MrEisner

*Spoilers ahead...mark well me words mateys* Most of the ride until you hit the caves after the cursed treasure scene is pretty untouched, just some prop touch ups here and there, much more lavish treasure scene now. I'm pretty mixed on the Davy Jones effect curtain, the effect itself is top notch but the overall use of it is just is too high tech and to me just doesnt fit in well with the whole POTC ride as it stands now. My wife was really disappointed on Black Beard getting replaced with Capt Barbossa. I was a little mixed on this one as well...other than the Aucioneer, Black Beard was the memorable pirate of the ride and was THE pirate of his days. Barbossa is a worthy addition but shouldnt have replaced old Beardy. Barbossa pretty much just repeats the old Black Beard lines but in his voice obviously which to me wasnt as convincing as Beardy. The POTC movie theme can be heard in the battle scene now and was a nice touch. Now moving on to the Jack Sparrow animatronics. Wow...simply WOW. They are about as realistic as it gets and their use and motions are simply amazing. There are 3 Jacks placed around the ride, one at the "mayor dunking" scene as they are now interogating the Mayor as to Jacks where abouts, here we see Jack ducking around the corner listening in on them. The following Jack comes up next on the pirates feasting scene. Gone now is the cat (or girl if you remember from not to long ago) that used to pop out of the barrel behind the gluttenous pirate...now its Jack. The expression on Jack's face and movements as hes peaking from inside the barrel is hilarious. They really captured Johnny Deep's mannerisms. The final Jack comes up at the exit scene where the chain lift hauls you up, gone now are the two pirate who used to hoist the treasure up out of the pit. Here we see Jack sitting comfortably with his booty singing the yo ho pirate theme. Very well done Jack's indeed and I welcome them. Overall a nice upgrade to a classic ride...

Hrm...scream shields...I always thought they were puke shields...

Heh...no need to worry there. I'm always the first one in parks. I absolutly HATE getting there after opening and it usually throws me in an instant bad mood if we do, dunno why just does. I act like a baby if we're late, or so my wife says. As for the Disney parks I was hoping to hit the MK, MGM, and Epcot in 2 to 3 days worth. To be honest im a ride guy, I do enjoy a good show now and then if its good but if I have to skip some of the shows for time thats not going to be much of a problem with me. I'm seriously looking forward more to seeing UO/IOA more than the Disney parks...I'm just curious to see the big differences in ride and atmosphere in DLR and WDW more than anything. Mulch...thanks again for all the great info!

Wow...thanks for all the great suggestions folks. I'm staying in what seems to be a very nice villa on the outskirts of Orlando...I'm taking my younger brother with my family so we needed something with multiple bedrooms. Just me, my wife, my 10yo son and 13yo brother are going, so we can hit anything and everything. Most schools here dont let out until June so I was hoping to have light crowds. Yeah Elissa, my wife really wants to hit the Sea World park, I just wasnt sure where or if we could fit it in this trip. Although I know she is going win on that one (durn them women). I dont much plan on going to the Disney Animal Kingdom park at all so we may have to cut the Disney part into just a 2-Day'er and squeeze SW in.

OK...so yeah I've never been to the Orlando parks but my family and I will be going this May 14 - 21st. I live in So Cal and have all the major parks annual passes here so im a coaster nut and finally getting to go to Orlando is going to just ROCK! Here is how I think im gonna plan it. Any advice from you regulars on what to definatly hit or avoid would be much appreciated. May 14th - Arrive in Orlando at 6pm, this pretty much wraps this day =/ May 15th/16th/17th - Disney 3day 4park hopper May 18th/19th - UO/IOA 2day park hopper May 20th - Busch Gardens May 21st - Fly out 10am =P Also anyone have a general idea on park crowds around this time?

In the sheer boredom and overrated hype category my vote goes to Jaguar at KBF. I swear more money was wasted on the queue than the coaster itself. Track layout is boring and is devoid of any thrill, the trains remind me of something that would be on a kid coaster. What a stinker...