The other day I was at the Magic Kingdom and it started raining cats and dogs. I was just finishing lunch at Pecos Bill and didn’t want to run through the rain, but I remembered you can actually walk from Pecos Bill all the way to Pirates of the Caribbean under cover. Even better, with everyone else holed up waiting for the torrential down pour to stop, I pretty much had Pirates to myself.
There’s a good reason to check out Pirates these days as the queue has been getting some upgrades done to it. There is a popular rumor of an interactive game called “Pirates Adventure: Jewels of the Seven Seas” that will let you use an RFID device to interact with elements in and around Pirates. Construction walls have been up in the queue for over a month.
When walking through the queue this time, I noticed that Disney has unveiled the first of the new theme elements. It looks like the idealic Caribbean castle the queue winds through is under attack. Cannon ball impacts have added new damage to the walls, there are even a few spots whee the cannon balls are still stuck within the wall.
While the project isn’t complete, I can get on board with this sort of plussing the story. I can’t wait to see what else is unveiled in this makeover and if the interactive game elements are added as well.
A couple more photos below the jump:
Who else but Disney fans get excited looking at walls. :)
What do you think? Are you anticipating the new interactive ‘Next-Gen’ queues or do you think Disney should be concerned more with capacity and making the queues move faster?
I am excited. Pirates is one of my families favorite rides, I hope they are done with the queue before we get down there in December.
Personally I love that they are making the queues more interactive and interesting, though I have always thought they are neat this will keep the next generation engaged as well. I don’t see a way to deal with capacity or making the queues move faster that wouldn’t result in some major negatives, so to concentrate on the queues is the right way to go.
I love how they’re plussing up the queue. The Pirates queue is already one of my favorites. I hope they don’t touch the original parts of the queue!
Cause these already add onto the current/past queue perfectly!
Sounds fun! I remember when Indian Jones opened in Disneyland years ago… all the detail and surprises made waiting 3 hrs. Actually entertaining. Anyone old enough remembers the translation cards that were handed out so you could translate the inscriptions throughout the temple. (That was about as “interactive” as it got in those days lol
While I do love these new interactive queues popping up all over the parks I’m not sure it’s really necessary for a ride like Pirates. I’ve never waited more then 10-15 for pirates (even when the wait time says longer). I am always all for updating and adding more details to the walls and stuff though…just not sure on a ride like this it needs to be interactive.
Unfortunately, I’m on the other side of this argument. I loved the queue as it was. As a kid, it was always one of my favorite places at the magic kingdom, for all its simplicity. Alas, times are a-changin’
That sounds so exciting! I love the interactive queues that Disney has already added to some attractions.
It gets me quite nervous when they install these queues because you just don’t know if they will get it right theme-wise.
Also, Interactive queues tend to congest traffic flow since guests like to stay in line and play with the stuff.
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I really don´t like “interactive” elements – they should concentrate on what they have always done best, i.e. creating perfect, immersive queues that set the mood for an attraction, or are, as is the case with Indiana Jones at DL, more important than the actual ride… “interactive” stuff tends to be very problematic – congested traffic, screaming kids, silly “put your hand in the air” – games — all of that destroys the mood. I haven´t seen the Radator Springs Racers queue in person, yet, but I´ve been told it´s very “classic”, full of great theming and details — good choice, if you ask me…
I think if they do it like they have at Haunted Mansion, it could work. I went through the interactive queue at HM once, enjoyed it, but now that I have done it, I can skip the cemetery and get on the ride. So, I guess the question is, are both sides being updated, or is one going to be interactive and one will be the “fast” queue? If both are interactive, will they have a “skip” line?
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