Paris, Wednesday, 27 August 2025.
Disneyland Paris announced last Monday that Ratatouille: L’Aventure Totalement Toquée de Rémy will close in October 2025 for a major renovation, reopening in spring 2026. The most notable change: the ride will permanently drop 3D in favour of upgraded 2D projection as projectors are replaced, a shift made after guest feedback. Expect a new artist‑studio queue scene, larger‑than‑life props, refreshed media and updated ride systems aimed at improving immersion, reliability and throughput. For retail and park operators this signals continued investment in IP‑led dark rides in a constrained capex environment — a mid‑life refresh that prioritises targeted technical upgrades over replacement. Short‑term capacity loss will require operational adjustments across the resort, but offers opportunities to pilot AV, projection mapping and vehicle maintenance protocols that could set a regional benchmark. Close coordination between operations, merchandising and guest flow planning will be critical to mitigate revenue and satisfaction impacts during the closure.
Announcement and schedule
Disneyland Paris announced last Monday that Ratatouille: L’Aventure Totalement Toquée de Rémy will close beginning in October 2025 for an extensive renovation and is scheduled to reopen in spring 2026, a timeline published by the resort’s official communication team [1].
The refurbishment is explicitly framed around a full replacement of the attraction’s video projectors with “state-of-the-art models” and a permanent change from stereoscopic 3D media to 2D projection; Disneyland Paris says this change follows guest feedback and will accompany refreshed media content that has been tested over several months [1][2].
Why drop 3D? Practical and guest-experience rationales
Operators will cite multiple operational reasons for abandoning 3D: headset/glasses logistics, sync and alignment issues that can degrade uptime, and guest comfort/visibility complaints—Disneyland Paris specifically linking the move to guest feedback—while third‑party commentary highlights industry trends where parks choose 2D to prioritise image sharpness and simpler maintenance regimes [1][3].
Theming and scenic scope: a new artist‑studio queue and larger‑than‑life props
The renovation includes a redesigned queue with a newly added Parisian artist’s studio scene — complete with canvases, paint splatters and a fruit basket — and installation of larger‑than‑life props and set pieces in key show scenes to strengthen the physical ‘shrinking’ illusion that underpins the ride’s premise [1][2][5].
Engineering lift: show systems, vehicle maintenance and throughput aims
Beyond visuals, Walt Disney Imagineering Paris and Disneyland Paris are targeting ride‑system reliability and guest throughput: official messaging cites upgrades to ride systems alongside projector replacement to restore performance reliability and improve immersion and guest flow, indicating a combined mechanical and AV engineering programme rather than a purely scenic refresh [1][3].
Operational trade‑offs for the resort and short‑term capacity impacts
Closing a high‑demand dark ride in October creates an immediate capacity gap for Walt Disney Studios Park; historical queue‑time records show Ratatouille routinely generates long waits (with peak recorded days listed at up to 300 minutes in system logs), underscoring the scale of displaced demand that operations and revenue teams must absorb during the closure [4].
Mitigation opportunities: pilot AV, projection mapping and vehicle protocols
The downtime creates a controlled environment to pilot upgraded AV systems, revise projection‑mapping alignments and implement refreshed vehicle maintenance protocols—changes Disneyland Paris frames as setting a higher baseline for immersion and reliability when the ride reopens, and which could serve as a regional benchmark for mid‑life attraction overhauls [1][3].
Strategic context: targeted refresh versus replacement amid capex constraints
Disneyland Paris positions the work as part of a series of targeted asset rejuvenations—following recent major refurbishments elsewhere in the resort—prioritising technical and creative updates over wholesale replacement, a pragmatic strategy where constrained capital and the need to sustain IP‑led dark‑ride offerings motivate mid‑life retrofits [1][3][5].
Coordination needs: operations, retail and guest‑flow planning
To limit revenue and satisfaction impacts during closure, close coordination will be required between operations (to redeploy capacity), merchandising and F&B (to recapture spend), and guest‑flow planning teams (to manage redistributed queues and crowding)—a practical requirement implied by the announced closure and the attraction’s known role as a major draw in park circulation patterns [1][4][5].
Bronnen