'Pirates of the Caribbean' at Shanghai: What to Expect?

The "Pirates of the Caribbean" ride is one of the most recognized Disney rides in the world. It has received even more attention since the release of the very popular movie series, which shares the same name of the ride. Going to the different Magic Kingdom parks around the world, you may notice that each version of the ride has something different.

The California version has a very long bayou at the beginning of the ride, and has two waterfalls. The Florida version only has one water fall, but also has a much more detailed queue, and the area where the ride is located has a great theming that matches the ride. At Tokyo, the ride is almost exactly like the one in Florida, but the exterior is the copy of the California version. Disneyland Paris has what many consider the best version ever created... at least until now.

Indeed, you know that a brand-new Disney theme park is currently being built in China. it will become the "Shanghai Disney Resort", and it will feature a Magic Kingdom-type park, a Downtown Disney-type marketplace, and two resort hotels. This kind of Magic Kingdom will be very, very different from all the other Disney parks, starting from the almost-nonexistent Main Street. But, since we're talking about one ride in particular, let's focus on that.

Here's a map of the resort. The circled area is the park's version of the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction: 

The ride will be extremely extensive. It will take a huge chunk of the land dedicated to adventure (aka 'Adventureland'). As you can see from the following image, it should feature an open-air bay complete with battling ships and pirates, along with an extensive themed area all around the ride's building:

The exterior seems to be inspired by the one found at Disneyland Paris, which also has a very nice-looking castle as the ride's facade. Judging by this rendering, though, it looks like Shanghai's version will be even more extensive.

And, there's more. Take a look at this artwork, which has been shared by one of our readers, Eric Brandon:

You can clearly see the huge drop on one of the very first Shanghai Disneyland artworks released by Disney:

So, doesn't that look different? As you can see,the ride will feature at least an outside section), and the main waterfall seems to be very high, almost as high as Splash Mountain's - but not as steep. It should also feature 'Skull Rock", which is now also present outside Disneyland Paris' version.

What do you think? Is Disney taking a good decision by radically changing such a popular ride? Share your opinions! (We want to thank again Eric for sharing these artworks with us). All these artworks are subject to the copyright of the Walt Disney Company. All rights reserved.