Heard a rumor that PofC was closing this year for a much needed refurbishment. I understand it's fallen into great disrepair over the years and needs at least a 4-6 month refurb to bring it back. Has anyone else heard this and if so, do you know the dates? We'll be there the end of May into June and would hate to miss PofC even if it's not in its full glory!
1979 - WDW Contemporary Resort
1982 - Disneyland
1988 - WDW Contemporary Resort
1996 - WDW Disney Villas
1999 - WDW Disney Institute
2002 - WDW Port Orleans Riverside
2004 - WDW Coronado Springs
2008 - WDW Port Orleans Riverside
2010 - Disneyland
2015 - WDW Coronado Springs
It is rumored to be going down for a six month rehab beginning in the summer and reopening in time for the holidays. This has not been announced or confirmed by Disney.
- Lynn -
INTERCOT Staff: Theme Parks, DVC
I was on it last week. Didn't look run down or that bad.
Marci
Many visits. Live 20 minutes from the parks.
Work at Universal Studios in Diagon Alley. Ollivanders/ wand magic.
The issue right now is deciding length of time. POTC is in really bad shape, like SM was before it's big refurb. This includes a lot of behind the scenes stuff the public doesn't see - out of date technology, bad audio, etc. It's going to take time to gut a lot of these systems and get them up to date. The Imagineers were originally pushing for closer to a year. Now they're saying 6 months, but a lot of the brass doesn't want it closed that long and pushing for closer to 3-4 months. So once that's all decided they'll announce it.
Chris, aka Strmchsr
INTERCOT Staff: Vacation Planning, Guests with Special Needs, and Weather Guru
They are probably trying to figure out how to add a Frozen scene in it somewhere. :thedolls:
Why would they need a rehab? While it was nine years ago, POTC was down for four months back in '06. Wouldn't they have taken care of some needed behind the scenes fixes then? But maybe it's time again, since it's almost been ten years since the last rehab.
Well I hope it's before or after August. Would be very sad not being able to ride. It's one of our favorites.
mydisneygirls;2445605 wrote: Well I hope it's before or after August. Would be very sad not being able to ride. It's one of our favorites.
I could say the same thing about Jungle Cruise which will be down for rehab when I visit in April/May. Unfortunately, there is always a chance that a favorite will be in rehab no matter when you visit. Just have to smile and think to yourself that the rehab will make it even that much better on your next visit.
"The game never ends
When your whole world depends
On the Turn of a Friendly Card"
From what I read, it seems that a 12 year old boy severed a few fingers on the ride while his hand was on the outside of the boat. I'm guessing that the closure has something to do with that.
It does need a lot of work..Audio System, Timing of some of the animatronics, getting some of them to work properly, boats need to be replaced. When they changed to the new boats they didnt realize the effect on the plunge, eventually causing the closure of back seats due to guests getting soaked. The issue with the severed finger was the fault of the guest but of course Disney wants to minimize liability. I expect a change again to the boats and an overhaul of the audio, effects, and the animatronics in disrepair to be addressed. It will take 4-6 months because it is a lot of work.
Hopefully they put the old boats back in. The new ones continually get stuck when they fill them to capacity causing the ride to go down. I was on it once & we had to "rock" ourselves unstuck several times. Ridiculous
Too many trips to keep track of now! Vacation WDW twice a year so any questions ask freely ☺️
I would say it needs a refurb. We were there in Oct. went to ride in am and it was broke down. Went back and it was working. Stood in a long line, finally our turn, sat down in the boat and it broke down. They couldn't unlock the gates for us to get back out, so we had to ride thru. All the lights were on, but nothing working and no sounds. It was WEIRD and kind of spooky. Went back later in the afternoon and still broke down, so never got to ride
It would be cool if they rotated pirates. ( The part where you go through the waterfall looking mist ). It used to be Davey Jones, now it's always Blackbeard. There are so many neat characters in the Pirate movies, it would be interesting to see different ones each time you ride. You wouldn't think it would be that hard to do.
Scallywag
August 2004 - POR
May 2006 - POF (Honeymoon Trip)
September 2006 - Royal Pacific (Universal Studios)
April 2007 - POR
July 2009 - CBR
June 2013 - CBR
June 2014 - POF
June 2016 - POLY
June 2017 - AKL
June 2018 - BC
Strmchsr;2445396 wrote: The Imagineers were originally pushing for closer to a year. Now they're saying 6 months, but a lot of the brass doesn't want it closed that long and pushing for closer to 3-4 months. So once that's all decided they'll announce it.
Makes no sense to me. They keep shortening the refurb times, shortcutting the work, and then finding it necessary to close again because they didn't do XYZ the first time. Although I'd miss it I'm leaning towards do it and do it right.
- Lynn -
INTERCOT Staff: Theme Parks, DVC
I can't tell you how many times I've looked at the wait times and POTC was on the closed list and then it re-opened later. It does need work. I have not seen the Blackbeard mist projection working for two trips now. I really loved that part. Also there have been a lot of complaints about the new boats and people getting soaked in the front row. Hoping it reopens for the holiday season in November!
