smooch
Well-Known Member
My girlfriend and I have had this discussion before and I always vouch for Pirates, although the two are incredibly close in terms of quality / my personal preference. Haunted Mansion is incredible, the atmosphere, the iconic building, the eerie atmosphere leading to a cheerful party of ghosts, the music, it's all incredible, but I think Pirates is more unique to me and has a few more things to add variety. Both attractions have little details everywhere you look, but there are a few things about Pirates specifically that I love. I have always been amazed since I was little and rode Pirates for the first time that it just looks like any other building in NOS, that it could have a restaurant or a shop inside, but once you go in you're transported to another world. Does it make sense? No. Does it have to? Absolutely not.
You are teleported in an instant to another world. Seeing people riding by in boats right as you enter gives you a preview of what's you're about to experience. The launch dock is just a little wooden dock in a bayou, as soon as you launch you're on a slow boat ride through a dim bayou, fireflies twinkling around you, and to your right is a restaurant. There's very faint chatter from it, the restaurant is dimly lit, but it provides some atmosphere so it feels like you're in a real place, because they're real people over there. Then you go through some tunnels that look like normal brick buildings, and then a talking skull leads you to some physical thrill, a pitch black drop that you don't know is there the first time you ride. The thrill of the drop, along with the little bit of water splashed on to you can be refreshing on a hot summer day. Not to mention the iconic smell of Pirates water. You go through so many locations on such a long ride: the bayou, the caves, the ship battle, the town itself, into the prison, and then UP a waterfall. There is literally something new to see each time you ride, I can't count how many time's I've ridden it but I always notice something new each time. Sure some of the changes have been detrimental, but the overall feel of the ride has remained the same.
Although you aren't the person experiencing the action like in Haunted Mansion I prefer the fact that you're just riding in a boat alongside the action. We know modern Disney focuses on making sure it's YOU who is a character in the ride, but you don't always have to be an active participant. I love the music, the atmosphere, the sheer number of animatronics, all the action surrounding you in the town scenes, it's all so incredible. It genuinely makes me feel like I've been transported into a town in the Caribbean being ransacked by pirates, even though I'm in a big warehouse in Anaheim. Plus it's a 15 minute ride in an air conditioned building which is extremely nice to relax on during a long day at the park. Pirates is always my first ride when I can help it, when I visit with my family I am the Disney park fan so I always make sure we ride it first (sometimes we will hit Indy first to avoid the massive line later, but a majority of the time I make sure we do Pirates first) as it is the perfect way to start a trip in my opinion, with what I would argue is the most timeless ride Imagineers have ever created.
You are teleported in an instant to another world. Seeing people riding by in boats right as you enter gives you a preview of what's you're about to experience. The launch dock is just a little wooden dock in a bayou, as soon as you launch you're on a slow boat ride through a dim bayou, fireflies twinkling around you, and to your right is a restaurant. There's very faint chatter from it, the restaurant is dimly lit, but it provides some atmosphere so it feels like you're in a real place, because they're real people over there. Then you go through some tunnels that look like normal brick buildings, and then a talking skull leads you to some physical thrill, a pitch black drop that you don't know is there the first time you ride. The thrill of the drop, along with the little bit of water splashed on to you can be refreshing on a hot summer day. Not to mention the iconic smell of Pirates water. You go through so many locations on such a long ride: the bayou, the caves, the ship battle, the town itself, into the prison, and then UP a waterfall. There is literally something new to see each time you ride, I can't count how many time's I've ridden it but I always notice something new each time. Sure some of the changes have been detrimental, but the overall feel of the ride has remained the same.
Although you aren't the person experiencing the action like in Haunted Mansion I prefer the fact that you're just riding in a boat alongside the action. We know modern Disney focuses on making sure it's YOU who is a character in the ride, but you don't always have to be an active participant. I love the music, the atmosphere, the sheer number of animatronics, all the action surrounding you in the town scenes, it's all so incredible. It genuinely makes me feel like I've been transported into a town in the Caribbean being ransacked by pirates, even though I'm in a big warehouse in Anaheim. Plus it's a 15 minute ride in an air conditioned building which is extremely nice to relax on during a long day at the park. Pirates is always my first ride when I can help it, when I visit with my family I am the Disney park fan so I always make sure we ride it first (sometimes we will hit Indy first to avoid the massive line later, but a majority of the time I make sure we do Pirates first) as it is the perfect way to start a trip in my opinion, with what I would argue is the most timeless ride Imagineers have ever created.
