Why didn't they make POTC more like Disneyland's?

okcthunder

Active Member
Original Poster
Is there a explanation out there just curious? It's not like WDW has some exclusives that DL doesn't it is just missing a ton of stuff in comparision to Disneyland's version. I love POTC on the West and East coast I was just curious if there was an explanation..
 

Marc Gil

Well-Known Member
That's actually a very good question! Magic Kingdom had plenty of space to make Disneyland's full POTC. I guess the imagineers wanted MK's version unique.

But I totally agree that Disneyland's POTC is way better. MK's POTC is like the "best of".
 

Goofyernmost

Well-Known Member
The only real reason why PoTC is different is the fact that it is connected to New Orleans Square section. The beginning of the ride is the bayou and then at the downslide (which is double at DL due to the railroad tracks) it becomes pretty much the same with a few scene changes. There is no N.O. Square in WDW so the theme wouldn't have fit in as well.

EDIT: also the ride itself was an ofter thought. When designing the park they never had any plans to even put it there. It was some Western themed idea (can't remember the name right now). So they put it in where they could and instead of the New Orleans theme they went with the Spanish style fortification queue.
 

FettFan

Well-Known Member
Is there a explanation out there just curious? It's not like WDW has some exclusives that DL doesn't it is just missing a ton of stuff in comparision to Disneyland's version. I love POTC on the West and East coast I was just curious if there was an explanation..

1. It was a last minute addition to appease guests who came to Florida expecting it. Pirates wasn't planned for WDW at all in the beginning.
2. It was built truncated so as to keep space available for Western River Expedition. This space is now home to Splash Mountain.
 

Tom

Beta Return
PotC was an afterthought at WDW. They didn't build it for opening day, because they didn't think guests from the east half of the country would care about pirates. They guessed wrong, and there was an outcry for PotC and they ended up building it.

They likely didn't go to the same extreme because of space limitations. Half of Disneyland's ride is inside the "berm" while the rest is outside. The drops at DL are to get under the train tracks, and then they lift you back up to unload.

At WDW, only the queue, load, and the opening part of the ride are inside the park. The drop takes you into the show building, which is outside the tracks. To create more show, it would have taken up even more of Adventureland, which, as you know, is already very cramped.
 

Chef Mickey

Well-Known Member
PotC was an afterthought at WDW. They didn't build it for opening day, because they didn't think guests from the east half of the country would care about pirates. They guessed wrong, and there was an outcry for PotC and they ended up building it.

They likely didn't go to the same extreme because of space limitations. Half of Disneyland's ride is inside the "berm" while the rest is outside. The drops at DL are to get under the train tracks, and then they lift you back up to unload.

At WDW, only the queue, load, and the opening part of the ride are inside the park. The drop takes you into the show building, which is outside the tracks. To create more show, it would have taken up even more of Adventureland, which, as you know, is already very cramped.
Hey, since when does Disney respond to public outcry for rides?
 

FettFan

Well-Known Member
I think I'm one of the few to prefer the WDW version of Pirates. I don't like the bayou scenes and the WDW version has more of a nostalgia factor for me.

Well that and the fact that the old Spanish garrison thematically fits in to the Golden Age of piracy.

As discussed before on these boards....pirates in New Orleans is a romanticized myth spurred on by Jean Lafitte hero worship that sprang up after the War of 1812.
 

flynnibus

Premium Member
Is there a explanation out there just curious? It's not like WDW has some exclusives that DL doesn't it is just missing a ton of stuff in comparision to Disneyland's version. I love POTC on the West and East coast I was just curious if there was an explanation..

The main reason was likely 'the space wasn't needed' and the attraction was rushed in.

The main difference in the DLR version is transporting you to where the show building is. You go through a much longer grotto sequence and extra drops because you are going down and under the NOS stuff to get to the showbuilding. The first 1/3rd of the riding is riding through empty rockwork as you circle and then drop again.

It's like the elevators and hallway before load in the HM. In DL, the elevator actually drops you down below the train tracks, and the hallway is to move under them. In MK, there is no such need, so the stretching rooms don't actually go down, and there is no need for the hallway.

there is an amazing website out there with a cute name that shows all of the POTC attraction in 3d maps and cutaways... but it's name is escaping me at the momment! When you see that, you will understand where all the greater length comes from.
 

Kman101

Well-Known Member
Hey, since when does Disney respond to public outcry for rides?

Back when they had people who actually cared about the parks, guest feedback and appealing to their audience ;)

Instead now they change around attractions because the kiddos get scared. Or it's not "PC" enough.
 

Goofyernmost

Well-Known Member
Back when they had people who actually cared about the parks, guest feedback and appealing to their audience ;)

Instead now they change around attractions because the kiddos get scared. Or it's not "PC" enough.
A certain amount of that is true, but, one of the biggest reasons what that at the time MK was sadly lacking in attractions other then a few other clones. When the public started to make sounds that they wanted PoTC in Florida, it was a natural. They had the "basic" design and could make it happen quickly. If they hadn't had the "we need more things" syndrome at the time, they wouldn't have listened then either. It was just a good idea and could be built in a hurry, so now we have it in Florida. Good decisions are sometimes made by mistake.
 

Kman101

Well-Known Member
Yeah, that reasoning is very true, but it's also true (IMO) they did care more back then, they got what it meant to run a theme park, but you're point is completely valid. I don't see it as "we need more things" in the case of adding POTC. They HAD something planned and held off for POTC because of guest demand to experience that attraction.
 

Goofyernmost

Well-Known Member
In all fairness, it was a much less complicated world back then as well. No need to clear it through the BOD. You want it you build it. No requirement to have it pass muster with any number of committee's before anything could happen. The guys in charge made the decisions and immediately got the ball rolling. They also were not totally dependent on sub-contractors. Many of the things they made themselves. No outside problems to speak of.
 

tl77

Well-Known Member
In Florida they didn't need the longer scenes where the boats go through the technicolored caves in the beginning, but to meet the crazy demand for the ride they added the double themed queue lines in the fort instead. I can remember waiting in some pretty long lines for PotC in the early days. Plus the Western River Ride was still a possibility when WDW's Pirates were built, and the Western River ride did need the technicolored caves scenes in the beginning of the ride, so I guess they decided they didn't need 2 boat rides that started off with long slow rides through caves with colored lights
 
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