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Remy's Ratatouille Adventure Ride Review

 

The 50th Anniversary celebration of Walt Disney World was supposed to bring new attractions to the parks, especially EPCOT. Understandably, not everything was ready in time and some plans have even been shelved for good. If one new addition to the parks is a much needed breath of fresh pixie dust, the new Ratatouille ride is it.

Remy's Ratatouille Adventure is a copy-paste from Disneyland Paris. In 2014, a whole mini land was added to the Walt Disney Studios park. There was a fountain added, a restaurant and a ride which celebrates the passion of French cuisine. Naturally, the Parisians loved it. This celebration of culture is what makes the IP such a great fit for Epcot's World Showcase. 

Personally, I am not a fan of copy-paste attractions. Each Disney park around the globe should have something unique to draw visitors away from their "home" park. The Ratatouille ride was one of the biggest draws to visiting Disneyland Paris. On the other hand, it's great that those who may never have the opportunity to travel to other parks also get to enjoy the best of what Disney has to offer. 

Currently, you have to book a reservation for Remy. We secured reservations for our party of six easily.  When the WDW app notified us of our reservation time, we walked towards the back of the France pavilion to get in line. 


The new addition to France is beautiful and seamlessly blends in with the front of the pavilion. There's little details everywhere, such as the flower beds in the windows and rats on the sewer drains. My one gripe with this extension is that the Eiffel Tower looks weird from the back. 

Once in the queue, it took us about 20-30 minutes of waiting to actually get on the ride. Part of the queue was outdoors. It was nice to be able to admire the new fountain  while waiting. Inside was dark wood and dark red wallpaper. It struck me as boring compared to Disney's other queues...until we turned a corner and saw ourselves on the rooftops of Paris. 



The Gusteau's sign did come to life and deliver some spiels while we waited. Everyone around us got a kick out of this portion of the queue. Every time someone new turned the corner, we heard  "Wow!'.

Finally, we got to the front of the queue and had a pleasant interaction with a Cast Member boarding us. There are two rats you can board: a gray one, which I presume to be Remy and a brown one, which I presume to be Emile. We boarded Emile, to our disappointment. 

The trackless ride system is fantastic and I hope Imagineering continues to utilize this technology.  The gigantic props set the ride apart from other screen rides and made it more immersive. Everyone got a kick out of the 4D effects, such as the hot oven. 

I do wish the ride was longer. And if I have to compare two trackless rides, I think I prefer Mickey's Runaway Railroad.. Nevertheless, Remy does add some more life and balance to the World Showcase.  

Perhaps which shocks me the most about this ride is its relevancy. Ratatouille was released more than a decade ago and was never that popular. Over recent years, it seems as if this once forgettable film has sprung to the forefront of everyone's mind. Memes and musicals (Remy, the ratatouille, the rat of all my dreams...) have helped revive this rat. I attribute this to something known as the Disney Nostalgia Factor (which I shall elaborate on one day).  And with the new ride being such a success, I don't doubt that Ratatouille will reign as Disney's sleeper hit for years to come. 
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