Ruined...POTC

[Nicole220]

I can understand that many don't like the changes to the classic Pirates ride because it was given a bit of a "popular element" (davy jones, Jack Sparrow, & Barbosa)

But they did so much more during this rehab than just adding these new animatronics... look how much its cleaned up, fresh paint, fire effects were fixed and plussed in certain areas, Animatronic costumes were replaced, treasure room was plussed, the sky was given detail and clouds to hide the drop ceiling, cannons were plussed, audio was upgraded, and now it has a more coherent story than the original ride.

so much more than the three characters were added and that is what will keep the interest in POTC, while not changing most of its original design elements.

Took the words right out of my mouth! If they hadn't enhanced it, the place would be old, rundown, and dirty. Then everyone would start complaining about how it needs to be refurbished like HM and Space.

 

[JeffH]

A traditionalist is out of place at WDW

Walt Disney was a FUTURIST, a VISIONARY, and in no way was he a TRADITIONALIST. In fact he ran as fast as he could from what was "traditional".
To disapprove of the major upgrades to the PotC attraction is in direct conflict as to what Walt Disney stood for and would have approved of, and to what Walt Disney World itself stands for. What was done to the PotC was a strengthing of the existing theme based on the additional details created by the extended storyline created by the wonderful movies...Theming and detail, yet 2 more things that Walt Disney World is based on.

Now I wish they could get the parrot working again...the one they moved from the outside to the fire scene inside.

I noticed Sunday that they've synced up the Davy Jones comments with the "Dead Men Tell No Tales" in the back ground...Davy speaks, then you hear the chant, Davy speaks, then you hear the chant
(note: noticed means maybe it's always been this way, but I just didn't notice)
But Davy Jones is no longer synced up with the passage of the boats.
I mean by this...
Before PotC officially re-opened, it seemed that Davy spoke whereever your boat was
After PotC officially re-opened, it seemed that Davy was timed to speak BEFORE your boat hit the mist (many rides seem to affirm this), so your boat always passed through empty mist.
Sunday, Davy spoke as our boat passed through his image...as I then noticed it was synced up with the background chant.
Personally I like being able to reach up and pretend to grab his tentacles,

hint to Disney Imagineering:
...so I wish they'd modify the Davy Jones hologram so that his image is always there...speaking when he normally speaks. It so much creepier to pass through him as he's looking down at you...maybe he'll snatch you right out of the boat for his crew (so don't look DEAD), a future ride enhancement possibly?

Now the major dissassemblement (I made that up) of the wonderful Imagination ride would be quite the opposite.

IMHO

 

[Champion]

Now, how do we make this the first thing Iger reads tomorrow morning?

Send it to Steve Jobs.

 

[Champion]

Well just for arguments sake...Davy Jones has been in the Pirates movie...where are people complaining about needing the cast of the Haunted Mansion to be in the attraction because we know that in how many years none of us will be here yet people will watch that movie and wonder why Eddie Murphy isn't in the Haunted Mansion....



~Chag

Oh come on, its not the same thing. The Haunted Mansion movie was not a hit. The Pirates movies are. There are no "Atlantis" attractions, because it wasn't a hit. But other movies of the same period have plenty of attention in the parks.

 

[goofyfan13]

Well just for arguments sake...Davy Jones has been in the Pirates movie...where are people complaining about needing the cast of the Haunted Mansion to be in the attraction because we know that in how many years none of us will be here yet people will watch that movie and wonder why Eddie Murphy isn't in the Haunted Mansion....



~Chag

There Haunted Mansion movie flopped horribly, whereas PotC:TCotBP rocked at the box office, and DMC shattered box office records. Not even close to being a far comparison.

 

[DSNYKID]

Do you really think that the ride has changed all that much?? I mean, 98% of the original staples are still there, and the new stuff kind doesn't really stick out. It's a nice blend. The last scene at is quite cool to me actually. It does not feel like 2 different rides to me... before and after Sparrow. It feels the same, just more fun. And I'm Disney traditionalist.

 

[frankd1962]

I loved the old way the ride was and seen videos of the new way (and heard from people who rode it recently). But I have to say that adding Jack, Barbosa and Davy to the ride now will help those who only know the movies to enjoy the ride. So relax and enjoy. I'm going to go and see it myself soon and hope that it lives up to the hype I've heard.

 

[fizzle75]

When Walt was alive he was always looking to "plus" everything by either creating something totally new, or updating an existing idea. WDW really only exists because Walt wanted to plus the idea he originally had with Disneyland and make a place that could totally transport you away from reality.

With this in mind, I think Walt would have loved to see the changes that have been made to Pirates that keep the attraction fresh and original. Instead of letting the ride age, the Imaginer's updated the ride elements to fit with an every changing public opinion towards POTC. at first i was against the addition of jack and barbossa, but now, upon thinking about walt's hopes for the parks, i would saying it is totally in step with his goals. the addition simply "pluses" an existing attraction and brings it into a modern era.

Very well said and I agree totally. I think the whole idea of change and "plussing" existing attractions is very much in line with what Walt had in mind for his parks. Obviously I have no way of knowing but I think Walt would be very proud of the Pirates refurb. My wife and I love it and think the additions are fantastic we just wish WDW had gotten all of the love that Disneyland's Pirates did.

 

[head mouse]

Got in late last night from WDW. The Imaginears...messed up POTC. now I know that people love jack sparrow. Lots of angry posts to follow will say how wrong I am. I like the movies and I like the ride. One inspired the other but while similar they are seperate and thats how they should have stayed. I am a tradionalist. I want to take my three kids to the ride I went on if I want them to see capin jack I will turn on the DVDs.
This was the last ride Walt supervised. The gift shop even has asian themed "artifacts" to go along with the "asian pirate" in the auction scene. all for the new movie. I am fine with progress and I know I am late to the party with this referb happining long ago. I am fine with little changes but the skull before the drop is gone and the whole last room shrunk. My wife bought me the soundtrack which includes the float through to shut me up... It didn't work.

I agree with you 100% The ride inspired the movie, not the other way around.

I have just one thing to say to the Disney people that are reading this board...



LEAVE THE CLASSICS ALONE!!!!!!

 

[Champion]

I agree with you 100% The ride inspired the movie, not the other way around.

I have just one thing to say to the Disney people that are reading this board...



LEAVE THE CLASSICS ALONE!!!!!!

Too late. I don't think there is a single attraction that is unchanged from the opening of MK. So deal with it or don't go.

 

[goofyfan13]

I agree with you 100% The ride inspired the movie, not the other way around.

I have just one thing to say to the Disney people that are reading this board...



LEAVE THE CLASSICS ALONE!!!!!!

I don't think Disney is going to listen to the vast minority when it comes to changing rides. I love the classics, but leaving them as is and not improving them is a horrible business decision. You want to draw people to your parks, not have them think, oh, I'm sick of riding the same rides over and over again. Change is good, get used to it.

 

[Rufus T Firefly]

Walt Disney was a FUTURIST, a VISIONARY, and in no way was he a TRADITIONALIST. In fact he ran as fast as he could from what was "traditional".
To disapprove of the major upgrades to the PotC attraction is in direct conflict as to what Walt Disney stood for and would have approved of, and to what Walt Disney World itself stands for. What was done to the PotC was a strengthing of the existing theme based on the additional details created by the extended storyline created by the wonderful movies...Theming and detail, yet 2 more things that Walt Disney World is based on.

Now I wish they could get the parrot working again...the one they moved from the outside to the fire scene inside.

I noticed Sunday that they've synced up the Davy Jones comments with the "Dead Men Tell No Tales" in the back ground...Davy speaks, then you hear the chant, Davy speaks, then you hear the chant
(note: noticed means maybe it's always been this way, but I just didn't notice)
But Davy Jones is no longer synced up with the passage of the boats.
I mean by this...
Before PotC officially re-opened, it seemed that Davy spoke whereever your boat was
After PotC officially re-opened, it seemed that Davy was timed to speak BEFORE your boat hit the mist (many rides seem to affirm this), so your boat always passed through empty mist.
Sunday, Davy spoke as our boat passed through his image...as I then noticed it was synced up with the background chant.
Personally I like being able to reach up and pretend to grab his tentacles,

hint to Disney Imagineering:
...so I wish they'd modify the Davy Jones hologram so that his image is always there...speaking when he normally speaks. It so much creepier to pass through him as he's looking down at you...maybe he'll snatch you right out of the boat for his crew (so don't look DEAD), a future ride enhancement possibly?

Now the major dissassemblement (I made that up) of the wonderful Imagination ride would be quite the opposite.

IMHO

Reach up and grab his what??!!

 

[cmatt]

Reach up and grab his what??!!

ball and wand?

....

sorry - thats epcot

As someone else (who has common sense) has said - it would be a BAD decision to let rides stay in the same condition as when the park opened. As only a select few want the ride to stay the way it is. The majority of park goers dont really er.... care tbh - they dont get worked up when a ride changes. They just think WOW i wonder what they have done to the ride?!! and go buy a park ticket....

 

[hooters dude]

I can see both sides of the arguement. I for instance love Space Mountain exactly how it is but am willing to accept at some stage they're going to alter/upgrade it in some way, that's just the way things work in business :shrug:

Having ridden Pirates for the first time since the upgrade this christmas I must say it still 'felt' the same as it always did but with a few improvements. I thought the mist/projection effect was outstanding as did my wife. Jack Sparrow appeared three times according to my recollection and he only replaced an animatronic, they didn't really change that much else.

Now I'll probably be made to look foolish here, but if I asked people to describe accurately off the top of their heads the character Jack replaced, I wonder how many actually could? (this is the point in the thread that get's inundated with exact descriptions of the original animatronic :hammer: )

My point is they've changed it slightly to please a large majority of 'customers' who wrongly or rightly expect to see Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the carribean ride. They've done that and added a new effect with the mist while still keeping the ride more or less as it was. If I took my mother on it for instance I'm sure she wouldn't notice any change other than the mist effect as she wouldn't know Jack Sparrow if he personally held her up with his sword and pistol!

 

[goofyfan13]

I can see both sides of the arguement. I for instance love Space Mountain exactly how it is but am willing to accept at some stage they're going to alter/upgrade it in some way, that's just the way things work in business :shrug:

The main difference is SM is still an extremely popular attraction regardless. I can guarantee if SM stopped having a long line a couple years ago, the rumored refurb coming up would have already happened.

But yea, your comments are right on track. My mom didn't even notice the first Jack Sparrow animatronic when she went on for her first time. I mean, the changes that were made to the ride really didn't effect the ride that much if at all. Yea I miss the skull before the drop, but I think the Davey Jones effect is much cooler, and actually think it would have been cooler to slap that right before the drop. I mean, lets look at the way things changed.

The battle scene is much more epic now, so in my opinion that far outweighs the negative of the skull being gone.

 

[George]

I agree with you 100% The ride inspired the movie, not the other way around.

I have just one thing to say to the Disney people that are reading this board...



LEAVE THE CLASSICS ALONE!!!!!!

I don't like being yelled at first thing in the morning. The classics have to be plussed from time to time or else they go stale. POTC is "new and improved" and I'm very happy with the way the money thrown at this attraction was spent. I hope and pray that SM is down for a long time and we get some new effects, killer audio and a smoother track. I'm sick and tired of MK gettting less love than Disneyland and its other clones.

 

[ClemsonTigger]

What puts the changes in perspective for me is remembering riding POTC prior to the change and having some teens in the boat with me pointing out "Jack Sparrow and others". There is a whole generation that knows the movie before the ride, and that's OK.

Then again, I thought it was funny having Ellen pop into UOE and Nemo and friends swimming in The Seas.

If you feel the need to campaign for the one ride that is truly the personification of Walt...lobby for COP.

 

[cloudboy]

Do you really think that the ride has changed all that much?? I mean, 98% of the original staples are still there, and the new stuff kind doesn't really stick out. It's a nice blend. The last scene at is quite cool to me actually. It does not feel like 2 different rides to me... before and after Sparrow. It feels the same, just more fun. And I'm Disney traditionalist.

See, I guess that's the real difference between guests of yesterday and today. Actually there is a HUGE difference, and it's not the cahracters that are in it or the special effects.

What is different is the whole feel of the ride. The lack of a sountrack. The fun and innocence of it. It used to be jolly. Pirates at one pint used to be jolly. Today they are deep and dramatic. You used be traveling through, you could participate as you wanted - you were immersed in the environment. Now, you just passivly watch the story - it's all written out for you already. It's no longer fun - it's dramatic. How can they get you adrenalin running. Too much focus on one thing, not immersive. No rhythm to it.

Anyway, I guess people today don't relate to that. They don't seem to even remember it. Which is kind of sad, because it has gone so much from this world and I miss it, but I guess I have to learn to conform to the rest of the masses.

So for how long has Pirates suddenly been dead defore the rehab? Every time I had gone it was quite busy - never heard anyone complain how bad it was then.

 

[lilredfoxie]

I wasn't impressed either with the new Pirates of the Caribbean ride. The original ride had a timeless quality to it, once the Pirates movie becomes old news, it'll end up like Journey into Imagination with an attraction based on an ancient movie thats prime has passed many many years ago.

The old ride was cool when they sang yo ho for most of the ride, then you had the older Pirate leader guy by the gold at the end. Personally it just looks like Jack Sparrow sneaking around the Pirates ride and sitting in the other pirate guys seat at the end rather than him actually becoming part of the classic.

 

[PurpleDragon]

All I can say is...........wow...............really I'm at a loss for words. Its just sad how many people wanted the attraction to become a museum/tomb just so they can be selfishly happy.

What people don't realize is if Disney left the attraction as it was, the only people left riding it would be the traditionalist Disney fanatics, the rest of the general public would avoid the ride because it was boring and didn't have Jack Sparrow. I'm sorry but a few dozen turnstile turns a day equals one dead attraction.