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Jack Sparrow Debuts at Walt Disney World and Disneyland

by Kelly K. | More from this Blogger

09 Jul 2006 01:31 PM

jack sparrow
Jack Sparrow peers at visitors as they ride through the revamped attraction
For quite sometime, I've been posting about the upcoming changes to Walt Disney World and Disneyland's Pirates of the Caribbean attraction. Following the phenomenal success of Disney's film, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, the classic attraction enjoyed a second wind of popularity.

jack sparrow animatronic
An Imagineer puts the finishing touches on Captain Jack.
And just as the ride inspired the film, the film now inspires the ride. Walt Disney Imagineers have been hard at work for the past year creating new animatronics and special effects that have now been added to the popular attraction.

barbossa animatronic
Barbossa demands Jack Sparrow be brought to him.
So, what is the consensus among those that have experienced the updated attraction? The overwhelming response is that the new additions are a testament to the creativity and ingenuity of the Walt Disney Imagineers. Disney World and Disneyland guests have almost unanimously agreed that the new animatronics truly bring the ride into the 21st century with their amazing lifelike characteristics and movements.Joining the three Jack Sparrow and lone Barbossa animatronics is a new special effect: a mist curtain bearing the moving, talking image of the series newest villain, Davy Jones, played by the extremely talented Bill Nighy (Love Actually, Still Crazy). As guests travel through the caverns leading to the infamous island pillaging, they will seemingly travel through the apparition of the villainous Davy Jones.

davy jones mist curtain
An artist's rendering of the Davy Jones special effect.
Throughout the summer, "Captain Jack" will be on hand to teach young pirates the ways of buccaneering near the ride's entrance. For those who've always wanted to have their photo taken with "Captain Jack," here's your chance.

jack sparrow at walt disney world
Captain Jack Sparrow greets a young visitor at the entrance of the ride.
In September, I will be embarking upon my first journey through the new Pirates ride and will be back here with my own review of the recent changes to the ride.

 
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User Comments

Kristyn Crow (2546) 09 Jul 2006 07:49 PM

I loved this blog! I just went on the new Pirates ride a few days ago. I was expecting more changes to the ride than there were. However, I think I would have been disappointed if too much was different. It's still nearly the exact same ride. Captain Jack Sparrow, peering out of the dress shop, is the smoothest and most realistic animatronic character I've ever seen. There were gasps from people on my boat. "Wow, he looks so real!" they said. The movements are very lifelike.

Kelly K. (2277) 09 Jul 2006 10:50 PM

Thanks, Kristyn! I had a blast writing it. I've been looking forward to these changes for awhile. Pirates was my *favorite* attraction at DW as a child and I love the films, as well. I had a big smile on my face when I read about the people's reaction in your comment. That's what I've been hearing from so many people about the animatronics. I hear they pretty much dwarf the older animatronics!

moedean52gunch (68) 27 Nov 2007 02:11 PM

we saw jack sparrow at castaway cay and he was wonderful. so much more than a prop, the johnny depp look alike was witty and clever in making different poses and very entertaining for the adults as well as the children. well done, disney!

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