The “Rat of All Our Dreams” will be arriving at Epcot on October 1, 2021! More than a year after it was originally set to open, many Disney Parks fans have been anxiously awaiting news on Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure. Besides a new ride, a sit-down and quick-service restaurant will round out the new additions to Epcot’s France Pavilion.
Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure Finally Comes to Walt Disney World
Out of all the delays due to COVID, this one has been most frustrating for many Disney Parks fans, mainly because it’s not a new ride. It’s simply a duplicate of the one at Disneyland Paris. Of course, there are kinks to work out on any new attraction construction. But the original never suffered from severe downtimes, such as when Rise of the Resistance opened. The Pollyanna in me was really hoping they’d open this ride over the summer. When they recently opened up part of the France Pavilion expansion, everyone got their hopes up. Epcot is also going through a well-branded “renaissance”. If you’ve visited since the parks reopened in July 2020, you know it’s more safety walls and construction than actual attractions.
I assumed the ride would be open over the summer to help balance attendance especially since Epcot is competing with Animal Kingdom for the title of the least popular park right now. In hindsight, it makes total sense for this attraction to launch during the Epcot Food & Wine Festival, which has prominently featured Remy for several years. Apparently, I totally forgot I said this on a recent Disney Park Magic Clubhouse chat with Ed. I’m wrong about a lot. When I’m right if I can’t remember, does it count? What really surprised me is why October 1st?
Disney World Just Stepped Up Their 50th Anniversary Celebration Game
October 1, 2021 is looking to be quite a full day at Walt Disney World. It is the resort’s 50th Anniversary, after all. Magic Kingdom Park Pass reservations for all ticket categories have been unavailable for close to three months. Many have been focusing on the celebratory plans at Magic Kingdom. Only thinking of Epcot to book a ticket and (hopefully) park hop after 2 pm. Many WDW guests had been praying and hoping Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure would open either at the tail end (pun intended) of the extended Epcot Flower & Garden Festival or right after.
Even with COVID safety protocols in place, Walt Disney World appears to be pulling out as many stops as possible for the 50th Anniversary. We’ll never know perhaps what was originally in store. While they’ve announced new outfits for the Fab Five, renderings of lighting for each of the Park Icons, we still don’t know if there will be specific activities or fireworks shows on the exact day, October 1st. That said, we know that the celebration will last for 18 months through 2023, which should at the very least include fireworks, parades, and perhaps no masks.
Wrapping Up the Magic
I shouldn’t have been surprised about the October 1st date, but I still kind of am. Especially since Epcot will celebrate its 40th Anniversary starting in 2022 (overlapping with the resort-wide 50th Anniversary celebrations). After more time spent thinking about Disney than I should be exerting, I think this is as much of a crowd management strategy as it is a revenue strategy. Even though my friends consider me a Disney Parks expert, I’m that moron that didn’t grab a Magic Kingdom Park Pass reservation for October 1st, let alone make a hotel reservation. I’m an Annual Passholder that’s limited to three reservations at one time. That leaves me to actually consider paying $400+ a night to stay at Coronado Springs, even though I live only 20 miles away. That’s the only way to be able to have more than three Park Pass reservations at one time.
My takeaway is that Disney is expecting to be able to increase capacity by October 1st. Even though most hotels are booked up, the lack of Magic Kingdom availability might have led to a decline in reservations. Now, they can attract more guests to stay on property, booking a Park Pass reservation for Epcot, knowing full well that folks will be able to park hop, and thus will be increasing not only overall attendance on October 1st but also potential revenue. Good on them – let’s just hope they can manage it all. Or, at least have the Monorail linking Epcot to Ticket & Transportation Center back up and running.
