Tuesday, 3rd June 2014

Disneyland Paris Pin Trading May & June 2014 releases – Rats everywhere!

Disneyland Paris June 2014 Pin Trading releases

This month’s Disneyland Paris Pin Trading releases have an infestation of — you guessed it — rats. Beginning on 21st June with an “In 1 Month” pin, the tie-ins for Ratatouille: L’Aventure Totalement Toquée de Rémy continue with three more open edition pins, a booster set and a lanyard on 28th June ahead of the 10th July opening.

There’s also the traditional Summer pin featuring The Little Mermaid, another new Disney Dreams! open edition, a limited Lady and the Tramp “Paris” dangler and a new entry in the now brilliantly huge “Attractions” series for Blanche-Neige et les Sept Nains.

Since last month’s releases were missed, see below for a May 2014 catch-up! Read More…

Monday, 2nd June 2014

Cast Member costumes for Ratatouille attraction and restaurant unveiled

Ratatouille The Adventure Disneyland Paris ride restaurant Cast Member costumes

Disneyland Paris formally unveiled the new Cast Member costumes for Ratatouille: The Adventure last week, resplendent with a rich style to make them perhaps the most luxurious in the whole of Walt Disney Studios Park.

Naturally, considering the theme of Ratatouille: L’Aventure Totalement Toquée de Rémy, the costumes of the Toon Studio attraction are closely matched to those of its adjoining restaurant, Bistrot Chez Rémy, with sumptuous gold and burgundy colours, bow ties and short-cut jackets for both ride operators and restaurant waiters alike.

Despite taking inspiration from swanky Parisian restaurant uniforms, the designs retain an important touch of whimsy with the cut of the jackets, the eccentric placement of buttons and those fun bow ties around everyone’s neck — a hint to the shape of Rémy’s whiskers, perhaps?

Disneyland Paris Ambassadors Antonella and Jonathan joined fellow Cast Members to model the new outfits.

One final fun detail, even here on the costumes: Ratatouille buttons!

Ratatouille The Adventure Disneyland Paris ride restaurant Cast Member costumes

VIA @Disney_ParisEN (Twitter)

Saturday, 31st May 2014

Disneyland Paris tantalises with new ‘Ratatouille: The Adventure’ press releases

Ratatouille – The Adventure Disneyland Paris

Rémy is almost ready for his Walt Disney Studios Park debut. Today, Disneyland Paris continues to tease the most anticipated new Disney Park attraction of 2014 with a new press information pack, tantalisingly filled with more information and confirmations about the ride, restaurant and La Place de Rémy as 10th July approaches.

About the ride itself, Ratatouille: L’Aventure Totalement Toquée de Rémy, the release at last announces in official print the trackless ride vehicles and “enormous 3D projection system”. Newly revealed is that there will be five colours of ride vehicle, or “ratmobile” as they’re known. As expected, the six-seater vehicles will travel in groups of three through the ride, with each vehicle able to travel on its own, separate, unpredictable route.

Much of the experience’s storyline can now be pieced together, beginning on the Paris rooftops and following Rémy in a chase through the kitchens as he creates a special meal for us, the guests, or — in this story — fellow rats.

This leads nicely, of course, into Bistrot Chez Rémy next door, which will indeed serve a menu mostly consisting of steak entrecote, french fries and a side of ratatouille in a very fun dining room built entirely to rat-size from huge props.

Finally, even more fantastic details and nods for La Place de Rémy are revealed, with final props including Linguini’s bicycle, Colette’s motorbike and Chef Skinner’s stolen Vespa. The area will also include two named thoroughfares: Allée des Marchands and Rue Auguste Gusteau.

Meanwhile, several new images (below) have surfaced online showing the practically finished interiors of the Paris rooftops loading area, cold storage scene and Bistrot Chez Rémy dining room, featuring Imagineers and Tom Staggs, chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts.

The development is almost ready to be handed over, and the first previews will begin in just a few weeks’ time including an official press opening event on 21st-22nd June.

Ratatouille – The Adventure Disneyland Paris

The complete Ratatouille: The Adventure press release:

Official opening date:
Experience the magic of Ratatouille on 10 July 2014 at Walt Disney Studios Park

It’s officially on the menu: on 10 July 2014, Disneyland Paris unveils a new world dedicated to the Disney•Pixar film Ratatouille. Named La Place de Rémy in tribute to the “little chef,” this all-new mini-land will open in Walt Disney Studios Park and will feature a completely original attraction, inspired by Rémy’s adventures in the film.

The all-new attraction, the 60th to open at Disneyland Paris, is called Ratatouille: L’Aventure Totalement Toquée de Rémy. Guests are shrunk down to the size of a rat and board “ratmobiles” for a zany culinary adventure through Gusteau’s famous restaurant. From a Paris rooftop to the restaurant’s bustling kitchen, cavernous food locker and busy dining room under the careful watch of Chef Skinner… this tasty adventure is full of twists and turns.

Ratatouille: L’Aventure Totalement Toquée de Rémy anchors La Place de Rémy, a corner of the park’s Toon Studios that has been transformed into a Ratatouille-inspired version of The City of Light. This brand new mini-land, exclusive to Walt Disney Studios Park, also features Bistrot Chez Rémy, a table service restaurant serving, among other delicious dishes, the little chef’s famous ratatouille in a larger-than-life setting. A special boutique*, “Chez Marianne – Souvenirs de Paris”, will also open its doors.

Released in 2007, Ratatouille , which won the Oscar for best animated feature film, tells the story of Rémy, a rat who dreams of becoming a renowned French chef. Filmgoers got to know him in an adventure that took him to the top Paris restaurants. With the arrival of Rémy at Walt Disney Studios Park, guests will find themselves in the middle of his exciting culinary adventure.

Ratatouille: L’Aventure Totalement Toquée de Rémy is a first of its kind Disney attraction that features trackless ride vehicles matched to enormous 3D projections of original animation by Pixar Animation Studios. The attraction takes creative imagination and technical know-how, the hallmarks of Walt Disney Imagineering, to create a state-of-the-art storytelling experience. The crazy culinary adventure begins 10 July 2014 , exclusively at Walt Disney Studios Park, Disneyland Paris.

The 60th ride at Disneyland Paris

The culinary world of the Disney•Pixar film Ratatouille comes to life in Ratatouille L’Aventure Totalement Toquée De Rémy, a first of its kind Disney attraction that uses trackless ride vehicles matched to an enormous 3D projection system featuring original animation from Pixar Animation Studios.

Guests shrink down to the size of a rat and join Rémy, the “little chef” from the film for a crazy culinary adventure that sends them scurrying through the kitchen, dining room, and walls of Gusteau’s famous Paris restaurant.

Synopsis

The adventure begins when guests become rat-sized and board a « ratmobile », a vehicle that looks like a cute version of the furry rodents from the film. Soon the ratmobiles are on a Paris rooftop where they encounter Rémy and the ghost of Gusteau as they discuss the special meal Rémy wants to prepare in guests’ honor. Moments later, Rémy’s excitement leads to him and the ratmobiles plummeting down to the kitchen floor of Gusteau’s restaurant. Being rats in a human world is fraught with danger, so Rémy and his new friends in the ratmobiles have to quickly move out of sight before Chef Skinner spots them. Rémy leads the way as all of the rats move from one tight hiding place to another. Luckily, Rémy’s human pal Linguini is there to help.

Ride in the “ratmobile”

Guests will discover a vehicle that is, shall we say, a little unusual, letting them enjoy the experience as though they were the size of our lovable little rodents. Welcome to the ratmobile! Specially designed by our Imagineers, this strange and amazing car, which will make all real rodents green with envy, comes in five colours. It is great for families since it holds six passengers. The ratmobile travels in groups of three, but like real rats, none of them follows the same route. They move using a technology that requires no rails.

Now guests can really experience what it’s like to be a furry little rodent in a human-sized world as they dart quickly from hiding place to hiding place during this zany culinary adventure.

Ratatouille – The Adventure Disneyland Paris

La Place de Rémy:
Disneyland tribute to Paris

The new attraction, Ratatouille L’Aventure Totalement Toquée De Rémy, will be located in a new area of Walt Disney Studios Park called La Place de Rémy in honour of the energetic “little chef” from the film and the city he loves, Paris. This new mini-land pays tribute to the real City of Light while at the same time evoking the whimsical Paris seen in the film.

Also on the Ratatouille-inspired menu is a restaurant, and not just any restaurant, but Bistrot Chez Rémy, with a similar atmosphere and proportions to the restaurant experienced at the end of the attraction. Completing the mini-land, and arriving in the autumn, is a new boutique, once again paying tribute to France: “Chez Marianne – Souvenirs de Paris”.

The Paris of Ratatouille draws inspiration from several iconic neighbourhoods of the City of Light. Place Dauphine and Boulevard Haussmann particularly influence its architectural design. The colours of building façades and the entire neighbourhood are purposefully more intense than in real-life Paris. The Imagineers chose the Paris of the Ratatouille film world which is a valentine to the City of Light. The vitality of the film is completely preserved.

One of the most important elements of La Place de Rémy is its fountain. Filmgoers saw a typically Parisian example in front of Gusteau’s restaurant in the film. To recreate it in the Park, the Imagineers studied many Parisian fountains. The inspiration for our fountain was found in Place des Vosges, with its circular basins and lion heads spouting water. Once the shape and dimensions were decided, the designer Harley Jessup, who worked on the film

Ratatouille, personally added the finishing touches that make reference to Rémy, his rat friends and the kitchen. Gourmet rats, of course, hold up sculpted bottles of freely flowing champagne.

La Place de Rémy will include two main streets: Allée des Marchands and Rue Auguste Gusteau. A tribute to the world’s greatest chef, Paul Bocuse, who provided plenty of inspiration for the creators of Ratatouille, will be unveiled on the central square near Bistrot Chez Rémy. The lampposts and benches will also be typically Parisian. Thanks to all these elements created by Disney’s Imagineers, guests will be able to stroll through Paris as it appears in Ratatouille. Fans will also be able to spot references to the film, such as Linguini’s bicycle, Colette’s motorbike or the Vespa stolen by the dreaded Chef Skinner.

Ratatouille on the menu
at Bistrot Chez Rémy

Delicious French cuisine, like that presented in the Disney•Pixar film Ratatouille, can now be enjoyed by all in Bistrot Chez Rémy, a themed table service restaurant inspired by the world and recipes of the film. The upscale, but light-hearted 370-person restaurant is the creation of Rémy, the rat who loves to cook, and is located in a new corner of Walt Disney Studios Park that’s been transformed into a Ratatouille-themed version of The City of Light. Join us for lunch or dinner at Bistrot Chez Rémy from 10 July 2014.

Bistrot Chez Rémy will welcome guests into a world where they are shrunk to the size of rats immersing them in an oversized world where jam jar lids serve as table tops and champagne corks are turned into chairs. Designed by Rémy and his friends, the restaurant also features everyday human items made large like paper cocktail umbrellas turned into parasols, giant cookbooks standing on end, and plates used to separate seating areas.

On the menu during this Ratatouille-inspired experience, Rémy has prepared a unique menu that includes entrecote, chips, and of course, ratatouille! The “little chef” recommends a seasonal salad to start and a choice of dessert: a selection of French cheeses, including Brie de Meaux, and a fruit salad. Bon appétit!

Ratatouille – The Adventure Disneyland Paris

From fantasy to reality with the creators
of Disney’s attractions, the Imagineers

Guiding Disneyland Paris guests from the dream of animated films to the reality of the Parks with their illusions intact takes more than the wave of a magic wand. It’s all in a day’s work for the Imagineers. This unique group of Creative and Technical people transforms the biggest animated films into immersive experiences you’ll find nowhere else.

The birth of the Imagineers

Walt Disney Imagineering was formed by Walt Disney in 1952 to plan, design and build Disneyland Park in Anaheim, California. Today, Imagineers are responsible for the creation, from concept initiation through installation, of all Disney resorts, parks, attractions, cruise ships and new entertainment venues all over the world. The Imagineering team includes planners, artists, designers, project managers, engineers, architects, art directors, audiovisual specialists, animators, production groups, programmers, site planners, financial analysts and researchers – more than 140 unique disciplines in total. But their work doesn’t stop there: they also design and create restaurants, boutiques and hotels, in short, everything that contributes to “immersing” guests in the magic of Disney.

The unique strength of Walt Disney Imagineering lies in its fusion of creative and technical talents, building new types of shows and entertainment inspired by Disney’s dreams and stories. Thanks to their expertise, Ratatouille: L’Aventure Totalement Toquée de Rémy puts state-of-the-art technology to work, to bring the story to life. John Lasseter who not only directs the Disney and Pixar animation studios but also holds the position of Principal Creative Advisor with Walt Disney Imagineering, himself said, “I promise you that we will not only continue to make the best films, but also the best attractions.”

Wednesday, 16th April 2014

First Ratatouille interior scenes, props, Ratmobiles revealed in new teaser video

Ratatouille Disneyland Paris teaser preview video

Beyond the all-important date (10th July if you haven’t managed to catch it yet), Disneyland Paris more than exceeded anticipation for yesterday’s rumoured Ratatouille: The Adventure announcement by including a little video teaser alongside. Well, perhaps “little” isn’t the word.

Because despite running to just 1 minute 3 seconds, for the first time ever the video reveals a number of glimpses inside the huge new Ratatouille showbuilding, allowing a look at the attraction’s physical scenery, giant props and even trackless ride vehicles. The emphasis being on giant: everything is giant.

Tom Fitzgerald, Creative Executive at Walt Disney Imagineering, and Roger Gould, Creative Director Theme Parks at Pixar Animation Studios, lead the commentary to enthuse about Ratatouille: L’Aventure Totalement Toquée de Rémy, as Tom names it, with a smile.

After seeing the huge Gusteau’s restaurant sign being lifted into place atop the building, we get a series of blink-and-you’ll-miss-em peeks inside the ride’s actual show scenes. There’s the rooftops of Paris load unload area with giant chimney pots, the cold storage with a giant fish, and the dining room with giant trolly wheels.

Towards the end, we even see a real, finished “Ratmobile” ride vehicle for the first time ever. And just to add extra intrigue, perhaps, it’s brown, not grey/blue.

There’s spoilers aplenty, of course — but don’t forget that the physical scenery and props we see here are just the “base layer” of this trackless, 3D projection-filled dark ride. It won’t look like this when you’re riding through it, with 3D glasses plus finished lighting and animation, so there’s a lot left unseen and a lot that will only ever be possible to see in person.

Watch the video now, then scroll down for 23 screencaps and extra commentaryRead More…

Tuesday, 15th April 2014

Thursday 10th July 2014: Disneyland Paris announces Ratatouille ride opening date

Disneyland Paris Ratatouille ride opening date 10th July 2014

Disneyland Paris has just announced the long-awaited opening date of Ratatouille: The Adventure – L’Aventure Totalement Toquée de Rémy: Thursday, 10th July 2014.

Sensibly, the resort has chosen a date just slightly in advance of the official French national day — Bastille Day on Monday 14th July — to officially inaugurate the huge new dark ride and restaurant in Walt Disney Studios Park.

From 10th July, guests will officially be able to enjoy the attraction and its adjoining restaurant, Le Bistrot Chez Rémy, in Toon Studio at the second park.

However, this will likely follow a traditional period of “soft opening” lasting as long as a few weeks, during which time Disney’s newest E-Ticket attraction will be opened to guests for limited trials to test and adjust any operational or technical bugs.

The date of 10th July has only recently been associated with the development, which up until now has steadfastly been promoted only as opening vaguely in “Summer 2014”.

Most rumours pointed to 14th July being the most appropriate date, but it’s likely Disneyland Paris decided the Thursday before what will be an incredibly busy Monday, with the parks already at saturation, is a more sensible operational choice.

The announcement was made with a brand new teaser video, below… Read More…

Monday, 31st March 2014

Ratatouille’s La Place de Rémy joins Walt Disney Studios Park and resort maps

Ratatouille Walt Disney Studios Park Disneyland Paris 2014 Map

La Place de Rémy has officially joined the Walt Disney Studios Park map. Pre-empting the expected guide map changeover on 3rd April, Disneyland Paris has released an early peek at the new, updated map for its second gate featuring the brand new mini-land.

Depicting the Parisian quarter to the right of Toy Story Playland in Toon Studio, the park map now shows the square, buildings, façades and all-important fountain of Ratatouille: The Adventure. The marquee logos of the ride, Ratatouille: L’Aventure Totalement Toquée de Rémy, and the restaurant, Le Bistrot Chez Rémy, are both included, as is the logo-orientated style of the studio park map.

The map’s designers have chosen to end the façades immediately behind their rooftops, similar to several attractions such as Pirates of Caribbean on the Disneyland Park map, and not depict the massive showbuilding in any way. This makes the attraction the first to have a “hidden” or backstage showbuilding on the Walt Disney Studios Park map (even if in reality there’s no hiding it from within the park).

While Catastrophe Canyon and the Dinotopia set of Studio Tram Tour: Behind the Magic have been moved to the right in order to fit the latest expansion on, the rest of the park map remains completely unchanged:

Ratatouille Walt Disney Studios Park Disneyland Paris 2014 Map

In fact, so much so that the version sent out today still features the Playhouse Disney Live on Stage! logo — the attraction has been rebranded to Disney Junior. The full map also inexplicably features Disney Village in the bottom-left corner, seen from the same viewpoint.

Besides the park, Ratatouille will also be featured on the general Disneyland Paris resort map, with a few of its façades pictured above Buzz Lightyear:

Ratatouille Walt Disney Studios Park Disneyland Paris 2014 Resort Map
Ratatouille Walt Disney Studios Park Disneyland Paris 2014 Resort Map

Looking back through the park’s previous maps, it is now relatively impressive to see the changes and expansions since opening day — though they have certainly been somewhat lop-sided, with Toon Studio getting much of the attention.

In 2001, perhaps the barest Disney Park map in history was released for pre-opening brochures:

Walt Disney Studios Park 2002 Map Disneyland Paris

This was thankfully soon updated with more of the park’s finer details (if not any of the numerous expansion rumours of the time, which would take five years to materialise):

Walt Disney Studios Park 2003 Map Disneyland Paris

Then, the first and still biggest change to date came in 2007, when Crush’s Coaster, Cars Quatre Roues Rallye, The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror and Hollywood Boulevard were all added to the map in one go:

Walt Disney Studios Park 2007 Map Disneyland Paris

In 2010, the map was updated with Toy Story Playland along with updated logos for Disney Blockbuster Café and Restaurant des Stars.

As with 2007, the early addition of Ratatouille will give the ride some much-needed advance publicity for guests visiting in the months before its opening.

While teasers have been shared online, the expansion must be one of the first in Disneyland Paris history not to see its construction walls decorated with even a modest teaser of what is being built within. With so many missed promotional opportunities already, it’s a relief to see this one seized, if only thanks to the traditional bi-annual guide map changeover…

Wednesday, 19th March 2014

Ratatouille rebranded: The Ride becomes “Ratatouille: The Adventure”

Ratatouille The Adventure Disneyland Paris ride logo

What stuck in the throat more than Ratatouille: L’Aventure Totalement Toquée de Rémy? For many fans, it was a four letter word: ride. The word that many, and most of all Disney themselves, tend to discourage when talking about an “attraction” was surprisingly plumped for in finding a suitably snappy English title for Ratatouille. Had Disney lost their morals?

But now, Disney have made a sudden rebrand, removing the offending word and renaming the attraction, for English marketing purposes, as Ratatouille: The Adventure. This change is confirmed by the new logo, above, and also a change to the name applied to the key visual and press release already published for the British market, swapping “Ratatouille: The Ride” for “Ratatouille The Adventure”.

Not only does this elevate the attraction somewhat, making it sound less like a fairground “ride” and perhaps more like a €150 million state-of-the-art dark ride, it also matches the start of the French “L’Aventure” title and perhaps helps to hint that there’s more than just a ride: a restaurant, a shop and a whole area development, too.

“The Adventure” will likely only be used in British (and perhaps other English language) publicity for the attraction, and at most inside the English guide maps, with the full Totalement Toquée French title definitely set to appear above the actual entrance.

Ratatouille: The Ride Disneyland Paris English trailer logoRatatouille: L'Attraction Disneyland Paris Français trailer logo

This is now the latest in a series of names to be associated with the project, starting with the working titles “Ratatouille Kitchen Calamity!” and “Ratatouille: Désastre en Cuisine”, then the final official title, and then the first video trailers announcing “Ratatouille: The Ride” and “Ratatouille: L’Attraction”.

Well, there’s nothing Disneyland Paris loves more than a good name change, but what do you think of this latest one, an improvement?

Read previous Ratatouille: The Adventure news here!

Saturday, 8th March 2014

Director Brad Bird tweets from Michael Giacchino’s Ratatouille ride scoring session

Disneyland Paris Ratatouille ride scoring sessions © Brad Bird

Michael Giacchino’s recent Instagram insights into his Ratatouille ride soundtrack scoring sessions have been joined by a tweet from Ratatouille director himself Brad Bird.

Posting a picture of the orchestra playing away behind a Chef Rémy plush toy and a Linguini PEZ dispenser, the Incredibles mastermind said:

Besides the PEZ, the photo also shows how the orchestra appear to be being conducted along to a plan of the ride’s layout, projected in the background, with the “Ratmobiles” shown moving through the scenes as white shapes.

Last month, the film’s original composer, Michael Giacchino, began sharing a number of video clips from a whole week of scoring sessions, featuring soundbites of the attraction’s new soundtrack which he has composed himself.

Should Bird’s tweet be “live” and the scoring sessions have resumed, it really shows how much work is going in to provide music for the ride, restaurant and La Place de Rémy exterior.

This isn’t Brad Bird’s first mention of Ratatouille: L’Aventure Totalement Toquée de Rémy on his Twitter account. In March 2012, long before Disneyland Paris officially acknowledged the attraction, he gave a short response to a fan stating he was very excited about the project and that “It’s going to be really cool.”

Desperately lacking a platform like the Disney Parks Blog, Disneyland Paris itself has yet to truly begin providing any teasers or insights into the attraction’s creation. So here, we have the odd situation where the film’s composer and director are providing some of the best promotion of the mega-budget attraction it’s inspiring. Note to Paris: anticipation sells, silence doesn’t.

Friday, 7th March 2014

Ratatouille ride opening dates: what’s rumoured, what’s reported, what’s realistic?

Ratatouille Disneyland Paris ride opening date

Ratatouille: The Ride will open, that’s about as close as we can get to an official opening date right now. But today Belgian tabloid newspaper SudPresse appeared to break ranks by publishing an article (above, and in full below thanks to DlrpExpress.fr) which states quite clearly and confidently that the date will be 15th July 2014.

Upon closer inspection (or even from a great distance), it seems quite likely that this article hasn’t been anywhere near the Disneyland Paris press department for authorisation — besides the author logging on to transcribe their latest press release.

Because though the text — date aside — sticks quite closely to the resort’s official copy, the images do anything but. The map of Walt Disney Studios Park which appears to show the attraction is a widely circulated, fan-created image superimposing Epcot’s France pavilion map onto the back of Toon Studio.

The concepts of a “Ratmobile”, unearthed as part of the ride’s planning application, have only ever been published publicly by the Disney Central Plaza forum, whose watermark can still be seen on the image. When it came to show the Ratmobiles during last month’s shareholders meeting, Tom Fitzgerland had much more final, official-looking renders.

Ratatouille Disneyland Paris ride opening date

And finally, the photo of the tunnel with a bust of Chef Gusteau comes, uncredited, directly from fansite DLP.info, circa 2010, who weren’t so lucky with their watermark — covered over by the newspapers own caption! There is no way Disneyland Paris would sign off the use of any of these images, so why would they give this publication an exclusive with a date?

SudPresse is apparently well known for such questionable reporting — a search even brings up an “exclusive” from June 2012, recirculating the fansite rumour of the time that a Spider-Man theme would replace Armageddon: Les Effets Speciaux.

What remains odd is that the paper plumped for Tuesday, 15th July 2014, when the most widely circulated rumour so far has been the 14th July — France’s national “Bastille” day.

Bastille Day looks great on paper, of course: opening an attraction based on French love letter Ratatouille, plus an adjoining restaurant, with endorsement from Chef Paul Bocuse, at Disneyland Paris, on the French national day itself; the concept of such a thing is so French the whole of France might just implode.

But is one of the busiest days of the year really the best time to open such a desperately awaited new attraction? And would the French press (not to mention all the extra technical and support staff required for a press event) really want to leave their families and traditional celebrations to cover an event happening on 14th July itself? Besides, Disneyland Paris press events usually only take place over a Friday, Saturday, Sunday weekend.

Ratatouille: The Ride - Disneyland Paris - Concept Art Models Construction

Elsewhere, one quite credible rumour has been that Cast Members could be given a preview of the attraction on Monday, 23rd June, followed by “Soft Opening” beginning on Saturday, 28th June. Soft Opening is the period of a few weeks where Disney opens new attractions for guests as a kind of “dress rehearsal”, giving a chance to tweak the experience and spot problems without the attraction officially being “open”.

Meanwhile June’s park opening hours were published yesterday, with a couple of clues that something might be afoot at the Studios, as reported on DLRPMagic.com. Notably, Saturday 21st June sees the park close at 6pm, rather than the usual 7pm. Indeed, this the first and only Saturday of the year so far that the park will close at this earlier time on a Saturday.

Disneyland Paris wouldn’t cut opening hours on a busy weekend lightly, so this must suggest some kind of private event — for Cast Members, for the press, for someone else? It’s usually good manners to give Cast Members first preview of an attraction, so if this were to be a press event date for the opening of the ride, it might put that 23rd June date in doubt.

Ratatouille: L’Aventure Totalement Toquée de Rémy

Late June would make a far more sensible date to assemble the press for a showy grand opening, though: before the French summer holidays (and abandonment of Paris) begin, and giving enough time for them to draft their footage, reports and articles in time for a big media push on… 14th July? This could be particularly successful outside of France where, rather than the usual samey Eiffel Tower footage, news reports could show the implosion of French-ness on La Place de Rémy as a perfect populist tie-in to the national date.

Disneyland Paris always separates its press grand openings from its public inaugurations. The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, for example, opened to the public on 22nd December 2007 but didn’t have its big grand opening event until 5th April 2008.

That would leave Bastille Day itself as more a simple ribbon-cutting date for the public; indeed, the date on paper — the date that goes down as the day Ratatouille: L’Aventure Totalement Toquée de Rémy finally, officially opened its doors. It’d be perfect. Even though, as is always the way with Disney attraction openings, it wouldn’t necessarily be true.

At this point, it’s really a shame Disneyland Paris won’t just do the sensible thing and make an announcement, if only so that us fans can stop obsessing over a date, book our summer trips with confidence and start focusing instead on what a seriously cool and spectacularly unique new addition this is shaping up to be — perhaps the best thing to come to Disneyland Paris since the hallowed date of 12th April 1992 …or should that be 11th April?

Thursday, 6th March 2014

Ratatouille text hints at smells and senses of the ride, plus a chase from Chef Skinner

Ratatouille: L'Aventure Totalement Toquée de Rémy

Disneyland Paris continues to maintain something of a general radio silence on development of Ratatouille: The Ride, now potentially opening in just four months or less, but a few tidbits of information at least have just trickled out in two pieces of official copy.

For travel agents in the United Kingdom, and published here for the very first time, the resort has just provided a brief snippet of standard copy for the attraction. Despite the usual fluff of these texts, it does reveal and confirm a few interesting facts:

Ratatouille: The Ride

Shrinking down to the size of a rat, you’ll be immersed in a Disney experience like no other. Rémy and his friends cook up a storm when Chef Skinner sends you scurrying through the sights, smells and senses of Gusteau’s restaurant. Duck, dive and dodge your way through a Disneylicious adventure that’s sure to leave you hungry for more.

First, that the attraction will include “sights, smells and senses” — hinting that your ride through Gusteau’s restuarant will be peppered by the scents of food and cooking along the way.

This wouldn’t be the first time Disney have used scents in one of their attractions, indeed areas ranging from Pirates of the Caribbean to Cable Car Bake Shop are “odourised” to enhance the setting or tempt you in for that doughnut.

But for Ratatouille, scents would likely be a much more overt part of the scene rather than subconscious. Indeed, if Walt Disney Imagineering are going to do a fully immersive Ratatouille ride, they really have to do cooking aromas.

Ratatouille: L'Aventure Totalement Toquée de Rémy

There’s also now an amended French press release, which describes the scenes and storyline of the ride in a little more detail:

La 60ème attraction de Disneyland Paris se nommera donc Ratatouille: L’Aventure Totalement Toquée de Rémy. Elle embarquera les visiteurs dans une expérience immersive… à la hauteur d’un rat ! Ils seront propulsés dans l’aventure périlleuse de Rémy, au cœur du grand restaurant parisien « Chez Gusteau », imaginé par le réalisateur Brad Bird. Des toits de Paris aux cuisines en pleine effervescence, en passant par la chambre froide et bien sûr la salle de restaurant surveillée par le redoutable Chef Skinner… L’aventure s’annonce mouvementée et pleine de saveurs.

“Pleine de saveurs” (full of flavour) says this release, which could be another hint to those aromas of the kitchens being dispersed through the ride (or a marketing pun, or both).

Skinner as the villain of the story is confirmed again, the bad-tempered chef likely the reason why our Ratmobiles will be so desperate to scurry from location to location.

And finally, “la chambre froide” — the kitchen cold store, an interesting scene to mention in an official press release. Combined with the “senses” of the English release, perhaps this cold store will be truly cold to riders of the attraction… and the following oven scene truly HOT?

Separately, the release also confirms Le Bistrot Chez Rémy restaurant will include ratatouille itself on its menu (hold the front page!). Obvious of course, but there’s the confirmation.

The official publicity image (above) has also been released in higher quality.

Labelled “Ratatouille – Family”, this version shows only four riders despite the Ratmobiles having a capacity of six — presumably, the other 0.4 children can’t be seen. A previous version pictured six riders of an older age group, so hopefully the €150 million state-of-the-art dark ride won’t just be marketed as something exclusively for six year olds.

Update

Here’s one of the likely scents to be smelled inside Ratatouille: L’Aventure Totalement Toquée de Rémy: oranges! This was confirmed to us by Jay Espindola, who’s involved with ITV’s This Morning programme on British TV, which often runs competitions promoting Disneyland Paris.

VIA Disneyland Paris Press

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