6/29/17

Disney Parks & Resorts has announced that part of the Disneyland Paris Pirates of the Caribbean Re-Imagining will be coming to Walt Disney World and Disneyland with the alteration of a memorable scene:

Quote Originally Posted by Disney Parks & Resorts
... a familiar character is playing a new role joining the pirates ranks and helping the local townspeople “unload” their valuables at the Mercado auction. In the U.S., this famous redhead will appear in a similar scene at the Magic Kingdom Park and Disneyland park in 2018 following a previously scheduled refurbishment.

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Dates for the cited refurbishments have yet to be made public.

6/30/17

Since the announcement, several Disney representatives have made statements directly addressing the change:

Suzi Brown, spokeswoman for the Disneyland Resort: "We believe the time is right to turn the page to a new story in this scene, consistent with the humorous, adventurous spirit of the attraction.”

Kathy Mangum, senior vice president of Walt Disney Imagineering: “Our team thought long and hard about how to best update this scene. Given the redhead has long been a fan favorite, we wanted to keep her as a pivotal part of the story, so we made her a plundering pirate! We think this keeps to the original vision of the attraction as envisioned by Marc Davis, X Atencio and the other Disney legends who first brought this classic to life.

Marty Sklar, former vice chair of Walt Disney Imagineering, “The Imagineers are simply reflecting what Walt started the day Disneyland opened – making changes that create exciting new experiences for our guests. I can’t think of a single attraction that has not been enhanced and improved, some over and over again. Change is a ‘tradition’ at Disneyland that today’s Imagineers practice ... Pirates of the Caribbean has always represented great Disney Park storytelling; it has set the standard for the theme park industry for half a century. But it’s a story you can continue to add fun to, with great characters in new ‘performances.’ That’s what the Imagineers have done with this new auction scene – it’s like a theatre show with a new act.