Here's How Disney Has Been Changing Pirates of the Caribbean

Over the years, an absolutely legendary Disney attraction has undergone quite a few changes. Let’s explore them.

The Disney Parks have received some fantastic new additions in the past few years. EPCOT in Walt Disney World got a new attraction in the form of Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, which initially opened in Disneyland Paris.

Possibly the most exciting new ride to open can also be found at EPCOT, with Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind. Cosmic Rewind is a thrilling roller coaster based at the new Wonders of Xandar pavilion in the World Discovery neighborhood.

Pirates of the Caribbean may be one of the most recognizable attractions within the Disney community and the entire world. It features amazing set pieces, fun animatronics, and some truly catchy music. Pirates of the Caribbean is a Disney icon in all senses of the word. But over the years, the ride has been changed several times to make it more friendly and inclusive.

Pirates of the Caribbean is a beloved attraction and can be found at Disneyland in Anaheim, California, The Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida, Tokyo Disney Resort, Disneyland Paris, and Shanghai Disneyland. Despite being found in five Disney Parks, the first one at Disneyland tends to be the most iconic and legendary within the Disney community.

However, despite being a classic ride, the Pirates of the Caribbean rides have undergone many changes and alterations over the years.

The first major change didn’t come about until the 1990s when park guests began to complain about the attraction’s displays of lewd and inappropriate behavior on the ride. As many will surely know, the pirates can be seen plundering and pillaging throughout the story of the attraction. This has not changed much except for how the pirates were treating women.

The most scrutinized parts of the older version of the ride were the scenes of pirates chasing women in the town and a pirate searching for a woman who hid in a barrel, much like Captain Jack Sparrow does now. While never explicitly stated, it was very clear what these scenes were insinuating.

This was eventually changed, making food the reason the pirates were chasing women. There was also a scene of a pirate holding what appeared to be part of a woman’s clothing. He waved it around, smiling, also insinuating something a little more sinister than what is typically seen at the Disney Parks. This was changed into a new scene where the pirate holds the map that Jack Sparrow is looking for throughout the ride.

Of course, there are many changes made to the ride after the first Pirates of the Caribbean film was released. It may shock some but the ride actually came first, not the movie. Despite being based on an old Disney ride, the film was a huge success and sparked a franchise that continues to this day.

Because of this success, Disney planned a remodeling just in time for the release of the second Pirates film. This renovation added all the famous characters from the film to the ride like Jack Sparrow, Davy Jones, and Captain Barbossa.

One of the biggest changes to this attraction at both Disney World and Disneyland was the change to the infamous “Bride Auction” scene. The new character, Red, was added to the scene, and references to brides being bought were removed.

The scene previously featured a group of women waiting to be sold at auction, which was quite an adult scene for a family ride. While the change made the ride a little less dark, lots of Disney fans voiced their concerns about how the attraction has been changed too much.

There once was a parrot that would greet guests in the queue for the ride until it was removed shortly after. A fog machine was also used to be present on the ride, having guests pass through an image of either Davy Jones and Blackbeard.

Which version of Pirates of the Caribbean is your favorite?