This week, it was announced that Disneyland’s Pirates of the Caribbean would be closing to make way for the new auction scene that was announced last summer. This comes after Magic Kingdom closed their version of the attraction to undergo similar refurbishments last month. This marks the third major alteration to show scenes that Disneyland has made since the attractions opening in 1967.
1997
This first major change came 30 years after the ride opened to the public. The scene in question was one of the pirates pillaging and looting a town, and chasing after the frightened women. Many fans were displeased with the way women were being portrayed in the scene and called for Disney to make a change to fit a family-friendly story. Disney responded by adding food to the pirates’ gaze, making the desire after the snacks and not the women.
2006
One of the biggest and most memorable changes, Disney added animatronics of Captain Jack Sparrow, Davy Jones, and Captain Barbossa to multiple points in the ride to call on the successful Pirates of the Caribbean film franchise that were originally inspired by the attraction. This change has led to multiple temporary modifications such as the smoke screen being changed to display Captain Blackbeard and adding Johnny Depp in the place of an animatronic leading up to Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales
2018
The change we will be seeing this year is one of the biggest and most noticeable in a single scene. This will change the infamous bride auction scene to a loot auction, and the redhead will be in charge of the loot instead of being a bride for sale. Disneyland is actually the last of the parks with these scenes to change, as Paris reopened with the new redhead scene last summer, Magic Kingdom closed its gates last month, and Disneyland will undergo refurbishment at the end of this month.
What do you think about the changes coming to Pirates of the Caribbean? Which version of the attraction has been your favorite?
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