Disney World Opens New Ratatouille Ride, Virtual Queue Fills Up in Seconds

10/01/2021 10:05 am EDT

Disney World's newest ride has opened today at EPCOT, bringing with it a mad rush from visitors to be among the first to ride it. Today marks the formal 50th anniversary of Walt Disney World Resort. As part of the festivities, Disney has officially opened up its Remy's Ratatouille Adventure at the France Pavilion at EPCOT after several weeks of previews and soft launches. As the newest attraction at Disney World, Disney implemented its Virtual Queue system, which allows ticket holders to quickly get assigned to a boarding group instead of waiting in line for hours. As expected, the Virtual Queue filled up fast after it opened at 7 AM this morning, with all available boarding groups filled in less than 2 minutes. A second set of boarding groups will open up at 1 PM. 

The Virtual Queue system has always come with its perks and drawbacks. While it prevents long lines during the continued COVID-19 pandemic, it has also drawn complaints because of its "first come, first served" system that rewards certain type of visitors (those who have a more intimate knowledge of the park) and prevents other types of visitors (those who are only visiting for part of the day or those who might know about the virtual queue) from even have a chance of enjoying the new ride. 

Because all of Disney's new rides tend to draw huge crowds, we expect that Remy's Ratatouille Adventure will remain busy for the foreseeable future. On the plus side, it's not likely a permanent fixture - Disney recently removed the Virtual Queue system for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance in favor of a traditional standby line...that created wait times of up to 3 hours.

All four parks at the Walt Disney World Resort have received glow-ups to celebrate the resort's 50th anniversary. In addition to two new nighttime shows at Magic Kingdom and EPCOT, Disney is also debuting a brand new "Beacons of Magic" lighting effect for the iconic elements of the park to provide fans with unforgettable views of some of Disney's most iconic landmarks. Other attractions opening during the celebration include the new KiteTails show at Animal Kingdom, and several other rides are expected to open next year. Several classic shows closed down during the COVID pandemic are also reopening.

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