Hello everyone. As i've told you i'm currently on vacation and won't be able to post daily articles but here is one with interesting news about the awaited Ratatouille dark ride supposedly coming at the Walt Disney Studios for DLP 20th Anniversary.
Recently, the picture below appeared on Twitter. The picture was shot at Walt Disney Studios and is showing works on the right of Toy Story Playland area, where the Ratatouille dark ride is supposed to be built. You can see on the left of the picture part of the orange/purple structure of TSP RC Racer half pipe coaster. Toy Story Playland will open mid august and you can count on me for a full report about it, but for now we will have a closer look at this picture. Obviously the workers are building a kind of arch, but, if you click on the picture to see it in larger scale and have a look at the top center of the arch what you'll see engraved is Ratatouille chef Gusteau. As a matter of fact what is sculpted on the arch is this picture of Gusteau that you can see at the top of this article.
Now, what intrigued me is the style of the arch itself. The more i look at it, the more it reminds me the style of the archs of Paris most famous bridge: the " Pont Neuf ", that you can see on the picture below.
The next picture is a close shot of a Pont Neuf arch and although the WDS arch is not perfectly similar there is reminiscences of the style in the WDS arch, specially with the "vertical lines" all around the circle of the arch.
Also, it's interesting to note that the WDS arch, which probably will be the "entrance" of the Ratatouille area, have a certain depth. It don't seems to have a 30cm depth but at least 2 meters/7 feet. So, and although i might be wrong as this is not an insider info, i think that this arch designed by WDI Imagineers might be a Paris bridge arch. And WDS guests which will go through it will have access to the Ratatouille area. If i'm right, i must say that going through a Paris bridge arch might be a brilliant idea for the entrance, but again, please note that i don't have confirmation on this, it just my own conclusion when i look at the picture.
Anyway, whether this arch will be the entrance of the Ratatouille area or not, it's also one more sign that this awaited dark ride is coming for real at the WDS. D&M readers were the first to know as i've confirmed it to you many months ago but it's always good to have a confirmation in "real", isn't it? I remind you that the Ratatouille dark ride will use a trackless moving platform and 3D projection effects and will open at the WDS in 2012-2013.
Pictures: copyright Disney-Pixar, DR