It be in December of 1973 that ye first learned that dead men tell no tales. Though ye sailed unabashed for years, the attraction ye know today is a bit different than that of years before.
Though a sister attraction of Disneyland’s Pirates of the Caribbean, the Magic Kingdom version is slightly different, both in ride length, scenes, and location. Located in Adventureland, Walt Disney World’s Pirate’s attraction is set in a Spanish Fort called Castillo Del Morro, inspired by Spanish forts in Puerto Rico.
Though the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction still exists today, much in the same form as it did in 1973, it has undergone some changes that give it an appropriate home here on Extinct Disney.
The original attraction featured a pirate who sat against a barrel. He still exists today however his dialog changed significantly after a refurb in 1997. Controversial to say the least, the original dialog made reference to the pirate “hoisting his colors” in reference to a certain wench and his being willing to share her. His new dialog after the attraction reopened instead talked about the nearby dog and treasure with the woman who appears from inside the barrel behind him holding a small treasure chest.
Another scene altered for “content purposes” in 1997 was that of the chase scene. Until the refurbishment, the scene featured pirates chasing the women with less than appropriate intentions. After the refurbishment, it was the women chasing the pirates with brooms etc. to get them out of their home.
After the success of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, the Walt Disney World attraction closed for refurbishment in 2006. The refurbishment altered the exterior of the attraction including the addition of a new sign as well as the removal of Pete the Parrot who would “greet” guests as they entered the fort with his rendition of Yo Ho, Yo Ho. Inside the attraction, animatronic Jack Sparrows were added, one replacing the woman in the aforementioned barrel as well as Blackbeard being replaced by Barbosa in the canon scene. Additionally, a new fog wall was added at the very beginning of the attraction that featured Davy Jones.
In 2011, in tandem with the release of the 4th movie, the fog scene as the attraction begins was updated to instead feature Blackbeard.
In 2018, in what is likely considered one of the most controversial changes made to the attraction, the attraction was closed to make changes to the “We Wants the Redhead” scene. In an effort to be more politically correct in the changing social climate, the Redhead was “promoted” from wench, to pirate, now assisting the auctioneer instead of being auctioned off herself. While the change was met fevered disagreement from fans, it ultimately was just another in the list of changes that have been made to keep the attraction current.
