Disney World Updates Controversial ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ Ride Bride Auction Scene
Walt Disney Company has been updating its “Pirates of the Caribbean” attractions with a revised “auction scene,” which had depicted pirates selling off a group of women into marriage.
Instead, the new scene shows female and male buccaneers selling off stolen goods. In the original scene, a woman named Redd was up for sale on a podium with a sign stating, “Take a Wench for a Bride,” but in the revised scene, she’s become a pirate.
The entertainment giant had announced last year that the scene would be changed. Disneyland Paris revised the attraction last year and Florida’s Walt Disney World unveiled its altered attraction on March 19. California’s Disneyland will begin work on revising its “Pirates of the Caribbean” attraction on April 23.
“In this scene, the familiar redhead figure has switched sides to become a pirate named Redd, who’s just pillaged the town’s rum supply and has something to say about it,” Kathy Mangum, portfolio creative executive at Walt Disney Imagineering, said in a Disney Parks blog post.
The original “Pirates of the Caribbean” ride at Disneyland Park opened in 1967, three months before Walt Disney died. The ride was subsequently installed at four other Disney theme parks.
“Just as Walt Disney embraced and encouraged Disney Parks to ‘keep moving forward’ since the opening of Disneyland Park in 1955, Walt Disney Imagineering has introduced many new characters at Pirates of the Caribbean attraction over the years,” Mangum said.
The ride led to the five “Pirates of the Caribbean” films, which have grossed a collective $4.5 billion worldwide.
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