POTC closed for 6 months?

[megveg]

The reports ive read have said itll be back up for the holiday season, do you think that means for Halloween? Ill be at the Halloween MNSSHP then comin back nov5-9th. Halloween would be a greay time to finish it up, to be ready for the Thanksgiving crowds just a few weeks after

 

[missbrooke06]

While your point is sound, Universal is reusing some of it's ride systems to create new attractions. Despicable Me uses the same ride vehicles as Jimmy Neutron which were the same ride vehicles as Funtastic World of Hana Barbara. The Simpsons uses the same ride vehicles as Back To the Future. Disaster was previously Earthquake. So, while the name may be different, the internal guts may be the same.

Also in your list, E.T. I think is the only unmodified opening day attraction. And E.T. has had it's issues. For several weeks, the name system wasn't working. There is rumor of a lengthy refurb coming to it. Disaster has been having issues and there's rumors of it being replaced. When I rode a couple of weeks ago, the semi didn't come down from the ceiling.

I guess it didn't even register that Earthquake and Disaster are different! I was there last Feb 2007 and it was still Earthquake then I guess so that's another one!

Anyway, fair point. But I guess the comparison is that Back to the Future closed March 2007 and Simpsons opened April 2008 and I'm sure plenty of machinery work was done then as well as the cosmetic work. US's business plan seems to be close for a longer period of time and reopen with a vastly different product. Disney seems to do short refurbs more frequently. Not saying one is better than the other, just not really comparable.

I'm actually really surprised that E.T. is still in the park. It was having lots of issues when I was there forever ago.

 

[pharaoh]

I know everyone has been reported getting soaked on POTC since they installed the new boats, but has anyone else noticed that the little drop seems a lot rougher as well? I don't like drops of any size but I can say that drop never bothered me until just last year.

If they fix the boats as has been speculated in this thread, do y'all think the drop won't be so rough? I miss POTC.

 

[ttintagel]

It’s about darn time! If I were in charge, I’d strip it down to the bones and rebuild it better than ever. Not only is it getting kind of rickety, but all the additions over the years have just been crammed in willy-nilly with little attention paid to style or continuity, until the whole thing kind of looks and sounds like a bit of a messy hodgepodge. The musical score no longer ties the whole thing together; the AA figures aren’t all in the same artistic style (with costumes of radically different design and material), the fire effect hasn’t looked right for years, the advanced figures stick out like sore thumbs among the ones with more primitive movement… the list goes on. I’d love to see them take a year, bring in as many craftspeople as it takes, and unveil a whole, exciting new Pirates at the end.

 

[jhaig]

It’s about darn time! If I were in charge, I’d strip it down to the bones and rebuild it better than ever. Not only is it getting kind of rickety, but all the additions over the years have just been crammed in willy-nilly with little attention paid to style or continuity, until the whole thing kind of looks and sounds like a bit of a messy hodgepodge. The musical score no longer ties the whole thing together; the AA figures aren’t all in the same artistic style (with costumes of radically different design and material), the fire effect hasn’t looked right for years, the advanced figures stick out like sore thumbs among the ones with more primitive movement… the list goes on. I’d love to see them take a year, bring in as many craftspeople as it takes, and unveil a whole, exciting new Pirates at the end.

If they could make it as good as the DL version, then by all means, do it....

 

[larryz]

If they could make it as good as the DL version, then by all means, do it....

No room for a restaurant...

 

[JamJamFam]

I think this is probably very good news. We were there the first week of December and we got legit stuck. Like, lights on, maintenance man came out with a giant stick to pry our boat free stuck. We were there for over half an hour. The boat was all adults except my kids, 5 and 2.

Then when they did get us free, the sound wasn't turned on. Luckily I know all the words to "A Pirate's Life for Me" so I led the boat in song, haha!

 

[Andipandi]

We will be in WDW on December 6th to the 12th I hope it's open by then. POTC is my favorite ride. Loved it since I was a child. It is always our first ride of the day.

 

[scoobygrl79]

News like this makes me very sad for those who truly only get once (or twice) in a lifetime chance to go. Fortunately, that's not me (though I go NOWHERE near the amount I'd like to )so for that, I never complain.

 

[johde]

I guess it didn't even register that Earthquake and Disaster are different! I was there last Feb 2007 and it was still Earthquake then I guess so that's another one!

Anyway, fair point. But I guess the comparison is that Back to the Future closed March 2007 and Simpsons opened April 2008 and I'm sure plenty of machinery work was done then as well as the cosmetic work. US's business plan seems to be close for a longer period of time and reopen with a vastly different product. Disney seems to do short refurbs more frequently. Not saying one is better than the other, just not really comparable.

I'm actually really surprised that E.T. is still in the park. It was having lots of issues when I was there forever ago.

The ride portion itself is nearly identical between Earthquake and Disaster. Most of the changes were made to the walking portion of the attraction. The trams did get camera and TVs to be able to show the final Disaster Movie trailer.

But you are right, at Universal, a long refurb is probably going to be accompanied by a retheming of the attraction. Another difference especially compared to the Magic Kingdom is the park is closed more hours of the day so more "maintenance" and "refurbishment" can happen without the ride ever closing. When Spiderman got "plussed" with the new 4K projectors, 16 channel sound system, and new movie, the ride was closed for less than a month. That's the only significant refurbishment the ride opened in 1999. The rest of the work was done at night. Forbidden Journey was also upgraded to 4K projection and it didn't close at all. But, it is a very rare thing for the parks to be open past 9:00 and a 7:00 closing is not unusual. Where now at the Magic Kingdom, even in the "Off Season" the MK will have a day or 2 of Midnight closings.

 

[mirak]

Well, I hope the ride is at least running when we visit in February. I won't mind if a few things are broken - my boys will never know the difference but I want them to at least experience one of my childhood memories. They're also doing Pirates League so I thought they would go well together.

 

[MargaLou]

I was just on the MDX looking at my trip dates of May 23 - May 31, 2015 and POTC is showing "Closed for Refurbishment". Has anyone heard of the official close date for this ride?

Thanks!
Margaret

 

[The Rovang 5]

I was wondering when this would happen. I'm glad! We were finally able to ride it our third trip to Disney due to it being closed. At least we still got to meet Capt. Jack Sparrow! ~swoon.

 

[vinotinto]

It's a good thing it's getting refurbished. We were stuck on it for more than 30 minutes over Labor Day. Would have missed MSEP, except MSEP got cancelled due to rain.

 

[HCinKC]

Yikes. It sounds like it is in dire need of an extended refurb. Surely, with that amount of time, they will do a proper job of updating and fixing.

All of this makes me think that I wills kip the FP+ for our May trip, assuming it is even "open". If we happen to catch stand by, fine. If not, oh well. We're not doing Splash Mountain or Kali because no one is going to want to walk around wet, so we may skip this even if it is open. I love the ride, and I do wish ODS could ride it. Luckily he won't know the difference (being his first trip), and DH isn't picky about rides.

 

[Chrisbud]

I've also heard a lot of complaints about this. I'd rather them take their time refurbishing it than rushing it and leaving it half-fixed.

 

[pookadoo77]

so sad we will miss it in June, kids are upset as well....

 

[mshanson3121]

so sad we will miss it in June, kids are upset as well....

Same here. i mean, by the sounds of things it's good that it's being fixed, but my kids are so into pirates, and this was the #1 ride they were looking forward to. Since we're not going until end of June I have 0 hope that it will still be open, and this is our one and only trip.

 

[freckles04]

Glad they are doing this. This past October, we only came upon it open and running once in 10 days. It was even closed (down) during our MNSSHP. It got to be a running joke!

 

[tinkpower]

I don't know the official date either but I do have a FP for April 15th that has not been cancelled. I'm assuming that means they aren't planning to close it then.