Ducks — you’ll see a Messka Mooska poster. This is a reference to Hocus Pocus with Minnie Mouse, Daisy Duck, and Clarabelle Cow as Winnifred, Sarah, and Mary Sanderson.

If you’re here for the Lindsay Lohan renaissance, you’ll be excited to see a reference to her movie The Parent Trap as well. Instead of Lohan on the poster, it’s Chip and Dale in The Chipmunk Trap with Daisy and Donald Duck as the parents.

From the lobby, you’re taken into a museum-like exhibit featuring references to different Mickey Mouse cartoons throughout the years. The Mickey Mouse cartoon that started it all was Steamboat Willie in 1928. You’ll see references to its release date later in the line, but this first easter egg is the “actual” wheel from the short. This is a great prop to spot because it also doubles as an Insta-worthy photo moment.

Unless you’ve seen every single Mickey Mouse cartoon or movie, you may not get all the references with the various props, but one that’s easy to recognize is from the The Sorcerer’s Apprentice section. You’ll see the blue sorcerer’s hat that Mickey wears as well as the spell book. A fun detail about the book is that it’s been water damaged like in Fantasia.

The museum continues in chronological order, so you’ll see costumes from the Mousercise TV show in the ‘80s and The Prince and the Pauper from 1990 with props from Mickey's Christmas Carol hidden in a corner. Towards the end, you’ll also see the Mouseketools from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on the Disney Channel. If you grew up watching the show while getting ready for school in the morning or while babysitting in high school, this is a fun throwback prop to see.

After the museum in the El Capitoon, you’ll walk by the theater’s refreshment stand which includes popcorn, candy, and condiments. A lot of the candy choices are easter eggs to different Disney characters, movies, and TV shows. Fans of A Goofy Movie need to look extra carefully at the display case on the left side.

You’ll find some Power Limes candy there, which is a reference to pop star Powerline. There’s even a detail about winning a free trip to Lester’s Possum Park if you look extra close.

The popcorn displayed in the center of the counter may look like just regular popcorn, but if you’re good at spotting hidden Mickeys, you’ll notice a few in the batch. For anyone who has trouble with Where’s Waldo, you may need to just snap a picture to look at later. After all, you don’t want to hold up the line.

The registers on the counter display $11.18 and $19.28. This is a reference to Steamboat Willie’s release date and Mickey Mouse’s birthday, which is Nov. 18, 1928.

Before there was the Walt Disney Company, there was Laugh-O-Gram Studios that Walt Disney worked at. There is a reference to that in the candy case with Laugh-O-grahams. However, ‘90s and 2000s kids will notice the McDuck’s Chocolate Coins first. This is a nod to Scrooge McDuck’s Money Bin that he swims in from DuckTales.

Another fun easter egg in Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway for anyone who grew up watching the Disney Channel is the Gummi Bears candy. Inspired by Adventures of the Gummi Bears, this faux gummy candy is “made with real Gummiberry Juice.” If only it was a real candy you could buy at Disneyland.

Right next to the Gummi Bears are Mallard Cups candy. This is for anyone who was a fan of Darkwing Duck. They are made with dangerously dark chocolate, because Darkwing Duck’s catchphrase is “let’s get dangerous.”

Once you’ve finally boarded Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway, you’ll want to look up at the wooden beams on the ceiling. The marks that make the cartoon beams look more realistic actually spell out “Mickey” and “Minnie.” This is a literal hidden Mickey.

Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway is one of those rides that can change each time you ride it. Depending on which train car you’re boarded into, it affects your experience and what you’ll see. While you may be distracted by the story and characters on your first go, you’ll want to ride it again to look out for as many hidden Mickeys as you can. There are a lot, and you may miss a few as you’re moving along.