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 am so excited this is happening but I REALLY hope they do a soft opening during the time of Spring break because that is when I am going and it might be a one-time thing of me going so I hope I get to see it. Also, if they do a soft opening I would prefer and like you to NOT announce it. If Disney is doing a soft opening, give them their privacy and do NOT announce it. If you announce it, more people will go and then it will not be a soft opening, and that would ruin disney’s plan. Thank you.
Disney is not going to soft open a ride 6 months in advance of the official opening
Hope it is better than the “RRRailway”. I love the new cartoons but found the ride to be a one time thing as far as interest goes.
Opening the ride means you start depreciating the asset. That’s a big expense to the P&L, and you don’t pull that trigger until you know you have the revenues to cover it. Disney would be foolish to open the ride to low crowds, and yet they have to be extra careful of encouraging big crowds until it is acceptable to do so within the covid environment. This is why the ride sits there ready to go, but not open.
SO EXCITED!!
I love Disney World, we took our kids there and when they grew up we met our friends there and now it’s our grandchildren. To see the excitement and wonder in our grandchildren’s eyes warms my heart. We are suppose to go with our daughter and 7 year old granddaughter the end of July and I’m starting to second guess about going. Is it worth it, will there be Long lines, will they open more character dining? So many things have closed and without fast pass or meal plan will it be an enjoyable time for a 7 year old? I was looking forward for her to see Ratatouille , it’s been done and instead of opening it their thinking about waiting until October for the big 50th typical of them not thinking of the summer crowd. I need some opinions.
Same, with so much closed already, like character greets which are a huge part for my girls. Leaving a ready to go ride on the shelf is irritating and is one more of the little things that makes me wonder if WDW I fell in love with still exists. I hope it does still exist, and this has just caught me on an off day, but each time I read something like these kinds of delays, entertainment cut or closure it erodes my faith that little bit more.
When I was there during Christmas, there was a security guard outside the wall where that flag is hanging and he told us that everything was finished, they were just waiting for the higher ups to put out an opening date. We are going back in June and I am really irritated that they would put it off for so long just for the anniversary event. Why not do it now and let everyone begin to enjoy it? Why has this world become so obsessed with “The Big Reveal?” People going this summer may be the only chance they get, and just because you want bigger hype, those people will never get to experience it. I’m so tired of all these selfish, profit driven reasons for not being able to enjoy a new ride or event.
Booooooooooooo! But I knew it was a risk when I booked. I don’t want to wait for the fall to visit, I MISS Disney, and I guess my consolation prize is smaller crowds? Its clear Disney doesn’t see themselves raising the park capacity by a significant amount before the fall. Orrrr, they will bring on the crowds, fail to return fast pass until just AFTER my trip while also keeping me out of a much anticipated new and complete attraction. Because my Disney Dice rolls have been as good as my Craps game these past few visits. I’ll be at the pool…
SUPER NEWS!!! As to your question, how could anyone think this doesn’t fit France and World Showcase???? It’s perfect. You’re right, the movie is a love letter to Paris. EPCOT still needs a lot more but this is a good step forward. I’m psyched. OCT 1st does make sense and what an insane day that will be. Going to be a lot of park hopping so plan well. Not to sound too Polyannish but unless something goes horribly wrong, the virus will be well on it’s way to the back burner. We’ve not been concerned but we finally signed up for the vaccine a week ago and a few days later we got an email to come get our Johnson & Johnson shot. There are some who feel we may already be near heard immunity and we certainly will be by the end of April /early May. People will be pouring into WDW and with the 50th it will not stop. The only thing that might hurt us won’t even happen for a year, if at all, and that’s inflation/ depression. But right now the economy seems to be coming back. It looks like good times ahead in 2021. Keep the good news coming!
I think there’s a good chance we’re closer to herd immunity than public health officials will publicly admit. For one thing, they keep talking about immunity in terms of vaccinations–but that’s not the only way to gain immunity.
As a sweeping generalization, I think there’s also a good chance that those who are vaccine hesitant are also more likely to have already been infected.
Right you are Tom, I read somewhere that scientists now believe that as many as 50 million people may have had it and didn’t know or thought they had a cold. A good example is my friend Miguel, a NYC policeman. He tested positive at work in Manhattan so the whole family was tested, his wife had it and it was like a terrible cold. She was bedridden for two days. Two of his sons had the antibodies, they never knew they had had it. His third son had it but it was never more than a normal cold. Miguel’s only problem was the strain mentally. Physically he felt fine but during the 2 weeks he had to wait to see if it would turn into something deadly. That was nerve wracking and kept him up at night. Had he not been a cop tested everyday at work he never would have known he had it, his two boys would never have known, his wife would have thought she had a terrible cold and his one son would have thought it was just a regular cold.
Tom, not to burst your bubble but “natural” immunity does not last any long–certainly not long enough for herd immunity if people don’t get vaccinated. Reinfections risk is real. I personally was shocked when I tested positive for separate Covid infections 5 months apart (both symptomatic; including a rapid test the second time to confirm it was an active reinfection and not a too-sensitive PCR test picking up old virus from the prior infection) and my doctor said she is seeing more and more of it these days.
Agree Tom. They don’t seem to count those of us who already had it. We had it before lockdown even started and barely noticed it. If we’ve had it again since then we didn’t notice it at all. With so many people being asymptomatic, I think the numbers are higher than we’re being told. I certainly hope so!!
I can understand the timing…kind of. From a marketing/pr standpoint I would have thought separating the opening of this ride and the 50th anniversary would be more ideal. The 50th anniversary will (hopefully) make enough noise that they would gain very little by adding this on top of it. Opening another major ride could have been a stand alone reason to have people talking about Disney World, now it’s going to get wrapped up with all the other things happening at the same time.
Yes majorly disappointed in October date and agree it’s going to get buried in the 50th celebration. Of all the attractions ready to launch this one was my hope to see.
Just what I was thinking….50th anniversary is already enough of a draw for the crowds, spread the joy throughout the year! Was hoping for August. Ah well. I really hope that the vaccination programme goes well in the UK and the US and we are allowed to travel over! Fingers crossed 🙂 thanks for the fabulous, helpful blog by the way 🙂
I don’t expect they will move up the opening significantly. Sure, a soft open could occur in September, but they aren’t going to announce a Grand Opening of October 1, but actually have it running 3 months before that.
On a personal level, planning an August trip, I’m really bummed.
On a broader level, I’m not totally surprised — It confirms my speculation that WDW is re-opening VERY SLOWLY. Sadly, it also suggests that Harmonious won’t be coming until October 1st. And I think Harmonious is a bigger deal than the Rat.
Finally, I think this is a marketing mistake by Disney. October 1 marks the start of the 50th Anniversary. It should be BIG. It’s the 50th of Magic Kingdom — Not of Epcot.
I understand none of the “big rides” will be ready by October 1st. But sometimes it’s then better to do nothing, then to do something second-rate.
“Let’s celebrate 50 years of Magic Kingdom Magic with the grand opening of a B-ride at Epcot cloned from Euro-Disney!”
October 1st ?? It can certainly be opened a lot earlier than that! Another reason for Chapek to go!
I’m leaning on your optimism that it opens a little early. It seems crazy to think they wouldn’t at least open it in September to get the kinks out before the 50th anniversary. We have a trip planned for the first two weeks in September, daughter’s 5th birthday. I’m really hoping we are fairly close to normal by then. What’s the odds, 50percent or better Remy is open in September? Give an anxious parent some hope!
You’re going to have a great trip. We did Disneyland for my daughter’s 5th and Disney World for her 7th and both trips were so much fun and made some incredible memories.
I would think there is a decent chance they do a soft open sometime around the beginning of September, but honestly one ride being open or closed isn’t going to make or break your trip. It will be great regardless.
I do share your hope that we are more back to normal by them, I’m hoping we at least get some fireworks at Epcot. I also think vaccines should be generally available by then which should mean no more masks (that’s what the science says, but PR is a different story).
So funny… We JUST booked a trip for Sept 19-25. I was thinking surely Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure would be open by then… I hope we get lucky and they do a “soft open”. I wonder if this will ensure a little bit lower crowds… ??
Will you be covering some of the other “vague” comments from Chapek about ramping up operations?
I’d like to hear your thoughts on them.
Could I volunteer in February to be a tester? Lol!!! My husband and I actually were testers for Epcot right before the opening!! It was interesting when the rides would stop!!!
I have a hopeful feeling that it’ll be open sooner than later. Maybe they’ll take the reservation route as they do with RotR for the first year. To hype the ride with this PR spot only to have the public wait another six months would IMO be strange and ultimately bad PR.
Why can’t it be open for this year? I’m just hoping it can just be already built and ready to go when we can book our trips to go to Disney’s Ratatouille adventure! Cause I think it be better if we know what day and date that it can be open for us to go and that way we can also know what date and day whenever it’s not super busy for the Grand Opening!!
Lol, well, this comment didn’t age too well. I was staying hopeful since we’ll be there in two months and Ratatouille is one of our family’s favorites. Oh, well. There will be plenty of other things to see and do…and eat.
Tom,
Do you think we can even wish for a Passholder preview!?
I’m really interested to see if the imagineers have made any changes to this attraction. Unfortunately I feel that the average Disneyland Paris guest (who don’t have Rise of the Resistance, Forbidden Journey and Amazing Adventures of Spiderman nearby) won’t have the same issues that the more die-hard fans have.
I’ve been on it many times in Paris and whilst there is some good screen/set integration, the issues are too big to ignore like the black floors and the two big screen rooms with no set dressing whatsoever (the rooftop to kitchen scene and the Remy’s kitchen/champagne cork scene). As I’m from the UK, Paris is my local park and I really wished it could have been so much more when I first rode it and a real unique ride to be proud of but unfortunately this is not the case!
Having been on Mystic Manor in Hong Kong Disneyland since then, there really is no comparison and I hope all Disney World fans temper their expectations!
“…the issues are too big to ignore like the black floors and the two big screen rooms with no set dressing whatsoever…”
It’s impossible to tell whether the footage was recycled from WDSP, but what they’ve shown in the last couple of months has those same issues, sadly.
I wonder if all of these delays and Disney-driven “hype” over this attraction is going to lead to a lot of disappointed guests. This really isn’t that great of a ride! Far too many screens and far too few physical props. Measured against recent WDW additions like Runaway Railway, Rise of the Resistance, and Flight of Passage, this one is going to be a big let down.
The one thing Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure would have had going for it is the novelty of a trackless dark ride, but that’s gone now, too.
Still, Walt Disney World guests and fans tend to be pretty “forgiving” when it comes to mediocre attractions and World Showcase is starved for rides, so I could see this being reasonably well received.
It “feels” like Disney wants to give itself the ability to open Ratatouille quickly, having everything ready to launch at just weeks notice.
My guess is they will open it as soon as they start to feel a surge towards more normal operations and bookings – they just don’t know when that will be.
They may not wait for everything to actually be totally normal.
Opening would in fact be an important marketing message to prospective guests – it’s a way to signal to guests that WDW isn’t just a shell of itself with Covid restrictions, but that it’s a place ever becoming more magical.
With vaccine rollout just starting and with the seasonal viral factors, there is no way to know precisely when we can really start transitioning to normal. The most cautious health experts would tell you not to expect “normal” till fall or later. But spring isn’t outside the realm of possibility.
Seems Disney just wants to be ready to flip the switch quickly. They may not wait for traditional grand opening time of year. If Covid cases are plummeting by March, they could open in April. (For example).
“The most cautious health experts would tell you not to expect “normal” till fall or later.”
On a related note, I think it’s going to be interesting to see how/if Disney pivots here. If health experts are still encouraging caution but vaccines are widely available and the general public is exhausted and over this, will Disney modify its policies accordingly?
Personally, I have a very difficult time envisioning Summer 2021 not being normal. My expectation is that cases starting plummeting from seasonal highs by February, with the vaccine giving a further assist in March/April. That coupled with people being worn out from the last year (at that point) means normalcy one way or the other. Perhaps that’s overly optimistic, though.
Tom… you hit the nail on the head.
Disney is already more cautious than the Florida government requires.
IF numbers truly plummet BUT experts insist major precautions continue to be necessary.. hard to say what the public will accept and in which direction Disney goes.
By late spring, (May-June), based on all I’m reading, we may see vaccination rates anywhere from 30% of Americans to 65%. With children still not vaccinated.
So if infections are still 30,000+ reported per day, with deaths of “only” 200 per day… hospitals no longer overwhelmed, is that good enough to go back to “normal?”
I do think the closest-contact activities will remain suspended till we truly eliminate the virus. Talking about buffets, character meets, etc.
And last… wonder which goes away first, masks or social distancing. I don’t think they will both go away at the same time. I can see social distancing being reduced while keeping the mask requirement. (You can’t operate at 100% capacity with social distancing. But you can definitely do it with masks).
My best guess for summer 2021:
Fireworks and some entertainment returns
Reduced social distancing, increased dining capacity. (FP return? Unknown)
EMH return
Increased capacity to 50% (which is pretty close to normal summer crowds)
Masks remain required, at least indoors, queues, seated entertainment.
Our last pass over the area on the Skyliner was on Saturday, December 19th. Just as on our first passes over on Dec. 15th, Everything that a guest would see looks complete. The fountain was on, the lights were on at night. The rear areas showed no visible signs of work being done.
Interiors, of course can be quite different, just ask a Russian gent named Potemkin. But it looks 100% complete on the outside.
It’s done on the inside.