Year Opened: 1967
Ride length: 16:30 minutes
# of Drops: 2
Drop information: 14 ft high/52 ft long, and 10 ft high/37 ft long(approximately)
Total gallons of water: 750,000 gallons
# of Audio Animatronics: 122
Year Opened: 1973
Ride length: 8:30 minutes
# of Drops: 1
Drop information: 14 ft high/52 ft long
Total gallons of water: 155,000 gallons
# of Audio Animatronics: 125
Disneyland: 5 out of 5 rating
Such a great, classic, and epic ride in nearly every way. While the queue is somewhat lacking, the 16 minute long boat ride more than makes up for it. Riders are instantly sucked into the story as they enter the building, which from the outside appears to be no more than a simple French colonial structure. You're greeting with a parrot, how continues to call out that "dead men tell no tales, bawk!"
On your path to the loading area, you walk along a squeaky wooden dock in the middle of the Louisiana swamp. Fireflies flutter behind weeping willows, and tree roots float above the surface of the thick murky water.
The boat ride takes you straight through the bayou, where you pass an indoor/outdoor-styled restaurant- The Blue Bayou. It almost makes you feel like a voyeur as you watch people eat, as they're just as much a part of the show as any animatronic. I remember as a kid, years before I had the chance to dine there, that I would ask my parents if the people were 'real'. I couldn't wrap my head around the concept that people would actually be eating INSIDE of the attraction.
Passing the restaurant, on the opposite side you pass an old shack, sitting on stilts above water level. An old man is sitting on his porch in the glow of moonlight, rocking back and forth in his chair while listening to the sounds of a banjo coming from the window. The boat turns the corner once again, and you face an ominous skull high above you. Listening to his words, you "sit closer together and hold on tight" as your boat crashes down the first waterfall.
Rounding a corner, you begin to hear the age old pirate songs echoing from within the caves. "Yo ho yo ho, a pirate's life for me!" And down you go again, a second waterfall. After passing through a sandy cove, you enter a long lost treasure filled cave. There are several "sets" filled with pirate skeletons sitting amongst gems, coins, and other shiny valuables.
As the rides continues, you pass through some of Disney's most elaborate and well constructed scenes. For nearly 30 years, this ride was an original attraction - meaning that it was a story created specifically for the parks. Then the movies came out, and certain tweaks were done to the ride in order to "tie it in" with the films. I used to enjoy the days where I could ride it and not have to watch people point at Jack Sparrow, but I suppose it renews the ride for another generation.
Despite the liberties taken in order to create a continuity between the film and the ride, Pirates of the Caribbean still is breathtaking. I've been on it countless times and still cannot help but spot something new. Also, it has created a sort of formula for many "show" rides to follow. It has a great story, an engaging soundtrack, theatrical lighting effects, and blends this all with a little excitement and wonder.
Magic Kingdom: 2 1/2 out of 5 rating
WHOA, what a difference between this ride and it's counterpart in California. While the queue into the ride started off as something pretty remarkable and surprising, my excitement continued to get the best of me when I finally reached the loading area. Hmm...interesting indeed. On the opposite side of the boats was a wall - nothing fancy, no bayou or anything. No fireflies, and no atmospheric cricket sound effects. As the boats pulled up, I noticed that they were floating under a very low ceiling (which would decapitate anyone unlucky enough to not get off the ride before it reached the dock). I realized that the loading area would have to be in a different area.
The boat ride began, but started a bit anti-climatically. Instead of passing though the bayous of Louisiana (remember this is Spanish themed), you begin by floating ahead a bit and then entering the "Davy Jones" waterfall. I was a bit perplexed that it didn't start with the drop and talking skull, as that always seemed to me to be what made Pirates at Disneyland great.
The ride continues onward with mirrored, and somewhat condensed, scenes of the cove. In the area where the "buried treasure" scene at Disneyland would be, you reach the first and only drop. This brings you straight into the epic Pirate ship battle. Everything else after this (the interrogation of the mayor, the "buy a wench" auction, the singing, and the lighting the city on fire scene) is exactly the same as it is at Disneyland. Once you reach the prison scene however, the ride takes a few more cost effective measures.
Almost adjacent to the prisoners (the ones trying to get the key from the dog), is Jack Sparrow in his treasure room. I would say that the room looks pretty much the same as the Disneyland version, but the Magic Kingdom's Pirates of the Caribbean completely cuts out one very cool scene. Disneyland's ride ends with your boat entering the underbelly of giant, creaky pieces of broken wood - almost like the remains of a war-torn ship. Up ahead you reach a small band of drunken pirates, perched amidst barrels of dynamite and gunpowder. They narrowly miss the explosives as they attempt to shoot each other in their drunken stupor.
Your boat passes between their little gun battle, and heads up a 52 ft long lift hill. The boat reaches the top, and circles around the front entrance of the ride. You pass around a small island scene with a squawking parrot sitting on a grounded shovel surrounded by treasure chests. Before you know it, your back in the bayou at the loading station. Despite the coolness of this, The Magic Kingdom's ride, sadly, ends just as anti-climatically as it began. You reach the loading area right after Jack Sparrow, and take an escalator carpet up to top level.
I think that Pirates of the Caribbean is still an epic, and classic attraction. It's actually one of the stand-out rides at the Magic Kingdom, but I'm just so used to the Disneyland version that I honestly can't give much favor to the Magic Kingdom's. Disneyland's version is way too long of a ride on some days, and I pass up on riding it pretty often. With that said though, the Magic Kingdom's is short and to the point. Ana and I should have saved it for later in the day, as it was a nice relaxing ride with the air conditioner running.
I would have to rate this ride 2 1/2 out of 5 for several reasons. While it does have the awesome queue and entrance, it lacks the bayou (and passing by the Blue Bayou restaurant), the 2nd drop, the treasure scene, and the finale scene. I had heard ahead of time that this would be Pirates "Light" as opposed to the bulked up Disneyland version. Well, just goes to show that for all of the naysayers who say WDW has things that Disneyland is missing, there sure isn't a 16-minute pirate ride over there in Florida.
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