Actually I think that was Tony Baxter and Bob Baranick's decision,but don't quote me. The message at the end now is apparently Jack enjoys his marvelous treasure and dead men do tell tales. Don't they? or something like that.
It was, but I contributed creatively and lobbied that ending to them and earlier to Marty Sklar as a way to preserve the ride (the chase scene) asis. Jack Sparrow now recommends his life of larceny and enjoys his treasure.
The Davis post was put there to spur conversation. Your reactions, definitions, and explanations are really thought provoking. Keep it up!
I don't buy into that in every sense rides don't tell a "story", as the ones I worked on certainly did as was pointed out. It depends. Rides like POTC are their own unique form or medium that conveys a message if there is one in a different way than a Movie which I would imagine was what Walt was comparing them to when he said "you can't tell one". The type of conveyance either lends itself or not depending on it's speed, form and ability to view something. thrill rides tend not to do so and have a base premise or setting they take place in. BTM is about runaway mine train based on a haunted mountain. Not really told but assumed. Fun in any event, and best left untold unless you want to dig for it on fansites.
"TDL Pooh" and "Mission:Space" had a loose premise or story that progressed to an ending. They are much simpler than a movie and incomplete in many ways. Pooh opens and closes with a book like the films and the story or premise is "Pooh is looking for Honey".. Space is more of a premise with a "Do you have the Right Stuff?" challenge that you are training to go to Mars, that's pretty much it. Some are first person like Toad. As linear experiences there are lots left out and mostly told in big visual scenes with little or no words but when done well, that is their strength. You just experience it and finish it in your head (like a good painting, something is suggested). Like the burning town in POTC, you get the idea that they first capture the mayor, and then chase the women, then get drunk and burn down the town. It's a subtle progression of events told through several comical visuals that move the idea forward. Having said that, at the end the guest does leave with an impression of what they saw in total and if it was satisfying or not. An ending of sorts, or finale conveys that you survived it or what the results of your experience are. The splashdown on the Matterhorn is a good finale to racing down those slopes.
Rides are so immersive and experiential, they unfold more like real life. There are no closeups, cutaways, and are more like handheld "tracking shots", just like we experience in life. Reportage. POTC is almost as if you are an eyewitness to a street riot in progress and you gaze about to see where the action is. If you were witnessing something like this firsthand there would be no narrator or context, just whatever you would see on the streets as it happened and you'd gather for yourself what the sense is. In POTC, the bridges serve as "edit points" or "scenes", so the Auction scene has several vignettes of Davis situations collected into one, then the Chase scene has several more compiled into another piece of action, etc. Are they as linear and connected as a movie? No, but they flow in a progression as in most real situations. I love the format of rides as you have a premise that you can build on to give an impression.
