Pirates: Which is better, Shanghai or WDW? (Hoping the debate in Tron will move here)

[Poseidon Quest]

Just to clarify this point, there is no time travel in the Florida version.

It's why the cannon on the roof outside is firing (or at least did once), why you hear the guards in the queue saying the Pirates are attacking and why you see the ship from the bombardment scene in the load area.

I always just figured that these were glimpses of the past that you could experience before the drop itself. If that's the case though, what are the cave scenes meant to convey?

 

[Animaniac93-98]

I always just figured that these were glimpses of the past that you could experience before the drop itself. If that's the case though, what are the cave scenes meant to convey?

Best as I can figure, it's you trying to escape the oncoming attack through a secret tunnel, only to put put right in the middle of it at the bottom of the drop.

You can hear Pirates digging for treasure in the load area. They know something is hidden in those tunnels. The skeletons you see are Pirates who were killed to keep the secret of its whereabouts.

The whole narrative of the Florida ride is about Pirates looking for treasure. That's why it ended with the Treasure Room (originally a Florida exclusive) which had several pirates and a few tied up guards before it was just Jack Sparrow in there.

 

[Poseidon Quest]

Best as I can figure, it's you trying to escape the oncoming attack through a secret tunnel, only to put put right in the middle of it at the bottom of the drop.

You can hear Pirates digging for treasure in the load area. They know something is hidden in those tunnels. The skeletons you see are Pirates who were killed to keep the secret of its whereabouts.

The whole narrative of the Florida ride is about Pirates looking for treasure. That's why it ended with the Treasure Room (originally a Florida exclusive) which had several pirates and a few tied up guards before it was just Jack Sparrow in there.

That makes sense, though one thing that still remains unclear to me is the skeleton at the wheel. What's your take on that?

 

[Animaniac93-98]

That makes sense, though one thing that still remains unclear to me is the skeleton at the wheel. What's your take on that?

Perhaps he was the Pirate who killed the others, only to get caught in a storm at sea trying to sail away, which sent the wreck crashing back near the same caves...keeping the secret of its whereabouts safe.

"No fear have ye of evil curses says you...Properly warned ye be says I." was a bit of narration that used to play at the end of the drop. The only part of Paul Frees' cave narration carried over.

Maybe in Florida it's not the treasure itself that is cursed, but the life of a Pirate, who's greedy thirst gets the better of him.

 

[FettFan]

That makes sense, though one thing that still remains unclear to me is the skeleton at the wheel. What's your take on that?

In life, he was a Spanish first mate named Jesús.

In the midst of the storm, his captain cried out "Jesús! Take the wheel!"


The rest is history.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

In life, he was a Spanish first mate named Jesús.

In the midst of the storm, his captain cried out "Jesús! Take the wheel!"


The rest is history.

I want this canonized in a Disney Parks Blog post.