Pirates Rehab, spoilers ahoy!
Disneyland has been letting select cast members ride the new "Johnny Depp" (excuse me... Jack Sparrow) enhanced version of its classic attraction Pirates Of The Caribbean. LaughingPlace.com board member Westsider (a reliable insider at Disneyland) posted a spoiler filled account of his trips through the attraction.
Overall I am very, very impressed with how this rehab turned out. I was concerned about the Depp-ification of the ride, but I think they handled it just perfectly. There's certainly new stuff to see, and new faces spouting new dialogue, but it's all meshed perfectly with what has always been there.
There has been a lot of anxiety about these changes, so that is good news ... if you want to be spoiled read Westsider's complete comments below the fold and the original thread (with more comments from others) on LaughingPlace.com.
One interesting note from the thread "WDI used Johnny's life mask from the movie to sculpt the AA so it should be an exact likeness," Leemac claims. Leemac is also a reliable source. So I'm looking forward to seeing the Jack Sparrow AA.
So I've been on the new Pirate three times now. They are letting Attractions CM's ride the attraction now, we just have to promise not to take pics with our cellphones or anything.
Mild Spoiler Warning!!!!
Overall I am very, very impressed with how this rehab turned out. I was concerned about the Depp-ification of the ride, but I think they handled it just perfectly. There's certainly new stuff to see, and new faces spouting new dialogue, but it's all meshed perfectly with what has always been there.
The removal of the 1997 rehab figures and scenes is also a breath of fresh air. Aside from the Politically Correct junk that gone jammed in there, those World of Motion figures never quite gelled with their environments in my opinion. The lone exception being the conquistador guys they added to the Fort around '00. But the new stuff and new figures really meshes nicely with the original surroundings.
WDI added quite a bit of new props and eye candy. And someone in Imagineering must have gotten a really good deal on wood barrels and boxes, because there are dozens of barrels and boxes everywhere now from the loading area on through the entire ride. Maybe the townspeople were going to open a 19th century version of The Container Store or something? Who knows what WDI was thinking with all the barrels.
The new Johnny Depp scene on the lift hill really turned out nicely, and I think it's a much better ending to the ride than the contrived "moral to the story" that they tried to shoehorn in there in '97.
The Davy Jones effect is cool, but nothing too over the top. Your boat floats right through the mist screen, into his image, and on through the transition tunnel. It's certainly an improvement over the dark cave that had been there since '67, but I couldn't help but wonder what it would have been like if they had also installed the AA skeleton just past the mist screen effect.
What impressed me the most, as someone who has ridden the ride probably over a hundred times in the last few years, was the amazing quality of the new audio. You can hear things that you never heard before, and individual lines and sound effects ring out as clear as day and really make the more complex scenes play much more effectively to the passing audience. Some of it is attributed to the hundreds (220 of 'em!) of new speakers that have been installed, and some of it is the digitalization of the original analog audio tracks. Combined, along with new audio added for the new figures, really makes the cacophony of sound that often bombarded riders make much more sense. The audio will blow you away!
Lighting is also much improved, and the overall effect is a much crisper and fuller look to the scenes and set pieces.
The funny thing is that management is insisting that the CM's don't refer to Johnny Depp as "Johnny Depp". We can only say the words "Jack Sparrow" when referring to the new figures in front of Guests. We haven't heard yet what we are supposed to do if a Guest says the words "Johnny Depp". Maybe call for Security?
Overall, I think the redone Pirates ride is going to impress people. It's not radically different of course, it's just a really nice overall freshening with a few added bonus items to make it more relevant to the majority of riders who have seen and enjoyed the movies. The people who maintain that the ride has been ruined with these changes will become very quiet within a couple of weeks, and will probably be slinking into the very long line with the rest of us.
Posted by John Frost in disneyland | Permalink
Rev. Dr. Frederick J. Freelance, Ph.D., D.F.S
