News Remy's Ratatouille Adventure coming to Epcot

[1HAPPYGHOSTHOST]

I wouldn’t call it crappy myself, but compared to RSR, Mystic Manor, and even Mine Train, I do find it underwhelming.

No, it is pure crap. move to screen to screen watching the movie pretty much. yawn.

 

[Sharon&Susan]

God only knows what they will do to Germany if they decide a Rapunzel ride needs to be built.

It wouldn't be something new, it'd be a clone of Snow White's Enchanted Wish with a showbuilding 3x larger than the Disneyland version.

 

[MisterPenguin]

This is my issue with it - it’s really not that good, whatever the language is.

And despite what anyone is perceiving from my posts, I’d still agree the French makes it better!

I'm not trying to score points, and I know you're not marching with a pitchfork to make the ride all-English, BUT...

If this back-and-forth is being kept alive, it's because of you. You can't stop responding to whatever anyone says about the subject.

Just say your au revoirs and let it be if you want it to die and don't take anyone's bait except with a funny meme. People hate that!

 

[1HAPPYGHOSTHOST]

@marni1971 would strongly disagree with you.

He is entitled to his opinion and I respect his point of views very much. The facade and outdoor area leading up to the ride are gorgeous. The crepe sit down place is really freaking nice as well. But to me, it is in service of a boring, very slow moving, not visually entertaining , dark ride filled with screens. only decent room was the one where you had the giant food around you and it made you feel small like a rat. The whole ride needs to be like that not just one room.

 

[James Alucobond]

God only knows what they will do to Germany if they decide a Rapunzel ride needs to be built.

Would be problematic on multiple levels, not the least of which would be adding further confusion to the bathrooms in Magic Kingdom. Would be fun for the uninformed to go there looking for the new ride only to learn it’s in another park.

Better a generic “Brothers Grimm” ride with a series of key scenes from Grimm-inspired tales vignetted to look like illuminated manuscript pages or something.

 

[J4546]

i could think of worse rides being built in the german pavilion....

 

[1HAPPYGHOSTHOST]

That’s your opinion

Well yeah. Of course it is. Whose else's would it be? I never said it as everyone's. It is my opinion. And I stand by it. Compared to other trackless dark rides, this is very sub par.

 

[J4546]

it feels like it in between Little Mermaid and MMRR. A higher end mid tier attraction.

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

Completely agree on all of this and hope Guest Relations listens!

Playing around with languages should tick all the boxes for them: interactive, entertaining, and educational. They can even work IP into it if they must (e.g. in the app have Miguel and Mama Imelda teach you some Spanish phrases, Anna and Olaf some Norwegian phrases, etc.). As you say, a version for adults would also work well and I'm sure plenty of people would get into it.

They seem to be leaning into the language element with Harmonious (*ducks*), so it makes a lot of sense to make language a bigger part of World Showcase. Particularly once they're again bringing all those native speakers over to work there.

I'm also a big booster of people learning languages, so I'm with you there! I did French right to the end of high school, but the standard of language teaching in Australia was so poor I never learnt much. Spanish I took up later and now work in a lot of the time, while my efforts to pick up the language living in Germany and now the Netherlands have had mixed results!

Thank you for taking the time to actually hear what I had to say on this topic.

Honestly, this feels like it could be one of the few saving graces of Epcot 3.0, and it's one of the reasons I'm cautiously optimistic about Harmonious (as much as I loved RoE). It's such an important part of our world, and one that so many people overlook until it's significantly harder to tackle; Epcot is a place where that spark can be seamlessly planted and reinforced.

I actually have some extended family in Australia, and when chatting with some of them, I was really inspired by how much travel they do (well, did, before the borders closed). One was a huge Francophile who moved to France with her partner for a few years, but even putting that aside, it seems they're so much better at taking extended holidays and actually immersing themselves in other places (probably because they have to, travel distances and all). Very cool that you've made up for that initial lack of exposure in your adulthood!

Ratatouille could genuinely be the reason a student out there chooses French as their language. That, in my opinion, is the most Epcot quality about it, and I look forward to hearing stories of that sort one day.

 

[MisterPenguin]

That’s your opinion

But he hasn't said it 10 times over yet until someone take the bait and reply to hi... oh wait.

 

[donsullivan]

He is entitled to his opinion and I respect his point of views very much. The facade and outdoor area leading up to the ride are gorgeous. The crepe sit down place is really freaking nice as well. But to me, it is in service of a boring, very slow moving, not visually entertaining , dark ride filled with screens. only decent room was the one where you had the giant food around you and it made you feel small like a rat. The whole ride needs to be like that not just one room.

And that's why Walt Disney World is built with a variety of attraction experiences of various types to ensure there is something for everyone, not everything is for everyone. Everything doesn't need to be an 'E' ticket to be considered valid. A good theme park has a variety of experiences suitable to all ages and interests.

 

[1HAPPYGHOSTHOST]

And that's why Walt Disney World is built with a variety of attraction experiences of various types to ensure there is something for everyone, not everything is for everyone. Everything doesn't need to be an 'E' ticket to be considered valid. A good theme park has a variety of experiences suitable to all ages and interests.

I didn't say it needed to be an E ticket but at least have some effort put into it. This ride is lazy and I am hesitant to even call it a "ride".

 

[jaxonp]

To be fair, I don’t really like the attraction (I think it’s a significantly weaker effort than some of the gems from the same era, like RSR and Mystic Manor), but I do like the French.

Something is off when I’m being compared to a selfish American Karen because I want more visitors to be able to get something out of the French like I can (beyond simply “that’s French!”), but I digress. Thank you.

Question, have you been on every Mystic Manor or Hunny Hunt?

 

[disneygeek90]

To be fair, I don’t really like the attraction (I think it’s a significantly weaker effort than some of the gems from the same era, like RSR and Mystic Manor), but I do like the French.

Something is off when I’m being compared to a selfish American Karen because I want more visitors to be able to get something out of the French like I can (beyond simply “that’s French!”), but I digress. Thank you.

I’m not trying to attack, but it seems that your biggest issue is that there isn’t that extra piece beyond the ride. While fair, it’s not a representative way to judge the attraction itself. What you describe is a complement, not a necessity.

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

I’m not trying to attack, but it seems that your biggest issue is that there isn’t that extra piece beyond the ride. While fair, it’s not a representative way to judge the attraction itself. What you describe is a complement, not a necessity.

Fair enough - I still find the attraction on its own merits to be underwhelming, and the Epcot implementation to be lazy.

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

Question, have you been on every Mystic Manor or Hunny Hunt?

Yep, and I like them both significantly more (been to all the theme parks, including TDL twice).

The ceilings might not be as high, but the actual immersion in a themed space is far superior. Hunny Hunt might even be 'simpler' but it's downright charming.

 

[Sir_Cliff]

Thank you for taking the time to actually hear what I had to say on this topic.

I think we were closer than I realised, so apologies if I was a little rude. Like others (I think), I was feeling a bit of frustration that the one interesting decision Disney made about the attraction (to keep it bilingual) seemed to be getting some blowback which just encourages Disney to go the easy and safe route even more.

Honestly, this feels like it could be one of the few saving graces of Epcot 3.0, and it's one of the reasons I'm cautiously optimistic about Harmonious (as much as I loved RoE). It's such an important part of our world, and one that so many people overlook until it's significantly harder to tackle; Epcot is a place where that spark can be seamlessly planted and reinforced.

Again, I feel exactly the same on this. The one thing that may redeem Harmonious from being just another collection of songs and clips from Disney films with fireworks is the use of musicians and languages from different parts of the world. If they can convincingly turn it in to a celebration of linguistic diversity, that could end up being more suitable and powerful than we're imagining. That it is premiering at the same time as a major bilingual attraction is a promising sign that there could be some understanding of how to blend entertainment and education, at least in World Showcase.

My general feeling is that World Showcase's continuing popularity and the fact it looms so large in the popular image of what Epcot is does speak to interest and curiosity that still exists in getting an experience of different countries and cultures in the same place. Again, language really can't be left out of that, as we are also seeing in films like Coco and, I'm sure, Encanto.

I actually have some extended family in Australia, and when chatting with some of them, I was really inspired by how much travel they do (well, did, before the borders closed). One was a huge Francophile who moved to France with her partner for a few years, but even putting that aside, it seems they're so much better at taking extended holidays and actually immersing themselves in other places (probably because they have to, travel distances and all). Very cool that you've made up for that initial lack of exposure in your adulthood!

We do (err, did) travel a lot in Australia for the reasons you mention, plus everyone gets 4 weeks vacation a year and many generous long service leave. Language teaching is terrible in Australia as in most English-speaking countries, but there is something about being so far from everywhere (even South East Asia is not close to where most Australians live) that seems to push people to go out exploring!

 

[donsullivan]

Fair enough - I still find the attraction on its own merits to be underwhelming, and the Epcot implementation to be lazy.

Since 99% of those who will experience it at Epcot will never experience it in Paris, I see nothing lazy at all about it and I expect the length of line will validate that (even with Virtual Queue)

 

[lazyboy97o]

And that's why Walt Disney World is built with a variety of attraction experiences of various types to ensure there is something for everyone, not everything is for everyone. Everything doesn't need to be an 'E' ticket to be considered valid. A good theme park has a variety of experiences suitable to all ages and interests.

When something has the size and the cost of an E Ticket then something of that caliber is a reasonable expectation.

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

I think we were closer than I realised, so apologies if I was a little rude. Like others (I think), I was feeling a bit of frustration that the one interesting decision Disney made about the attraction (to keep it bilingual) seemed to be getting some blowback which just encourages Disney to go the easy and safe route even more.

Totally makes sense! As is often the case with discussion tangents here, I hadn't even thought of this factor before, until:

(1) Someone pointed out the obvious reason why it wasn't updated: having to redo the animation.
(2) An initial complaint about the French came in from someone else.

Again, I feel exactly the same on this. The one thing that may redeem Harmonious from being just another collection of songs and clips from Disney films with fireworks is the use of musicians and languages from different parts of the world. If they can convincingly turn it in to a celebration of linguistic diversity, that could end up being more suitable and powerful than we're imagining. That it is premiering at the same time as a major bilingual attraction is a promising sign that there could be some understanding of how to blend entertainment and education, at least in World Showcase.

My general feeling is that World Showcase's continuing popularity and the fact it looms so large in the popular image of what Epcot is does speak to interest and curiosity that still exists in getting small experiences of different countries and cultures in different places. Again, language really can't be left out of that, as we are also seeing in films like Coco and, I'm sure, Encanto.

Modern Disney is so lucky the World Showcase of 1982 resonates today, considering how stale most of it is. That resonance is largely due to the food, music, architecture, language, and (hopefully soon) cast. It truly succeeds at its mission in a way most theme parks can't, with only Animal Kingdom providing a superior immersive effort (in the US parks), IMO.

For nearly 20 years, I've been dreaming of new countries being added to it, and that was my biggest hope out of Epcot 3.0. Watching concepts like Brazil and India rise and fall has been painful.

That said, there really is hope, and surprisingly Harmonious is fueling it as more details come out. While Ratatouille dashed some of those hopes, I'll continue to dream about a new pavilion by the end of the decade.

We do (err, did) travel a lot in Australia for the reasons you mention, plus everyone gets 4 weeks vacation a year and many generous long service leave. Language teaching is terrible in Australia as in most English-speaking countries, but there is something about being so far from everywhere (even South East Asia is not close to where most Australians live) that seems to push people to go out exploring!

One cool thing before my last visit to Australia (early 2019) is I'd visited Hong Kong a few months prior, and I was amazed by how many Australian accents I heard in HK. It quickly made sense, as it's one of the easiest cosmopolitan trips you can make from there! The language learning might not be top-notch (I'd say it isn't in the US either; Europe has a major leg up), but that motivation to make the most of your holiday time is huge.

I would love to live in Australia one day (was blown away by my stay in the Tweed Heads / Northern NSW region), but that's contingent on AU opening up to Americans again!