Of course it's not perfect (or even close to it); I certainly wasn't suggesting that. I specifically said it could be plussed/improved, but it's still inaccurate to call it unthemed.
Fair, I get your comment.
I don't think anyone said it was un-themed...
@UNCgolf is correct, I did say "I am kind of amazed at
how un-themed this area of the world's most visited theme park is." To clarify, what I meant is
how un-themed as in there's a scale of theming -- richness of story, immersiveness, creative ambition, detail, historical accuracy OR fantastical vision... in the world of theme parks, and on that scale, I am indeed surprised at "how" unthemed it is. Growing up in LA, it doesn't feel very themed. Maybe for someone from the midwest it is. Perhaps it's relative.
For today's audiences and competitive context, I think it needs more layering of transportive (time and place) theming like scenic painting, weathering, historical signage, props, battle damage from pirate attacks such as crumbled walls, evidence of town animals like pigs, mules, and chickens, evidence of sailors and a working port like ship masts and docks, streetmosphere...to make it worth paying hundreds of dollars for. The buildings don't need to be torn down, they need to do a theme overlay.
Fantasyland at Disneyland, which was designed
by Walt himself in 1955 was totally re-built
less than 30 years later. So, it seems reasonable Caribbean Plaza is due a thematic/cosmetic refresh
over 50 years later.
Interestingly, I'm not even sure the Imagineers were all that excited and invested in this area/project anyway...Marc Davis was fumed, he lost his Western River Expedition dreams to it. But after opening-year guests loudly complained that MK was missing PotC, Card Walker put its addition on a fast-track. They picked the location six months after the park opened in spring of '72 and construction was underway by the fall. Not sure this got the loving attention one would hope for. It was literally a rush job.
According to the 1972 press release, the area was supposed to capture "the atmosphere of a port city in the days of Captain Kidd and Henry Morgan." Not sure it got there. But it could now.
In reading more about this area, I did find some info that the Pirates building ("The Castillo") was supposedly inspired by the Castillo San Felipe del Morro in San Juan, Puerto Rico. I've been to Castillo San Felipe del Morro and I can say there's no resemblance, so that's just a bit odd. I do think later PotC buildings (Paris, Shanghai) did take more inspiration from this battle-weathered fort though.
