Pirates of the Caribbean
At A Glance |
Medium length boat ride, similar in format to the Walt
Disney World and Disneyland attractions. Plenty of audio
animatronics, excellent theming. One of the most popular
attractions at any Disney park.
Unsuitable for toddlers or very young children (under 4
years).
Children 4 - 7 years may find the attraction a little frightening.
Unsuitable for pregnant women due to the plunging nature
of the boats when "under attack" by the pirates.
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Located
at the end of Adventureland, The Pirates of the Caribbean
attraction at Disneyland Paris is in a slightly different
format to the version at the other Disney parks. For a start,
being the most recently built of the Pirates attractions,
the audio-animatronics are noticeably better than their earlier
counterparts. Secondly the Paris version features quite a
few new scenes, and the classic scenes that are used (from
WDW or DL) have been arranged into a different order (for
example the Jail scene occuring towards the start of the ride,
rather than at the very end as in the WDW version.
The attraction is housed in a large greystone fortress
that's under attack by the Pirates, however the theming at
the load area is one of a Caribbean island (rather than Florida's
fort or the southern bayou of California/Tokyo). The queueing
area of the Disneyland Paris seems to be very long, however
the ride loads relatively quickly, so what may seem like a
queue to avoid can actually load faster than a ride with a
much shorter queue.
Following the initial load, the ride starts as
you pass through a Caribbean jungle lagoon at night and go
up a "waterfall" ramp into a fort where the pirates have started
to make their raid. Your boat then passes through a cave during
which you hear a warning about an impending drop just before
you slide down a flume and right into the battle between the
pirate ship and the fort. Watch out for the ships cat frantically
clinging to a piece of wreckage that's heading for the whirlpool.
This section of the attraction also houses the
Prison scene which is virtually identical to the scene at
the other parks, although with somewhat better audio animatronics.
The remaining scenes are virtually identical to
their counterparts at Walt Disney World and Disneyland at
Anaheim, although they seem more detailed at Disneyland Paris,
and have better audio animatronics.
Immediately after the sequence with the burning
town (similar to that at WDW and DL), the Parisian version
of the attraction again breaks with the traditional format,
with a second flume/drop where the boat rides through a hole
in the fort wall and into the powder room just as the burned
out town meets its end in a huge explosion. Your boat narrowly
escapes the destruction passing through the Hurricane Lagoon,
the Treasure Chamber, and finally the Captains and Crews quarters
before you see the dock looming ahead of you.
Pirates of the Caribbean is one of the attractions
that can be partially seen from the Disneyland Paris Railroad.
If railroad travellers look carefully they'll be able to catch
a glimpse of three skeletons of former pirates, along with
a couple of other scenes from the attraction.
NOTE: Although you won't get soaked, the
attraction does contain moving water, and you can expect to
receive a couple of splashes, so if you're taking camera or
electronic equipment in make sure you're ready to shield it
from water splashes occasionally.
Immediately outside the fort is Le Coffre du
Capitaine (The Captain's Chest). A store selling various
related items such as model ships, pirate figures, and toy
muskets and cutlasses.
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