Photo Tour: Disneyland Paris Ratatouille

Today the Disneyland Paris Treasures blog invites you to an extended walk-through photo tour of the beautiful new Disneyland Paris Ratatouille area, which recently opened in Walt Disney Studios Park, on 10 July 2014. On this tour, we will visit each and every corner of this wonderful new area that puts you right into a romanticized and very ‘Pixar-esque’ Parisian quarter.

The route we will be taking during this photo tour:

Walt Disney Studios Park map of Ratatouille land

Disneyland Paris Ratatouille

We will enter this land via Rue Auguste Gusteau, the avenue which forms its east entrance and begins right next to the Buzz Lightyear statue in front of Toy Story Playland. We will stroll down this charming little alley until we will pass by Chez Marianne — Souvenirs de Paris, the new boutique which is currently still receiving its finishing touches by the Imagineers and will open to the public some time later this year. We will then continue to La Place de Rémy, the district’s central plaza, and have a closer look at the beautiful façades of the surrounding buildings which have been inspired by the well-known architectural style of Paris’s Place Dauphine and Boulevard Haussmann. Of course we will investigate the plaza’s centrepiece, a magnificent fountain (inspired by the fountain of the famous Parisian square Place des Vosges) and examine all its intricate details. Finally we will reach the main attraction itself, Ratatouille: The Adventure (or Ratatouille: L’Aventure Totalement Toquée de Rémy as it is called in French), not without first exploring the nearby FastPass kiosks location, the attraction’s theatre style entrance as well as its exterior and interior queue. Last but certainly not least we will head over to Chez Rémy for a great dinner at this new and wonderfully themed table service restaurant and thoroughly inspect its lush decor and all details.

At all times during this tour we will be looking out for details and hidden nods to Pixar’s Academy Award-winning film “Ratatouille”.

So, without further ado, let me take you on a tour of this beautiful land.

Rue Auguste Gusteau

This Parisian quarter includes two main streets: Allée des Marchands and Rue Auguste Gusteau. The latter forms the east entrance to the land and this is where we start our tour.

Rue Auguste Gusteau is the east entrance to Disneyland Paris Ratatouille land

The Imagineers have cleverly hidden details everywhere like this bicylce parking spot

Of course there is a dedicated bicycle parking area in Rue Auguste Gusteau.

Chez Marianne is the new boutique of Disneyland Paris Ratatouille land

Beautiful details are everywhere. Lush ornaments in the cast iron fence and in the typical Parisian lampposts. Notice the classic French blue and white enamel house numbers! Each doorway in both streets has its own number.

The Imagineers have hidden references to Ratatouille everywhere, like the rats in this iron fence

The Imagineers have cleverly hidden rats in the iron work of the fences, can you spot them?

The new gift shop Chez Marianne Souvenirs de Paris

Sadly the new boutique Chez Marianne – Souvenirs de Paris is still closed.

Place de Rémy is full of interesting details like this Conisgnment Store

A “Consignment Store”. Do these doors still belong to the boutique?

To make this a real Parisian quarter there are street signs everywhere

“Please No Parking – Vehicles Exit”

The office of Nadar Lessard, the Ratatouille health inspector

At 29 Rue Auguste Gusteau we find the office of Nadar Lessard, the health inspector who is called by Chef Skinner in the movie.

In Pixars Ratatouille Chef Skinner calls the health inspector to inspect the Gusteau's restaurant

The sign next to the door reads “Nadar Lessard. Inspector of Veterinary Public Health – By Appointment Only” (in France health inspectors are part of the counties veterinary section).

More details of Disneyland Paris Ratatouille land theming

The sign reads “Stop authorized on sidewalk“. Everything will look even more lovely once the ivy starts to cover more of the façade with its lush evergreen foliage.

The rest rooms of Place de Rémy are located here

We take a step back to get a better overview of the little square in front of the places we just passed by. Also located here are the new guest rest rooms. I’m always interested in the Disney rest rooms, as some of them are really beautiful, like the ones at the Disneyland Paris Shareholder Club’s private lounge Salon Mickey or the ones of Disneyland Park’s restaurant Walt’s. So we will have a look at the new rest rooms of this Ratatouille land right before the end of the tour.

A typical Parisian street sign reads "Rue Auguste Gusteau"

A typical Parisian street sign reads “Rue Auguste Gusteau”. Note the ageing of the two lower signs and the traces the rain has left on the wall below them ‘over the years’.

La Place de Rémy

We will arrive at the district’s central plaza, La Place de Rémy, whose eye-catching design is inspired by the iconic architecture of Parisian neighbourhoods like Place Dauphine and Boulevard Haussmann.

Ratatouille land's central plaza, La Place de Rémy

The famous sign of the Gusteau restaurant

We can see the sign of the Gusteau’s in the distance.

The centrepiece of the plaza: the Ratatouille fountain

One of the most important elements of La Place de Rémy is of course its fountain, which draws its inspiration from the one found in Place des Vosges, with its circular basins and lion heads spouting water.

Gourmet rats hold up sculpted champagne bottles.

Of course it is rat heads instead of lion heads which are spouting water at this fountain. Now we take a closer look at the façades.

Wouldn’t this be the perfect spot for a Disney Dream Suite?

Obviously these are not your ordinary Parisian rooftops. Everything is a bit more crooked, more whimsical.

The lucky owner of this apartment must have a very lovely view from this little balcony.

Before we continue to the main attraction, Ratatouille: The Adventure, we will head over to Allée des Marchands and have a quick look at its FastPass distribution location.

Ratatouille: The Adventure

The entrance of Ratatouille: The Adventure (or Ratatouille: L’Aventure Totalement Toquée de Rémy as it is called in French) resembles that of a classic Parisian theatre.

Before we walk by the theatre’s ticket booths we have a look at a few of the surrounding items.

Of course this Ratatouille land has its very own trash can design.

Two rats have been cleverly hidden in the design of this sign, can you spot them?

Don’t expect 5 minutes wait time to be displayed here too often. This photo tour was done during the exclusive “Ratatouille” Preview Event so there were virtually no crowds at all.

The “tragedy/comedy” drama masks, representing the performing arts and the theatre.

The protagonists: Rémy – Le Célèbre Petit Chef! (The Famous Little Chef), Linguini – Le Commis Maladroit (The Clumsy Commis) and Skinner – Le Chef Colérique (The Bad-Tempered Chef).

Even though there is barely a line we will use this opportunity and walk down and examine the full exterior queue line before we continue and enter the main building:

A shop named “La Cave de Solène – Vente de Vins et Spiritueux” – “Solène’s Cellar. Wines ans Spirits”. “Livraisons” – “Delivieries”.

“Envie de nouvelles fraîches? Lisez The Epicurean Ego. Chaque semaine, dans Le Journal.” – “Want fresh news? Read The Epicurean Ego. Each week in The Journal.”

Advertisements for Chef Skinner’s infamous line of frozen foods “Gusteau’s Microwaves” can be found on the wall. The first one is “Gusteau’s Microwaves – Haggis Bites”…

… followed by “Gusteau’s Microwaves – Burritos” …

… and last but not least “Gusteau’s Microwaves – Tooth Pick N’ Chicken”! The “BBQ Dips N’ Ribs” and the “Chopsocky Pockets” are missing (the “Corn Puppies” are missing too, but that product the entire line was discontinued before this product was released).

We have reached the end of one side of the exterior queue line and now have to return on the other side.

“La saison des Asperges – Le Grand Marché de Paris” – “Asparagus season – The Grand Market of Paris”

“Entrée des livraisons entrance – Prière de ne pas stationner” – “Delivery Entrance – Please do not park”

Next is the “Hôtel du Marché” which is a tribute to world-famous chef Paul Bocuse, the ‘godfather of French gastronomy’ who served as consultant for Bistrot Chez Rémy (and whose son Jerome Bocuse runs the France pavilion restaurants of Walt Disney World’s Epcot theme park).

The dedication sign reads: “In honor of Paul Bocuse, who spent part of his career in the kitchens of this Parisian establishment, and who, thanks to his talent, was able to showcase the French cuisine to the entire world.”

Almost at the end of the exterior queue line we find another store: “Kitchen Utensils – Kitchen – Table Linens”.

We have reached the end of the exterior queue and are now back at the theatre’s entrance, about to enter the building and the interior queue.

Soon after we enter the interior queue we reach a petite Parisian rooftop area and notice by the size of the surroundings like windows and chimneys that we seem to have started to shrink. In the distance you can hear the sounds of the busy streets of Paris. Suddenly the Gusteau’s sign comes to life and starts talking to us, informing us that Chef Rémy is preparing one of his specialties tonight and we should better not be late.

We leave this rooftop area and continue following the interior queue, picking up our glasses on the way. As we arrive at the attraction’s loading area we notice that we have shrunk even more and are now fully rat sized. Smoke stacks, windows, everything is huge!

As it is almost impossible to shoot photos inside the attraction due to the low light environment, the 3D projections and the fast movement of the rat mobiles, some of the ride images shown here are actually press photos released by Disneyland Paris. All other of the over 150 photos of this photo tour are courtesy of the Disneyland Paris Treasures blog.

The Ratatouille photo tour continues as the rat mobiles arrive at the attraction’s unloading area.

As we debark the vehicles we notice that one can actually look inside Bistrot Chez Rémy from here and already catch a good glimpse of the amazing theming and the incredibly lush decor of this beautiful table service restaurant, so this is where we are headed next!

Bistrot Chez Rémy

As mentioned above Bistrot Chez Rémy is a table service restaurant and it is the first of its kind at Walt Disney Studios Parks (if you do not count the excellent but small Café des Cascadeurs), and it is also the largest table service restaurant of Disneyland Paris with its seating for 370 guests.

Linguini’s bicycle is parked here, he must already be in, most likely preparing our meal in the kitchen!

The clever signet of Bistrot Chez Rémy is printed on the glass. Also note the beautiful ageing of the metal window frame.

Behind the doors we arrive at the waiting room. The walls are decorated with the many awards Chef Rémy earned during his career. Take note of the pattern of the wallpaper and the floor, we are still human size!

As our table becomes ready we are being guided into the main dining room. Again take note of the pattern on the floor: we have started to shrink again…

As we arrive at the dining room we notice that it resembles Rémy’s restaurant which is briefly seen in the last scene of the animated feature film Ratatouille. All of the ceiling is covered with green leaves and flowers and the lighting is provided by huge Christmas lights.

Rémy has reserved a special spot for a copy of Gusteau’s famous book “Anyone can cook!”

Look closely and you notice that each and every item in this restaurant has been assembled out of human scale items.

“Delicious – Five-spice powder – The spices of France”. Note the thimble flower pot on top of the spice box.

Let’s have a closer look on those enormous Christmas lights. They are attached to the ceiling with drawing pins…

…and if you follow the cord you’ll find they are even plugged in!

Who would have thought: Chef Rémy has written his own book “Yes! You can cook!”

As we arrive at our table we are handed the menu which is beautifully leather-bound and features “Bistrot Chez Rémy” and the signet in gold on the cover.

Remember this tour took place during an exclusive preview event and not all of the following items may be part of the regular menus available at Bistrot Chez Rémy:

The first-course, a mixed leaf salad with grated cheese and an olive oil, balsamic and sesame vinaigrette.

Three wines have been specially produced in honour of the new Ratatouille area. Of course we have to taste them all! We will begin with the excellent Saint Emilion.

The main course: Entrecôte steak with French fries and the chef’s sauce and homemade Ratatouille as side dish.

Another fine wine, the Coteaux du Languedoc.

Brie de Meaux, served with vine peach jelly and fruit bread.

Last but not least the Champagne Lanson.

As a very last treat we are offered a delicious profiterole dessert, which sadly will not be part of the regular menu! The icing sugar Rémy adds a nice touch and reminds us whose courtesy this dinner is of.

After the excellent dinner we have an opportunity to discover the brand new rest rooms of this stunningly themed table restaurant.

While the choice of colours and patterns is very interesting, creating a very modern space, the rest rooms are a bit utilitarian compared to the charmingly themed rest rooms of some of the other Disney table service restaurants like Walt’s or the Blue Lagoon.

Faucet, soap dispenser, hand dryer everything is designed to be touch free.

On the way back we stumble over this high chair parked in a side area.

Before leaving the restaurant we make sure to explore everything we have not seen yet and take in all the wonderful attention to details the Imagineers incorporated into every aspect of Bistrot Chez Rémy.

It is time to grow to human size again and leave for La Pace de Rémy, we still have a few corners left to explore.

As we have just examined the rest rooms of Bistrot Chez Rémy why not quickly check out the ones of La Place de Rémy, to get that out of the way. Should you not be the least interested in Disney rest rooms I do apologize! 😉

While similar in the choice of colours and patterns, the much less intricate tile work creates overall simpler and less modern spaces compared to the ones at Bistrot Chez Rémy.

Practical additions like a children’s toilet cubicle and the touch-free faucets, soap dispensers and hand dryers meet modern standards.

We head back to La Place de Rémy and go looking for hidden details and nods to the movie.

The second entrance to the Ratatouille area is this passageway which cleverly transitions from Toy Story Playland to La Place de Rémy.

At La Place de Rémy rats are truly hidden everywhere, in this lamp…

…and in this one…

…and in this one too!

These vehicles look familiar. Note the typical Parisian hydrant.

Parked here are Lalo’s scooter (the one Chef Skinner borrows in the movie to chase Rémy) and Colette’s motorcycle:

As we reach the end of our photo tour we leave La Place de Rémy through the arch passageway to Toy Story Playland, and have a last look at the Gusteau sculpture, which looks down on us.

That is it for today, I hope you enjoyed this photo tour of the marvelous new Ratatouille area at Disneyland Paris. The land, the attraction, the restaurant (and hopefully soon the boutique) are excellent additions to Walt Disney Studios Park.

If you enjoyed this photo tour make sure to leave a comment below and you’ll receive a little Ratatouille Ride related surprise in your inbox, as a thank-you!

I would like to use this opportunity to again thank Disneyland Paris and especially Mathias Dugoujon for inviting the Disneyland Paris Treasures blog to this wonderful Ratatouille preview event. Also I would very much like to thank Ben Mills for a most pleasant lunch conversation and Alan (CafeFantasia), Geoff (DLP Town Square), Graeme (DLRP Roundup), Guillaume (Le Parcorama), Jonathan (Salon Mickey), Martin (DisneyBrit), Max (Designing Disney) and Olivier (Ameworld) for the wonderful company throughout the event!

P.S.: Leave a nice comment below and you’ll receive a Ratatouille related surprise via mail, as a thank you!

 


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3 Comments

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  1. Just found this article, and now I want to go there even more than I did before! Everything looks beautiful, and I love that there is an area dedicated to my favorite animated movie!

  2. This is a film that shows the spirit of Paris! It amazes me to see it, it’s very graceful

  3. I am obsessed with everything Ratatouille. This article is amazing and I am glad to be the first to comment on it. You did a great job showing the attraction through photographs and I enjoy that seeing as I cannot go there myself. Please continue to write more articles on Ratatouille!

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