Pirates of the Caribbean

Dead Men Tell No Tales

You board a boat in a cool, dark boathouse and drift out into somebody else’s very bad night. A town is being sacked. An auction is in progress. Somewhere ahead, a man who has clearly had several drinks is hiding from people who would very much like to find him.

Four and a half minutes later the boat returns you to daylight, and you will want to go around again, because there is no possible way you caught all of it the first time.

Thirty-Four Figures, All of Them Doing Something

This is the most heavily populated attraction in the park. Thirty-four animatronic figures line the route, each one posed frame by frame: heads that turn to follow you, arms that lift, a pair of chases that glide through the scene in step with one another, and a finale that we rebuilt more times than we care to admit.

Every figure is keyframed by hand. A nod, a stumble, a slow look up as the boat passes — all of it is authored, not randomised. If a figure seems to be watching you, that is because at that moment it is.

The Boats

Boats leave the dock on a thirty-two second cadence and are never braked mid-route, so the audio you hear is locked to where you are rather than to when you boarded. Two loading docks feed the same channel, each with its own departure timing, which is the reason the music always lands on the right beat no matter which side you board from.

Is It Frightening?

Dark, but not scary. There is cannon fire, a burning town and a great deal of shouting, all of it played for adventure rather than for fright. The boat never drops more than a few blocks and there are no sudden effects aimed at the rider.