Thank you for the kind words and welcome to the boards. We appreciate your insights and comparisons and I hope you get to experience the DL POTC attraction soon, as it is the original. I have not been on the WDw version in years, and the Paris version probably 10. My childhood memories are tied up at DL so my heart is there no matter what they do to it.
It's true that DLP has a more logical story sequence than all of them, but you do sacrifice something by messing with that. DL has a certain sense of expectation and build when you are going along looking at virtually static displays and dead pirates for about half the ride, then it reveals the awesome ship battle and the rest gets better. At DLP, you "splashdown" into the conflict so you are caught up in the aftermath of falls and maybe that scene is a bit less dramatic. Just a thought. I'm not sure that's a 100% improvement. Skeletons at the end are more logical too, but once you've seen the big stuff are they are less impressive then being part of the setup?. Not sure there either. Don't get me wrong, I love DLP version too, and Tony set out to make it the best of them all, but I think the rearranging of the scenes does have some effect on their relative value. The Restaurant is great as well.
What you say?
BTW. I think the WDW one should add a "Blue Lagoon" dining experience. My only big beef with the WDW version (and it's been forever since I've been on it) is that the unload area is right on the heels of the treasure scene. I think you need to return from that "world" with a transition of sorts as at DL, before a flashing signs tells you to get out. It's as if the curtain has barely come down and the theater is hastily turning the lights on. These small things are pretty powerful in the sequencing of a show. I think the DL version unwitting gives you lots of time to get your head into the world of Piracy and that slow build has a value.
Thanks for the warm welcome! It's great to be able to talk with an actual seasoned imagineer. I hope someday to make it to Disneyland. I live in Florida now. I was actually planning on going this year (possibly while waiting for our new home to close being a short sale), but the sudden dramatic inflation of gas prices ended up destroying all the hope i had for the moment. I'll need to keep an eye on the future. First opportunity that presents itself and i'll be gone in an instant. At least Cars Land will be done if i go in the future. And maybe they'll even redo the Peoplemover in Tomorrowland (skeptically optimistic) or something. But i do hope to experience Pirates DL before making a final opinion on it.
I absolutely agree with needing the Blue Lagoon. Apart from what i recall actually being quite a good restaurant at Paris at least, it has incredible atmosphere. Being that the ride is built RIGHT next to it without any sort of barrier, it works to the advantage of both the restaurant and the ride itself to add a very awesome feel. The Mexico pavilion at Epcot has a very similar feel (though the ride and restaurant are both not nearly as good), at least in looks.
I just can't think of any place to put the Blue Lagoon restaurant in WDW in Pirates' current incarnation there. The ride was built without that scene, so the effect would not work without restructuring the ride completely. You skip right to the cave scene in the beginning. Mind you, i think that redoing the ride completely could be the best thing to happen in that land. I'd totally be rooting for whoever decides it's high time to bring our Pirates up to par with the other parks. I'll be stunned out of my mind if they ever do though, i seriously doubt they would do such a thing.:ROFLOL:
As for the Paris scene order, i'm looking back with the perspective of a child of about 8-9 (went in the mid-90's to DLP twice), and now as an adult who can analyze the details better and express how i felt at the time. I still feel the Paris order is the best. When i rode it, i really liked the calm Blue Bayou scene at the beginning, followed by the slow incline up the lift hill (great buildup). Adored the extended and enhanced prison scene. You can see and hear little hints of a great battle happening outside (a pirate swinging along a rope, and the silhouetted shadows of some people fighting above you). Again, great build up. Then you finally drop down and BANG! You're in the middle of a battle. That was mind blowing to me, and great execution. I enjoyed the different scenery in the scenes to follow, i felt there was more attention in making the scenes feel more tropical (vines growing, palm trees scattered around, not just brick walls of buildings, it really looks like i'd imagine the caribbean to look). As far as i can recall, most scenes were fairly similar to the other versions of the ride during the bride sale and such (liked the new pirate and civilian swordfighting). In the end of it all, the chaos breaks with the final descent into the caves and you see the aftermath and ultimate fate of the pirates years later. The pirates have long since died and we see their remains, the lives they chose to take and the result of their choices. It's eerie and slowly calms you down after the previous chaos, letting you adjust after going through the chaos. But i also had an unsettling feeling, disturbed knowing i was just looking at these pirates alive and well seconds earlier. I felt satisfied at unloading and felt it was brilliantly paced. The attention to detail and just the accumulation of small changes made it feel amazing as well. Drops felt more exciting as well.
One thing that helps the Paris ending as well- you unload in the same place you load. The loading area is well themed, you still feel like you're inside that pirate world until you're back outside (and even the outside is amazingly designed to match the ride's environment of course). So i feel the "coming back to reality" is extremely well done and gradual. WDW unloads you in a completely different area from the loading, it's very generic looking. From what i've seen, Disneyland's also loads and unloads in the same place, so both Paris and CA are similar in that respect.
I do have one question for anyone that can answer though-
does anyone actually know how long/tall the drops are in each version of the ride? And possibly the angle. I will always swear, WDW's feels very short and puny (looks very short when i look back carefully). Paris' two drops definitely felt steeper, faster, and longer. I don't know if it's just me, but that's how i felt.
