Pirates of the Caribbean Ride: Yo Ho, Yo Ho

by Jamie Rhein on

With Pirates of the Caribbean’s huge success at the box office, it’s no wonder Disneyland and Disney World revamped the Pirates of the Caribbean ride last summer. I do think this ride is still my favorite and certainly didn’t mind seeing Johnny Depp several times throughout last time I was a rider.

Before Johnny appears (smile), I mean Captain Jack, there’s a huge image of Davy Jones projected onto mist that the ride’s passenger boats pass through. After the boat drops into the main section and the song starts, Captain Jack Sparrow shows up. Part of the charm is seeing where he appears. One time he is popping out of a barrel and right before the end, a rum swigging Jack talks to the riders. (Check out Pirates of the Caribbean Rehab at AllEarsNet for more impressions and a photos.)

I also found this cool Disney site devoted to the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. There’s a video with interviews and footage about how the updates were made plus the history of how the ride came about. And if that’s not enough, here’s a link to Pirates of the Caribbean ride Fun Facts page. For some reason, I find the comments from people who have been on this ride several times fascinating. They pick up on things others may miss.

When I went on the ride, the line took all of five minutes. I wonder with the new movie out, if the wait is any longer.

Queens in the Kingdom

by Iva Skoch on

USA Today recently interviewed the authors of a new gay-persons guide to the Disney Theme Parks, called Queens in the Kingdom.

Jeffrey Epstein and Eddie Shapiro talk about Disney’s recent announcement that they’ll allow “Fairy Tale” weddings for same-sex couples. (Actually, since California and Florida don’t allow actual weddings for same-sex couples, they’ll be “commitment ceremonies.”)

They also hit upon their favorite park locales, including Ellen DeGeneres’ Energy Adventure and Honey I Shrunk the Audience. They should know, they’ve been to the parks 784,012 times.

Come to America: We’re Not So Bad

by Erik Olsen on
Let’s not go into the matter of how America currently viewed around the world now, ok? That could lead to all sorts of lengthy diatribes from commenters, some of which, I would guess, even we American gadlingers could agree with. No, let’s look instead and the shinier side of the coin, and how the United States Government and Mickey Mouse (indistinguishable to some pundits) are ramping up a campaign to streamline visa procedures and, ahem, upgrade friendliness.

The New Zealand Herald reports the the FAA and Uncle Sam are hoping to cut waiting times for visas and to start happy, smiling programs at major international airports like Dulles and Houston to make the arrival for foreigners more, shall we say, pleasant. Needless to say, New York will likely be left out of this project because the people here are already so darn nice.

Where does all the niceness come from, beyond, of course, the inherent amiability of American airport workers? Why, from the good folks at Walt Disney, who, along with other theme park professionals, are coming to the aid of the government as “consultants”. Some of them apparently took note of the “long, drab corridors, long lines of visitors and a lot of empty immigration agents’ booths” and apparently saw the need for improvement. (Gosh, really?) I’m no hospitality engineer, but might I suggest fitting all new visitors with mouse ears and sending them to Orlando. Then they’ll never come back. Problem solved.

Photo of the Day (9/30/06)

by Adrienne Wilson on


This picture totally reminds me of My Favorite Martian for some very odd reason. Could it be all the three-eyed alien like figures? Hmm… Out of the Gadling Flickr pool – SunToad took this one almost a year ago at a Halloween celebration in Tokyo Disneyland. While it’s still rather early to think about Halloween I thought the glowing eyes and lights and overall cuteness of the creatures deserved a moment of fame. Besides it makes me think of traveling out of this world.

New Disney Program for Very Young Children

by Karen Walrond on

From Yahoo!News: 
In response to a study performed by the Yesawich, Pepperdine, Brown and Russell research firm, Disney Parks in Florida
and California have initiated a program aimed at families with children aged 5 years old and younger.  The study
indicated that 80% of families  believe the ideal age for children to experience their first major family vacation
is under the age of 5.

The program, called "Magical Beginnings," includes a discounted package deal
on accommodations, food and park tickets.  According to the article, "Disney World is offering a $950 package
from Aug. 13 to Sept. 30, for families with one child age 3-9. The $950 covers a five-day, four-night stay; "Magic
Your Way" theme park tickets and a Disney Dining plan, which includes one table-service meal, one snack and one
quick-service meal per person, per day. Additional children are $173 per child."

I’ve been carefully
avoiding the whole Disneyworld theme park holiday with my family (including my 2-year-old daughter), using the excuse
that it’s way too expensive.  "Besides, she’s too young to get it," I tell people.  "We’ll
wait until she’s older.  MUCH OLDER."

Curse Disney for chipping away at my excuses!