Greetings one and all! Welcome back to the Drill. For today's update I thought I would share with you the changes that are coming to a beloved Disneyland attraction. "Pirates of the Carribean" will be closing in March for an extensive refurbishment and for the addition of new props, effects and yes, new Audio Animatronic figures. All these new additions will be tied into this summers "Pirates of the Caribbean: Deadman's Chest". So for the first time a ride, will be re-done with a movie that was inspired by the ride. Still with me? ;-) So lets prepare to "set sail" and remember: Dead men, tell no tales...
Pirates of the Carribean: New and "Improved"?
Upon its return in June the ride will look and feel exactly as it always has as you float past the Blue Bayou restaurant patio. Once you've plunged down the first and second drops though, things will begin to change.
The mythical character of Davy Jones plays prominently in both the second and third movie installments, and his ghostly voice will now echo throughout the first section of the caverns as the boats sail past the first few show scenes.
The "Hurricane Scene", the "Crews Quarters Scene", the "Captains Quarters Scene" and the "Treasure Scene" will all be unchanged visually except for a few new props used in the movie, but Davy Jones will offer a dialogue via the new audio system that will set up the tale of a marauding crew of pirates who are searching for their double-agent shipmate Jack Sparrow.
As the boats float past the Treasure Scene and into the dark cavern that leads to main part of the ride, the fun really begins as a new projection effect appears on a "mist curtain" above the boats. (Kinda like the rats in "Indiana Jones") Davy Jones appears in the mist, looking just as he will in the upcoming movies as a true pirate's pirate with a beard made of wiggling octopus tentacles.
It's at this point in the ride that WDI will attempt to explain that the voice that has warned that "Dead Men Tell No Tales!" since 1967 has actually been Davy Jones all along. And just beyond this new effect the rockwork in the soaring cavern area will be rebuilt with a ships crow's nest with a skeleton slumped over the side. But as the boats pass below, shafts of moonlight will hit the skeleton revealing rotting flesh and the animatronic skeleton will lean over the side of the crow's nest and utter ominous warnings to the passengers floating below.
As the boats sail out into the "Battle Scene", and one of the ride's iconic moments, the riders will discover that the original 1967 pirate ship known as the "Wicked Wench" has been remade into the Black Pearl seen in the movies.
The familiar animatronic pirate captain will be replaced by a new animatronic version of Captain Barbossa from the movies, and Captain Barbossa's parrot will also make his big debut before he returns repeatedly later on to help the new plotline along from scene to scene.
Captain Barbossa will have dialogue that will accuse the townspeople of hiding Jack Sparrow from him, and WDI hopes to quickly establish that the pirates will begin their rampage through the town all in an effort to root out Jack Sparrow. New effects are also planned in this area that will simulate cannonballs passing overhead through the use of sharp blasts of air aimed at the boats.
As the boats enter the "Dunking the Mayor Scene," the first of three Jack Sparrow animatronics makes its appearance as Jack appears to hide behind barrels and crates.
The Auctioneer Scene will play out much as it does now, before the boats sail on to the "Gluttony Scene" where Jack Sparrow appears again.
This time, Jack will be hiding in the barrel just behind the fat pirate, peeking out of the top of the barrel. The Burning City Scene won't be changed much, if anything.
But as the boats pass by the Jail Scene, Jack Sparrow appears a third and final time on the opposite side of the flume. Here he'll be seen escaping with a bag of treasure as he hums the "Yo Ho" theme song and laughs at his hapless fellow pirates stuck in the jail across the waterway.
Barbossa's parrot appears on the ramp back up to the main level, and the voice of Davy Jones also will be added to that area as he laments that we won't be so lucky to escape next time.
The ride is scheduled to reopen late June and there are also rumors that the world premier of "Dead Man's Chest" will be held @ Disneyland. Whether or not that rumor is true, remains to be seen.
Well, hope you liked this sneak peek. It sounds like alot of fun, but there are ALOT of Disneyland purists who HATE the idea of "Pirates" being redone. I'm going to reserve judgment until i get to ride it.
That'll do it for this update. MAYBE, just MAYBE I'll get that Superman vs Batman script review up soon. I apologize again. Til the next time!
DQ
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