Pirates of the Caribbean Closed at Disneyland Following Backlash to New Animatronic
Pirates of the Caribbean at Disneyland Park didn’t open on Tuesday morning. The closure arrives amid an onslaught of recent controversy over a new audio-animatronic that has divided Disney Parks fans since it debuted during the attraction’s most recent refurbishment.
Still Dark as of Early Afternoon
Pirates of the Caribbean failed to open with the rest of Disneyland Park at 8:00 a.m. on July 7 and remained listed as “temporarily closed” on the official Disneyland Resort app well into the afternoon. WDW News Today shared a photo of Disney cast members stationed outside the New Orleans Square attraction, keeping waiting guests entertained in the absence of any official update — standard protocol when a popular ride goes down for an extended stretch without a clear reopening window.
Disneyland Resort has not commented on the closure or indicated when the New Orleans Square attraction will reopen. As always, cast members on the ground are not authorized to share technical explanations with guests.
The Controversy That Preceded It
The closure comes in the wake of a series of notable events surrounding the attraction’s newest addition. During Pirates of the Caribbean’s most recent refurbishment, Disneyland Resort replaced a classic skeleton figure from the original 1967 attraction with a facially projected, audio-animatronic figure — a change that generated immediate, vocal backlash from Disney Parks fans who felt it didn’t honor the ride’s heritage.
Shortly after the new figure debuted, it vanished from the attraction, its face covered by a skeleton mask. The swift removal led many to conclude that Disneyland Resort had pulled it in direct response to the criticism. That interpretation lost some credibility on July 5, when the projection-mapped audio-animatronic quietly returned to the attraction.
Whether Tuesday’s closure is tied to ongoing technical difficulties with the new figure hasn’t been confirmed.
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