Overview
- A next‑generation Audio‑Animatronic captain that uses high‑fidelity projections on a 3D‑printed facial shell replaced the old skeleton figure in Pirates of the Caribbean and reopened with the ride.
- Guests and reporters gave the new projection‑driven face a lukewarm to negative response, criticizing its look and how it fits with the attraction’s classic style.
- Observers reported the new figure was not moving or making sounds and was visually masked and turned off, with no statement from Disney explaining whether this was a technical fault or an operational change.
- Walt Disney Imagineering designed the system to remove fragile moving facial parts and cut maintenance by projection‑mapping imagery in real time, but the current disablement highlights the practical risks of that approach.
- The episode raises wider questions about how Disney will balance modernization, guest expectations, and reliability for legacy attractions and signals the company may revisit the implementation or perform further technical work.