We’re now three weeks into Halloween Time, and there’s quite a bit going on at the Disneyland Resort, including a surprise appearance by the original Redhead on Pirates of the Caribbean, the last remaining tickets for Oogie Boogie Bash, and the start of a refurbishment on Indiana Jones Adventure that Disney hasn’t put an end […]
We hope you had a very happy 4th of July weekend! The Disneyland Resort celebrated America’s 250th last week with patriotic bunting on Main Street U.S.A. and Buena Vista Street, along with performances by military bands, a cavalcade featuring Mickey Mouse in his star-spangled tux, and the debut of Soarin’ Across America. But the resort […]
Pleasant weather, manageable crowds, and three nights of patriotic fireworks? Disneyland is easing into July 4th week with a little more sparkle than usual. This year, Disney’s Celebrate America! – A Fourth of July Concert in the Sky will light up the sky on July 3, 4, and 5 instead of just one night. But […]
Disneyland recently just announced that they’ve made a massive change to the Pirates of the Caribbean ride — one of the most iconic figures of the attraction, the skeleton that you see sitting on the pile of riches towards the beginning of the ride, has now been turned into an animatronic with a projected face. Yes, the same type of projected face that was just removed from Frozen Ever After in EPCOT because they didn’t work well (Disney fans were QUICK to point that out).
Needless to say, fans are NOT happy about this change, and had no hesitations about sharing their thoughts. Many fans took to the comments on Disney’s Instagram post to express their dismay, like @thankyou6god pointed out the issue this change introduces in the story of the ride, saying, “You’re not supposed to see human pirates until the transition mirrored pirate and the ‘have no fear of evil curses, says ye’. This completely undermines that storytelling.” Other users, like @disneycicerone, also pointed out how this change undermines the work that originally went into the ride, saying, “Walt Disney wanted these pirates to look realistic, and not cartoony. Blaine Gibson spent hours upon hours with his sculptors achieving the right balance between Marc Davis’s humor and real human faces. Knowing that, I am not sure this creative choice is respecting the history and artistry of this attraction.”
Other Disney fans were happy to share their unhappiness in general, even without ties to what the attraction is originally supposed to look like, which we totally get. User @tannertan36 commented, “So this is genuinely the worst idea you’ve had,” while user @jennyfer212 said, “This looks atrocious. Not every new application of technology is a win.”
Many Disney fans are also upset at the fact that Disney would even think to add this technology to a ride that’s so beloved and nostalgic for many when, arguably, there was no reason to. User @robertjkral commented, “This takes a GREAT and iconic scene and unfortunately makes it now look fake. The old way, whilst not moving, looks completely, COMPLETELY real. This triggers criticism and disbelief because it looks so fake…it’s a fun idea, but it pulls you right out of the awe of the scene. One of Pirates’ most iconic scenes at that. Yeah, it’s a nope from me.”
So, what happens now? Well, it remains to be seen. Even though it’s received such heavy criticism, it’s likely we’ll see this change still happen inside the ride. That doesn’t mean future changes can’t be made, but for now, it looks like this is a change we’ll need to get used to.
Oh boy, planning a Disney trip can be quite the adventure, and we totally get it! But fear not, dear friends, we compiled EVERYTHING you need (and the things to avoid!) to plan the ULTIMATE Disney vacation.
Whether you're a rookie or a seasoned pro, our insider tips and tricks will have you exploring the parks like never before. So come along with us, and get planning your most magical vacation ever!
How do you feel about this change? Tell us in the comments!
Pirates of the Caribbean. Is there any more beloved classic Disney ride? It’s become so popular that it even launched a series of highly successful movies, and we’re not going to get tired of it any time soon.
Disneyland’s Pirates of the Caribbean
As most folks believe, the Disneyland version of Pirates of the Caribbean is far superior because it’s longer and has more scenes, but the ride recently reopened in Disneyland with some changes that could prove…dare we say…controversial? So let’s talk about it.
Disneyland’s Pirates of the Caribbean closed back in May for a lengthy refurbishment. Well, the ride reopened today, but with some HUGE changes. Those changes concern the animatronics tech. Walt Disney Imagineering recently posted a video about these changes, calling it the “next level” of animatronics.
Disney calls this a “hybridized technology,” and it combines…wait for it…mixing animatronic movement with…projected faces. Now, we know what projected faces look like on animatronic figures because of Disney World’s previous version of Frozen Ever After. Many Disney fans did not like the look of those faces, and Disney eventually replaced them with full animatronics.
Old Frozen Ever After animatronics with projections
But at least one character in Pirates of the Caribbean is getting this updated look, although it’s combined with a partially articulated animatronic face underneath it that can also move. The video talks about how this allows the characters to cry and emote in ways they haven’t been able to before.
It seems Disney only used this new tech on one character in the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, and it’s the static skull character you see sitting on top of all the pirate loot. He’s generally seen as a static skeleton.
Now, though, this skeleton comes alive and tells his story of how he touched the cursed gold, which turned him into a skeleton. He also drops the coin, which turns him back into a human.
If you want to see this technology for yourself, Pirates of the Caribbean has reopened in Disneyland with this new animatronic. At around 9:15 A.M., the wait time was only about 20 minutes, too, so now is a good opportunity to ride this classic attraction and decide for yourself if this new technology works for it.
We’ll keep an eye out for more Disney ride updates, so stay tuned to DFB for more.
Oh boy, planning a Disney trip can be quite the adventure, and we totally get it! But fear not, dear friends, we compiled EVERYTHING you need (and the things to avoid!) to plan the ULTIMATE Disney vacation.
Whether you're a rookie or a seasoned pro, our insider tips and tricks will have you exploring the parks like never before. So come along with us, and get planning your most magical vacation ever!
What do you think about this change? Let us know in the comments.
The next generation of Audio-Animatronics is no longer a concept. Disney has put its new projection-mapped face technology into a Disney theme park attraction for the first time, and it shows up in one of Disneyland’s oldest scenes. The skeleton pirate atop the gold in Pirates of the Caribbean contains the first projection-mapped Audio-Animatronic face for a Disney theme park attraction. What he can do now wasn’t possible on any Disney figure before this.
Disney’s First Projection-Mapped Audio-Animatronic Face Debuts at Pirates of the Caribbean
IN THIS ARTICLE:
This is the first time Disney has used projection mapping on a moving figure inside one of its parks.
Disney first revealed the technology as a concept last November.
The skeleton pirate now acts out the full curse story that explains how he ended up frozen.
Calibration markers hidden in the pirate’s bandanna glow under UV light at night, invisible to daytime guests.
A patented tracking method keeps the projected face locked to the figure even if a motor fails.
What Just Debuted at Disneyland
The figure on top of the gold in scene 11 of Pirates of the Caribbean is the same greedy pirate guests have passed for 59 years, frozen as a skeleton. Disney has now brought him to life using a new hybrid system that pairs a traditional animatronic with a real-time projected face. It is the first park installation of the next-generation Audio-Animatronics technology Imagineering revealed last year.
Disney frames the result as the character’s full backstory. In its announcement, Imagineering said the new technology lets the pirate show a story guests never saw, calling it “the story that’s been there all along.” The story runs as a loop: the pirate finds a single cursed gold coin, the spell freezes him the moment he picks it up, his arm later drops the coin and frees him, and his greed pulls him back to grab it again. Imagineering describes three distinct moods that carry him through that cycle.
From Concept Reveal to a Working Figure
This technology did not appear out of nowhere. As we reported in November, Imagineering unveiled the next generation of Audio-Animatronics in an episode of its We Call It Imagineering series, describing real-time front projection faces that could add depth, emotion, and expressions like crying or blushing.
At the time, Disney named characters that could benefit, including Mike Wazowski, Lightning McQueen, and Hades, and fans wondered whether the tease pointed toward Monstropolis, Piston Peak National Park, or Villains Land. The Pirates figure is the answer to the most basic open question from that reveal: where the technology would show up first. It debuted in a classic scene rather than a new land.
How the Projection System Works
The system layers two technologies. A traditional animatronic figure handles the physical motion, while that figure’s animation data feeds in real time into Unreal Engine, a result of Disney’s ongoing partnership with Epic Games. The projected media reacts to whatever the figure does. The hard part is the surface, since Disney is projecting onto a moving figure and moving objects rather than a flat screen. The team says it developed and patented a new technique to keep the image aligned every time, and in the walkthrough video, an Imagineer slides the projected face off the figure to prove it is a projection, then moves the figure by hand while the image tracks it precisely.
Calibration is where the project shines. A camera system in the scene normally needs visible targets to locate an object, but the heavily costumed pirate did not lend itself to that, so Imagineering built the calibration markers directly into his bandanna. Those markers stay invisible to guests. They activate under UV light, so the system calibrates at night when the markers glow yellow, and the UV lights switch off during the day. The scene uses two projectors, with only one active at a time, and the second standing by as a backup. Disney also built redundancy into the tracking itself, so even if a motor fails and the figure moves incorrectly, the projected face stays aligned.
Story So Far
November 2025: Imagineering unveiled the next generation of Audio-Animatronics, including real-time front projection faces and a list of characters that could benefit.
June 2026: The technology made its first in-park debut on the skeleton pirate in scene 11 of Pirates of the Caribbean at Disneyland.
As always, keep checking back with us here at BlogMickey.com as we continue to bring you the latest news, photos, and info from around the Disney Parks!
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