Pirates refurb dates released

[dweezil78]

Exactly.

And it was somewhat boring for 1967 audiences, and a mandatory concession to getting boats out beyond the berm to the real show.

For 2018 audiences, not to mention 2025 and 2035 audiences, it's a long boring dark tunnel that does nothing to tell the story. And I'll say it again, it's a perfect place to slot in Shanghai Pirates animatronic tech and storytelling.

Now, how many more months until this ride reopens?

I always enjoyed the claustrophobic feel of that part. Until then, everything in the caves is fairly open and has room to breathe... but for that little stretch it's basically your boat and those cave walls until the big grand reveal when things take a 180 and open up in the biggest way possible. The original narration/warning gave that part a real sense of dread and impending doom too, it was a cool little break from the grandioseness of PotC! I really think that without that little stretch, the scene with the attack on the fortress wouldn't feel quite as epic as it does, you know?

 

[Phroobar]

Exactly.

And that long dark tunnel was over-long and somewhat boring for 1967 audiences, and a mandatory concession to getting the boats out beyond the berm to the real show. All due to a physical setup that was forced to bridge a circa 1961 plan for a walk-thru wax museum to a radically altered 1965 plan for a ride-thru animatronic show.

For 2018 audiences, not to mention 2025 and 2035 audiences, it's a long boring dark tunnel that does nothing to tell the story. And I'll say it again, it's a perfect place to slot in Shanghai Pirates animatronic tech and storytelling techniques that no one could have dreamed of in 1965.

Now, how many more months until this ride reopens?

I've always thought of it as a time tunnel. You've see the fate of the pirates and then go back in time and see them in action. It's very subtle and suppose to feel like a dream. It's not like you need a giant toaster to convey the time travel thing.

 

[Deleted member 107043]

Curiosity Hans, did the "Dead men tell no tales" narration, or the waterfall projection do more to alleviate these doldrums. Rather, which is the lesser of two evils in your opinion?

I think they both help. The waterfall effect was kinda cool when it was first installed, but with projection mapping so commonplace now it doesn't wow me like it used to.

 

[Hatbox Ghostbuster]

That’s because that’s mostly what it was — doesn’t make the title Future World any more relevant by calling a spade a spade though. Not to mention, the ‘what’s to come’ future part was maybe 20% of it all at best.

This isn’t me saying I wasn’t a fan, because 82-94 EPCOT Center is my favorite thing ever. I’m just saying if we’re to argue whether or not something is properly placed or not, it’s helpful to take a step back and examine if any of it has ever really been that relevant to the land it’s in.

To add to that, if you really take a look at most of the 'Future' of the original Future World, most of that stuff was aimed squarely at the attraction sponsors and was about what they had in development at the time. New cars, communications systems, fuel, etc. It wasn't a look at 'our' future, it was a look at 'their' future.

FWIW:
World of Motion
Universe of Energy
Wonders of Life
The Living Seas (even with Nemo)
Spaceship Earth
Living with the Land
Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy.

One clearly stands out as not fitting in regardless of how the overall land theme is interpreted.

 

[dweezil78]

FWIW:
World of Motion
Universe of Energy
Wonders of Life
The Living Seas (even with Nemo)
Spaceship Earth
Living with the Land
Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy.

One clearly stands out as not fitting in regardless of how the overall land theme is interpreted.

No, one does not fit in with the list of the attractions you provided (because those are all 30-35 years old) -- not necessarily the theme of 'Future World' itself. You're also missing Journey Into Imagination btw, which I'm guessing was intentional as that doesn't support your argument.

We also have no clue as to what GotG is actually going to be story-wise. All we know is that it is a coaster of some kind.

For the record, I am not at all a fan of Marvel being placed here by the way. But if we're going to make arguments about why it doesn't belong, at least they should be valid ones and we should recognize the flaws inherent to the core of 'Future World' that have existed since opening day.

 

[Hatbox Ghostbuster]

No, one does not fit in with the list of the attractions you provided (because those are all 30-35 years old) -- not necessarily the theme of 'Future World' itself. You're also missing Journey Into Imagination btw, which I'm guessing was intentional as that doesn't support your argument.

We also have no clue as to what GotG is actually going to be story-wise. All we know is that it is a coaster of some kind.

For the record, I am not at all a fan of Marvel being placed here by the way. But if we're going to make arguments about why it doesn't belong, at least they should be valid ones and we should recognize the flaws inherent to the core of 'Future World' that have existed since opening day.

I don't think I'm thinking about it as deeply as you and that's probably where we're disconnecting.
I just see it as an IP-inclusion that has nothing to do with anything around it.

BTW, I unintentionally forgot JII. Oops. Sorry Figment!

 

[shortstop]

Whoa whoa whoa, hold the phone. I refuse to idly sit by as people disparage the Pirates Caves, arguably the most brilliant part of the most brilliant ride of all time! I recommend giving this a read. Passport2dreams’s analysis of DL’s Pirates, without a doubt the greatest version of the attraction! Really cool stuff:

http://passport2dreams.blogspot.com/2011/08/fire-in-night-pre-eminent-attraction-as.html?m=1

 

[Deleted member 107043]

I refuse to idly sit by as people disparage the Pirates Caves, arguably the most brilliant part of the most brilliant ride of all time!

If the DL PoTC ride were translated as a film the cave scene, from the treasure room to the fortress attack, would be the part where I'd get up for snacks or go to the bathroom.

 

[SuddenStorm]

The cave scene is an essential part of the experience.

The bayou portion, at the beginning, begins to relax you. Begins to immerse you in an environment that isn't quite your own.

The talking skull/waterfall function as the portal into that other world. Think Stretching room from the haunted mansion. At the top of the waterfall? Disneyland park, tourists, a restaurant. Down below, caverns with pirates.

The caves function as a primer. They expose you to the pirates in a more believable way- with static figures and treasure. You wonder what happened to them. You think of how cool it'd be to have that treasure. Similar to falling asleep into a dreamlike state. It excites the imagination.

Then, you float through a second portal. An empty stretch of cave- where you hear the words "No fear have ye of evil curses says you. Ha. Properly warned ye be says I, who knows when that evil curse will strike the greedy beholders of this bewitched treasure" (or at least, that's what you used to hear. This bit has been altered and the effect is worse because of it.)

Then, you hear cannon fire. The world comes to life with a boom. And it's all the more beautiful and mystifying because of the 5 minute primer you had into the world from the bayou and cave sections. You've been eased into submission, fully immersed into the world before the world comes to life.

At the end, you float back out of that waterfall. The world where pirates are alive and well slowly drifts away- like waking up from an exciting dream. You exit back into the real world.

Was this entirely planned out? Probably not. I think it's one of those happy accidents that arose out of the necessity of getting the guests outside the berm, like the stretching room.

 

[shortstop]

If the DL PoTC ride were translated as a film the cave scene, from the treasure room to the fortress attack, would be the part where I'd get up for snacks or go to the bathroom.

But it’s not a movie. It’s a ride that you experience. If you missed this part you’d miss the context and the setting up of the story.

The cave scene is an essential part of the experience.

The bayou portion, at the beginning, begins to relax you. Begins to immerse you in an environment that isn't quite your own.

The talking skull/waterfall function as the portal into that other world. Think Stretching room from the haunted mansion. At the top of the waterfall? Disneyland park, tourists, a restaurant. Down below, caverns with pirates.

The caves function as a primer. They expose you to the pirates in a more believable way- with static figures and treasure. You wonder what happened to them. You think of how cool it'd be to have that treasure. Similar to falling asleep into a dreamlike state. It excites the imagination.

Then, you float through a second portal. An empty stretch of cave- where you hear the words "No fear have ye of evil curses says you. Ha. Properly warned ye be says I, who knows when that evil curse will strike the greedy beholders of this bewitched treasure" (or at least, that's what you used to hear. This bit has been altered and the effect is worse because of it.)

Then, you hear cannon fire. The world comes to life with a boom. And it's all the more beautiful and mystifying because of the 5 minute primer you had into the world from the bayou and cave sections. You've been eased into submission, fully immersed into the world before the world comes to life.

At the end, you float back out of that waterfall. The world where pirates are alive and well slowly drifts away- like waking up from an exciting dream. You exit back into the real world.

Was this entirely planned out? Probably not. I think it's one of those happy accidents that arose out of the necessity of getting the guests outside the berm, like the stretching room.

Pretty much this.

 

[mickhyperion]

The caves were a wonderful mood setting portion of the original ride... the darkness, the spooky pirate voices, the further establishment of the storyline. Unfortunately, audiences of the last decade or two have attention spans far too short for such sophistication. Visitors were already ruining the experience in this area with their cell phones and tediously loud conversations before Disney added the lame waterfall sequence. Now, it looks like the short attention spans will have another win if they really do further "plus" the caves and destroy this section once and for all forever. Congratulations.

 

[SuddenStorm]

The caves were a wonderful mood setting portion of the original ride... the darkness, the spooky pirate voices, the further establishment of the storyline. Unfortunately, audiences of the last decade or two have attention spans far too short for such sophistication. Visitors were already ruining the experience in this area with their cell phones and tediously loud conversations before Disney added the lame waterfall sequence. Now, it looks like the short attention spans will have another win if they really do further "plus" the caves and destroy this section once and for all forever. Congratulations.

Between flash photos and loud conversations on pirates, and people's incessant need to narrate the stretching room for the people around them, I'm really starting to understand why the older folks on here hate the young AP crowd that visits weekly.

 

[Deleted member 107043]

But it’s not a movie. It’s a ride that you experience. If you missed this part you’d miss the context and the setting up of the story.

How does a dark cave set up the story when there's all the stuff preceding doing exactly that quite beautifully? Other versions of the ride set up the story fine without the tediously long intro.

 

[VJ]

I think the caves need something more exciting.

Like...

More Jack Sparrow!

 

[SuddenStorm]

I think the caves need something more exciting.

Like...

More Jack Sparrow!

I know this is a joke, but it would serve the original storyline better to have Jack Sparrow's skeleton rotting with all the treasure, instead of at the end of the ride celebrating his conquest.

The whole point of the ride was that the treasure the pirates were looking for is cursed. Now, they're looking for Jack Sparrow, who in turn is looking for the treasure. It's more convoluted and would have been better served by just having Jack join the hunt for the treasure along with everyone else, be the one to find it, and be one of the ones to get cursed because of it without shoving him in as the star of the show.

 

[Phroobar]

I think the caves need something more exciting.

Like...

More Jack Sparrow!

Back when they were planning a nighttime version of POTC with alternate track there was suppose to be a pirate in a crows nest. As the moonlight hits him he turns into a skeleton. After the ship battle, your boat would go down an alternate path when the pirate/skeletons notice you and attack your boat.

 

[shortstop]

Between flash photos and loud conversations on pirates, and people's incessant need to narrate the stretching room for the people around them, I'm really starting to understand why the older folks on here hate the young AP crowd that visits weekly.

Anyone who has gone to DL with me knows that my biggest pet peeve is people talking loudly at the beginning of Pirates. The stretching room narration is probably #2.

How does a dark cave set up the story when there's all the stuff preceding doing exactly that quite beautifully? Other versions of the ride set up the story fine without the tediously long intro.

I wouldn’t call it tedious. Other versions don’t set up the story nearly as well as DL’s. If you’re referring to the mist portion specifically, I guess then I won’t really argue that, especially with it being Davy Jones, which is annoying.

 

[VJ]

I know this is a joke, but it would serve the original storyline better to have Jack Sparrow's skeleton rotting with all the treasure, instead of at the end of the ride celebrating his conquest.

The whole point of the ride was that the treasure the pirates were looking for is cursed. Now, they're looking for Jack Sparrow, who in turn is looking for the treasure. It's more convoluted and would have been better served by just having Jack join the hunt for the treasure along with everyone else, be the one to find it, and be one of the ones to get cursed because of it without shoving him in as the star of the show.

Downer to have your franchise's star character end up dead, though...

 

[Deleted member 107043]

I wouldn’t call it tedious.

But I do. Everyone's Disneyland experience is deeply personal. Just because I find that the cavern sequence slows down the pace doesn't mean you do too, and vice versa. There's no right or wrong here.

 

[EPCOTCenterLover]

I'd be okay with the redhead lady becoming something like this:

View attachment 269301

See the Haunted Manson attic.