Anyone who knows me, will know that I absolutely adore rides of this type. The futuristic technology excites me and I had been dying to go on this ever since I first heard about it. For those of you who don't know about the ride, it is based on the Pixar movie Ratatouille. You ride in a rat shaped vehicle which is on a motionless track system (similar to the Antarctica: Empire of the Penguin ride in Sea World Orlando.) You are simulating the experience of being in Gusteau's restaurant and living life as a rat. Through various larger than life props and the use of wide screens, it turns into a lifelike journey.
When we arrived at the Walt Disney Studios Park on our 2nd day in Paris, I knew I immediately wanted to go and queue for this ride. We headed over there to see a 60 minute queue, which sounds bad, but I knew for this ride it would usually be much longer. Therefore we decided to queue nonetheless. The queue area was filled with posters of Gusteau and his many culinary inventions such as microwavable haggis snacks, which gave us all a good chuckle. Once you get to the inside section of the queue however, it gets a little more interesting. You are suddenly plunged into darkness on the rooftops of Paris right outside Gusteau's restaurant. Gusteau comes to life on the sign (as he does in the movie) and talks about various things, and even tries to give himself an extra star on his sign. He spoke in both French and English which I enjoyed. After this section it wasn't far to the vehicles and everyone was excited. Each rat holds 6 guests, 3 in the front and 3 in the back.
Now maybe this is because I have visited Orlando, Florida and rode the rides there, but I must say Ratatouille was lower than my expectations. I understand that this is a child friendly ride and therefore cannot be some high speed chase through the kitchens of Paris but I was slightly disappointed. My friends on the other hand who have only ever visited British theme parks were thrilled. I think I was too busy comparing it to the Gringotts Coaster, Spiderman and Transformers. However, despite all of that I did like the ride. We all agreed to use the single rider line to be able to go on it again. The 3D effects were good and made it all seem more realistic. I especially liked the part where we were shoved in the oven and the whole room heated up, although the first time we rode none of us saw this bit. Each rat goes a slightly different route and there are 3 rat vehicles in each scene at any one time, so we came to the conclusion that each ride would be slightly different. So the second time I rode, I did feel the heat of the oven, and I liked it much better being the last rat in each scene as you had longer to look around and notice things.
Overall, it is a very good ride and well made. I just prefer things on the faster side.
Also, a side note, the restaurant looked amazing. We didn't eat here, but the attention to detail in the decor was superb.
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