Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure Ride Info: Opening Date & Previews
Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure is a family-friendly trackless dark ride opening in Fall 2021 at Walt Disney World. Epcot’s new attraction will debut as a Parisian expansion to France’s World Showcase pavilion. This covers everything you need to know: opening date, likelihood of previews & soft openings, construction photos, concept art, and answers to common questions. (Updated July 30, 2021.)
As background, Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure is the clone of Ratatouille: L’Aventure Totalement Toquée de Rémy at Walt Disney Studios Park at Disneyland Paris. Some differences between the two are possible; it’s common for Imagineering to tweak clones upon learning what works or doesn’t. The Disneyland Paris version includes the table service restaurant Bistrot Chez Remy, which will not be coming to Epcot.
Walt Disney World announced this version of Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure a few years ago at the D23 Expo, following construction permits and rumors leaking. The attraction and Streets of Paris section is being built as an expansion to the France pavilion, using space behind the existing theater plus the vacant plot next to the Morocco pavilion. Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure is a “pure” addition–nothing is being replaced by this expansion…
In terms of Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure’s substance, speculation is not required given that Ratatouille: L’Aventure Totalement Toquée de Rémy debuted ~7 years ago. The concept is guests shrinking to the size of a rat, scurrying through a restaurant in a trackless dark ride. It’s a frenetic, high energy experience with some oversized kitchen items as physical props, plus 3D film on a series of giant screens.
When announced, the ride system was first of its kind for Walt Disney World. Since then, both Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance and Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway have debuted with similar trackless dark ride components. In terms of a comparison, Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure is more similar to Runaway Railway–except with more dimensional props, but also more ‘flat’ screens.
Above is a look at the Streets of Paris concept art released for the expansion. While elements of this (such as the Remy character fountain) are similar to the area added to the Walt Disney Studios Park, the layout is different as are the specific dining and shopping options. Only the attraction itself is a clone.
We’ve experienced the attraction many times over the last 7 years at Disneyland Paris, and you can read our comprehensive thoughts in Is Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure Overhyped? Our goal with this post is not to rain on the parade of anyone who is brimming with excitement for Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure. Given the state of the world for the last year, our general view is “let people enjoy/be happy about/excited for things!” Instead, we’re hoping to diminish disappointment and maybe reset expectations a little bit.
Aside from Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, the big addition to the Streets of Paris expansion will be La Crêperie de Paris. This new crêperie will feature the cuisine of celebrity chef Jérôme Bocuse, the son of Paul Bocuse and operator of the pavilion’s Chefs de France and Monsieur Paul restaurants.
La Crêperie de Paris will feature a menu inspired by the Brittany region of France, and will offer both table service and a quick-service window. The restaurant will serve both sweet crepes and savory galettes. If this crêperie is on par with the other dining options in the France pavilion, it’ll be a winner!
Originally, Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure was slated to open last summer. (Meaning its opening has been delayed by over one year at this point.)
This was officially announced by Walt Disney World, and banners were added to the construction site. Due to the multi-month closure, that plan was scrapped.
In Spring 2021, Walt Disney World opened a portion of the Streets of Paris area, but it’s basically just the restrooms. If you want to see the first ‘phase’ of this area, check out our photos of the France expansion.
Additionally, Walt Disney World added a new “Opening 2021” banner to the iconic Art Nouveau Métro marquee.
In terms of construction updates, there are none as of July 2021.
The entire Streets of Paris expansion has been finished since early this year. Most work was finished late last year. Construction crews have literally not been on site in months. The new ride and entire area is 100% finished.
Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure Opening Date & Previews
Walt Disney World will officially open Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure on October 1, 2021. While this is over a year after its planned debut date, it makes sense to debut it on the start of Walt Disney World’s 50th Anniversary.
On this same date, the Harmonious nighttime spectacular will also debut in Epcot’s World Showcase Lagoon. This is good “counter-programming” that should help draw some crowds away from Magic Kingdom, which will launch the Disney Enchantment fireworks that evening.
As we’ve stated repeatedly, the timeline for Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure has not been dictated by construction progress, but by when it’s most logical to debut the blockbuster new attraction. It’s more about waiting until operational normalcy has returned and attendance caps are lifted.
The attraction is totally finished, and has been since late last year. While Walt Disney World still needs to test & adjust and train Cast Members on the ride, which normally takes about 6-8 weeks. Speaking of which, here’s the latest from Walt Disney World President, Jeff Vahle:
View this post on Instagram
What caught our attention there is the line: “And if you’re not a Cast Member, there may still be a way for you to see this attraction before it opens. More details to come!”
Walt Disney World is very deliberate with its words, and this suggests to us that there will be previews for select groups. Disney Vacation Club, Golden Oak, Club 33, and possibly Annual Passholders would be the most likely candidates. Soft openings are not announced or publicly mentioned in any way, so he’s almost certainly not hinting at those.
However, this does not means that Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure won’t have a soft opening. If Cast Member previews are next month, that means they’re in August 2021. Typically, these would last a few days and other previews for select guests would occur immediately thereafter, spanning another week or so.
Depending upon when these previews begin, Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure could still have an extended soft opening period before October 1, 2021. If the previews start in mid-August, they’d be finished by early September 2021 at the latest. That could leave nearly a full month for soft openings.
It’s also possible Cast Member previews won’t occur until late August, select guest previews won’t occur until September 2021, and the ride will sit after that–and no soft openings will occur. That’s also a definite possibility. After all, Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure has been sitting finished for this long already. However, if Walt Disney World wants to boost attendance at Epcot, opening the ride quietly to all guests for at least part of September makes sense.
As discussed in our recent Epcot July 2021 Crowd & Construction Report, while other parks are seeing soaring attendance, Epcot has been languishing numbers since the capacity caps increased. This is because guests aren’t being “forced” to visit Epcot, as it’s now less common for the other parks to be fully booked. Accordingly, it would make sense for Walt Disney World to buoy attendance at a time of year that’s normally slow for Epcot.
Ultimately, we’re looking forward to Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure and the Streets of Paris expansion at Epcot. The attraction is not the pinnacle of Imagineering–and it would’ve been more impressive before Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance and Runaway Railaway when the technology was more of a novelty to Walt Disney World fans. Nevertheless, it’s a reasonably solid family-friendly ride that’ll improve the attraction lineup in Epcot.
Adding another ride to World Showcase is the biggest upside to Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, in our view. If intellectual property and characters are going to be added to World Showcase (and they are), there’s literally no better choice than this movie. Ratatouille is a great as the movie itself is a love letter to Paris and should fit the pavilion well–much better than Frozen in Norway. That coupled with the Streets of Paris being a pure expansion without losing anything makes it a winner. If Imagineering iterates on the ride itself to improve some of our quibbles with it, even better!
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YOUR THOUGHTS
Are you excited for Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure? If you’ve experienced the version in the Walt Disney Studios Park, what did you think of it? If you’re an EPCOT Center purist, are you apprehensive that this will fit the France pavilion, or do you think it’s inappropriate IP for World Showcase? When do you predict that Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure will open? Do you agree or disagree with any of our thoughts? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
I think opening this with the way the “Streets of Paris” are laid out will be very difficult so long as social distancing is required. So it looks to me to be another experience which can’t readily be adapted to Covid restrictions.
Been on every Disney trackless ride on the planet. Ratatouille is not a bad ride, but compared to other trackless masterpieces like Mystic Manor, Pooh’s Hunny Hunt, or Rise of the Resistance, it really feels lacking. I have no issue with screens on an attraction and feel that Rise of the Resistance and Shanghai Pirates integrate them very well. But Ratatouille is too screen heavy, and in sections the vehicle just moves up to the screen and stays there, watching the animated action. There’s far too much of that going on, and not enough physical props. It’s an average attraction overall, and within the spectrum of trackless rides, it’s one of the weakest in the Disney portfolio.
Agree 100%.
It’s better than Luigi’s Rollickin’ Roadsters, but that’s hardly a fair comparison given the budgets of each.
I just want to sign up for emails
Great update… but it feels more and more that Remy won’t be open for our big trip in late-April. We’ll be sad for a minute, but happy to be going back at WDW after an 8 year absence! Maybe they’ll soft open it in the Spring before doing a big grand opening over Memorial Day. One can dream right…?
I think that’s a very realistic possibility. Quietly soft open it ahead of Easter (April 4, 2021) and then have a Memorial Day grand opening.
I’d love to see more expansions around World Showcase, even if this is simply “streets of Rome” and the like.
Still voting yes for a Venetian gondola ride In Italy. And who wouldn’t love some interactive ride in Canada? Other than cheese soup, there’s not much to take in around the Canadian section.
Oh my gosh a gondola ride is a great idea, and seems quite achievable like the venetian Hotel in Las Vegas!
I think you are right, they probably will not open it until Covid numbers look better, as it will be a big draw i’m sure (especially for AP holders and those who can come in for a few days, like us in GA.) Anything new draws a huge crowd (except that 6-9am open in HS! Haha! That was gloriously crowd free and will never happen again I am sure). We are opting to skip Epcot on our September trip. With likelihood of waits to enter the small shops, and all the interactive experiences closed, there really is no point for anyone who has been in the last year, and does not have an AP, to go to Epcot. We will be waiting for Remy and maybe even Guardians to open before booking a stay at Beach Club and heading to Epcot for a few days! We do love the park when it’s functioning normally! For now we will enjoy the view from the skyliner 🙂
I love the depth Imagineers created in the Streets of Paris with the paint job on the building behind the character fountain! It looks like a sprawling neighborhood.
It looks like the Streets of Paris portion might fit in with the rest of the pavilion and be realistic on the outside. My original concern was that the Studios version of the land would be dumped next to France like a piece of Fantasyland.
For what it’s worth, the next fiscal year for Disney starts October 1, yet another reason to expect that the ride won’t open before then.
Epcot has gone through lots of changes but it needs something more. Yes Frozen been added, Imagination needs to be updated with Figment better. Ellen is gone and now we waiting for that replacement to open soon. With Spaceship earth being planned to update, that would mean nothing there to attract crowds. This one will. I have been to Paris Disneyland and have ridden this ride. It is AWESOME! So was the food and restaurant. I was very excited when I heard it was coming to Disney World so that is one definitely can’t wait for and to see again!
My 4 year old son adores the movie so we are so excited for this ride! I can’t wait to bring my Little Chef to ride.
I’ve really been loving your pictures, Tom. Having the empty-park and limited-crowd shots offer a really unique perspective. I was also wondering what your setup is these days – still mainly Nikon? I know there are a million more important topics right now, but I’ve always found your photo journey to be fascinating, and something that a lot of us can relate to.
It’s been a mix between the Nikon D850 and Sony A7 III. (These were shot with the Sony.)
I’ve switched to the latter on our last few visits because the heat and humidity have been unbearable and the heavier equipment just makes everything worse.
I wish they hadn’t changed the culture by adding IP to the world showcase but the ship has sailed. Epcot needs anything new right now. Its so neglected its barely worth visiting IMO. Its like a three quarter of a day park right now. I do wish they concentrated their efforts and money on Future World. The new neighborhoods looked promising.
Can only hope that Chefs de France opens at least when Remy opens. The one place I really eant to go to.
These pictures make me smile. Thank you. I love Paris and “Ratatouille.” I was initially hoping this would be open for our September trip, but I’m pretty relieved now that it seems unlikely. The crowd pics/videos at HS have me rethinking going there at all, even though we’ll be staying at the Boardwalk. I would hate to see the crowds if a brand new attraction opened during the pandemic; it just seems impossible to do it safely.
Same here, love reading the update, but can’t see the pictures.
Well, that’s weird. After posting my comment below, pics appeared.
I’m not sure why, but I haven’t been able to view your pictures in the last couple of posts. I’m disappointed, because I always enjoy seeing them.
Remy is fine for Disney’s little Paris, especially because it means more street space with things to do. It’s fascinating the way massive “urban renewal” in the 1860s in the real Paris missed a patch of narrow medieval streets south of the Seine opposite Notre Dame. That area’s totally touristy, but there’s plenty of good food. And a useful book store, Shakespeare & Co.
I’ve been torn on this one, but there is nothing like living a few months in 2020 to put one’s disappointments into perspective. I can no longer seem to muster my former outrage at the “IP-ization“ of the World Showcase. Instead, my thoughts have been drifting to how much I have always loved dark rides, and how short on these Epcot has been since losing Horizons and the World of Motion. I am also forced to concede how welcome a ride will on this side of the World Showcase, particularly to my kiddos, who do not share my fan-girl enthusiasm for Impressions de France.
“I’ve been torn on this one, but there is nothing like living a few months in 2020 to put one’s disappointments into perspective. I can no longer seem to muster my former outrage at the “IP-ization“ of the World Showcase. ”
haha….former outrage……. I like your preface for this comment…….I guess it is all about perspective now. I’m looking forward to a new ride in World Showcase because I similarly enjoy dark rides and World Showcase is a hard sell for my 10 year old whose interest in the different cultures is somewhat lacking still.
I still miss the old placement of the Eiffel tower! It always feels like something’s missing. I am not a fan of where they moved the bakery to, it’s missing the charm of the old space. I am sure this is cute ride, but Epcot isn’t an amusement park. Or at least it was never supposed to be.
OK… I was trying to figure out if they moved the Eiffel tower. Is it on top of a building now or is that just a weird photo perspective? I am struggling to recall where it was last time we were there… I only had eyes for snacks then (and it’s been a little while now).