Originally Posted By brotherdave The mysterious and dangerous mermaids from POTC: On Stranger Tides have been added to the grotto scene in Pirates of the Caribbean at the Magic Kingdsom. Video of the mermaid swimming next to the boat is not great, but the sound track can be heard of a mermaid singing from the movie, along with a new shipwrecked longboat with a skeleton of a mermaid in the wreckage. <a href="http://attractionsmagazine.com/blog/2012/10/19/mermaids-added-to-pirates-of-the-caribbean-ride-at-magic-kingdom/" target="_blank">http://attractionsmagazine.com...kingdom/</a>
Originally Posted By GrandmaB oh dear and bless my sole plese no more changes to our good pirates in this inportant time
Originally Posted By Disneymom443 I like it, the mermaid skelton in the boat is a bit creepy, but fits.
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt Is this some kind of prank? Seriously that has to be one of the worst special effects I've ever seen. What mermaid? I didn't see anything but underwater lighting.
Originally Posted By tashajilek Maybe you have to see it in person to actually see anything? The mermaid skellington is kinda cool anyways.
Originally Posted By brotherdave I'd love to hear how this looks in person. I only found the link on Orlando Attractions' website. Neat idea if done right!
Originally Posted By HokieSkipper Meh. An innocuous change. I find it hard to really care about anything they do to WDW's pirates after the Jack changes.
Originally Posted By sjhym333 Rode pirates last week and thought was something was different but couldn't quite figure out what was until this topic popped up. That should say something I guess
Originally Posted By leemac <<Meh. An innocuous change.>> I still can't fathom why valuable resources keeping being committed to these pointless changes to the attraction. It does nothing to attract guests to the park and certainly does nothing to the overall storyline of the attraction. Granted this isn't anything other than a tiny addition but it still takes labor, time and resources away from other more urgent projects. Baffling. We were originally told that these changes would be used a testing ground for future tech that could be leveraged in other attractions. To date that hasn't happened.
Originally Posted By HokieSkipper <<I still can't fathom why valuable resources keeping being committed to these pointless changes to the attraction. It does nothing to attract guests to the park and certainly does nothing to the overall storyline of the attraction. Granted this isn't anything other than a tiny addition but it still takes labor, time and resources away from other more urgent projects. Baffling.>> Oh, I COMPLETELY agree with you on that front. So many little, needless changes to both POTC and HM over the past 3-4 years that have taken time and money away from the rest of the attractions that need it. It seems like a mad scramble by some to put their mark on the classics.
Originally Posted By A Happy Haunt Really? That was kinda lame...and I usually like new/trivial additions
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt Leemac do you know if the new hitch hiking ghost effect will be added at DL in the near future?
Originally Posted By Goofyernmost <<I still can't fathom why valuable resources keeping being committed to these pointless changes to the attraction. It does nothing to attract guests to the park and certainly does nothing to the overall storyline of the attraction. Granted this isn't anything other than a tiny addition but it still takes labor, time and resources away from other more urgent projects. Baffling.>> To us old-timers that is true but to the newer generation, you know those kids and adults that will eventually be us, it is an inexpensive way to make it more relevant to those that have seen the movies and are able to more easily relate to it. Does it cause confusion as to what came first, the ride or the movie? Sure, but is that really important as long as the basic ride remains unchanged and it has a longer lasting power of staying were it belongs. I have to admit that I was skeptical about the first change involving Capt. Jack, but it was done in a way that was entertaining and "plus'd" the attraction. I enjoyed it a lot and still do. Remember Walt's own words. The park(s) are something that will be constantly changing. It will always try and be better. This is one of the few messages that occasionally is still listened too.
Originally Posted By sjhym333 I thought the Jack Sparrow addition was a nice change. Not too intrusive to the original show and a nice addition for a new generation. I am not sure what this latest change gets. Especially when someone like myself who has rode hundreds of times hardly noticed.
Originally Posted By leemac <<To us old-timers that is true but to the newer generation, you know those kids and adults that will eventually be us, it is an inexpensive way to make it more relevant to those that have seen the movies and are able to more easily relate to it.>> Personally I don't think you can equate adding Jack Sparrow or Hector Barbossa to these generic mermaids. Jack and Hector are instantly recognizable from the quadrilogy - these characters aren't. <<I thought the Jack Sparrow addition was a nice change. Not too intrusive to the original show and a nice addition for a new generation.>> Definitely. The first two AAs work very well - don't detract from the original attraction storyline and show deference to the movies that have made it relevant to a new generation. The final Jack doesn't quite work the same for me. Something rather jarring about it. The other changes like the Davy Jones mist screen and these mermaids seem rather pointless to me.
Originally Posted By leemac <<Leemac do you know if the new hitch hiking ghost effect will be added at DL in the near future?>> Folks want it installed there but I don't know if it will in the near future. HM only has one more downtime in the current fiscal year and that is to switch out the overlay. It is a relatively easy alteration to make though as it is all digital media.
Originally Posted By Mr SpiderSponge ...well...I guess the change isn't as painful as it could have been. It still adds nothing to the attraction though.
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt "Folks want it installed there but I don't know if it will in the near future." Well it's good to know it's on the radar. It sounds like the installation is inevitable.
