POTC @ WDW -- A humble pyrate's review (with pix!)

[JoshuaRed]

Greetings everyone!

For anyone interested, I'm posting my review on the POTC Ride Rehab here. If you don't want to know the details, don't scroll down!

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So this morning we decided to make a brief tactical excursion into the Magic Kingdom at WDW to peruse the enhanced POTC ride. We knew the park would be mobbed, with today being the 4th...but it was worse than mobbed, it was murderous! Luckily we got into the park just as the mid-day parade was going on, so it with some quick maneuvering we ducked the crowds and made a beeline for Adventure Land...coolest spot ever!

The first thing that hits you when you enter the Caribbean Plaza is the spiffy new installment of the mast/wreckage. Note the skeleton on lookout up in the crow's nest!

The parrot is gone from the entrance, and there are some nicely designed wait time signs hanging up.

The queue is so cool now -- they play music from the film score, and they got rid of the annoying turnstiles. There is now a sign over the inner entrance naming the fort "Castillo del morro". The wait time said 30 mins, but it was more like 15 mins, no biggie.

As we wound down the queue corridors, I kept hearing this booming sound. I couldn't figure out if it was bass from the POTC score that plays throughout the wait area (mixed with the traditional ride music), or if it was simulated distant cannon fire. Either way it really adds to the atmosphere and builds anticipation.

The boats look the same, brown plastic. Now to the good stuff! The ride begins as before, rolling into the dark tunnel. But the music is so cool - it's this perfect mix of the film score and the yo-ho theme. Right when the "Deeaaad men tell no tales" voice comes in, you go through the new Davey Jones waterfall effect. Lemme tell ya, this thing is AWESOME. The most impressive theme park effect I've ever seen. I mean it looks exactly like a real waterfall. Even when you can reach out and touch it, you can feel that it's just fog, but your eyes still tell ya that it IS a waterfall. Davey Jones is basically contradicting the ghostly narrator voice, telling you that "Nay, Dead men DO tell tales.." and he proceeds to segway into telling about how Barbossa laid seige to this town to flush out Sparrow.

Then you roll past the skeletons on the desolate beach, and the phantom helmsman, who has new lighting effects. The talking skull has been removed before the waterfall drop.

After the drop, the film score comes in heavy, and you roll thru a fog bank to see Barbossa on the ship bombarding the fort. This is where the rehab shines. The cannons are nice and LOUD now, and there are enhanced explosion/impact effects in the water around your boat and on the fort walls. The detail on Barbossa is terrific and we had no trouble understanding his voice, which is unmistakably Rush. He's yelling at the fort that he just wants Sparrow and he'll spare the town.

Then you round the corner and see the governor being dunked in the well. I think the pirate in charge of this operation has a new outfit and a silver gray beard. He's also got a bandana instead the hat he used to wear. Just past this, Sparrow makes his first appearance, hiding behind some ladies at the edge of the water. Again, the detail and likeness is stellar, and the movement is amazing.

Rolling into the wench auction everything has been noticeably spruced up. The lighting and colors are much brighter. When the one pirate fires his musket, hitting the tin sign..that is really loud and noticeable now.

Moving into the burning & looting scene, there are some really cool new fire effects that look like real flames, not just the billowing red silk (though some of that remains). I think they may have a few small gas jets spitting out some real licks of fire here and there.

The pirate sitting in front of the barrel inspecting his treasure map with the magnifiying glass is now talking about how if Sparrow wants to find the treasure, he'll have to do it by taking a gander at the map. Right on cue, Sparrow pops out of the barrel behind him and peers over his shoulder at the map.

Then we move into the prison scene, which looks the same. But the final scene is the most drastic change of the whole ride. All those drunken pirates rolling around on the ground are gone. The officer tied up to the chair inside is gone too. Now it's a victorious Capn' Jack Sparrow, tilting the chair back at a rackish angle, festooned with gold and jewels! He's holding a mug and talking to the infamous parrot who is sitting on a stack of barrels/chests next to him. The dialogue was awesome, and very easy to hear. Johnny's voice sounds great in there! Sparrow is going on about what a great pirate he is, which actually makes him a bad pirate, and then sings some of the yo-ho song, talks some more about what a waste it is to keep all this treasure locked up in a dark room, sings some more...I was surprised at how long this monologue was. The movement on this particular AA is incredible, the way he leans back in the chair, tilting it up on one leg and swilling his rum.

I am very very impressed and happy with the way this rehab turned out. Two hooks up!

**Bonus**

After finishing the ride we went back out into the Caribbean plaza just in time to catch the Jack Sparrow character greeting. This guy was great! He immediately had a large crowd gather around him, and he proceeded to pick little kids and teach them how to sword fight (which amounted to running away with dignity). The crowd LOVED him, and he had them in stitches. It was so nice have a character interaction with a real living person, and not a mute stuffed suit. The detail on the costuming of him and his cohort was very well done...and here's some pics to prove it! Enjoy!

Ahhh, the joy of corrupting young minds...

[Christine]

Disneyland now has Jacks running around the park. I have a friend who is one of them. He said his first day is tomorrow, my sister and I are going there to see him. This is should be fun!

[JoshuaRed]

Cool! See my thread a little further down for pics of the WDW Jack Sparrow.

[Christine]

Well, it was fun today, my friend did very well as Jack. It was fun watching him interact with people. They also have other guys dressed as pirates as well and put on a little show over by the French Market resturant and Cafe New Orleans. The little show is kind of like stuff you see at renaissance faires. It was fun, I'll have to post my pix eventually. Right now I need to go pass out, the sun was a bit too much today. I tried to stay in the shade as much as I could, but still got slightly burned. I feel icky, ugh.....

[Story]

I tried to stay in the shade as much as I could, but still got slightly burned. I feel icky, ugh.....

That's known as Dehydration, dear. Drink water. Then drink some more water.

And no, there are no substitutes for the water.

And how does one train to be a Jack? Are there some formalized classes on Keith Richards stage technique?

[Christine]

I did drink water, but I guess not enough. I ended up getting sun sickness, even tho by looking at me you wouldn't notice I wasn't that badly sunburned at all. In fact, I'm only pink on my nose. By I was like a zombie last night, quite dizzy. I threw up dinner, which was something light, but it still didn't sit well. I felt better once I did that, I took some advil to bring down a fever and went to sleep. I do feel better now, but geez, that was crazy yesterday! Never felt that way from the sun before.

My friend has a Jack costume already, runs around San Diego Comic Con each year. Right up there with my other friend Toby, so many Jacks! lol! So, he's been studying up on Jack way before he even applied at Disneyland.

[Lady Seahawke]

First, if you are out in very hot weather, sweating pretty heavily, drinking water but still get light headed....please think about eating something a bit salty. Believe it or not your sun sickness might have been made worse because of lack of salt in your body.

You not only need to maintain hydration but also, your salt balance. I know because I had a bit of trouble when I was driving through the desert on the way to CA six years back. I was sweating (air condition wasn't working) and drinking plenty of water but was still feeling sick. I inadvertenly had some moisture land on my lip and it was a bit salty and I realized how much I was losing. Thankfully I had a bag of chips in the car...once I ate a few of those I felt better. When I got to CA found out I may have been on verge of what can be called water sickness, Too much water not enough salt. It happens more often then you think.

Maintain the balance and you'll be off for it.

Next, I hear about the "Bootstrappers" in DL ...can anyone tell me if they will be close to the ride or somewhere else? I will heading there next Thursday and would like to hear the shanties.

thanks.

[Christine]

I did eat some salty stuff, at the one restaurant we both got soup, sandwich and potato chips. The chips and soup are quite salty. I actually didn't get it as bad, only that night when I came home. My sister is still in bad shape now. She was nauseated pretty much all day yesterday and then left work early. She also has a low grade fever. It obviously hit her worse than me, mine was gone by the morning.

And yes, where the pirates entertain and Jack are all pretty close by the ride. They hang out by the 2 restaurants Cafe New Orleans and The French Market, right between the 2. Since it's been hot they're staying the shade.

[Lady Seahawke]

Well if you had plenty of water and had replenish the salt then I don't know what else to have suggested. Sun poisioning or heat exhaustion...perhaps ate something that was bad? ...had the first when I was 17, the second when I was 13 and the last in my 30s...OK, I admit I am accident type prone...

High temps...high humidity...Just make sure while walking about your body temp doesn't get to high...getting into some cool every so often or take a cloth, wet it and put it at the back of your neck or, around your wrists. Thinest area of skin on your body is at the wrists. If you need to cool down quick place a cool towel there, if you need to warm your blood heating that area will be best. Placing cool towel at the back of neck will help cool the blood to the brain.

Just make sure the water is cool and not too cold don't want to put the body into shock from cooling too fast either. Ok, it might sound silly but again, I know this from experience. sigh....

[Janette Morgan]

My sister got heatsick once -- playing in a park on my eighth birthday. If you can get to one, I reccommend a cool bath, or at least a visit to a bathroom spigot. (Wetting your face can be helpful.) And bear in mind your feet -- shoes + heat can toast you pretty well.

And for goodness' sakes, if you start to feel heatsick, take it easy. Your body's under enough stress just trying to keep you cool.

[Christine]

I think something else hit my sister that day, not just the heat. She's just now starting to feel a little better. She also finally had some solid food that sat well with her. She's been on a liquid diet since Thursday. Not sure what happened to her, perhaps it was something more that she ate mixed with the heat. I dunno. Mine I think was just heat exhaustion, by Friday morning I was fine. Felt bad for my sister tho, it really messed her up bad!

[Story]

Lesson for everyone - dehydration can sneak up on you.

Proper hydration starts before[/color=red] an event, and a body-at-rest *should* have a GALLON of water PER DAY.

Obviously, most folks don't hydrate themselves enough. Soda and caffeine/sugar-filled fruit drinks are not a proper substitution.

[Christine]

Well, here's pix of my friend who works as Jack with my sister Sabrina and I. He only works Thursdays for now. He told me he'll get more days the longer he stays on with the company.