Disneyland Paris 2014: 'Ratatouille' dark ride

[Rob]

It will obviously ride better than in the POV because of the 3D. However it is not what I was expecting at all. It is very reliant on screens and for some reason I really didn't think it would be. I was expecting some big impressive sets yet they just don't seem to be there. If Towers got something like that it would be amazing but you expect more from Disney.

 

[AstroDan]

It's not what I was expecting but clearly dark rides must be ridden! Some of the responses to EP's Arthur POV have been similarly concerned.

I was expecting less focus on screens.

 

[Sam]

Oh dear. Might as well sit and watch the film at home. For some reason, I thought that this ride was going to almost entirely reject screens in favour of massive sets of a miniaturised kitchen.

Such a disappointment. I never expected to be saying this in a million years but Arthur looks better.

 

[DiogoJ42]

Well that was an utter pile of pants. What is the point of having a transit system? It may as well be a 3D cinema.

 

[_nemesis_]

Oh no! I been looking forward to this for years and now look at what we get. Having ridden rides like this before, it will still be very good. Just not what you'd want from Disney. The rest of the Paris area looks fab though.

 

[Benzin]

Doesn't help that screens are really blended into sets, making a lot of the area appear vast and empty...

The store room section was probably the part people expected it to be throughout, giant sets with screens complimenting the scene, not being the scene alone...

It looks a tad disappointing as a result it must be said... 3D will probs be good though... But that won't make it better...

 

[Rollercoasters4Life]

A lot of time, effort and money for what appears to be a poor ride. No doubt the rest of the area looks stunning but you just have to wonder that they could of done better with the ride experience. I thought the chase scene would be you moving through the area with a little pace with large kitchen theming around you and screens/theming coming out at you/moving.

I am a little disappointed. It will probably ride a little better than watching a POV but I can't see it being that much greater. A real shame.

 

[evilcod]

Doesn't look quite what I was expecting but I think it still says a lot that reports back from riders have been extremely positive, the real test will be when public get on it in the next week or so. A little worrying though.

 

[Rob]

I have no doubts that it will be a good ride and the 3D will make it seem much better than a POV. I remember watching the Mystic Manner POV though and thinking "wow", you just don't get that from Ratatouille. I just feel that we know Disney can do much better.

 

[Rose Of Dawn]

It looks.....I dunno. The amount of time the cars seem to be just sitting in front of a huge TV screen seems majorly disappointing. Some of it looks really good, but I was hoping it would be up to the standard of Mystic Manor.

 

[Dar]

It seems quite disappointing if I'm honest. They've wasted the trackless ride system by having the cars just park up in front of a massive screen. If they had the cars move around the room or interact with the video in some way, it would be a bit better but at the moment it just looks a bit naff.

 

[LewisNavex]

Really disappointed. The screens are so overused it looks like you're riding through a queue line. And most of the footage doesn't seem to be very original, just scenes from the movie in 3D. I remember watching the Thrill O' Matic POV and it looked more promising. And to have BPB top Disney at a dark ride is quite extraordinary. Sincerely hope I'm wrong though.

 

[Sam]

Doesn't look quite what I was expecting but I think it still says a lot that reports back from riders have been extremely positive, the real test will be when public get on it in the next week or so. A little worrying though.

Anything will get a good review if people are given a preview ride.

 

[Ted]

Looks fairly average from the POV to me. I'm sure that it will be better in person though. Mind you the themeing is lovely.

 

[_nemesis_]

To be quite honest, I'd be disappointed if towers opened something like this, but Disney's dark rides are among the best in the world, this one looks more like your local Cineworld than Haunted Mansion. :/

 

[AstroDan]

I wouldn't be disappointed if Towers opened something like this at all!

It's only because standards for Disney dark rides are 1000x higher than for most parks!

 

[GeorgeT]

I`m shure this one will be very good in person...alhough it will feel a littlebit just like rinding around in a cinema

And being the Europa Park Fanboy that I am...I am VERY happy we got Arthur instead of this. Apart from the fact that the movements of Arthur`s Animatronics are a bit simple I really do thing that EP takes the cake here. Cause the ride feeling itself in Ratatouille is nothing special at all...while Arthur being half darkride, half coaster, really delivers here !

Sorry for the comparison, I´m just surprised and so happy that at least at the moment I think we germans (probably) got the better overall ride experience...which noone really expected I guess.

But of course....final judgement after riding both myself

 

[Rob]

To be quite honest, I'd be disappointed if towers opened something like this, but Disney's dark rides are among the best in the world, this one looks more like your local Cineworld than Haunted Mansion. :/

If Towers got something like this it would be amazing. Compare Ratatouille to any of Merlin's current dark rides, there is no comparision at all. We can only dream of Towers getting a dark ride of this standard at the moment. The only reason that this looks so disappointing is because of Disney's outstanding track record with dark rides; this just doesn't seem to live up to those levels. It still looks a good ride if looked at in complete isolation.

 

[Tim]

I think that if Mystic Manor didn't exist the POV's for this would look far more impressive. But when comparing the very real yet magical world of Mystic Manor to a similar CGI experience it's hard not to feel cheated that Paris got the lesser ride.

However if the 3D in this is really good, they are using very powerful scent boxes to bring the rich world alive and the cars have motion that reacts to what is happening on the screens I can imagine this would be an equally impressive ride. It's just not the experience we were hoping for.

 

[Rob]

Here are a few photos, credit to filipv on TPR:

Forgetting about the ride for a minute, the area itself looks stunning although we shouldn't be surprised about that. It will be a huge enhancement to the park. I also love the inside of the restaurant.

As for the ride, do we know what movements the vehicles have? Is it just basic movement around the floor or do they have some movements on other axes to interact with what is on the screens? I feel that would make a big difference to the overall experience.