PotC Hidden Skull?

[Sonic Sunglasses]

I know it's been mentioned one hundred times, but that voice-over. It sounds like a really cheesy commercial.

I'm fully expecting to find the Auctioneer selling used cars after listening to that.

 

[tirian]

Same.

At this point they're better off gutting it and turning it into a ride that makes sense. I don't want to lose the classic Pirates, mind you, but they keep doing these things. We already got the lesser Pirates version and now they keep "enhancing" it.

Disney should just get it over with and make every pirate and skeleton Jack Sparrow. The one at the end can sell you a DVD on the way out.

Shhh! You know they read these boards!

"Based on feedback, we realized that what our guests really want is a magical™ encounter with Captain Jack Sparrow™ where they can truly immerse™ themselves in the experience of purchasing an outdated media format. Here at Disney's® Magic Kingdom™ Park, our Walt Disney® Imagineers™ are always looking for new and innovative ways to enhance the guest experience, and we believe that this brand new magical™ enhancement to our beloved classic attraction, Walt Disney's® Pirates of the Caribbean™, will truly take you to new heights of fantasy™ and magic!™"

NO.

 

[Kman101]

NO.

I don't want that, I said that, but they're already doing damage.

 

[Biff215]

I understand the concerns about inserting even more movie references into the attraction, but I seriously doubt it affects the average guest at all. I consider myself a huge fan and I have at least 40 trips under my belt in the past 20 years, but I've never fully grasped the "story" of Pirates other than reading it here. The movies have clearly been a blessing and a curse for the attraction, as it has received attention it probably wouldn't have had otherwise, but at the cost of blurring an already confusing story. Disney (and WDI) knows that the average guest is now looking for Jack and crew, and that's what they're giving us. It doesn't make it right, but I just think the story issues affect a very small percentage of guests.

 

[tirian]

I understand the concerns about inserting even more movie references into the attraction, but I seriously doubt it affects the average guest at all. I consider myself a huge fan and I have at least 40 trips under my belt in the past 20 years, but I've never fully grasped the "story" of Pirates other than reading it here. The movies have clearly been a blessing and a curse for the attraction, as it has received attention it probably wouldn't have had otherwise, but at the cost of blurring an already confusing story. Disney (and WDI) knows that the average guest is now looking for Jack and crew, and that's what they're giving us. It doesn't make it right, but I just think the story issues affect a very small percentage of guests.

You'd be surprised. I've ridden with many first-timers who mentioned how silly the constant Depp references are.

 

[Biff215]

You'd be surprised. I've ridden with many first-timers who mentioned how silly the constant Depp references are.

I get that, but I'm talking more about the storyline even before the movie changes. It felt more like a series of disconnected scenes IMO, without hearing the actual story beforehand. It's like the HM in that way, yet they're both classics. Perhaps it's because they're original stories that didn't attempt to be a retelling of a movie. I just don't believe most guests recognize that the story was hurt in any way by Sparrow, no matter how silly they think it is.

 

[tirian]

I get that, but I'm talking more about the storyline even before the movie changes. It felt more like a series of disconnected scenes IMO, without hearing the actual story beforehand. It's like the HM in that way, yet they're both classics. Perhaps it's because they're original stories that didn't attempt to be a retelling of a movie. I just don't believe most guests recognize that the story was hurt in any way by Sparrow, no matter how silly they think it is.

The original version was certainly more like a cocktail party (Walt's description).

 

[yensidtlaw1969]

For the 100th time, we're not talking about the new talking skull. We're talking about the helmsman full-bodied skeleton that is piloting the ghostly ship wheel with the lightning storm raging behind him. He has pretty explicitly been turned into a Jack Sparrow skeleton now. This has been specified and made quite clear in several posts.

The new talking skull is not what we are talking about. Everybody is aware that it's not meant to look like Jack. The full-bodied steering skeleton, however, is.

If you reread their post carefully you'll see that they are in fact talking about the skeleton - they are comparing the fact that the presence of beads dangling from other skulls in the Pirates universe has not indicated that those remains are meant to belong to Sparrow as much as they have instead merely signified the visual language of the Pirates Movies.

The Skull in the new speaking Jolly Roger doesn't even have beads on it, so I'm not sure why you would get so worked up over this post making a comparison that doesn't even exist. Clearly they are referring to the skeleton, which has yet to be clearly evidenced as Sparrow by photos. I'm inclined to trust posters like Tirian when they suggest that this was indeed the intention of the imagineers, but it's reasonable enough to question it until it is abundantly clear. We've not yet seen any clear photos of the revised skeleton, and truth be told I don't see much difference in the new videos from this picture I took in January 2016:

 

[Castle Cake Apologist]

If you reread their post carefully you'll see that they are in fact talking about the skeleton - they are comparing the fact that the presence of beads dangling from other skulls in the Pirates universe has not indicated that those remains are meant to belong to Sparrow as much as they have instead merely signified the visual language of the Pirates Movies.

The Skull in the new speaking Jolly Roger doesn't even have beads on it, so I'm not sure why you would get so worked up over this post making a comparison that doesn't even exist. Clearly they are referring to the skeleton, which has yet to be clearly evidenced as Sparrow by photos. I'm inclined to trust posters like Tirian when they suggest that this was indeed the intention of the imagineers, but it's reasonable enough to question it until it is abundantly clear. We've not yet seen any clear photos of the revised skeleton, and truth be told I don't see much difference in the new videos from this picture I took in January 2016:

I think it's you who needs to read his post more carefully. He literally makes the point that the speaking voice "doesn't sound like Jack." I must have missed the dialogue that they added to the helmsman scene.

He also said "if either version was meant to be him," clearly implying that he's talking about the talking skulls at the two parks.

I'm not really worked up, it was just a little annoying because the point had just already been made that we weren't talking about the skull, because somebody else thought that's what we were talking about too. Obviously the skull isn't meant to be jack, I don't know how anybody would get that from it.

And unless I'm completely blind, it's pretty obvious in person.

 

[larryz]

I'm fully expecting to find the Auctioneer selling used cars after listening to that.

Worse yet, an AA of Samuel L. Jackson in the middle of a scene, asking, "What's in YOUR wallet?"

 

[yensidtlaw1969]

I think it's you who needs to read his post more carefully. He literally makes the point that the speaking voice "doesn't sound like Jack." I must have missed the dialogue that they added to the helmsman scene.

He also said "if either version was meant to be him," clearly implying that he's talking about the talking skulls at the two parks.

I'm not really worked up, it was just a little annoying because the point had just already been made that we weren't talking about the skull, because somebody else thought that's what we were talking about too. Obviously the skull isn't meant to be jack, I don't know how anybody would get that from it.

And unless I'm completely blind, it's pretty obvious in person.

I believe he was referring to how both skulls in the images in his post features Jack's accoutrements but yet are not meant to portray him, as evidenced by their voices. I get the impression that he was mentioning this to indicate Dangling Beads and Bandana do not automatically a Jack Sparrow make, suggesting that the skeleton may just have been tied into the visual language of the film and not necessarily changed to now be the long-dead human remains of the Jack Sparrow character. A point to which I would potentially agree, except Tirian is suggesting that the powers that be do intend now for this to be Jack, mystifying though that may be.

His post was also in reply to one that made direct mention of the skeleton, so I feel like he knew what he was trying to say. But perhaps FerretAfros can clarify his point himself.

If anyone has yet taken or found a good shot of the skeleton from this past week, I'm sure we'd all be interested to see how clearly he has been Sparrowed.

 

[FerretAfros]

I believe he was referring to how both skulls in the images in his post features Jack's accoutrements but yet are not meant to portray him, as evidenced by their voices. I get the impression that he was mentioning this to indicate Dangling Beads and Bandana do not automatically a Jack Sparrow make, suggesting that the skeleton may just have been tied into the visual language of the film and not necessarily changed to now be the long-dead human remains of the Jack Sparrow character. A point to which I would potentially agree, except Tirian is suggesting that the powers that be do intend now for this to be Jack, mystifying though that may be.

His post was also in reply to one that made direct mention of the skeleton, so I feel like he knew what he was trying to say. But perhaps FerretAfros can clarify his point himself.

If anyone has yet taken or found a good shot of the skeleton from this past week, I'm sure we'd all be interested to see how clearly he has been Sparrowed.

Thanks for sticking up for me, but I actually misread the discussion and thought it was about the new talking skull

Silly me for assuming that the discussion that ran on page after page (after page after page) in a thread with the skull in the title was about a skeleton on the opposite side of the ride path. That's what I get for reading the thread a few posts each day, rather than in a single sitting

That said, I agree that the basic premise still applies to the skeleton at the helm of the ship. Beads and a bandana are definitely reminiscent of Jack Sparrow and the movie imagery, but I don't think they're enough to definitively be him. Even if that's what the Imagineers intended, the execution is vague at best

 

[HMF]

Thanks for sticking up for me, but I actually misread the discussion and thought it was about the new talking skull

Silly me for assuming that the discussion that ran on page after page (after page after page) in a thread with the skull in the title was about a skeleton on the opposite side of the ride path. That's what I get for reading the thread a few posts each day, rather than in a single sitting

That said, I agree that the basic premise still applies to the skeleton at the helm of the ship. Beads and a bandana are definitely reminiscent of Jack Sparrow and the movie imagery, but I don't think they're enough to definitively be him. Even if that's what the Imagineers intended, the execution is vague at best

I will say that the skeleton has ALWAYS had a bandanna long before Captain Jack Sparrow was even invented. Heres the Disneyland figure in March of 72

 

[Magicart87]

Gonna throw this question out there to see what others think: It is the PotC Hidden Skull thread after all. Is this by design or a case of seeing something that isn't really there? And If implied... why is it not shown off as part of a bigger effect/reveal?

What say ye? Ah! I found another thread on the subject. http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/huge-potc-rock-skull.866270/ Dang. Man I had no idea. I wonder how many people miss this detail?! A cool little Easter Egg but I can't help but think Imagineering could do more to give the reveal of the Skull facade more of an impact via a lightning strike.

 

[The Duck]

Gonna throw this question out there to see what others think: It is the PotC Hidden Skull thread after all. Is this by design or a case of seeing something that isn't really there? And If implied... why is it not shown off as part of a bigger effect/reveal?

View attachment 211903

What say ye? Ah! I found another thread on the subject. http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/huge-potc-rock-skull.866270/ Dang. Man I had no idea. I wonder how many people miss this detail?! A cool little Easter Egg but I can't help but think Imagineering could do more to give the reveal of the Skull facade more of an impact via a lightning strike.

The skull rock was added with the mermaids. It's surprisingly subtle for being so big. Not only do you have to see it in a lightning flash, you also have to wait for the layers of rock to line up as your boat approaches.

 

[yensidtlaw1969]

Thanks for sticking up for me, but I actually misread the discussion and thought it was about the new talking skull

Silly me for assuming that the discussion that ran on page after page (after page after page) in a thread with the skull in the title was about a skeleton on the opposite side of the ride path. That's what I get for reading the thread a few posts each day, rather than in a single sitting

That said, I agree that the basic premise still applies to the skeleton at the helm of the ship. Beads and a bandana are definitely reminiscent of Jack Sparrow and the movie imagery, but I don't think they're enough to definitively be him. Even if that's what the Imagineers intended, the execution is vague at best

Well . . . shows what I know!

 

[MerlinTheGoat]

The rock formation was really well done. Nice and subtle too, not overdone and looks like it could be a real rock formation (you could even miss it). And evidence that someone at imagineering still knows what they are doing regarding perspective based effects.

There's a similar skull rock formation in the Disneyland Paris version of the ride as well. Visible right after the second drop as you enter the caves.

 

[RSoxNo1]

I've definitely ridden Pirates with 1st timers that were surprisingly disappointed in it. I posed the question on my most recent podcast: Would you sacrifice MK's Pirates of the Caribbean for the Shanghai version?

 

[NoChesterHester]

I've definitely ridden Pirates with 1st timers that were surprisingly disappointed in it. I posed the question on my most recent podcast: Would you sacrifice MK's Pirates of the Caribbean for the Shanghai version?

After riding Disneyland's for the first time this year.... yes.

 

[MotherOfBirds]

So I guess I shouldn't hold my breath for those mermaids