POTC --- Thumbs Down!

[RedBaron]

The new updates that I have read about here sound great. I think it would have been a real tragedy if they had "changed" the ride. I also find it hard to believe that PotC did not have a long wait time during peek season even before the updates. I always thought it was a very popular attraction and not to be missed. I normally go in the off season and have still waited 10-20 minutes to ride it.

 

[MrsGracey]

They changed everything that needed changing, kept what was important.
The cannons sound so great now, and yeah, that Davy Jones mist screen is awesome!

By the way, the long, long lines that formed Friday morning started right around where the spitting tiki's are. But even then I don't think we waited much more than 30 minutes (yes, we really waited in that line).
Here's a pic of it:

 

[Teenchy]

What would we have to read and talk about on these threads if someone didnt hate one of our beloved attractions

I cant wait to see the new ride in person later this year, it looks great on all the pieces I have caught on TV or the internet. It looks like they did just enough and I'm hoping they dont revamp everything with the continued success of the movies. Its a classic that we cant wait to ride on every visit.

Although I will say the last time I waited more than 15min was last September when the ride broke down towards the end of the night, we were next to board a boat and we waited out the delay.

 

[JimboJones123]

I've got an idea for plussing --- Bring back the old Captian and put him out front -- kinda like Buzz -- and give him an hour long loop speil. That would be a cool -- very quick throwback. He could rant and rave. Or even better, make him interactive. Really hype up the attraction. Kinda like TT w/crush, have somebody that talks to the guests. This can't be too difficult to throw together. Knotts used to have something like this w/o the AA in their Goldtown. The Magic Castle does too. Erma, I think. But it could really get that corner hopping! (Maybe it can invade the fry cart?)

 

[JimboJones123]

I'm sure if you just hit the ride about 45 minutes before close, the line will be less than 15 minutes. Don't go around 2 after people finish eating at Pecos Bills.

 

[Astronaut Jones]

Not improved, just refurbished. Replacing bulbs, fans and worn curtains (the fans blow upward on [I believe plastic] curtains that reflect light from red and yellow bulbs to produce the fire effect) make for a more vibrant experience. In the past some fans (actual fans with blades, not fans of Disney ) worked poorly if at all. If you had not seen it before, you may not have noticed what was missing. The whole room seems alive now with fire effects. BTW, the Reedy Creek Fire Dept. asked that a special switch be installed to turn OFF the effect in case a real fire broke out, so that fire fighters would not be confused which was real and which was Disney magic!

Sounds good, thanks!

 

[hokielutz]

Ummmmm I woke up at 4:00 am on July 1st and drove 2-1/2 hours from Jacksonville, then waited in front of the queue until nearly 10:00 AM when they finally opened PotC for the soft opening.

You da man, Master!

 

[darthjohnny]

Who else thought that waiting for an hour for the new POTC was a waste of time? The new POTC was almost exactly the same as the old one with the addition of Jack Sparrow. But I guess I can't complain too much, becuase at least now people are riding it.

The redo was not supposed to be a complete change with the track altered and complete animatronic change. It is just an enhancement.

 

[AEfx]

Ya just can't make everyone happy, as the OP clearly demonstrates.

The PotC rehab/update was the best of both worlds for the majority of us - we still get to keep the classic attraction we all love and we also get some kick-butt updates to freshen the place up.

Win-win-win, in my eyes.

Now I'm even more excited for the next additions when PotC3 comes around. The rumors about adding Orlando and Kiera are interesting, and I'd be willing to bet Kiera will be swordfighting with that new AA tech they are using at the Paris PotC. The movements on their male pirates are rather feminine and I think that tech would work great on her.

AEfx

 

[marni1971]

There was also a heck of a lot of backstage changes made; infrastructure, ride control and propoulsion, wiring, audio serving, speakers and wiring, plus the entire attraction including the queue received a much needed cosmetic rehab. The boats were cleaned and spruced up and disabled loading was reconfigured.

Add to that the new visual FX and AAs I`d say that`s quite a large rehab

 

[AEfx]

The boats were cleaned and spruced up and disabled loading was reconfigured.

I haven't been down yet - how have they changed disabled loading? Is it still through the 2nd (almost never used) queue?

AEfx

 

[marni1971]

I believe so, but the rehab involved stripping back to the original 2nd load channel and rebuilding disabled load from scratch. This why I mistakingly thought duel channel load was comming back.

 

[robynchic]

I haven't been down yet - how have they changed disabled loading? Is it still through the 2nd (almost never used) queue?

AEfx

Actually, another part of the rehab is that both lines are now used. The second line now feeds into the back boat, while the first feeds into the front. It's divided into the two lines the same way Tower of Terror is when you get to the boiler room- you go right or left.

And yet another is that they cleaned a lot of the AA figures, so they're much more fluid moving. If you look carefully, you can tell. And it makes a world of difference.

 

[Dagger]

I normally go to WDW during the off season - May/September and the wait is normally 15 minutes or less. I thought the increased wait times were due to the refurb. Are 45 minute plus waits common during peak times?

I think during prime hours of the day in any season, you'll usually wait like 30 for everything from Carousel of Progress to POTC.

That's not to say that when I was at MK in May '03 I didn't walk on and off, on and off POTC 3x in a row with no wait... but it was later in the day. Earlier that day it had been an hour and a half wait!

 

[DixieBelle97]

Pirates of the Caribbean has always been one of myy favorite rides and I can't wait to see Jack Sparrow in it next year when I go back to Disney. I've seen pictures though and I wish I could have a mechanical Johnny Depp. lol Pirates has always been worth the wait. I would wait hours for it. It's so well done.

 

[Cliff]

I used to love, LOVE, L O V E !! "Pirates" at the Magic Kingdom

Untill,...I rode the original in DisneyLand.


CT

 

[figgyfan]

I liked the new ride. I'm glad they didn't totally mess with the original.Just a few new touches here and there.I saw a 40 minute wait most times ,but it really only felt like 25 minutes or so. There wasn't a line at all late at night.We rode it on the 4th of July at 1 am and there was no one in front of us or behind us.Very cool.....

 

[darthjohnny]

I just rode it two days ago. It was awesome. Does anyone feel they didn't make the Davy Jones effect too menacing because Disney did not want to completely scare away the kids. I could swear that there were only 5 rows in the boats, did they increase it to six? The one thing that was disappointing was that everyone kept saying they would change so that the women would be chased by the men again, however, it was still the same. What gives?

 

[Space Mountain]

Actually, another part of the rehab is that both lines are now used. The second line now feeds into the back boat, while the first feeds into the front. It's divided into the two lines the same way Tower of Terror is when you get to the boiler room- you go right or left.

Hasnt it always been like that?

 

[Ringo8n24]

Ironically, I remember 10 - 15 years ago, there was ALWAYS a long wait at Pirates. It didn't seem as long, since it had such a cool que, but it was always a long wait to get on.

Not even that long ago I remember a long wait at PoTC if you go during July. All the rides seem to have long lines in July to me compared to other times of the year. Space Mountain and PoTC were especially long in the summer in the past.