Disneyland’s beloved Pirates of the Caribbean is officially back in action, but not everyone thinks the attraction’s new upgrades is a treasure.
The ride reopened today after a nearly two-month refurbishment with new upgrades, including a high-tech audio-animatronic effect in the iconic grotto scene that transforms a cursed pirate from a living buccaneer into a skeleton — and back again — using a combination of projection mapping and mechanical animation.
While the House of Mouse hoped to “wow” guests with its grand return, die-hard Disney fans are completely sinking the updates online. In an Instagram post, Disney showcased the brand new pirate animatronic perched on top of a pile of treasure in the dark treasure grotto scene, and the comments section quickly turned into digital mutiny.
“This is the opposite of magic,” one disgruntled fan fired off, slamming the visual changes to the 1967 ride.
“Why would you do that? The ride was great because of the nostalgia,” another commented, missing what used to be a skeleton sitting on cursed gold.
Rather than relying on traditional moving facial features, the figure uses “face mapping,” with Disney projecting expressions and transforming the 3D-printed face of a greedy pirate to a skeleton after he picks up tainted treasure — while the animatronic body moves underneath.
“This is one of the worst things I have ever seen, and completely ruins the classic ride’s look, pacing, tone, story, and timeline,” one person wrote. “Please change it back immediately.”
Some didn’t bother mincing words, flatly grading the ride’s overhaul a miserable “0/10.”
“One of the worst updates possible,” a furious fan said of the flashy new additions.
“Animatronic figures are foundational to the Disney brand and how we tell our stories,” an executive R&D Imagineer said. He described the unveiled update as the “next level of our animatronic figures” that tout “incredibly characterful faces.”
Pirates of the Caribbean has long been considered one of Disneyland’s crown jewels, with Walt Disney reportedly personally overseeing its build before he died. While Disney routinely tweaks classic attractions, this one seems to have missed the mark.
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