Epcot is best known for its collection of countries and cultures contained within the Epcot World Showcase. The popularity of eating and drinking your way around the World Showcase Lagoon can make you forget that you do have a couple of rides available to you in that section of Epcot.
There are currently three countries inside Epcot’s World Showcase that have their own ride. The France Pavilion has a brand new section with Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure 4D ride. The Norway Pavilion features the extremely popular Frozen Ever After water ride. The Mexico Pavilion features the Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros, also a water ride.
Disney has had talks of opening more rides in the World Showcase that have not yet come to fruition. For now, we’ll give you a breakdown on the three available rides so that you can make an informed decision on whether or not they should be squeezed into your trip to Epcot.
Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure: A 4d Ride with action-packed animation
This brand new entertaining ride is a great option for anyone visiting Epcot. It features an easy-going, yet adventurous ride path that transports you into the world of a rat inside a French kitchen. The ride vehicles are intuitive and work independently from each other and glide smoothly along their designated path.
Since it is one of the newest rides at Epcot, Remy’s ride usually has a hefty wait time. We expect Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure to follow a similar popularity pattern as other new rides before it, most likely seeing 60 – 120 minute wait times on a daily basis.
How to Find Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure Ride:
If you enter the park from the main entrance, you’ll have to walk through Future World towards the World Showcase. From there, begin your journey around the World Showcase in a counter-clockwise fashion – you’ll see the Canada Pavilion first.
You’ll pass through the United Kingdom Pavilion and soon reach France. Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure is located in the back half of the pavilion. You’ll turn a corner to the left once you pass through the gates of this section and know you’ve come to the ride when you see the sparkling fountain out front.
The Theme:
This is a cute and unique theme for a ride. The idea was to put you on Remy’s level, so every aspect of the ride from the people to the food and the kitchen utensils will appear giant compared to you. The ride takes you on a path through the kitchen as you try to avoid getting stepped on or trapped.
Once you’ve maneuvered your way through the kitchen and prepared a delicious meal for the patrons, Remy’s whole rat family will congratulate you with a feast and a toast inside the cupboards.
The Queue:
You’ll begin your wait outdoors, partially covered from the sun and the rain under a French style greenhouse. From there, you’ll enter a fairly basic walled-in space that continues weaving through to the final destination. You’ll end up in the “sewer”, as Remy did in the movie, then board your ride vehicle shaped like a rat.
The line queue maintains the same French flair you’ll find all throughout the France Pavilion. You’ll encounter scenes from the Ratatouille movie in art displays and lifelike rooftops of Paris. Even Chef Gousteau will make an appearance via his restaurant sign.
Remy is discreetly placed all throughout the queue interior, featured in several designs along the way, like the decorative wallpaper and patterns in the fabric.
The Ride:
You’ll begin by entering the world of the rat, noticing that everything around you is starting to become larger – or rather, that you are becoming smaller. Your 3D glasses will come in handy as you are placed in front of several different screens along the way where Remy gives you directions for entering the kitchen and cooking the meal.
A maze of real objects and scenes are blended with 3D animation to bring this world to life. As your vehicle takes you from scene to scene, you’ll experience several starts and stops and many different situations that you have to respond to. This includes running from the kitchen staff at one point to avoid being captured. This is all done in a family-friendly way without much jerking or jolting.
By the end, you finally cook the meal and delicious smells fill the room once the beautiful dish has been prepared. It’s served and then celebrated with Remy’s entire family!
Insider Tips:
Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure is a great choice for adults and children, pregnant women and older adults who may be more sensitive to intense rides. We wouldn’t categorize Remy’s with the thrill rides, rather we’d say this one is probably the most gentle 4D ride we’ve ever experienced.
We’d highly suggest going early or late to this one to avoid the highest wait times, or skipping the wait altogether with a Lighting Lane selection.
Frozen Ever After: A Water Ride with a Blockbuster Theme
Prior to the Frozen feature film’s release, Disney had already planned to replace the classic Maelstrom ride in Norway’s Pavilion with a Frozen movie themed ride. The process was expedited as soon as Frozen hit theaters and achieved incredible, sweeping success with the masses.
Maelstrom closed down on October 4, 2014, to make room for the construction of Frozen Ever After. The new ride uses the same boats and tracks that Maelstrom used, but with a totally redesigned environment.
How to Find the Frozen Ever After Ride:
If you’ve just entered Epcot, make your way to the entrance of the World Showcase.
Once you get to the World Showcase Lagoon walkway, take a left to follow the path clockwise, toward the Mexico Pavilion. Pass the Mexico Pavilion and you’ll immediately find yourself in the Norway Pavilion.
From there you’ll need to follow the pathway between the stave church (the big wooden structure) and Akershus (the Norwegian restaurant). You’ll find the entrance to Frozen Ever After down that pathway, in the back of Norway.
*Tip: Make sure you pay attention to the line you get in. If you have a Lighting Lane Pass for Frozen Ever after, it can be easy to miss the correct line entrance if you’re not paying attention to the signs.
The Theme:
The general theme of Frozen Ever After takes you through the entire first Frozen movie from beginning to end. You’ll see all sorts of characters from the movie, starting with Olaf and Sven to Anna, Elsa & Kristoff, and even the friendly giant snowman, Marshmallow.
At the end of the ride, Anna & Elsa are depicted celebrating their reunion and the end of winter dressed in their “Frozen Fever” short film dresses.
The Queue:
The line queue is very well executed. No matter how bright the Florida sun outside may be, the Frozen Ever After queue will transport you to the cozy streets of Arendelle at night.
Lanterns suspended from lines with festive pennants light up the winding cobblestone pathways. You’ll see advertisements for the holiday on the walls.
One of the particularly recognizable queue features is Wandering Oaken’s Trading Post and Sauna, which you will pass through on your way to the boats. Oaken will be greeting you from his sauna as you prepare to load into your boat.
Wait times for this ride can be long, so plan ahead for this one. As a matter of fact, this ranks highly on our Epcot Fastpass+ Tiers list for it’s popularity. If you’d like more details on how to book these passes, this post will take you through all the steps.
The Ride:
Finally, you’ll settle into your boat and embark first to Elsa’s ice palace. Fan favorite Olaf will be ice skating and singing “For the First Time in Forever” before you reach the palace gates. Anna, Kristoff and Sven are also among the featured singers for the ride.
Upon arriving at the palace, Elsa will greet you with a particular song that needs no introduction. *Spoiler Alert: It’s “Let It Go”…* You’ll watch scenes of Elsa constructing the castle of ice with her magical powers.
The mild thrill comes next, as you encounter Marshmallow, the giant snowman that serves as Elsa’s palace guardian, and the Snowgies, the baby snowmen from the Frozen Fever film. A short drop will send you downward, back toward Arendelle.
Finally, you’ll pass by the Arendelle Castle, fireworks abounding. Anna, Elsa, and Olaf will sing “In Summer” to you as you reach the dock to disembark and exit the attraction.
Insider Tips:
Despite being a water ride, this one is actually not going to get you too wet. Expect a few drops from the side of the boat, but nothing more than this.
Frozen Ever After is one of the most popular rides in Epcot and often experiences some of the longest wait times. The ride is definitely worth a Lightning Lane pass if you have children that enjoy the Frozen movie. Adults will also enjoy Frozen Ever After, but most would elect to spend their pass on either Soarin’ or Test Track, both located in the Future World section of Epcot.
If the Frozen ride has put you in the mood for a Frozen dessert, check out our Ultimate Guide to Epcot Ice Cream.
Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros: A Short, Musical Water Ride With Low Wait Times
This one is in a somewhat out-of-the-way location. It’s not uncommon for Epcot guests to miss the ride altogether. Gran Fiesta opened on April, 6, 2007 and takes you on a boat ride through the Mexican waterway inside the massive Mayan pyramid at the Mexican Pavilion.
How to Find the Gran Fiest Tour Ride:
First, make your way to the World Showcase and turn left when you reach the lagoon. The Mexico Pavilion will be the first country you come to when entering this way.
The Gran Fiesta Tour is probably the most easy-to-miss ride in all of Epcot. It’s located inside the Mexican pyramid, in the back left corner. The pyramid features a few different shops and dining options toward the front, with an open-air market in the center.
Enter the structure, make your way past the open air market and look for the ride queue entrance.
The Theme:
The theme of the Gran Fiesta Tour is that the Three Caballeros will be performing a musical show, but end up misplacing their third member Donald Duck. All throughout the ride, Donald appears in different scenarios where he’s trying to get back to his friends. You’ll see his friends, in turn, looking for Donald but barely missing him each time.
Donald gets to experience all sorts of Mexican cultural traditions and festivals as he seeks out his band. Once they are finally reunited, they perform their theme song for the crowd.
The Queue:
The line queue here is nothing special and doesn’t take up much space. You’ll wind around a few times and find yourself at the boat launch. Wait times for this attraction are typically some of the lowest at Epcot, averagin 5 – 10 minutes.
The Ride:
After you load into your boat, you’ll be on your way, floating through the interior of the Mayan pyramid’s main room. Once you enter the next area, you’ll see the Caballeros Panchito and Jose and find out that the third member, Donald, has disappeared. You’ll travel through scenes looking for Donald along the way.
Eventually, you’ll make your way through a musical scene reminiscent of Magic Kingdom’s iconic It’s A Small World. Panchito and Jose later find Donald and pluck him away from the Mexican ladies he had run off with.
Finally, the ride ends with the Three Caballeros performing their show in Mexico City, complete with a fireworks display.
Insider Tips:
There are no passes available for this ride, but none are necessary. The line is typically less than 5 minutes long.
Our advice would be to make your way to the Mexican Pavilion when you feel that you need to rest your feet and take a break from the hot Florida sun. Once you’re inside the pyramid, visit the super popular La Cava de Tequila to try one of their many margaritas and maybe sit down for some chips and guacamole.
After you get your margarita, spend some time checking out the artifacts in the very front of the pavilion. Check out some of the shops in the open air market too.
End your Mexico Pavilion experience with a short boat ride on the Gran Fiesta Tour. Finally, head back out to the World Showcase and continue exploring the other countries.
