PHOTOS, VIDEO: Pirates of the Caribbean at Disneyland Reopens After Refurbishment, Suffers Many Breakdowns, and is Closed

Shannen Ace

Skeletons on Pirates of the Caribbean, Disneyland

PHOTOS, VIDEO: Pirates of the Caribbean at Disneyland Reopens After Refurbishment, Suffers Many Breakdowns, and is Closed

Pirates of the Caribbean at Disneyland reopened this morning after a months-long refurbishment. Join us as we sail the seven seas again.

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This was only a standard refurbishment. As we confirmed after riding, nothing about the ride changed.

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Guests gathered in New Orleans Square as soon as the park opened this morning. Unfortunately, guests weren’t allowed in line and the ride didn’t open for almost another hour.

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When Pirates of the Caribbean did finally open, the wait time quickly jumped up to 45 minutes.

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The line reached Frontierland.

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Blue Bayou Restaurant, which has a view of the beginning of Pirates of the Caribbean, reopened with construction walls inside a few weeks ago. The walls came down this week as the ride was tested before its reopening.

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Despite the fact that it was just closed for over three months for refurbishment, some elements of the attraction still weren’t working as they should.

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Within the first hour of being open, Pirates of the Caribbean went down at least four times.

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In the scene where women are chasing pirates in a circle, there is a loud sound like a washing machine — a squeaky wheel. Some of the pirates in that scene also were also not moving.

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By 11:30 a.m., Cast Members had closed the ride again due to so many breakdowns. It is currently not open.

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We were lucky enough to get a full ride-through video before the ride went down. Watch it below.

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11 thoughts on “PHOTOS, VIDEO: Pirates of the Caribbean at Disneyland Reopens After Refurbishment, Suffers Many Breakdowns, and is Closed”

  1. Disney’s standards have really dropped and it shows everywhere. It used to beat all the surrounding amusement parks by miles but now is no better at all.

    • We just got back last Thursday, and to say I was disappointed wou6be an understatement. Genie+ is just a way to be raped by Disney! And the ADDITIONAL money for “special” rides is just crazy. And why is a reservation needed if park numbers are not limited. I first visited the park at the age of 2 in 1955 and have visited it hundreds of times. But right now I feel like I may never go again!

      • After being unable to ride RISE OF THE RESISTANCE on TWO visits – once to Orlando, once to Anaheim – and then being refused a comped visit to get in the ride I’m sorry to say I am through with domestic Disney. My trips to Shanghai Disneyland and Disneyland Paris have proved more pleasant and rewarding, but I’m not returning to the parks in the domestic USA. I never imagined I’d come to this point but there it is.

    • We went at the beginning of June and our family had an amazing time. We got there at rope drop and stayed until we were ready to go back to the hotel (~10:30pm). We used Genie+ which helped us ride all of the popular attractions we wanted to without waiting, and did standby when the lines were short in the morning and after nightfall (park starts to clear out), enjoying over 20 attractions in a single day. The only long standby line was for RotR, but we knew that going in. The park was clean, not overly crowded, and people seemed to be in a good mood. I wasn’t sure how things would be post-COVID, but it was just as magical as ever.

      As far as it being similar to surrounding parks? Nah. We were at Knott’s the day before. AMAZING coasters… GhostRider is unbelievably great, and so is Silver Bullet. But, the park offers little besides the rides. It might as well be a state fair. They obviously tried with some theming, but it’s at the Six Flags level, not even close to Disney (Jaguar’s pyramid was probably Knott’s best). The worst possible theming at Disneyland still beats Knott’s best, and at Disney EVERYTHING is themed. Plus in Knott’s all the school kids were cutting the line, other guests tempers were running hot, and the food lines were sometimes as long as the standby lines. Water and restrooms were too sparse. And the park felt run down and dirty. We only rode 8 attractions in the entire day (opening to closing). Disneyland won easily.

  2. People should boycott Disney until they drop prices and limit guests. It was once a place where families could have fun. Now you pay to stand in lines, and pay to skip lines, and pay for broken rides. Walt Disney should be rolling in his grave as Disney has been ruined by greedy dream breakers.

    • Well, at least Capt. Jack Sparrow is still there. Now…it would be interesting if they took the Pirates ride and converted it to Princess and the frog- where they were in the bayou. And then move Pirates to Splash to recreate when they were going over the waterfall in Pirates 3. Just a thought!

  3. Visiting California for 2 months this summer and decided to skip Disney. I Never thought I would vacation here and not go, but Genit+ has ruined it for me. The greed that came after the pandemic turned endemic has been Astounding. I would be Happy to spend more IF crowd size was limited. But Disney is packing in people like sardines and charging for a service that barely works.

  4. Or maybe they could just leave all the classic rides alone and stop all the “changes” and pandering!!

    • “…and tell them kids to get off of my lawn!!!” Grow up. Disney has always changed. By your logic, the should still have Mission To Mars and the train through Nature’s Wonderland and the Rainbow Caverns. Evolve or die!!!

  5. We just went for 3 days, made our post pandemic reservations expecting crowds to be somewhat limited due to COVID restrictions, but boy were we wrong! I’m not sure what the point of making reservations is. I’ve never seen it so crowded! I agree with the other comments about Genie + being another way to raped by Disney. It just makes it worse for everyone by allowing people to pay for the privilege of cutting. Does anyone else remember when line jumping wasn’t allowed?

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