The Pirates of the
Caribbean
[Disney Vacation Planner]
| At A Glance |
A reasonably slow boat ride through various audio animatronic
dioramas depicting various pirate scenes, with a small climb
and water splash (guests generally remain dry).
Rehabbed in 1999 to make the ride "politically correct"
when some of the pirate chase scenes were altered.
Further rehabbed in March/April 2000 for cleaning and repainting.
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The Pirates of the Caribbean is one of the most popular rides
in The Magic Kingdom, in which you ride in a boat through various
audio animatronic piratical scenes, from the raiding of a ship
through to storming of an island fort, all interspersed with much
drinking of Rum, and singing of "Yo Ho Yo Ho A pirates life
for me", the theme song to the attraction.
The ride lasts for approximately 10 minutes in total after boarding,
and is a slightly modified version of the original Disneyland
Anaheim classic of the same name.
Recently "Pirates" has undergone a minor "refurbishment"
and has been made a little more politically correct, whereby instead
of scenes of Pirates wieling swords chasing the townswomen around
the town, the townswomen now wield rolling pins, and chase the
pirates around the town. A number of other similar changes have
also been made to the ride at various places, much to the dismay
of die-hard 'Pirates' fans, although in all honesty the modifications
don't really make too much difference, and will make no difference
at all if you've never seen PoC before.
The ride itself is relatively tame, with only a couple of very
small water slides, although they seem much larger than they really
are as a result of the atmospheric darkness. Small children however
could find some of the scenes a little frightening, although it
very much depends on the particular child.
The queueing area on the way into the ride is themed to represent
an old spanish style dungeon. As you queue it's worth taking the
time to look around and take in some of the incredible detail
that the Imagineers have built into what is basically just a covered
queueing area, and it is probably the level of detail as much
as anything that makes the ride so popular.
The theming not only extends to the physical look of the queueing
area, and ride, but also to the atmosphere, which turns quite
cool and dank as you progress along the queue, with a distinct
musty smell as you approach the ride loading area.
Amongst the audio animatronic characters featured in the ride
are kittens and chickens, both of which could be easily be mistaken
for real animals, a couple of dogs, various swashbuckling pirates,
complete with parrots, and even a drunken pig. Each pirate has
it's own personality, and each face is different. There's also
an audio animatronic parrot dressed in a pirate costume high up
on the wall as you first enter the attraction's queueing area,
by the attraction's sign.
"Yo-Ho" Lyrics
(Pirates of the Caribbean Themesong)
YO HO,
YO HO,
A PIRATE'S LIFE FOR ME !
WE PILLAGE AND PLUNDER AND WE RIFLE AND LOOT,
DRINK UP ME HEARTIES YO HO !
WE KIDNAP AND RAVAGE AND DON'T GIVE A HOOT
DRINK UP ME HEARTIES YO HO !
YO HO,
YO HO,
A PIRATE'S LIFE FOR ME !
WE EXTORT WE PILFER WE FILCH AND SACK,
DRINK UP ME HEARTIES YO HO !
MARAUD AND EMBEZZLE AND EVEN HIJACK,
DRINK UP ME HEARTIES YO HO !
YO HO,
YO HO,
A PIRATE'S LIFE FOR ME !
WE KINDLE AND CHAR, INFLAME AND IGNITE,
DRINK UP ME HEARTIES YO HO !
WE BURN UP THE CITY, WE'RE REALLY A FRIGHT,
DRINK UP ME HEARTIES YO HO !
WE'RE BEGGERS AND BLIGHTERS AND NE'ER DO WELL CADS,
DRINK UP ME HEARTIES, YO HO,
AYE ! BUT WE'RE LOVED BY OUR MOMMIES AND DADS,
DRINK UP ME HEARTIES YO HO !
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