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Major 2015 Pirates of the Caribbean Refurbishment Watch/Rumor.
- Thread starter Sped2424
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- magic kingdom
cjk0318
Well-Known Member
It's just rumors of what we hear... 85% of the forums here are like that
Mike S
Well-Known Member
I'll be seeing the Anaheim version for myself soon enough. Not that much time to wait now
TheGhostWithTheMost
Well-Known Member
I had a long conversation with an Imagineer when the Pirate interactive game opened in early summer 2013. He said that they were going to make load and unload the same area and make unload/the backstage up ramp (the "jog" area) some new show scenes. We were told it was going to be a giant refurb. He said they were going to make it, "just like Disneyland." "The biggest in Magic Kingdom history." Now... I may have been frontline....but I can sniff out when something is wishful thinking/bs. And that seemed like it. Then the new boats came and the entire ride began to unravel. We had to have one of us at all times scooping water out of ever boat at unload. Dispatch times got screwed, boats got stuck daily to the point of having to evac the ride, our numbers plummeted, and wait times got unprecedented (thanks, FP+). It was pretty bad in the last part of 2014. My turning point when I went from feeling pride about conquering pirates to hating pirates is when I was cussed out by a guest on Christmas Eve because people had been stuck on the ride for 45 minutes and management wouldn't call for an evac. We were being promised that we were going down for at minimum 12 months starting sometime in 2014. And we were excited. And, as we know, that never happened.
The ride now almost seems beyond repair. It's a lot worse off than a lot of people think. Right before I left the company, the rumor became that Phil Holmes said no to 12-18 months and that he wanted no more than six. So it's going to be an improvement in the since of the most recent big Space refurb...that Phil also botched terribly. It's unsafe in a lot do ways. Because it's unsafe to ask cast to get in the water 10 times a week to evacuate the ride and it's unsafe to evacuate guest off of it that much. There are also very scary things that have happened that I don't feel comfortable talking about. Just know the ride is in some dangerous waters (forgive the pun). The last time I rode it, they had just turned the lights off on the musicians in the burning city because they weren't working. Those figures not functioning should close the ride. But show doesn't matter. A lot of the problems have to do the belts, the ride system, the sensors, the up ramp, and the down ramp. Almost every other ride at WDW does not require cast to have to spend so much time either walking through the inner workings of the ride or spend time going into the very deepest inner workings of the ride to try to fix it when something minor goes wrong. That needs to be changed. The entire ride system needs to be changed. From the computers, to the load/unload consoles, to the pirates control tower, to the belts, to the pumps, to the ramps. It needs to be so extensive that all cast has to be retrained.
What will it get? The same thing Jungle Cruise got during their 2013 refurb: Not much. Not enough.
The ride now almost seems beyond repair. It's a lot worse off than a lot of people think. Right before I left the company, the rumor became that Phil Holmes said no to 12-18 months and that he wanted no more than six. So it's going to be an improvement in the since of the most recent big Space refurb...that Phil also botched terribly. It's unsafe in a lot do ways. Because it's unsafe to ask cast to get in the water 10 times a week to evacuate the ride and it's unsafe to evacuate guest off of it that much. There are also very scary things that have happened that I don't feel comfortable talking about. Just know the ride is in some dangerous waters (forgive the pun). The last time I rode it, they had just turned the lights off on the musicians in the burning city because they weren't working. Those figures not functioning should close the ride. But show doesn't matter. A lot of the problems have to do the belts, the ride system, the sensors, the up ramp, and the down ramp. Almost every other ride at WDW does not require cast to have to spend so much time either walking through the inner workings of the ride or spend time going into the very deepest inner workings of the ride to try to fix it when something minor goes wrong. That needs to be changed. The entire ride system needs to be changed. From the computers, to the load/unload consoles, to the pirates control tower, to the belts, to the pumps, to the ramps. It needs to be so extensive that all cast has to be retrained.
What will it get? The same thing Jungle Cruise got during their 2013 refurb: Not much. Not enough.
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TheGhostWithTheMost
Well-Known Member
That'll happen around the same time the Marvel/Star Wars roller coast fifth gate opens.
cjk0318
Well-Known Member
it'll be happening soon, from what I've heard
The Duck
Well-Known Member
Bitter, much?
Oh well, after reading your last post I guess I can't blame you. Hoping that this upcoming refurb takes care of (at least) most of what you listed.
Stupido
Well-Known Member
flynnibus
Premium Member
The site does an excellent job of distinguishing between what is CONFIRMED by Disney, vs what is rumored, vs what is known, but not publicly confirmed by Disney. Reader involvement is needed for best results...
Believe it or not that was proposed. Was even looked at. Apart from unload and load staying separate. Pirates League obviously was worth more.
And we know what happened.
Great truthful post btw
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Check again. Aside from what I already posted, Space is also currently down for six months during a multi phase refurb. BTM goes down for most of next year. Pirates half of 2017. Newport Bay is currently in a two year refurb. Sequoia before that for 2 1/2 years. New York is next. And that's just the start.
I always mention if it is speculation. I think in the last 5 years the shark reef has been the only thing I reported on that didn't happen.
You need to understand that plans change and when I say it is speculation, it means just that.
tylermuich
New Member
So disappointed in when I rode it last week. Got soaked on the drop sitting in front row! When has that ever happened? Audio was totally messed up and confused me. Would love to see it go down and return it to its former glory.
Sage of Time
Well-Known Member
Really hoping this happens. It would be great to get POTC up to par again. The rest of the park looks decent enough, why can't POTC?
Macca250
Well-Known Member
Fair enough then, the hotels I knew about - but I wasn't sure if these refurbs were going to stretch to the autum/Winter, also wasn't aware they would last so long. I retract my comment and amend it to 'Disneyland Paris is essentially closed in 2015'.
