Cool News
What It'll Look Like When PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN Overrun Tom Sawyer's Island!!
…with a snippet regarding interesting goings on at Disneyland. More specifically, this is about the augmentation of Tom Sawyer’s Island at Disneyland, which used to look like this...
Image copyright Donald Larson/http://www.timeoutofmind.com/
…(complete with pontoon bridge and treehouse). Apparently, it’s being re-themed as an interactive PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN attraction to coincide with next month’s release of AT WORLD’S END.
Not having been to Disneyland recently, I can’t speak to the status of the project Father Time discusses below…but I’m guessing it should be well underway by now, if not already completed.
Here’s what Father Time had to say:
…the excitement of the POTC films have
initiated the creation of “Pirate’s Lair on Tom
Sawyer’s Island” in Disneyland’s Frontierland. The
reopening of the Island in May will be timed to the
next film’s opening and will provide guests with
interactive Pirates-related experiences, new special
effects, live entertainment and other atmospheric
elements.
Father Time also sent along a DEVELOPMENTAL IMAGE of the attraction's refit (i.e. significant changes may be made beore the attraction opens). Here’s what they have in mind…
[CLICK TO EMBIGGEN!]
Image copyright Donald Larson/http://www.timeoutofmind.com/
Readers Talkback
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Yes?
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Will Johnny Depp be on the grounds, selling rum-flavored Sno-cones?
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glug glug glug
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Cool?
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Changes.
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and times it with the release of Dead Mans Chest. they added a bunch of Jack Sparrows and a Barbossa somewhere in there. Pretty sweet shit. POTC was always my fave ride when i was a kid.
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Tom Sawyer's island has been unchanged and fairly mundane for years on end. Mostly a little kiddie thing.
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Michael Jackson and Angelica Houston star with Johnny Depp and Keith Richards in the wackiest 3D IMAX Pirate adventure you've ever seen! Only in Frontierland!
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The only way to save the island would be for Michael Bay to film a Tom Sawyer flick with buggy chases, explosions, and sass-talking slaves.
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Besides, they had made "Tom and Huck" in the mid-90s (A minor Sommersverse film with a young Rachel Leigh Cook as Becky) and rethemed it at that time. Cripes, they should've just turned the unused Discovery Island into the "Lost" themed attraction they were talking about.
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Not that I've even been there in years but I always liked Tom Sawyer's Isle. Got a handjob in the bottomless pit under the bridge in Injun Joe's cave. From a girl.
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what next? turn space mountain into 'pirates of the carribean mountain'? the haunted house into 'the pirates of the carribean house'?
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Anyway, this is a neat idea. Many fond memories of that island from when I was a kid...
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or else they'd ruin that ride by sticking an animatronic Eddie Murphy in there.
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...they got rid of Tom Sawyer's Island. A real shame, too. It was the only place there were you weren't strapped into a chair and under Disney supervision. Also, there was this cool spot in the cave where you could stand TOTALLY UNSEEN by people even a foot away. It was like a human-sized indentation in the cave wall in a dimly lit corner. We used to stand in it until chicks went by and we'd shine a penlight under our chins. They'd see us out of the corners of their eyes and freak out! Good times! And those damn Disney suits re-did the Pirates ride again??? It was bad enough when they went all P.C. and got rid of the pervie old pirate chasing the wench, now they plug in Johnny Depp! Blasphemy! Stop effing with our classic rides, Disney!
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I told you this was happening in the talkbacks months ago and no one believed me...well I feel validated now, thanks AICN! -ED
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As long as the core elements of the experience are preserved (basically the only playground in the park), I will be pleased. fond memories of climbing rocks and spelunking. Lawsuits waiting to happen, and they took the guns out of the frontier fortress, but things change. it's disneyland, jake; there's nothing you can do. I guess that's where you went to get high at disneyland before DCA and the ferris wheel...
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Watch out! He'll scalp ya in a heartbeat!
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I'll be sad to see it go, I don't want to see the whole area turned into "Pirate Land",but whatchagonnado? Anyway, it's still possible to feel up your girlfriend on the Matterhorn.
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Much better than losing the ET ride at Universal for a stupid Mummy Rollercoaster.
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Good trade if you ask me, that Mummy rise rules.
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April 18, 2007, 11:56 a.m. CST
Nice how they show some kid's hat floating in the water
by Jeff_Fries
But are they really going to let them shoot water cannons at the actors?
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I was just at Disneyland last summer and the first ride I went on was the revamped POTC. I had heard so much about how it was shut down for months and they were updating the ride to coincide with the Dead Man's Chest release. I wasn't crazy about the idea, but something new to do at Disneyland is always worth looking forward to, if you ask me, so I was ready to give em the benefit of the doubt. Then I went on the ride and was surprised to find it was exactly the same as before, except now there were a few animatronic Jack Sparrows and co. hanging out. All in all, the whole thing was pretty lame. I always loved the old-school feel of the original ride, so updating it so shabbily was a shame. So, when I heard of the plans to pirate-ize Tom Sawyer island, I was skeptical and a little miffed. I love pirates just as much as the next person, but I love Tom Sawyer island just the way it is. And so now this conceptual art comes out and it looks like all they're planning to do (have done?) is stick a few pirate flags on stuff. I hope there's more to it than that, but this certainly isn't winning me over.
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Rush MUST be pissed!
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Wheres the giant cliffs with moss and shit growin on it?What are these concept artists thinkin...
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EVOLVING. That's what Walt wanted. Now it's time to get started on that STAR TOURS overhaul. That shit was state of the art and cutting edge when it debuted (almost 20 years ago!) but now it's almost quaint.
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Rather see them land on Sawyer's Island. As in Lost. Heh. That'd be cool.
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N-word Jim?
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and the concept art was released a month ago too. whadda scoop!
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It's a sad state of affairs.
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I've been sayin it since POTC:COTBP. They need to convert Tom Sawyer's island to "Tortuga" not some kiddie version of a Pirate's cove. But leave it to Disney to fuck up.
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...And there's another jumper on the roof of TGIMcScratchy's. Damn Robot pirates.
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They could have built a "Black Hole" ride. That would have had limitless possibilites. A little runaway roller coaster action as you race through the Cygnus on an air car as meteorites and asteroids crash into the ship, and some hard core Maximilian action...meh. You can't always get what you want.
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Far and away, hands down, the coolest thing Disneyworld had done in years when it first opened. Then they tinkered around trying to make it kid friendly and ruined it before pulling the plug on the entire damn project. Fuck, that was THE coolest thing EVER...Lucas should have taken it to Universal's Island of Adventure, which IMO beats the shit out of Disneyworld anyday.
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its supposed to be a 'pirate' part of the islans as huck and tom sawyer would have played pirates on. its not POTC so much as it is tom sawyer playing pirates. should be cool!
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... be buryin' the booty on Ol' Tom Sawyer Isle! The Admiral an' his men be never findin' it there I'll wager. An entire chest fulla rare "Bort" bicycle license plates'll be quietly waitin fer us! Arrr Ha-Ha!
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Captain Morgan Spiced Rum to the kiddies at the island gift shop...btw way...kudos to the poster who said it was a GREAT make out spot. I got down & dirty with my "pirate wench" of a date at Grad Night in one of the caves on Tom's Island...back in the 80's....Loverboy and Nu Shoes were the musical acts!!! Arrrgh....yo ho, yo ho a pirates life for me!!
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I actually don't mind this. I have many childhood memories of the island, but it probably needs a little upgrade. I just hope they do a better job on this one than they did on the damn Tree House, which they completely RUINED with cheap-ass plastic Junglebook statues (i think it was Junglebookd) -- just a really half-assed, crappy job, and totally embarrassing. I liked what they did with the Nightmare Before Christmas stuff in the Haunted Mansion, so maybe this Tom Sawyer Island update will be cool too...
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but please don't fro Massa Imus in da brier patch!
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Universal Hollywood lost E.T. for the mummy Universal Orlando Lost Kongfrontation for the mummy.
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first Tarzan evicted the swiss family robinson from their tree house. Now The Pirates take controll of Tom and Hucks Island. next thing you know new orleans square and adventureland will entirely become pirateLand. iam really surprised that they have never changed splash mountains theme cause of the companies feelings about song of the south.
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The Song of the South theme in Splash Mountain is actually there BECAUSE of the controversy. The "Brer" characters and songs were so beloved by generations and just rotting in the vaults. The best way to get them out there would be to water them down and remove the context of what car-wrecking comedian Eddie Griffin calls "Buck the Wonder Slave." So instead of releasing the movie to all the Disney fans calling for it, the company instead decided to placate them by putting the songs and slighty watered down versions of the characters into a Disneyland ride. This of course had the reverse effect of making even MORE people want the movie that first depicted these characters. It's complicated and dumb. Dusney should just release Song of the South in a 3-disc "Masterpiece" set at about thirty-five dollars (priced out of kiddy disc range) with disclaimers all over a non-descript box and call it a day.
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at Disney. And that is a good thing. There is ZERO wrong with trading out the old for the new. There is ZERO wrong with amping up theming around HUGELY successful movies. Some rides need to go once in awhile, while the more iconic ones need to be updated and changed. I look forward to changes at the parks. Otherwise the place gets stagnant. Yes, turning Alien Encounter into Stitch's Great Escape was a misstep. I can understand that it was just too intense an attraction for the Magic Kingdom... but think they should have movied it to MGM and themed it back around the MOVIE Alien (as it was actually originally intended)... but I'm not gonna cry a river over it. The updates to POTC are great. They've changed nothing about what made the ride great... at ALL. They've simply added TO it. Kudos. The Jungle Cruise is iconic and I have fond memories of it... but the whole ride is kind of pointless now with the opening of Animal Kingdom. Why wait an hour to ride around looking at fake animals when you can go next door and see the real deal? That is one that TOTALLY needs to be re-themed or dumped altogether. Space Mountain, Star Tours and The Great Movie Ride are all synonymous with the parks... but all three of them could USE a MAJOR overhaul too. I say bring on the change. Ramble ramble ramble... Blah blah blah...
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And now Star Tours is there. But tough hamburgers for me. "Dare I get any smaller?" Maybe they can make the opposite ride, sort of like the Powers of Ten book. Or something.
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God, I hope so. I hated wading through the crowds of people loitering in front of the Rivers of America for hours before that loud, obnoxious show.
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I see someone posted earlier that the concept art was released before somewhere else. And though this might have leaked elsewhere, it wasnt supposed to and not everyone has links to a dozen various sites where the image may have popped up months ago. For some AICN is the only place people go to and they have scooped other sites like ComingSoon and others months ahead of time. I've seen AICN post something that Disney had them remove soon after, then 2 months later ComingSoon releases it WITH Disney's approval and they say it's exclusive. Whether it's a scoop or something new I'm glad that AICN posts what it posts because for most of us, this might be the only place we're going to get a chance to see it! Nuff said' -ED
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You couldn't be more right. Kids don't read anymore, so hey, why not throw some pirates onto an island surrounded by the "Rivers of America." Makes sense, because, you know, pirates going up the Mississippi happened all the time... I've no problem with change, as long as it is the product of imagination. That is what Walt wanted Disneyland to be: a forum for imagination. The changes to Pirates of the Caribbean and Tom Sawyer Island are anything but imaginative. Frijole, have you actually been on the altered Pirates? It doesn't make any sense! Why would the people of the town be hiding Jack Sparrow? They'd give him up in a heartbeat! And the fact that Davey Jones says "I guess dead men really do tell tales" is about the equivalent of making a Star Wars movie where a character says "oh, by the way, may the force not be with you." The changes to Pirates was a cash-hungry clusterfuck in which they threw a few things here and there into the ride (which was the last ride Walt worked on before he died, no less) while Disney execs day-dreamed about rolling in piles of money. The altering of Tom Sawyer's Island is not "Tom and Huck playing Pirates." When you get to the island you'll be 'sworn in' by some goof in a pirate outfit and they even have the chest with Davey Jones' heart hidden there... There's a difference between good change (one based in the spirit of imagination) and bad change (shameless self-promotion lacking any and all imagination). I'm afraid creativity at Disney has gotten to the point where the snake is beginning to devour its own tail. And that wouldn't be so bad if they weren't promoting ignorance by basically changing Tom Sawyer Island beyond recognition, or changing the Columbia to a pirate ship. This is how cultures die, not with a bang, but with a whimper.
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Like a pirate town you could walk through and they'd put on shows for the public and you could drink at they're tavern and eat some food. them bastards.
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therefore, all is ok....
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Good, let's piss off that lame ass Mickey Mouse too then. He hasn't had a hit since Lord knows when!
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And leave little ghost-turds for people to step in.
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...it's now a Mermaids Lagoon! Bah! And we lost Mr. Toad's Wild Ride for a Winnie the Pooh ride?! Disney is raping my childhood!
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Which ride? I read that there was an accident with a mooring anchor on a ship in Disneyland and someone was killed from head injuries, but that's not part of the Tom Sawyer's island attraction.
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space mountain in california recently had a major overhaul.
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It was an awesome ride! I'm pissed that it was scraped.
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Havent you heard? Disneyland has converted the ride into a Finding Nemo ride. You'll board subs and try to help Nemo's Dad and the fish voiced by Ellen look for Nemo. It's the same concept as the ride they swapped "the Living Seas" out for at EPCOT with, except that one you're on moving cars, this time you'll be in a sub. It's opening up this Summer I believe... -ED
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Underwater Adventure Returns to Disneyland Park In Time for ‘The Year of a Million Dreams’! ALL NEW “FINDING NEMO SUBMARINE VOYAGE” TO “SURFACE” IN TOMORROWLAND JUNE 2007 ANAHEIM, Calif. – In preparation for a brand-new “E-Ticket” attraction at Disneyland, the Tomorrowland Submarine Lagoon is being transformed into the underwater habitat of Nemo, Marlin, Dory and friends for the “Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage.” The new attraction, opening June 11, 2007 as part of “The Year of a Million Dreams” at Disneyland, will feature extensively enhanced versions of the eight original submarines from the fondly remembered “Submarine Voyage” attraction, which explored the “liquid space” of the lagoon from 1959 through 1998. “Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage” is inspired by the Disney/Pixar film, Finding Nemo. “From the very beginning, we’ve combined new innovations with favorite stories to create magical new worlds,” declared Jay Rasulo, Chairman, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, when he unveiled plans for the attraction. “In ‘Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage,’ our guests will experience Nemo’s world in a way that has never been done before.” As a member of the sub crew, guests will embark on an expedition to the site of an erupting undersea volcano. Soon after departure, they will be delighted to discover their favorite fish friends getting into the swim of things right alongside their submarine! Nemo and company are able to go along for the ride thanks to a stunning new animation technology developed exclusively by Walt Disney Imagineering. The Finding Nemo characters will appear exactly as they do in the film, but in a real, three-dimensional underwater setting. Along with the improved unique underwater technology, the “Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage” will feature fully sculpted Audio-Animatronics characters, including scuba divers and the scavenging seagulls (“Mine, Mine”) from Finding Nemo. “We are literally bringing the undersea world of Finding Nemo off the screen and into the submarine lagoon of Tomorrowland!” says Tom Fitzgerald, executive vice president and senior creative executive for Walt Disney Imagineering, creative arm for all Disney parks and resorts. “We are going to immerse our guests into an adventure that will leave them in disbelief - - they will want to experience this new attraction over and over to find out – ‘How did they do that?’” The Finding Nemo submarine vehicles are being enhanced in a number of ways, including the addition of two extra seats and portal windows in anticipation of expanded guest interest. In a first-of-its-kind development, the submarines are being converted from the diesel power of the 1950s to a new, environmentally friendly fully electric power. With new on-board audio, guests will get to hear the sounds and voices of the underwater characters as they move alongside the submarine. These sounds are synchronized to travel along with the figures under water using a four-channel stereophonic sound system. Guests will get to eavesdrop on the exploits of Dory (Blue Tang fish), Marlin (Clown fish), Crush (Turtle), Bruce (Great White Shark) and the members of the “tank gang,” and most importantly, take part in an ever changing adventure of trying to “find” Nemo throughout the voyage. Along the way guests will travel through colorful undersea environments created using yet another original Imagineering-developed technology. The underwater scenes will be more eye-popping than ever before thanks to custom colors created from recycled glass, providing deeper, richer hues that last longer under water. After surviving a sub-shaking volcanic eruption, the subs will dive alongside a breathtakingly beautiful coral reef where Marlin, Nemo and all their friends gather to celebrate finding Nemo at last!
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I wanna go to Disneyland! Who's with me??
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That's similar to the update at Epcot... except at Epcot, Nemo and the movie characters are put in the setting with the REAL fish and sharks and stuff. The same tank that was there when it was the Living Seas. This 20K Leagues update will be all fake. Still sounds fun.
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Now, I think you know that isn't what I meant. I meant (and I think this was obvious by my post) that no RIDE at any of the parks is above being replaced... or in some cases (for the most iconic of the iconic) at least updated from time to time.
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Wha?!?!?!? Fantasmic is probably the best show that any Disney park has ever seen. It combines the cartoons, with every great stage/special effects show, fireworks show and parade you've ever seen it Disney. I love it. Now I have only seen the one in FL... and I know there are difference between that and the one in CA... but it was my understanding that the differences were pretty minor.
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What did they do to it? I'm not calling for a radical re-do on it (like they need to do with Star Tours) but refurbishing/updating the lighting/ planet effects would be a good move. I know the Tomorrowland in FL has been focused on the new Monster's Inc attraction, so that might be a next step for them too...
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Maybe your childhood IS being raped by some of these changes. I feel bad for you and your child's posteriors. But what of the childhoods of those small people that you often see running around malls and pre-schools and playground... you know, the ones who are children NOW. The ones who have no idea who Mr. Toad is. Jeez, can't we let them have their OWN childhoods instead of forcing OURS upon them from nostalgia?
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Mummy is better than King Kong (the rides, not the movies), and they are changing Earthquake The Ride into a U-571 Ride. i shit you not.
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UP NEXT ON E! TRUE HOLLYWOOD STORY: WHEN BAD MOVIES MAKE GOOD RIDES... Heh... Though I'm still a little sad about the BTTF ride going tits up. That was a fave. It was in need of a re-dux... but not of being replaced. Oh well. My biggest upset at Universal was the nixing of the Alfred Hitchcock pavillion. I'll live though- the park is still great.
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The Pirates Have Landed! (New Orleans Square). The Paris of the western frontier comes alive with pirates! Jack Sparrow and a band of buccaneers escape the Pirates of the Caribbean adventure and entertain and amuse guests, creating mayhem throughout New Orleans Square. Guests with sea salt in their veins are recruited to take the Pirate Oath and learn the secret “high” sign, becoming an honorary pirate. Along the way, guests may also encounter Captain Jack Sparrow himself, a roving band of rogues called The Bilge Rats or learn a chantey or two from the musical trio – The Bootstrappers.
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If they are going to go whole-hog at Disneyland, I wish they would just leave the Florida POTC ride as the original one. I think at least one of the locations should have the original, not tied into the movie ride. And, yes, it's true: the Disney suits who got rid of "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride" are going straight to hell when they die.
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Shoot! I was 15 when I got my first kiss on Tom Sawyer's Island. I guess when I go back to reminisce, I'll have to lip lock with the Jack Sparrow robot ... ewwww. Maybe they'll have an Elizabeth Swann statue. Oh yeah, darn you Mike Bay. Argggghhh!
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Were switching one pirate out with a Barbossa figure... and switching 3 random pirates out with Jack Sparrows... and a few tweaks in the soundtrack. It's not like Orlando Bloom is running aorund in there... Oh and adding a holographic Davey Jones head, speaking to you through the mist waterfall...
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"Retro-Land" or some shit. Transporting you to the Disneyland of the 50s-60s. Complete with a robotic Walt stalking the property.
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I enjoyed that ride. More than I enjoyed the Winnie the Pooh ride. Oh, well. <P> About the concept art in the article, I have no real opinion of the idea of the island becoming piratized based on the image alone, because I can't imagine the place is going to look much like that, with some guy holding onto a pole and soforth. <p> My favorite part of the island used to be Injun Joe's Cave with the bottomless pit and the moaning you could hear from it (I think you could...) <p> I remember one year, a secret tunnel out of a fort was not to be found, so I asked a cast member about it and he first joked about it not being easy to find because it was a secret tunnel, but then he explained that it was removed/closed off/made unavailable.
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Mr Toad's Wild Ride was removed from Walt Disney World to make room for Winnie the Pooh at Disneyland Winnie the Pooh replaced the Country Bear Jamborie. I have never visited either WTP ride and I probably never will.
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It's the same stage with more pirates and a new ship.
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I'm going to guess they are not going for historical accuracy, there.
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The show isn't as bad as it's impact on the park. It's noisy as heck (ever wait in line at the Haunted Mansion or Big Thunder while that ear-sore of a show is going on?) and I hate the huge cluster-F it creates on pediestrian traffic. It's bad enough trying to get through Main Street during a parade or fireworks, but at least there are paths around the center of the park. However, the Frontierland/Adventure Land/New Orleans Square bottleneck is a nightmare to traverse with no alternate routes. I guess it's no surprise since there seems to be no fore-thought to traffic problems to any of the renovations after 1983. Need proof? Tarzan's Treehouse extension, Astro-Orbitor's new location, Rancho del Zocalo access passage, Buzz Lightyear "regular" line, The Bootstrappers stage, Fantasyland theatre, the aforementioned Fantasmic - all create traffic problems on high capacity days (read Spring and Winter break as well as the Summer season)that could have been avoided with a little more planning. These Imagineers need a few more course in urban planning when they are coming up with these attractions - they seem to forget how small Anaheim park and how unpleasant it can quickly get.
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The ampitheatre (or whatever you wanna call it) is positioned in such a way at MGM so as not to be at all an interference with pedestrian traffic. Plus MGM's rides close failry early... If I'm not mistaken, the rides do their last runs about 15-30 minutes before Fantasmic even starts. All that sounds like a bummer at DisneyLand... looks like they avoided those issues over here...
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The problem is, they always seem to forget that they don't have the space. These space issues are exactly why Disney bought up so much more land in Florida (OK, that and to not have cheezy hotels across the street) - to avoid the problems that were apparent even in the first 10 years of the park's existence. The Imagineers need to plan more in scale with Anaheim's size - not always trying to "me too" Florida's attractions (Tower of Terror, Honey, I Shrunk the Audience, Winnie the Pooh, new Astro Orbitors, Fantasmic, etc.) - I hope one day we'll return to the time when each Disneyland were unique and gave the Disney Park fans a reason to travel cross-country to visit it.
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You'll get enough pirates for almost 3 hours.
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I'm still jealous of the Indiana Jones ride y'all have that we don't though... ;)
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