Disney Is Changing the Pirates of the Caribbean Ride & Fans Have Strong Feelings
Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for she!
Disneyland is removing the wench auction from the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. The change will take place next year, and will also be done for the rides at Walt Disney World in Florida and Disneyland Paris.
As D23 reported, the redheaded woman currently featured in the auction will be given a new role, "beginning in 2018, after an already-planned refurbishment, the redhead is trading her fashionable bonnet for a pirate's hat. Guests will now see her joining the pirates' ranks and helping the locals 'unload' their valuables at the Mercado auction."
Here's more from Kathy Mangum, senior vice president, Atlantic Region Executive for Walt Disney Imagineering:
"Our team thought long and hard about how best to 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."
Here's a look at the new concept art:
As The Hollywood Reporter noted, this isn't the first change for the ride -- pirate men chasing women was previously changed to the men chasing the women to get the food they have on trays. FYI, Disneyland Paris is also getting an exclusive new scene featuring Captain Barbossa in his debut, taking inspiration from the "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies. Check out his concept art at the Disney Parks Blog.
Because people are people, and people tend to get extreme about change, the auction change was met with a strong reaction online:
The pirates of the Caribbean will now treat females better than Johnny Depp does in real life .
— Jeff (@jeffgordonla) June 29, 2017
Concept art of Pirates of the Caribbean changes look awfully familiar... pic.twitter.com/9GOg7C0q8E
— Derek Burgan (@derekburgan) June 29, 2017
Pirates of the Caribbean is a masterpiece. Yes, pirates did bad things and the ride depicts some of it. But it doesn't need to be censored.
— Ashley (@mysticflights) June 30, 2017
Look, the most important thing about Pirates of the Caribbean is the smell of the water, and they can't take that away from us
— Mara Wilson (@MaraWilson) June 30, 2017
If you're mad about Pirates of the Caribbean removing human trafficking from the ride, then your priorities are in the wrong place.
— Leo Camacho (@LeoZombie) June 30, 2017
Social justice warriors are literally ruining everything, it's really pathetic at this point how soft everyone is. https://t.co/PEahxPnp27
— Tyler Hallock (@dontatttme) June 30, 2017
Disney to replace wench auction on Pirates of the Caribbean?!? Say it ain't so... Why mess with the classics??? Blame it on having to be PC
— Getting Goofy ???????? (@GettingGoofyWDW) June 29, 2017
Don't worry. I'm rebooting it as an all-male groom auction. Your childhoods are safe. https://t.co/mcfpa8E3v2
— Paul Feig (@paulfeig) June 30, 2017
That's it: "Ghostbusters" director Paul Feig's meta-tweet wins. Everyone else can move on now.
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