October 1st (which marks the beginning of Disney World’s 50th Anniversary celebrations) might seem far away right now, but we have a feeling it’ll be here sooner than you expect!

Lots of things are set to open or take place on October 1st. One NEW thing that guests will get to experience on that day is the opening of the expanded area of the France pavilion, the opening of Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, and the opening of La Creperie de Paris. Today we were lucky enough to get a media preview of this expansion area and now we’re sharing some behind-the-scenes details with you!

We’ll start at the entrance. Here’s a look at the entrance area to the expanded area of the France pavilion. Now, this is something you can already see in the France pavilion.

In fact, you can already walk into part of this expanded area and see some benches with incredible details…

…take a look at part of La Creperie de Paris…

…and even go into the new France bathrooms.

This whole area is quite the sight to behold at night too!

Today, we got to explore a bit more of the area just outside the pavilion. There truly are details everywhere!! Do you see Remy in the gates? The little swirl is meant to be his tail!

The rest of the expansion area (other than what we mentioned you can already walk in and see) is still closed off to guests, but today we got to take a step behind those construction walls and see some of what will be opening up soon. Since this was a special preview event, we were able to enter the area but not take any pictures.

So, we’ll be sharing lots of photos from what we’ve been able to see from the Skyliner, photos Disney has shared, or concept art, and we’ll do our best to describe what we saw so you can close your eyes and imagine it all!

First, when you turn the corner and come into this expanded area from the France pavilion into Remy’s world you’re entering Pixar’s Paris (a.k.a. not a replica of the real Paris, but a sort-of unique take on the area).

In the land, Disney has actually used something that Pixar has named “crookedology.” According to the Disney Cast Member who was sharing these details with us today, when you digitize something, straight lines are very, VERY rigid. In order for things to actually look straight in the digital film, the animators actually have to make them somewhat crooked in the programming for the movies.

So, Disney made a very intentional choice in including that kind of detail in the land. When you come in, everything is a bit crooked and there are no perfect 90 degree angles. You may even be able to notice this as  you fly past the land on the Skyliner, particularly if you look at the little chimneys on the buildings!

And there are all kinds of amazing details like that throughout the land. For example, the manhole covers are Remy manhole covers!

And the fountain (yes, the fountain of RATS) is absolutely gorgeous (yes, a fountain of rats is gorgeous, just trust us).

Disney used a new piece in this fountain that was added to the champagne bottles so it looks like you’re popping bottles of champagne and it’s not just water coming out of the fountain.

What makes this fountain even cooler is that it’s meant to be like a zoetrope! There are little carvings of Remy in stone all along the side of the fountain. If the fountain itself were to spin (like a top) it would look like Remy was running around and actually moving.

Today we also got to hear a bit about the entrance to the ride. The entrance to the actual Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure ride is supposed to be reminiscent of old French ticket booths for the theatre. Pay close attention as you look at the entrance as it really is meant to make you feel like you’re going into the theatre. There are 2 small ticket booths at the entrance to add to that overall design.

And the sign for Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, which we’ve shared a look at before, is STUNNING in person. It’s got hand-laid gold leaf on top of it and is really gorgeous.

Want another peek at this expansion area? Check out the video below!

 

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A post shared by Walt Disney Imagineering (@waltdisneyimagineering)

That’s all we got to take a look at today, but we cannot wait to keep zooming past this spot on the Skyliner to take a peek at its development as the opening date gets closer.

We’ll continue to look for more updates and bring you all the latest news about this new area and all of the other new things coming to Disney World this year. Be sure to check back with us for the latest photos, details, sneak peeks, and more!

Click here to learn more about Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure!

Disclosure: In nearly all circumstances, Disney Food Blog writers and photographers pay full price for their own travel, hotel, food, beverage, and event tickets. We do this because it’s important to us as journalists to ensure not only that we give you unbiased opinions, but also that you can trust us to do so since we’re paying our own way. On rare occasions, when we are invited by a company to attend a preview as media, and when we choose to accept that invitation, we will always make you, our readers, aware of that situation. Today, we were invited by Disney World to attend their media preview of certain changes and new experiences coming to EPCOT, including the expanded area at the France pavilion that will house Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure. Note that when we attend events as media we are 1) Not required to review that event/food on any of our channels, and 2) Not required to review that event/food favorably. You can always count on DFB to give you a 100% unbiased and honest review of any event that we attend, food that we eat, or beverage that we drink. You can see more in our Disclosure Policy. Thank you for reading. — AJ

Are you excited to see this new area in the France pavilion? Let us know in the comments!