Pirates of the Caribbean ride enhancements: What to keep an eye out for

The Disneyland press agency has released detailed and extensive notes on all of the changes and enhancements that have recently been made to the popular Pirates of the Caribbean ride at both the Anaheim and Orlando parks. Over at Jim Hill Media Seth Kubersky gives a firsthand account of the Orlando attraction while Chuck Oberleitner presents a podcast interview with Disney Imagineer Bob Gurr, “the man most responsible over the years for keeping guests moving around Disneyland and the other Disney theme parks.” The official press release follows:

A Pirate Legacy

The concept of Pirates of the Caribbean has come full circle with the attraction initially inspiring the successful film franchise and now the films (Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl – 2003 and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest – 2006) inspiring exciting additions to the attraction.

Swabbing The Decks

Both versions of the attraction (Disneyland in California and the Magic Kingdom in Florida) closed in March 2006 in preparation for the installation of the enhancements that have been made over the past three months.
Over 400 Disney Imagineers have been working in California and Florida on the research, planning and installation of these enhancements over the past three years.

Opening Dates

The new attraction enhancements make their initial debut on June 24, 2006, during a star-studded world premiere at Disneyland in California of the all-new film Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest.
The attraction officially re-opens to guests at Disneyland on June 26 and in Florida’s Magic Kingdom on July 7. The highly anticipated enhanced attraction re-opens in time for the eagerly awaited release of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, in theaters nationwide on July 7.

Enhanced Attraction Storyline

“Dead men tell no tales…” As a ghostly voice echoes through the dark, underground grottos and waterway the specter of Davy Jones appears. “Ah, but they do tell tales…” he says in reply, inviting all those “brave or fool enough to face a pirate’s curse…” to continue on their voyage.

Just ahead, guests will find a Spanish seaport town under siege by a heavily armed galleon. It’s the Wicked Wench, commanded by Captain Barbossa. He and his men have put the torch to the town and subjected the local magistrate to a dunking in the well. They’re in search of their shipmate, Captain Jack Sparrow, and the location of the town’s treasure vault.

Captain Jack, temporarily abandoning the mantle of command, has struck out on his own to find the treasure. He successfully eludes his fellow pirates and finally succeeds in stealing a glimpse of a treasure map in the hands of a drunken buccaneer.

And so, after a night of revelry and looting, we find Captain Jack victorious, enthroned in a vault full of gold and jewels, enjoying a drink and verse or two of the attraction’s famous theme song and intoning “Drink up, lads, there is treasure enough for all!”

New Pirates of the Caribbean Attraction Crew Members

The first appearance of Captain Jack Sparrow occurs during the familiar “Dunking Scene” where one of the pirate leaders is interrogating the village’s mayor, trying to find out Captain Jack’s whereabouts by consistently dunking the poor magistrate in the well.
Captain Jack Sparrow appears again in a barrel, sneaking glances at a treasure map held by a nearby salty old pirate.
Captain Jack Sparrow’s third and final appearance in the attraction occurs in the finale “Treasure Room” scene where he can be found relishing in his good fortune to be the first to find the town’s cache of treasure.
The ruthless Barbossa can now be seen as the Captain of the Wicked Wench in the attraction’s famous battle scene. The ship was not changed to the Black Pearl, since the story in the attraction is set before Captain Jack obtains that ship.
The new dialog of Captain Jack Sparrow, Davy Jones and Barbossa was voiced by the actors in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies [Johnny Depp, Bill Nighey and Geoffrey Rush].
An apparition of the ghostly Davy Jones, a prominent character in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, can be seen in the attractions’ mysterious grotto labyrinth, materializing via a fantastic waterfall effect.

Did You Hear Something?

The original analog audio tracks from the attraction have all been digitally re-mastered to ensure a crisp and dynamic soundtrack. Guests will notice the addition of music cues from the soundtracks of Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (Score composed by Klaus Badelt) and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (Score composed by Hans Zimmer).
More than 270 audio speakers have been replaced throughout the attraction.
Large bass subwoofers have been installed within the “Battle Scene” between the pirate galleon and the Spanish fortress to provide a sense of concussion during the firing of the cannons.
It took three days to empty and refill the “bayou’s” 750,000 gallons of water for the enhancements to be completed.

Did You See Something?

The cannon firing and cannon ball effects in the water have all been upgraded to heighten the sense of intensity and drama in the “Battle Scene.” Underscoring from the film(s) has also been added to the scene.
One of the largest scenes to be enhanced is the impressive “Treasure Cache,” found in the attraction’s mysterious grottos. Imagineers removed the scene entirely and fabricated more than 400,000 new shimmering gold coins and set pieces.
The “Treasure Cache” scene at Disneyland will contain original movie props, including the Aztec treasure chest, from the hit 2003 film Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.
When Disney Imagineers began preparing the treasure for the enhancement, they discovered a number of original props with hand-written notes taped to the back by Imagineers from the 1960s about placement and color of the props.