So, Impressions de France's limited operating hours are due to the sing-along running until 7pm.
But the sing-along doesn't start until 11am, which is when World Showcase officially opens. Presumably when Ratatouille opens, it will operate for the park's entire operating day, beginning at 9am. Additionally, the bakery in the France pavilion already opens at 9am. Paired with the increased foot traffic coming through International Gateway due to the new Skyliner hotel connections, it might make sense to open the entire France pavilion at that time. With far lower operating costs than a live-ish show (whose cast already has an 8-hour work day), there is a lot of appeal to adding a couple hours of Impressions de France early in the morning to help soak up crowds in the pavilion.
This also raises the question of whether this may finally be the time for all of World Showcase to open with the rest of the park. Norway already opens early, and presumably a large chunk of France will too. Physically, about 2/3 of the promenade around the lagoon is open to foot traffic, so why not connect the circle? Sure, they could phase the hours of some of the shops and restaurants, but why not finally have the attractions open all day?
Particularly with so much of Future World behind walls for the foreseeable future, this seems like a great opportunity rethink the park's oddly set-in-stone operating hours. Sure, the majority of guests will stay in Future World in the morning, but this would help distribute the load more evenly across the limited and ever-changing infrastructure.
