At the rate the PC B.S. is going I give it 10-15 years before the ride is basically unrecognizable. Take away the guns, take away the alcohol, even change the Spanish lady from the window that yells " Carlos don't be chicken" because it's a stereotype of Spanish accents (my Peruvian wife loves that scene). It's ridiculous the rate it's going.
I just don't get why TDO thought it was ok to leave the Wench Bride scene for 20 years after changing the men chasing the women around scene... confused on that one.
I think the main problem with the ride today is that the additions of the movie stuff has diminished the goofy-lighthearted tone of the original... It used to be that you didn't know what to expect when you entered it. The queue in Florida had a kind of "ominous" feeling, as did the caves full of skeletons, and then you were dropped down a waterfall into a sea battle with cannon fire all around you, but the captain of the ship has this crazy dialogue about "bloomin' cockroaches", which was a little odd. You round the corner to the scene with the Well, where the pirates are dunking the Mayor because he won't tell them where the towns rum is hidden, which is funny, even funnier with the "don't be chicken" line. Then the Auction then scene came across as even more "ridiculous" than the scene with the Mayor in the Well... if you thought you were in for a serious scary ride about pirates when you entered, the Auction was clearly the point were you realized the ride was a comedy/parody/farce... not something to be taken "literally", and part of the fun of the ride was the way it slowly transitioned from "ominous" to "ridiculous"
But now since they've imposed this literal narrative about Jack Sparrow on the ride, I don't think it's as lighthearted as it used to be. Now you go down the water fall and Barbossa is talking about Jack Sparrow, the pirate at the Well is dunking the Mayor because he won't tell them were Jack Sparrow is, which isn't so funny anymore. When you finally see Jack Sparrow he's hiding because he's afraid what the pirates are going to do him, which was then followed by the Auction, a bunch of women tied up by the same pirates Jack Sparrow is afraid of. The auction scene didn't fit this new narrative because they'd gone from each scene being these unrelated, "cocktail party" type conversations, to this new linear story about Jack Sparrow. The Auction itself was the same scene, but it had a more "mean spirited" context because of what lead up to it. For people who weren't familiar with the ride before the films, the whole thing is probably a bit more ominous, I found it more ominous. Disney probably didn't want to touch the original auction initially because it was this classic moment in the "original" ride, but they didn't seem to consider how all the new movie material they shoe horned in as cheaply as possible, would affect people's perception of the original scenes in the ride.
I like the films and I like seeing the film characters in the ride, but I miss the experience of the original ride. I think Paul Frees' delivery of the dialogue took the edge off the content, that's also why he's so good as the Ghost Host, his performance of the lines gives the dark subject matter you're seeing a lighter, comedic quality. I wish the would replace the original boat captain in the beginning, and give him and the pirate beck the original Paul Frees audio. I think they should have Barbossa and Jack Sparrow "sword fighting figures" on top the fortress in the beginning above the cannons firing (where DL has a video projection of 2 pirate shadows sword fighting). I think that'd be a much better way to introduce the 2 charters in the ride, and if they had some little "cocktail party" witty banter during the sword fighting, like they do in the films, it could co-exist with the original ride, or "add to" the original ride without "replacing" and disrupting the original ride. There seems to be a "chain reaction" "domino" effect, every time the change some aspect of the original ride it throws to flow of the whole thing out of whack, eventually I think you're right, it won't be recognizable, if they don't stop tinkering with the ride to promote movies the public seems to be losing interest in.
