Disney would have to institute a number of course corrections to address this tone problem, but they ended up with a surprising win when Pixar’s Ratatouille released in 2007. One of the initial problems with Disneyland Paris was that it felt like an American contrivance rather than a truly French theme park.

Even more-so than the botched initial version of Disney’s California Adventure, Walt Disney Studios Park lacked the two primary ingredients necessary for a Disney park: magic and imagination. The problem was the studio-park model was pretty much dead, especially after the stunning success of the ultra-immersive Disney’s Animal Kingdom. To keep costs low, Disney attempted to emulate studio parks in the US like Universal Studios and Disney-MGM Studios. The park was primarily opened to meet contractual obligations for a second gate for Disneyland Paris. Walt Disney Studios Park was, to put it lightly, a bit of a hot mess. These foibles included the problematic openings of EuroDisney (now Disneyland Paris), Hong Kong Disneyland, Disney’s California Adventure, and finally-the most troubled of all-Walt Disney Studios Park. The company had been riddled with a series of failures at the end of the Eisner era, a time of stringent belt-tightening and confusion for the Imagineering department. You can read about the ride’s history in-depth in our “Modern Marvels” exploration of Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, but the short version is that Ratatouille: L’Aventure arrived at the tail end of a dark season in Disney’s history. Indeed, the ride played a significant role in marking a turning point for the troubled Walt Disney Studios Park. The Imagineering Story did a laudable job laying out the backstory of how Ratatouille: L’Aventure Totalement Toquée de Rémy (that’s a mouthful!) came to be. How did Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure fare compared to other Walt Disney World attractions? Our feelings are… complicated. Thanks to a segment from the Disney+ show The Imagineering Story, I went in somewhat familiar with the ride’s history and technologies. Similar to the upcoming Tron: Lightcycle/Run, Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure is actually a carryover attraction based on Ratatouille: L’Aventure Totalement Toquée de Rémy from Walt Disney Studios Park in Paris.

I wasn’t expecting anything on the level of Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, but I was cautiously hopeful after being pleasantly surprised by Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway last year. I went into our first ride of Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure with neutral expectations. The preview not only gave us the opportunity to try out the ride but also to explore the new courtyard, merchandise offerings, and (most surprisingly) to try out the new La Crêperie de Paris (offering both table and counter service crepes and galettes-we recommend the table service version for its expanded menu). We had the pleasure of visiting Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure early as part of an Annual Passholder preview this past weekend.

Epcot ratatouille ride