Pirates of the Caribbean is one of, if not the most popular ride at Walt Disney World. Its popularity has skyrocketed with the new movies starring Johnny Depp as Capt. Jack Sparrow. After “Dead Man’s Chest” came out, the ride got a bit of a face lift.
The fact of the matter is that the whole “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise began as just a Disney attraction. The films related to this attraction have grossed over a billion dollars world wide. Originally, “Pirates of the Caribbean” was dreamt up (in the late 1950’s) as a wax museum, that guests would walk through. Later though, the technological advances that Disney Imagineers used at the four pavilions at the World’s Fair were used to transform Pirates into an animated attraction. This attraction originally opened in Disneyland, and was the last attraction that was designed with Walt Disney’s input. The ride opened at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom in 1973.
Rumors about a film inspired by the attraction began to surface in 2002. Many were skeptical, as other films based on attractions had not done well (like “The Country Bears”). However, the first movie “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl” opened in July 2003, with Johnny Depp starring, as Captain Jack Sparrow, eventually grossed $653 million, making the film one of the top twenty five box office earners ever. To help promote the second film, new special effects, and animatronic versions of Captain Jack Sparrow were added to both Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom attractions.
Currently, there is still one film to be released. “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” was produced at the same time as “Dead Man’s Chest” and is supposed to be released in May 2007. These films have almost a cult following, and they have breathed new life into a ride that was not always a Disney favorite. I haven’t yet gotten to see the new additions to the ride, but I am looking forward to it! What I am not looking forward to is the long wait at a ride that was once known for being a cool place to get out of the heat, with a pretty short wait!
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