Why isn't the talking skull at POTC anymore?

[the-reason14]

After reading this discussion, I miss these effects too!! I can understand why they removed the skull, it would seem a bit boring and stupid after the Davey Jones effect. I can also see why they removed the guy talking at the end of the drop. I think the way things are now, those two effects wouldn't go good with how it is now.

Even the parrot at the entrance wouldn't fit with how they made the outside and parts of the inside look.

But regardless, I miss these effects. I like the ride now with Jack Sparrow and stuff but I think it was a refurb that wasnt really needed. A good plussing yes, but it wasnt 100 percent needed.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

Do what they did in Paris - use the skull as an unload warning.

Especially if there was an additional show scene after the treasure room

And when will this magical thing (thing=better refurb where all AAs and speakers are replaced) happen? Let me see:

2009 - Hall of Presidents and Space Mountain
2010 - Carousel of Progress (rumored)

after these I guess. Wish Peter Pan and Jungle Cruise were on the to do list. Then I could at least feel happy about MK's classic attractions (even if I have issues with newer ones along with shopping, dining and entertainment in general at that park).

 

[goodtimes5286]

First off I'd like to say thanks to everyone who explained there opinion and described the facts on pirates. It's good to know there is still people who will share there knowledge unstead of throw out sarcasm and insults to your honest questions.

Second Ill go to the link later, ima lil occupied right now, but ill b good to go in a bit

I think that it was so close behind Dave Jones that it would have been poor show to leave it there. It was the correct thing to remove it. As for Disneyland's being better, it is. You find it at the end of a long dark tunnel and you pause in front of it while it adds immeasurably to the atmosphere. Disneyland's Pirates really builds the story well. It's not just the skull, it's the beginning in the Bayou restaurant, the long transition from scene to scene. It really builds a story while WDW's sort of tosses you right into it. I like both versions, but DL's is really awe inspiring in its length and scope. I bet there will never be anything like it built again.

I didn't know the skull was on display in WOD. I will look for it next time that I am there.

Theres a RESTURANT on the bayou, like a resturant resturant where you can acutally eat? REALLY?? omg if there was and i missed it im going to be ed b/c i didnt see it on 2 trips! All I remember is looking out and it looked like the bayou went on for miles and i was amazed how closely it resembled the 2nd pirates, but i didnt see anyone eating.

Also I gotta agree our pirates doesnt really tell a tale, but then again i dont remember DL's either, It was kind of like you just got dropped into a pirate attack. And I really wish the skull would have said all of that, I thought the voices were pretty much the same though. But why not stop the boat and chat a bit? I mean it adds to the ambiance of the ride, explains it a bit and lessens the boat clog at the end of the ride. It really isnt THAT hard to add in ANOTHER audio track thats already in use working fine.

And paris has a scene after the treasure room? OMG I wanna go now! Pirates was always one of those rides where they tried to make you feel like you were in another place, but never really told a story (then again I had only gone to WDW till I was 20 and I've gone over 70 times). Esp at the end it felt like it was really lacking something. And even if the skull was at the end atleast it was somewhere, to be honest I really do miss it. I always thought it would be cool though, if they modded DLP's pirates after the 3rd movie, so all 3 movies would represent. Then if they make a 4th one about the fountain of youth, either disney sea or florida and they'd have all 4 on lock

 

[DisneyPrincess5]

Longer, More Detailed, More Effects, More Everything, Overall more Wicked Awesome, Etc.

Oooh haha wow it does sound wicked awesome!

 

[WDWRLD]

Quite true but at least he is not rotting away in a warehouse somewhere.

No, he is rotting away right there in WoD.....When I last saw him he was looking a little shabby....

 

[HMF]

Just so everyone knows the Talking Skull is still in Disneyland and Tokyo Disneyland.

 

[TheBeatles]

Just so everyone knows the Talking Skull is still in Disneyland and Tokyo Disneyland.

of course...

tokyo disneyland has it all.

 

[HMF]

Basically the WDW skull said somthing in a very LAME pirate voice "Ahoy there maties, stay seated, etc." While the DL verion had a dark and scary pirate voice that said:

"Psst! Avast there! It be too late to alter course, mateys... and there be plundering pirates lurking in every cove, waitin' to board. Sit closer together, and keep your ruddy hands inboard. That be the best way to repel boarders. And mark well me words, mateys... dead men tell no tales! Ye come seekin' adventure and salty ol' pirates, aye? Sure ye come to the proper place. But keep a weather eye open, mates, and hold on tight, with both hands if you please... there be squalls ahead, and Davey Jones waiting for them what don't obey..."



Here's a good website that gives a good description of DL's version: http://www.tellnotales.com/tour.php

I am kind of glad they got rid of the skull because the voice and spiel was LAME especially compared to X's skull spiel at DL. Plus with Davy Jones added to the cave, it really made to sense to have it there.

I would bring it back with a new design and better spiel.

 

[SirGoofy]

Especially if there was an additional show scene after the treasure room

Oh, like we were supposed to get before Uncle Phil decided the guests would like the refurb no matter what?:fork:

 

[MissM]

Just like the Frees and other voices material was was taken out of the area right after the drop, with the ghostly voices letting you know you were warned about the cursed areas and treasures. "Properly warned ye be says I"

I used to LOVE the voice in the cave. No one really noticed it but I'd always look forward to it. I think they could have easily left it without it being an major interruption.
Have no fear of evil curses says you...arr...properly warned ye be says I....

and...

This may be the last friendly voice you hear...

Loved them.

Basically the WDW skull said somthing in a very LAME pirate voice "Ahoy there maties, stay seated, etc."

Actually, it said something like, ahoy there maties! there be rough waters ahead!

And I personally thought the skull was fun. He's been completely removed though. You can look and see there's nothing there on anymore the rock facade where he used to be mounted.

 

[blackthidot]

He wasn't the first day I was there in march but 3 days later he was. Scene is very dull without him.

My GF kept asking why isnt Davey Jones in here??? I didnt wanna ruin the suprise but now I gotta wait a year for her to be suprised now! Well 184 days!

 

[marni1971]

Oh, like we were supposed to get before Uncle Phil decided the guests would like the refurb no matter what?:fork:

You got it. All is not lost. Just mostly.

Grrr...

 

[SirGoofy]

All is not lost. Just mostly.

I'm confused by this statement. Are you saying there is another refurb in the works?

 

[CaptJacksFamily]

I thought they should have added Tia Dalma to the Bayou at the start of the DL ride, probably too expensive for a one AA. Another cool thing about the skull at DL is that it gets the riders looking up instead of at the drop (which there are two of at DL). The restaurant is the Blue Bayou which is would probably be between a Signature and TS restaurant in WDW. :slurp:

 

[goodtimes5286]

I thought they should have added Tia Dalma to the Bayou at the start of the DL ride, probably too expensive for a one AA. Another cool thing about the skull at DL is that it gets the riders looking up instead of at the drop (which there are two of at DL). The restaurant is the Blue Bayou which is would probably be between a Signature and TS restaurant in WDW. :slurp:

So the Blue Bayou is the resturant inside of PoTC, where's it located?

 

[TP2000]

So the Blue Bayou is the resturant inside of PoTC, where's it located?

After your boat leaves the loading area and glides out into the bayou, it's the giant restaurant on the terrace of the plantation house to your right. The tables on the terrace look out towards the bayou and the passing boats. The dozens of flickering candles on the tables, plus the people eating, and the waitresses and busboys serving people are the tip-off that it's a restaurant. You sail past the terrace for about a minute as you go through the bayou scene and towards the first drop.

Are you sure you went to Disneyland and rode Pirates of the Caribbean? :lol:

 

[TP2000]

:wave:
I've heard this an awful lot. What makes it different/better??

The version of Pirates of the Caribbean at Walt Disney World clocks in with a total ride time of 7:40 minutes.

The version of Pirates of the Caribbean at Disneyland clocks in with a total ride time of 15:20 minutes.

That fact of timing and ride length speaks volumes.

So there's about seven and a half minutes of the ride that is missing at Walt Disney World. There are a few scenes missing from WDW's version; notably the Bayou Scene, the second drop into the caverns, the Crews Quarters Scene, the Captains Quarters scene, the Treasure Scene, and the Arsenal Scene and upramp.

I've also noticed that the matching scenes at Walt Disney World seem to be a bit compressed and smooshed together compared to the Disneyland original, as if they cut a few feet of track out between each scene and then scaled it all down by 10% or 15% for WDW. This effect is most noticeable as the Battle Scene morphs into Dunking The Mayor and the Auction Scene; it's all kind of smooshed together a bit at WDW compared to Disneyland, and at WDW those scenes play out just a bit quicker.

There are two drops at Disneyland, and they are real drops at a steeper angle. The boats need to get down underground, travel out underneath the Disneyland Railroad tracks, and get to the big warehouse building where most of the ride is. At WDW, because of the swampy watertable, they can't dig underground like at Disneyland. The lone WDW "drop" is more of a short slide in comparison. The angle of this "drop" is noticeably less steep at WDW, but I think they wanted the thrill factor that the Disneyland version has with the two steeper drops.

As has been said before by others, it's not just the length of the ride itself that's different at Disneyland, but the overall scale and scope of the show scenes and presentation is noticeably smaller at Walt Disney World. It's just a bigger and longer attraction at Disneyland. Funny how that worked out.

it's a small world also falls into the same category, as it's a few minutes longer and a bit grander at Disneyland.

 

[marsrunner]

The only thing about the WDW version that's better is that the queue is more detailed. Other than that the DL version wins hands down.
Maybe someone else can answer this definitively. I was surprised when I rode the DL version for the first time in February of this year that during the attack by Barbossa's ship on the fort that you can actually see AAs peeking over the top of the fort. I've never noticed this at WDW. Are they there and I just didn't notice them because its so dark? Also, I got blasted by a jet of air on the DL ride during that scene, simulating a cannon shot from the fort. Does this ever happen on the WDW version? Lastly, on the little fort opposite the big one in that scene there is a projection of two swordfighters in battle. Is this in the WDW one? No big loss if not, as its kind of cheezy.
Anyone else find it ironic that so many of the rides that are in common between Disneyland Park and the Magic Kingdom are better/longer in the smaller park?

 

[TP2000]

The only thing about the WDW version that's better is that the queue is more detailed. Other than that the DL version wins hands down.
Maybe someone else can answer this definitively. I was surprised when I rode the DL version for the first time in February of this year that during the attack by Barbossa's ship on the fort that you can actually see AAs peeking over the top of the fort. I've never noticed this at WDW. Are they there and I just didn't notice them because its so dark? Also, I got blasted by a jet of air on the DL ride during that scene, simulating a cannon shot from the fort. Does this ever happen on the WDW version? Lastly, on the little fort opposite the big one in that scene there is a projection of two swordfighters in battle. Is this in the WDW one? No big loss if not, as its kind of cheezy.
Anyone else find it ironic that so many of the rides that are in common between Disneyland Park and the Magic Kingdom are better/longer in the smaller park?

Ooh! I know, I know! (Total Pirates Geek here) :wave:

The three Spanish solider animatronics were added to the fort in Disneyland's Pirates during the big 1997 rehab. That's when Tony Baxter added in about a half dozen new animatronics that he had salvaged from the old World of Motion attraction at Epcot. A World of Motion fan could probably look at them and figure out where they came from as their faces weren't changed, just their clothes swapped out for Spanish soldier uniforms.

The cannon air blast was added to Disneyland's version in the 2007 rehab. There's a couple of different times where you can get "hit" in that scene, and the blasts come from the Wicked Wench pirate ship.

The sword fighting pirates done in silhouette on the fort were also added in Disneyland's big 1997 rehab. I have never noticed them in the WDW version.

And yes, many West Coasters find it ironic that many attractions shared between both parks are bigger/longer/grander at the physically smaller park. Disneyland has about a dozen additional attractions that Magic Kingdom lacks entirely as well, several that are big E Tickets, but that's a whole other topic.

But the Magic Kingdom walkways sure are W-I-D-E aren't they? Walt always said "there ought to be a place where families can stroll along wide walkways together". :lol:

 

[Animaniac93-98]

At least MK has longer HM and a more comfortable/efficient log design for Splash Mountain (that wasn't a "Save the America Sings AAs" campaign). Plus CoP, Country Bears, TTA, and Astro Orbitor on top of TTA track.