Pirates of the Caribbean is OPEN... For Now..

We went to the Magic Kingdom this weekend and got to ride Pirates. It had 5 minute wait, so we jumped on. I was told by a CM that POTC would be open through Easter and then closed back down. Honestly I didn't notice many changes, so if new effects had been installed or anything had been changed it was negligable. I'm assuming the major rehab will take place between May and July.

These changes are more subtle than what I was expecting. I was told that by the premiere of the second film POTC would have very advanced effects installed. I was informed by a few people at WDI that the skeleton steering the ship at the beginning of the attraction will turn his head and 'appear' to look human and say "Dead Men DO Tell Tales" and then turn back into a skeleton. After the drop a ghost pirate will appear and swing his sword at the boat and disappear. As for the new AAs here is what Screamscape says:

Disney has officially confirmed that they will be adding new figures of Captain Jack Sparrow and his nemesis Captain Barbossa to the storyline of the world famous Pirates of the Caribbean ride, in a “race to be the first to claim a cache of plundered treasure.” The new figures will be integrated into several of the ride’s famous scenes and interacting with some of your favorite classic figures from the past. The ghostly Davy Jones character from the upcoming sequel opening this summer will also make a guest appearance as well as a slew of all new special effects to be added throughout. The upgrade to the rides will happen to both the Disneyland and Walt Disney World versions of the ride, with both scheduled to close down in March and open just in time for the premier of the new film. Disneyland’s ride will reopen on June 24th while the Disney World version wont open until July 7th, the same day as the new film: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest.


So we spent the weekend at the Kingdom and despite bizarre weather we were able to get some great video. Check it out:

http://www.themedattractions.com/video.html