Major 2015 Pirates of the Caribbean Refurbishment Watch/Rumor.

[mikenatcity1]

Meanwhile at Disneyland........
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And then Soarin' and Grizzly River Run at DCA. Seems like they keep on top of everything there. While not an E Ticket, Peter Pan is also closed to receive significant upgrades for the 60th anniversary while ours is still stuck in the 70's. So different over there.........

From what i've seen, at least end of Jan/beginning of Feb most major attractions are/were down- lasting until May...all for the 60th (YAY!!!).

 

[Mike S]

The ride needs lots of polish. The AAs are all functioning, but as of late January the boats were showing lots of wear. They're all riding low in the water; my half-full boat hit the bottom of the 'flume' so hard that the riders in front were drenched. Audio issues are rampant; the voices and background effects are so quiet that they're barely audible. Worst offenders there are the 'dead men tell no tales' at the beginning and Jack Sparrow in the treasure room.

Also Barbossa. The only line I can make out in WDW is that he's looking for Jack Sparrow. In DL it's much more clear. Also the smoke effects from the guns when they're shot. I completely forgot that was an effect till I went to DL.

 

[Otterhead]

Also Barbossa. The only line I can make out in WDW is that he's looking for Jack Sparrow. In DL it's much more clear. Also the smoke effects from the guns when they're shot. I completely forgot that was an effect till I went to DL.

Good call. He's nearly inaudible as well. And yes, the smoke wasn't working when I was last year, which creates the effect of random water explosions around the boat rather than cannonballs landing.

 

[Mike S]

Good call. He's nearly inaudible as well. And yes, the smoke wasn't working when I was last year, which creates the effect of random water explosions around the boat rather than cannonballs landing.

I was talking about the puffs from the pirate's pistols when they were "fired" but yes the cannons also had smoke. That whole room just looked so much better than its WDW counterpart. One thing I liked were the soldiers guarding the fort poking their heads up. Was that ever in MK or no?

 

[NearTheEars]

Cast Members have to sign a five year non disclosure agreement when they come into the company. Meaning I cannot talk about specifics for another four and a half years without fear of legal action. I have to be ambiguous. Scary things have happened with the ride and those things have nothing to do with hands being in the water. I don't care if you don't beleive it because your validation does not make any facts more or less true. There's nothing oddball about my remarks. Every long time insider has commented on how terrible every aspect of the ride currently is.

I believe if what you have witnessed is truly a major safety violation, then TWDC would be committing a crime.

Unless you are divulging government secrets, you should be safe to alert the correct authorities of the dangerous condition of the ride without any repercussions.

Heck, allowing this unsafe condition to continue and not saying something could be much worse for you.

ETA: not saying you should tell us, but hopefully you have told someone of these dangerous conditions.

 

[dreamscometrue]

It takes them 4 months to put in a Churro cart...Don't expect too much in the Pirates refurb...lol

They did a lot to Splash Mountain a couple years ago (in 2 months I believe), much to the surprise of many of us. Since then, I've been hopeful for what can be accomplished in a few months.

 

[The Duck]

I was talking about the puffs from the pirate's pistols when they were "fired" but yes the cannons also had smoke. That whole room just looked so much better than its WDW counterpart. One thing I liked were the soldiers guarding the fort poking their heads up. Was that ever in MK or no?

I've been visiting since 1975 and I've never seen the soldiers at the fort. Only heard the audio.

 

[HMF]

IF it's truly as bad or dangerous as some would indicate, then it should be closed now. So, either people are exaggerating about the safety aspect, or Disney's ignoring the safety/danger issues. I find it hard to believe the latter, considering lawsuit, OSHA, and negative publicity implications that might come in the event of an incident related to it's safety being ignored.
.

I find the latter to be very believable with this management.

 

[HMF]

I've been visiting since 1975 and I've never seen the soldiers at the fort. Only heard the audio.

There are no soldiers on the fort in WDW. DL on the other hand

 

[lazyboy97o]

Unfortunately yes.

Disneyland, under Paul Pressler, famously cut maintenance so much that rides started to fall apart, and in 2003 Big Thunder Mountain derailed as a result and one guest was sadly killed, with several more injured.

The investigation found the poor maintenance culture to blame, and it's that exact same culture that we now have at WDW.

Prior to that the dock of the Columbia and Mark Twain was allowed to rot away, resulting in a cleat being torn from the dock when the Columbia arrived. The torn cleat struck and killed a guest.

 

[Goofyernmost]

A lot of the boats are damaged. The refurb can't fix that or the water they take on.

It can if the refurb includes replacing the boats. I have a feeling that this is what is going to happen. If it doesn't, then they are practically back to square one. Even I am smart enough to know that that splashing problem is NOT well received and no one thinks of it as fun.

 

[Castle Cake Apologist]

IF it's truly as bad or dangerous as some would indicate, then it should be closed now. So, either people are exaggerating about the safety aspect, or Disney's ignoring the safety/danger issues. I find it hard to believe the latter, considering lawsuit, OSHA, and negative publicity implications that might come in the event of an incident related to it's safety being ignored.

Why are you being so argumentative with people who definitely know more about the situation than you? Disney has a troubling history of ignoring safety and maintenance issues until guests get killed or seriously injured. It has literally happened multiple times.

 

[Skyway]

One thing I liked were the soldiers guarding the fort poking their heads up. Was that ever in MK or no?

The soldiers were never in the MK ride...but they were at WDW!

The soldier AA's at DL came from Epcot's World of Motion.

 

[GrumpyFan]

Why are you being so argumentative with people who definitely know more about the situation than you? Disney has a troubling history of ignoring safety and maintenance issues until guests get killed or seriously injured. It has literally happened multiple times.

Mainly because nobody has offered any definitive evidence of said dangerous issues. I am aware of Disney's history. And, while loss of any life is tragic, I still think they have a petty decent record when it comes to safety. Of course, they could always do better too.

Not that I'm in disbelief, I just know that people tend to exaggerate situations sometimes to make them sound worse than they actually are.
Like I said in another post though, I know and have seen some issues, but nothing so dangerous as to put guest or CMs in immediate danger.

 

[Castle Cake Apologist]

Mainly because nobody has offered any definitive evidence of said dangerous issues. I am aware of Disney's history. And, while loss of any life is tragic, I still think they have a petty decent record when it comes to safety. Of course, they could always do better too.

Not that I'm in disbelief, I just know that people tend to exaggerate situations sometimes to make them sound worse than they actually are.
Like I said in another post though, I know and have seen some issues, but nothing so dangerous as to put guest or CMs in immediate danger.

As has been stated many times before, people within the company cannot LEGALLY write you out a laundry list of serious safety issues within an attraction. All anybody is doing is trying to contribute to the conversation with information related to the subject at hand in whatever way they are allowed to do. All you are doing is arguing and essentially calling people liars becayse they won't break company policy and give you specifics. I'm not trying to fight or anything, but I don't see what your angle is here.

Don't ignore history. Unfortunately, Disney's track record of safety sometimes boils down to sheer luck that nothing has gone wrong. A few attractions are in terrible condition, often to the point of presenting potential serious safety issues to guests and Cast Members. You should have seen the condition Space Mountain was in before the refurb.

 

[Slowjack]

The soldiers were never in the MK ride...but they were at WDW!

The soldier AA's at DL came from Epcot's World of Motion.

Is that true? Never knew that. Gosh, I miss the WoM. Not that I don't enjoy Test Track, just wish I could have both.

 

[lazyboy97o]

As has been stated many times before, people within the company cannot LEGALLY write you out a laundry list of serious safety issues within an attraction. All anybody is doing is trying to contribute to the conversation with information related to the subject at hand in whatever way they are allowed to do. All you are doing is arguing and essentially calling people liars becayse they won't break company policy and give you specifics. I'm not trying to fight or anything, but I don't see what your angle is here.

Don't ignore history. Unfortunately, Disney's track record of safety sometimes boils down to sheer luck that nothing has gone wrong. A few attractions are in terrible condition, often to the point of presenting potential serious safety issues to guests and Cast Members. You should have seen the condition Space Mountain was in before the refurb.

Space Mountain at Disneyland would be another great example. Disney knew the attraction was falling apart and would need to be replaced. The structure failed months before Disney anticipated. As in one day it was open, the next it was closed without notice because it was absolutely not safe for operation. You don't get to that sort of failure overnight without a lot of time holding off on issues. That the failure did not occur while the attraction was open is another case of great luck.

 

[ILOVEDISNEY]

The ride needs lots of polish. The AAs are all functioning, but as of late January the boats were showing lots of wear. They're all riding low in the water; my half-full boat hit the bottom of the 'flume' so hard that the riders in front were drenched. Audio issues are rampant; the voices and background effects are so quiet that they're barely audible. Worst offenders there are the 'dead men tell no tales' at the beginning and Jack Sparrow in the treasure room.

A boat is a boat and can only carry so much weight until it grounds itself or flounders. The CM's do an admirable (pun intended) job loading the boats, but none seem to be previous carnies at the Guess Your Weight game. Guests have been getting heavier and heavier over the years (yours truly included) and I sometimes fear while riding Pirates we were going to get stuck considering how the boats were listing. Disney is going to have the address the weight capacity of the boats sooner than later, but I have a sinking feeling (pun intended) the legal department is weighing this problem (pun intended) with trepidation to avoid lawsuits if and when Disney requires you to get on a scale before boarding.

 

[ParksAndPixels]

IF it's truly as bad or dangerous as some would indicate, then it should be closed now. So, either people are exaggerating about the safety aspect, or Disney's ignoring the safety/danger issues. I find it hard to believe the latter, considering lawsuit, OSHA, and negative publicity implications that might come in the event of an incident related to it's safety being ignored.

Personally, I've ridden it at least 3 times in the last year and a half, and I've witnessed numerous issues with the ride and operation of it, but none that I would consider unsafe or dangerous to guests. I know that's hardly enough of a sampling to determine safety, but I just can't imagine anything as unsafe as some are claiming unless there are electrical issues or load/unload problems endangering guests that I haven't seen. My own observation is that it's in poor operational condition (mostly due to the newer boats) leading to break-downs and stuck boats which requires CMs to take action to resolve or assist guests, sometimes putting them and the guests in potentially unsafe situations.

One other note, IF I'm wrong in my comments, or a CM thinks there are unsafe conditions for themselves or guests being ignored by Disney, I would STRONGLY encourage them to contact their supervisor first, but if that doesn't go anywhere, send an anonymous message to OSHA alerting them.

Clearly you've never worked at a theme park...

 

[MarkTwain]

I'll add that Pirates of the Caribbean, believe it or not, has one of the worst safety records of any Disney ride. Most of it due to situations at load and unload. A lot of it results from the large step one has to take to get in and out of the vehicle, and the frequently wet floors of the boats. MAJOR tripping incidents. I imagine a lot of these problems have gotten worse since the boats take on so much more water now.

As undoubtedly important as safety is, I hope we get not just a proper change of the boats but some major show repairs, as well. When you go to Disneyland's Pirates of the Caribbean and see how much better the ride is, it's not safety that jumps out at you as the biggest difference.