MK New Pirates of the Caribbean-themed lounge

[DrStarlander]

Disney's obsession with self-referential ornamentation is also unnecessary because it's not the job of one piece of wood paneling or one chandelier alone to set the tone and communicate the story of an environment.

All the pieces and furnishings ultimately work in harmony to support the narrative. We're already in Caribbean Plaza next to the ride, it's an old tavern with servers and wait staff in period dress, there's music choices and so many other things that all come together to communicate "pirate". The audience has so many reference points they bring from their own experience with pirate media, that they can do a lot of the storytelling interpretation on their own.

It's why people think the load area for The Flying Dutchman at Efteling feels like Disney's Pirate ride. Not because there's anything visually or in the soundscape that's directly taken from Disney, but because the whole vibe of the space says "pirates" to the average guest who has a familiarity with that subject.

Well put. If the back bar was built as realistic cabinetry with alcoves and columns and cabinet doors and therefore felt believable and immersive as an 18th century tavern in the Caribbean...but then when the special effects lights go on and the alcoves reveal themselves as glowing eyes and nose and sinister grin because of their subtle shapes and clever placement, and there is a "Wow, look!" moment throughout the bar as the skull is revealed...that would be cool. Satisfying kids and adults.

They chose to do this bar in a Toontownish Jake and the Neverland Pirates way and that is precisely what I'm questioning.

You're not going to like the announcement of Stitch's Great Elixirs....

or Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Bar in Fantasyland.

 

[FrontierSpirit]

Looking forward to trying (fingers crossed!) to book this in December.

 

[FrontierSpirit]

Lucasfilm was pretty cheap, so was Marvel compared to what they've brought in over the last few decades.

$8B was a pretty good deal.

edit to add:
I think it's worth mentioning that currently Disney has the highest grossing movie in 2025 (along with #6 and 7) with Tron, F4, Zootopia, Avatar coming out in the second half.

Last year They had the top 3 grossing movies worldwide totally nearly $4B in sales. (Along with #6 - Mufasa with $700M)

In 2023 they struggled against Barbie/Oppenheimer/Mario but still managed to snag $4 with GotG. Was a pretty down year for Disney movies. (The rest of the slate that year was in #11-15 with Mermaid, Elemental, AntMan)

Do we count 2022? They had #1/4/6/8.

Comparing failed projects to the early 80s is disengenous. Sure Disney has had some stinkers, but they've killed the boxoffice most years. Brand fatigue? Maybe with the terminally online, but attendance to the parks is still increasing. Disney movies are still doing well, for the most part. I'm not sure how you can point to Moana 2 doing $1B in the boxoffice and saying there is lack of anything. The only movies that did over $1B last year were Disney ones and they were all sequels/franchises.

I dunno, I'm not sure how you can go from wooden whorls on a bar top to the company failing.

It’s very possible Disney Destroyed Star Wars… but they until recently did a great job with Marvel. Fantastic Four should get them back on track.

But I’m excited to see this Pirates bar

 

[BlindChow]

Sill not crazy about the name lol. Sounds like a brand I’d find in HomeGoods or the name of a shop on Etsy.

This is the company that thinks "Disney Adventure World" is a great name for a theme park.

Frankly, I'm amazed they came up with a name as good as "Beak and Barrel."

 

[JD80]

It’s very possible Disney Destroyed Star Wars… but they until recently did a great job with Marvel. Fantastic Four should get them back on track.

But I’m excited to see this Pirates bar

Disney didn't destroy Star Wars. They just made a bunch of bad Star wars content. But things like andor and Mando s1&2 show that there is still an audience for it.

 

[FrontierSpirit]

Disney didn't destroy Star Wars. They just made a bunch of bad Star wars content. But things like andor and Mando s1&2 show that there is still an audience for it.

well, maybe in my household. My husband was a huge fan and then last Jedi came out and that was it. My girls aren’t big fans but again, just my household.

 

[JD80]

well, maybe in my household. My husband was a huge fan and then last Jedi came out and that was it. My girls aren’t big fans but again, just my household.

I hold the same sentiment but one good movie and that'll change. Anyway not a Star wars thread!

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

At Epcot now and honestly - the drinking round the world is getting out of hand. This lounge won’t make it happen at MK but it’s a step in the wrong direction if it continues. :-/

Disney should limit the number of drinks - tie it to ticket media.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

At Epcot now and honestly - the drinking round the world is getting out of hand. This lounge won’t make it happen at MK but it’s a step in the wrong direction if it continues. :-/

Disney should limit the number of drinks - tie it to ticket media.

just would like to see more people that are visibly inebriated not served as for some people they are fine after 8 drinks and others are a mess after 2

Also, usually the people I see the worst were "pre-partying" in the parking lot - see cases of beer and liquor bottles in the parking lot a lot so in some cases people are bad before their first in-park drink

 

[DisneyHead123]

It's a good point comparing this to underutilized dining places ... Wonder if something could be converted to more of a lounge.

Tomorrowland Terrace would be tough as is a passthrough/open. Maybe something like Diamond Horseshoe?

I'm not sure what the popularity of individual MK restaurants is but I could see that. Tomorrowland also seems like a potential spot - something ultra futuristic and fun.

 

[DisneyHead123]

Could the former Stitch's Great Escape space also be one in the future?

I definitely think Tomorrowland might be a spot if they ever add a new lounge!

 

[ᗩLᘿᑕ ֊ᗩζᗩᗰ]

At Epcot now and honestly - the drinking round the world is getting out of hand. This lounge won’t make it happen at MK but it’s a step in the wrong direction if it continues. :-/

Disney should limit the number of drinks - tie it to ticket media.

Everyone has different levels of tolerance (or self control) but I wonder if Disney shouldn't have some kind of system in place to monitor a guest prior to serving them. A passport stamped or punch carded maybe? A limit. Congrats you filled the passport. That's it for the day. Go home ya lush! I doubt'd help though. I never did really like the idea of bars in MK.

 

[DisneyHead123]

Everyone has different levels of tolerance (or self control) but I wonder if Disney shouldn't have some kind of system in place to monitor a guest prior to serving them. A passport stamped or punch carded maybe? A limit. Congrats you filled the passport. That's it for the day. Go home ya lush! I doubt'd help though. I never did really like the idea of bars in MK.

Maybe I'm naive but I see World Showcase as kind of a unique situation, with the endless variety of fun themed drinks in close proximity to each other. There will always be a small percentage of people who overdo it but even if there was a lounge in Villains and one in Tomorrowland, the dynamic would be very different (reservations needed, times are necessarily going to line up, etc.)

 

[HMF]

Disney didn't destroy Star Wars. They just made a bunch of bad Star wars content. But things like andor and Mando s1&2 show that there is still an audience for it.

The Sequels were crap. The stuff done by Lucas' actual handpicked successors mainly the Disney+ shows have been very good. If only Disney had the foresight to hold off on greenlighting the sequels until they had perfected the Television shows. Would have saved them a lot of grief.

 

[JD80]

The Sequels were crap. The stuff done by Lucas' actual handpicked successors mainly the Disney+ shows have been very good. If only Disney had the foresight to hold off on greenlighting the sequels until they had perfected the Television shows. Would have saved them a lot of grief.

Filoni is one of worst culprits of terrible star wars content.

 

[Bocabear]

I definitely think Tomorrowland might be a spot if they ever add a new lounge!

Tomorrowland certainly has a lot of vacancy for a lounge... It is baffling to me that they would concentrate on demolishing the whole central core of the MK before fixing the glaring mess that is the current half-shuttered Tomorrowland...which of course means it will be a decade or more before they ever get back around to fixing Tomorrowland

 

[DisneyHead123]

Tomorrowland certainly has a lot of vacancy for a lounge... It is baffling to me that they would concentrate on demolishing the whole central core of the MK before fixing the glaring mess that is the current half-shuttered Tomorrowland...which of course means it will be a decade or more before they ever get back around to fixing Tomorrowland

While I am not a fan of Cars in Frontierland, I do assume they had to make changes to this area first because of Villains.

My thought with Tomorrowland is that maybe they were hoping for a successful IP to come along. They’ve tried to launch a few sci fi IPs recently including Strange World, Lightyear and Elio. Nothing seems to have taken off so far unfortunately.

 

[Bocabear]

a really good attraction can also boost an IP...it doesn't always work the other way around.... If they created an amazing attraction for any of those IP, it would certainly boost interest in it's source material and boost some video sales....

 

[SilentWindODoom]

The modern trend for LEED designs and water conservation generally utilize water features like fountains and such only if there is a efficiency in doing so, if it integrates a nature water source, and/or it helps serve a water management purpose. It shouldn't be shocking the phasing out of fountains and other water intensive features that only serve an esthetic purpose.

Yet it is shocking....Theme Parks are all about aesthetics... a dry fountain filled with plants is not charming, nor does it help with the placemaking of the attraction.there are other water features nearby like the ones arounf the Tangled Toilets that were certainly expanded... At one time, the sound of running water was everywhere.... Waterfalls, fountains, running streams... Bringing back some of these lost elements would add a lot to the overall feel of the area.

It's kind of been brought up in further replies in this conversation, but why on Earth would anyone be concerned with conserving water in Florida? It's all water. They can't build too deeply because it's all water. Evaporation. Leaking. Just pull in more water from... EVERYWHERE!!! They could run a dozen Bellagios and not come close to running out. It's not Vegas. It's not Los Angeles. Any "lost" water by all the fountains in the park could probably be recovered in just collecting daily rainfall. It's not even a bowl in soup. It's a sponge in soup. It's all water. What are we talking about?

And I'm very sorry to have to do it, as a 50-year Disney Parks fan. But this cartoonizing and dumbing down of everything is bad for the long-term, broad-demographic appeal of the parks.
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That does look rough. I can only hope (assume) that it'll be heavily-textured so the base shapes still read. Otherwise, yeah... Playdoh fun house.

I love the skull backbar. It's giving me Monkey Island vibes, and the more the feedback loop of those two franchises keeps rolling the better. Besides, some embellishments also remind me of the Claude Coates sinister architecture/carpentry we see a lot in the Mansion, and I think that's another influence that's more than welcome. It's a part of the classic heritage of the company.

But as for the specific moulding on that small shelft that touched off the real firestorm of this discussion... we're seeing it under bright work lighting. The lighting of the art is much more atmospheric. The level of detail we're seeing is not what we're going to see in person. In the dim lighting, the grooves are going to cut deep shadow and such exaggerated detail may be what's necessary to even have it read at all. It's what in wrestling some refer to as acting so that they can see you in row Z.

 

[lazyboy97o]

It's kind of been brought up in further replies in this conversation, but why on Earth would anyone be concerned with conserving water in Florida? It's all water. They can't build too deeply because it's all water. Evaporation. Leaking. Just pull in more water from... EVERYWHERE!!! They could run a dozen Bellagios and not come close to running out. It's not Vegas. It's not Los Angeles. Any "lost" water by all the fountains in the park could probably be recovered in just collecting daily rainfall. It's not even a bowl in soup. It's a sponge in soup. It's all water. What are we talking about?

Sinkholes. A big source of public documents on certain projects is drawings filed for water management permits.