Say it Ain't Bateau

[180º]

For some reason, I never hear anyone discuss this, and it's been driving me crazy for a while.

For a couple years now I've spotted WDW-style Pirates of the Caribbean boats onstage and off. A few times, I've noticed one or two at a time actually in the attraction– sometimes carrying guests, sometimes not. It had been a while, but they're back in full force, and I rode in one.
I posted this in the WDW POTC refurb thread:

DL now has at least five bateaux 2.0 cycling in the attraction. They squeak horribly, shudder when they sail over propulsion jets, and look plasticky. One positive (?): Very smooth on the load belt. Though from what we've heard of WDW's fleet, that could mean they'll slide right off.

At least in my queue/ride through, I only ever saw two of the old boats, which makes my guess of "five new boats" a very conservative estimate. For all I know, there could have been two dozen more in there.

Early reports of why we didn't get WDW's new boats said they couldn't handle the sharper drops at Disneyland. They must have fixed that, because I made it out of the attraction in one piece.

But why haven't I been hearing anyone talk about this happening at Disneyland?

WARNING: COMPLETELY UNFOUNDED GUESSING
Part of me wonders if WDI's been testing slightly different designs, not unlike what they did with the Matterhorn, and part of me even rampantly speculates that the new boats' sudden presence at Disneyland and the refurb at WDW aren't a coincidence, and they're rolling out a new fleet at WDW that they've been testing and tweaking at DL and will work for both attractions.

Those of you with knowledge, what's going on? Am I crazy? Did I hallucinate this whole thing?

 

[Cosmic Commando]

I hope you're either hallucinating, or they're making prototypes for WDW's bateaux 3.0 in Burbank and driving them down to test in Anaheim. The new boats from a few years ago in WDW have been a disaster. From what I understand, they've been taking on way too much water... so much that they had to stop loading the last row of every boat in order to keep things running. Hang on to those bateaux with all your might, TDA! The new ones could be a total disaster... it's already happened once.

 

[Nextinline]

Very interesting observation. The new boats literally turn WDW PotC into a water ride. No joke I got more wet than on Splash Mountain. I hope DL doesn't make the same mistake.

 

[Phroobar]

Never ride POTC in the front seat with no one else on board. You get wetter than Grizzly River Rapids.

 

[180º]

I did notice that my boat the other day wasn't taking on water. It was impressively dry inside.

 

[180º]

Well, Pirates is down til the 30th. What do you bet when it reopens it'll be all new boats?

 

[Old Mouseketeer]

Here's what's happening at Disneyland Pirates. I'm a former Pirates cast member and I was working there while they tested three new prototype boats (of the same design) last year.

First of all, I believe that the fleet currently in service is at least the second set of boats since Pirates opened in 1967 and more than 20 years old. The original boats had five rows and these have six. They are made of reinforced fiberglass with an inner metal frame to which are attached the four guide wheels on the side of the boat. It is these guide wheels that are in contact with the submerged metal guide rails that form the "flume".

The WDW Pirates boats are based on the Disneyland Small World "Rubbermaid" boats that were introduced after iasw's major refurb a few year ago. They tried these at Disneyland a few years ago, but they failed spectacularly. The guide wheels literally ripped themselves out of the side of the plastic boat. Remember, California has two drops, and our second (smaller) drop is still longer than Florida's drop, which is basically a water slide.

The current boats at Disneyland are very durable, but with their age are taking on water. During the past few years they have added first one and now two vacuums on the unload dock concealed in dockside crates to vacuum out the boats, mostly rows one and six. Management has repeatedly monkeyed around with the seating configuration to try and optimize the maximum number of guests versus the minimum amount of water. It used to be 3-4-4-4-4-3. Then they reduced the back row to two, then the front row to two, then they (disastrously) tried three in every row (suggested by an efficiency expert) which tanked the capacity numbers. Last I heard it was 3-4-4-4-4-2, but that may have changed. Remember, the target is 2700 people per hour.

I worked some overnight shifts with the prototype boats last year. They were tested empty and with "water dummies", which are the large plastic water tanks designed to "sit" in the seats and mimic the weight of actual passengers. These are used on everything from Pirates to Big Thunder to Racers. There are also some tests with sandbags. They tested everything from the load belts and sensors (which are very important) to the flow over the flume pumps (around 30 zones as I recall) to the evac brakes to the drops and lift.

I assume these prototypes were the model for the seven boats currently in circulation. We were told last year that we would receive new boats in phases over six months or more. They actually have channels that allow water to flow to the back of the boat between rows five and six and empty back into the flume through a one-way valve when the boat goes up the lift. That part of it seemed to work well in testing, although I heard there were other problems.

We were promised new boats for 10 years. It became a famous myth in New Orleans attractions--kind of our local Loch Ness Monster or Bigfoot!

I hope these new boats work out--they are long overdue. Pirates has a great crew and they sustain the high capacity through their blood, sweat, and tears. Between the backdoor entries, which include handicapped, readmissions, and Guided Tours/VIPs, and the extended queue which is all temporary rope and stanchions, it is very frustrating and difficult to manage, despite the dedication and camaraderie of the crew. There are some great people there and they are not appreciated as much as they deserve. Management are largely a bunch of humorless trolls who got promoted by learning to play the game.

Pirates is a magnificent attraction and beloved by those who work it--but there's a high burnout rate. Even Bruce, the famous pirate with a real pegleg, bailed out. Hopefully the new boats will work out--they are long overdue.

Trivia: The prototypes last year (and probably the new boats in service) were made in China. Shanghai Disneyland's Pirate boats are being made in Tustin, California, 10-15 miles from Anaheim!

That's what I currently know. I was last in the park a month ago. Whenever I go again I'll try and chat up some Pirates and see if I can learn anything new.

 

[180º]

@Old Mouseketeer, thank you so much for that account. I've been spotting these boats for years now and have had an agonizing curiosity about them. I've heard Pirates is a tough one to work. Props to the CMs who work it—Disneyland needs that 2500+ per hour.

 

[TP2000]

Yes, thank you @Old Mouseketeer , that information is very interesting!

They went from the original 5 row boats to the larger 6 row boats in the late 1980's. You have to wonder why if that fleet had a solid 20 year lifespan (and carried literally tens of millions of riders in that time) why they wouldn't just build an identical fleet of those boats now and plan for their use through the year 2035?!?

I imagine someone in management decided they could save a few dollars and create a fleet of boats cheaper, and that's gotten them into the mess they are now in. What will the new boats be like in 2020? 2025? Management won't care because they will have moved on, and yet Pirates will still be sitting there at Disneyland pumping through 2500+ per hour day after day.

My hat is off to you and all the Pirates CM's doing the real work of keeping Disneyland alive.

 

[lazyboy97o]

hey went from the original 5 row boats to the larger 6 row boats in the late 1980's. You have to wonder why if that fleet had a solid 20 year lifespan (and carried literally tens of millions of riders in that time) why they wouldn't just build an identical fleet of those boats now and plan for their use through the year 2035?!?

Probably for the same reason the boats and flume at "it's a small world" had to be replaced.

 

[TP2000]

Probably for the same reason the boats and flume at "it's a small world" had to be replaced.

Ah, yes, that reason. That may have something to do with it.

 

[Old Mouseketeer]

Yes, thank you @Old Mouseketeer , that information is very interesting!

They went from the original 5 row boats to the larger 6 row boats in the late 1980's. You have to wonder why if that fleet had a solid 20 year lifespan (and carried literally tens of millions of riders in that time) why they wouldn't just build an identical fleet of those boats now and plan for their use through the year 2035?!?

I imagine someone in management decided they could save a few dollars and create a fleet of boats cheaper, and that's gotten them into the mess they are now in. < snip >

One rumor I heard was that the current boats would cost $30k each to replace and the fear was that in 20 years they would be taking on water, just like these. The new boats were supposed to cost a fraction of that and be self-draining. We'll see if that holds true.

 

[Old Mouseketeer]

Probably for the same reason the boats and flume at "it's a small world" had to be replaced.

Honestly, we only talked about "luxury guests" in terms of loading the back row. There were rules about balancing the boat--if you had guests in row 1 (front) you had to have guests in row 5 or 6. If you had guests in row 6 you MUST have guests in row 1. But there weren't issues of boats getting stuck and stopping the ride like iasw. Furthermore, Pirates has video cameras throughout the ride (including night vision) where iasw has none, so they would only know when the flume was jammed when the boats backed up out the building entrance to the load area.

 

[Phroobar]

One night near closing my sister and I were on Pirates. They stuck us in the first row with no one else on the boat. We got drenched. Is that what they are suppose to do?

 

[ForeverAnna]

When I've been in a boat by myself they me in the middle.

 

[dweezil78]

Any word on the refurb -- new boats? Orlando Bloom animatronics?

 

[Old Mouseketeer]

One night near closing my sister and I were on Pirates. They stuck us in the first row with no one else on the boat. We got drenched. Is that what they are suppose to do?

They can't load a boat with people only in Row 1. The rule is if someone is in Row 1, then there also has to be someone in 5 or 6 to balance.

 

[dweezil78]

Well... Rode Pirates today and was definitely on a not-new boat. They are back to loading the back rows again with the occasional vac-u-suck between rides. I may have spotted a new boat interspersed in the mix, but overall, they have not been replaced.

 

[Old Mouseketeer]

Well... Rode Pirates today and was definitely on a not-new boat. They are back to loading the back rows again with the occasional vac-u-suck between rides. I may have spotted a new boat interspersed in the mix, but overall, they have not been replaced.

Last I heard there are 7 new boats and it will be 6 months before they get the full fleet.

 

[180º]

I didn't see any new boats tonight, but I thought I noticed a few other things. There were no clouds over the town. Very unusual for Disneyland. I hope they're back soon. In the meantime, there are TONS of fireflies zipping around in the bayou, and it looks great.

And did The last Jack figure get a new, less shiny face?