If you’ve been to Disneyland Resort in the past couple of months, you probably noticed that one of the theme park’s best rides, Pirates of the Caribbean, has been closed for refurbishment. Well, the ride is officially back up and running in Anaheim, California, and there’s a notable change to talk about.
What's New On Disneyland's Pirates Of The Caribbean Ride
Pirates of the Caribbean is considered one of Disneyland’s most classic rides, and it has a long history of changes since it was opened back in 1967. Do you know the part of the ride where a skeleton is sitting on top of gold? Well, now it's been replaced with an audio animatronic that transforms from a flesh-and-blood pirate to a skeleton. Here’s a look at him:
The Imagineers are behind the new technology, which combines projection, animatronics and robotics all in one. As explained in a new Walt Disney Imagineering video, they felt the change to the greedy pirate would allow them to “tell his full story” after 59 years of remaining stagnant. It’s explained that it enhances his lore because the audio animatronic looks at a cursed coin and becomes transformed by it before he drops the coin and the curse lifts. He’s “stuck in this loop” for eternity due to his greed. Here it is in action:
The audio animatronic technology recently came to Disneyland through a figure of Walt Disney that was added for the 70th anniversary celebration and has been popping up across Disney Parks around the world, including through a free-walking Olaf in Hong Kong and Paris.
What Fans Are Saying About It
Pirates of the Caribbean is an especially sacred ride to Disney fans because it was the last one Walt Disney was directly part of before his death in 1966 (prior to its opening). Over the years, there’s been some notable changes, like a female pirate being added and Johnny Depp’s Jack Sparrow also being included after the success of the movie franchise based on the ride. Here are some first reactions to the latest addition, per Instagram:
- “Not everything needs to be updated with current tech. Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should…There’s a nostalgia and beauty to the simplicity of original Disney animatronics, leave them alone!!” - @alicia.nestasia
- “This takes a GREAT and iconic scene and unfortunately makes it now look fake. The old way whilst not moving looks completely, COMPLETELY real. This triggers criticism and disbelief because it looks so fake...it's a fun idea but it pulls you right out of the awe of the scene. One of Pirates most iconic scenes at that. Yeah, it's a nope from me.” - @robertjkral
- “I know there are so many truly talented people that worked on this, so repectfully: no thank you 🙂↔️” - @hallandoatesmeal
- “can’t believe this is why it was closed on my birthday, i-” - @ericahnelson
- “Cool tech, but use on different ride please. Pirates is perfect just the way it is.” - @caseykas
To be clear, these comments come from people who likely haven’t been on the ride itself, but the response to the update is overwhelmingly negative. As I suspected, fans have a certain protectiveness over the classic attraction, and are a bit pessimistic about the changes, even though it's also pretty cool to see the scene come alive.
By my estimation, I think we’re in a shock stage of change (I feel it myself), and I think time will certainly tell if people embrace this audio animatronic over time or not. You can go check out the fresh addition to Pirates of the Caribbean at Disneyland now.
