Rumor Pirates Of The Caribbean "Refurbishment"

[Brer Oswald]

They were well before that, but i can understand being distracted by nerves when you know a drop is coming.
Took me ages to get over my fear of the plunge on 'Splash Mountain'...so i can relate.

The mermaids were in the area after you passed through the mist featuring Davy Jones / Blackbeard and before you reached the scene on your left of the skeleton stabbed with a sword.
After that scene, you pass by the shipwreck and skeleton at the wheel...and then the drop.

-

I had incredible fears of drops for the longest time. The first time I went on Splash Mountain, I cried in the line. Like bawling, completely hysterical. I was 12. I probably owe a lot of that to my massive anxiety issues.

The drop on Pirates was one of those drops that made me really nervous, despite its incredibly tiny size. I couldn’t enjoy the entire caverns scene. It’s quite funny looking back, and I’m glad I got over it because the cavern is my favourite section of the attraction. Now, it’s the “mega ton canon ball splash” that gives me anxiety. Seriously, why does it feel like they’ve toned that up to 11 in the last few years?

 

[Magicart87]

Wish the Auction Scene had been reworked as a satirical tableau about pirate superstitions, cursed treasure, etc. It would have fit the ride narrative better than this random chicken sale that plays out like a bad advertisement for Captain Morgan rum.

 

[yensidtlaw1969]

As @marni1971 has already said, there were many complications that ultimately killed the project. But whatever the new scenes would’ve been, the plans were solid enough that WDI freely mentioned them as part of the Depp refurb.

But hey, we got some mermaid projectors that nobody could keep in operating order, right?

Was that the problem with the Mermaids? I always assumed they got shut off because they simply . . . didn't look great.

One of those things that recieved a grade of "there was an attempt" instead of a gold star.

 

[MerlinTheGoat]

I generally love drops in water rides. Splash Mtn is a favorite. And the drops in DLP's POTC don't bother me either. But WDW's POTC drop gives me the creeps for some reason. Partially because of the creepy scene buildup, but it's also pitch black and feels a bit jerky at the bottom. Several years ago it was also a lot more wet than it was supposed to be. Front row would actually soak worse than anything Splash Mtn could do. Felt like the boats were lurching below the water as they hit the bottom, so there may have been some sort of problem. As of the past couple of years though this seems to have been fixed entirely.

 

[Brer Oswald]

I generally love drops in water rides. Splash Mtn is a favorite. And the drops in DLP's POTC don't bother me either. But WDW's POTC drop gives me the creeps for some reason. Partially because of the creepy scene buildup, but it's also pitch black and feels a bit jerky at the bottom. Several years ago it was also a lot more wet than it was supposed to be. Front row would actually soak worse than anything Splash Mtn could do. Felt like the boats were lurching below the water as they hit the bottom, so there may have been some sort of problem. As of the past couple of years though this seems to have been fixed entirely.

At least it wasn’t just me! The first drop in Splash has never bothered me, and I don’t think it’s that much different in height to the WDW Pirates one.

 

[MerlinTheGoat]

While I do heavily prefer the versions at Paris and California, I will say that the buildup and placement of WDW's drop is one element I feel it does better than the other versions. It's a shame about the absence of the Bayou/Lagoon, longer caves and back up the waterfall scenes though.

 

[yensidtlaw1969]

While I do heavily prefer the versions at Paris and California, I will say that the buildup and placement of WDW's drop is one element I feel it does better than the other versions. It's a shame about the absence of the Bayou/Lagoon, longer caves and back up the waterfall scenes though.

I do sort of wish Disneyland would once again re-evaluate the Up-The-Waterfall scene. The idea of traveling up a waterfall is decently magical, but I only ever figured out that's what was supposed to be happening after hearing about it later. It'd be nice to have a revision that makes that device and the scene itself a little more dramatic and clear.

The first time I rode was in 2001 when the old World of Motion figures were along the side fighting to drag a big treasure chest up the ramp . . . and as you got closer to the top you saw a pair of skeletons that clearly died trying to do the exact same thing. Didn't explain to me that we were going up a waterfall, but it added some drama to the lift and helped to round out the morality play in the ride.

Part of the problem too is that a lift like that in a boat ride is typically followed by a drop - my first time on I thought we were gonna splashdown into some big finale, and instead it just ended. It built up a lot of suspense that didn't get paid off. The layout of the ride is so well-disguised that it isn't obvious this is just their way of getting you back to ground level if you don't already know that.

Even worse now with Jack, where the ride is basically "over" at the bottom of the lift and you're just kinda waiting to get back to the top. The bat eyes in the dark are a welcome touch, but it could use more meat. I'd love to see either something added at the crest of the lift that's cool to look at, or have the waterfall element of the lift be made more pronounced and intentional. It feels much more like an upramp than a waterfall.

 

[MerlinTheGoat]

Disneyland's "back up the waterfall" is still a lot better than the speedramp at WDW at least (Tokyo also has the speedramp).

Again heaping praise on the original Paris version of the ride, I felt it handled its lift best of all. There was a chain/pulley added to the scenery to help sort of explain how the boats were being transported upwards via mechanical means through the fortress. Sadly they have since filled this scene (alongside several other scenes) with movie additions which are pretty unfitting IMO.

 

[Brer Panther]

They were well before that, but i can understand being distracted by nerves when you know a drop is coming.
Took me ages to get over my fear of the plunge on 'Splash Mountain'...so i can relate.

I had incredible fears of drops for the longest time.

I can relate to both of you. I have difficulty with drops. I still get nervous when going on Pirates and Splash Mountain... but I still go on 'em because I love the rides.

 

[RSoxNo1]

I saw.... something. Bit of an illuminated blob. I’d say I would have preferred the AAs but the whole scene became too cluttered either way.

The only time I saw anything clearly in the water was a Windows error message.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

Disneyland's "back up the waterfall" is still a lot better than the speedramp at WDW at least (Tokyo also has the speedramp).

The common thing between the speedramp and Disneyland's waterfall is that there's nothing to look at. You need something to finish it off and tie it all together. Think of how the speedramp at Disneyland's Haunted Mansion is where Little Leota is, saying goodbye and giving you one last parting encounter with the ride's characters.

In the case of Pirates the speedramp is kind of an abrupt ending, even when looking at the 1973 WDW ride. You see the Pirates get their treasure and still having fun, but then it's like "ok rides over, get out". Paris putting the caves at the end gave it more closure, where you knew how the story ends and the climax of the ride had already happened.

 

[yensidtlaw1969]

Disneyland's "back up the waterfall" is still a lot better than the speedramp at WDW at least (Tokyo also has the speedramp).

Again heaping praise on the original Paris version of the ride, I felt it handled its lift best of all. There was a chain/pulley added to the scenery to help sort of explain how the boats were being transported upwards via mechanical means through the fortress. Sadly they have since filled this scene (alongside several other scenes) with movie additions which are pretty unfitting IMO.

The best part of Paris' lift (which is still a little weird, but definitely makes the attempt to justify itself) is that it eliminates the need to be brought back up to grade at the end of the ride. Solves my problem at Disneyland of the Lift feeling anticlimactic - and then the ride takes the extra step to move the 2nd drop just after the Burning City scene, making for an explosive move to the caverns for the final act of the ride.

I have some quibbles with all versions - I think the ride's elements could still stand to be "optimized" in a different configuration for a new version of the ride somewhere (not that I think today's Disney would ever greenlight a project like that). But it's DEFINITELY interesting to see them work through these things in different ways in different parks.

 

[MerlinTheGoat]

The uphill waterfall itself still looks far and away better than the speedramp and also still has much more surrounding scenery. The speedramp at WDW is generic and industrial, surrounded only by narrow flat stone walls and fake windows.

Haunted Mansion disguises the speedramps a lot better by comparison. For one thing, not being an incline helps as your eyes aren't fixated on it as much when looking forwards. Plus the load/unload areas they're in are quite darkly lit. It lacks the rubber escalator grip railing as well. And Disneyland's even has a slightly ornate design to make it look like a carpet.

 

[Walt d]

There Is Reportedly a Refurbishment Planned For Pirates From 2021 - 2022. The Plan Is That In January - April 2021 They Will Briefly Restore The "Original" Ride Without Red and Jack Sparrow, For The 2021 Summer And Fall Season. From October to September 2021 and 2022 They Will Build A "New' and "Reimagined" Pirates Experience Where Red Is The Lead Pirate. This Is Mostlikey To Set Up The New (And Dreaded) Female Lead Pirates Movie.

Edit: Although I Can Confirm That It Will Be Changed For The New Female Film, I Can Not Fully Garutee The Temporary Classic Return. But There Is A Refurbishment Planned And I Can Almost Certainly Guarantee That The Female Pirates Is Coming

That Church lady that was driving the Hugo from the church. That complained about the redhead is she back? And found more stuff that she didn’t like!

 

[tirian]

Wish the Auction Scene had been reworked as a satirical tableau about pirate superstitions, cursed treasure, etc. It would have fit the ride narrative better than this random chicken sale that plays out like a bad advertisement for Captain Morgan rum.

That’s the biggest problem with agenda-driven changes, especially when they’re politically charged: they have zero imagination.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

That’s the biggest problem with agenda-driven changes, especially when they’re politically charged: they have zero imagination.

In the case of the Auction scene, they also wanted to do it on the cheap by recycling as much of the figures and staging as possible, which further limited what they could do.

 

[marni1971]

Is this a good place to say I’ve a five part video series later this year on all five PotC attractions? Including an in depth look at the design, layout history and differences between the first four?

Tokyos for example is a unique hybrid. Not just an Anaheim knock off with one drop.

 

[Turtle]

my dream: remove all Jack and other movie elements and return POTC to as close to the original as possible. Then build the Shanghai ride in DHS. Two very different experiences in different parks and you can appeal to both movie lovers and classic fans.

Plus DHS really could use a high capacity water ride. Create an area with that and an Indiana Jones ride and you’d bring that park much closer to what it needs for ride capacity

Contrary. I think building Shanghai Pirates right next to MK pirates to make them dueling pirates and flesh the area as a Pirate's Cove is such a compelling concept

 

[Animaniac93-98]

Tokyos for example is a unique hybrid. Not just an Anaheim knock off with one drop.

Indeed. You can see a noticeable difference in the size of the cave interiors when you ride.

Which you should see in person!

 

[AnonymousStitch]

A few things. First off, you're reading way too much into a joke post. Second off, Hall of Presidents is not the E-ticket from Liberty Square, Haunted Mansion is.

Dismissing the Pirates "rumor" because it seems to be patently untrue, the timing of all of this would be layered anyways. Biden going to the Hall of Presidents will take place in 2021. Disney hasn't announced it, but that's the precedent. In 2016 they closed HoP around inauguration day and re-opened it in late December. I'd have to look it up, but I believe the 2008 turnaround was quicker.

Splash Mountain's refurb isn't likely to begin until late 2022 / early 2023.

And what happens if the refurb gets cancelled?