6 Disney World Rides That Got MASSIVE CHANGES Since They First Opened

The more things change…

Walt Disney once famously said that “Disneyland will never be completed. It will continue to grow as long as there is imagination left in the world,” and over the years, that has proven true for all of the company’s theme parks. In Walt Disney World’s 5+ decade history, the resort’s theme parks have seen plenty of changes, with new cutting edge attractions replacing old favorites. However, changes aren’t limited to replacements. Some of Disney World’s most iconic attractions are technically still there, but have changed a GREAT deal over the years. 

Pirates of the Caribbean 

There’s no denying that Pirates of the Caribbean has been one of Disney’s most popular attractions since the day the Disneyland original first opened in 1967. In fact, the ride wasn’t initially planned for Walt Disney World — Imagineers thought Florida audiences would find pirates mundane — and was quickly greenly and added to the park (at the expense of Marc Davis’s Western River Expedition) after many guests complained about the lack of pirates when the resort opened in 1971. 

However, despite that popularity, the ride has been changed considerably over the years. There have been TWO major instances of the ride being refurbished to line up better with modern cultural sensibilities. In 1997,  scenes of male pirates chasing women, was altered,  with two now showing pirates chasing the women in pursuit of food the women were carrying, and third reversing the scenario and featuring a woman chasing one of the pirates. In addition, the well-known “Pooped Pirate” who was exhausted from chasing a woman who was now hiding in a barrel behind  was recast as a “Gluttonous Pirate” in search of food, while the woman hiding in the barrel was replaced by a cat. 

The second major cultural change happened in 2017, when the bridal auction scene was altered. The redheaded captive who was previously being auctioned off by the pirates was changed to a pirate herself, who was helping the auctioneer sell off the stolen belongings of the townspeople.

Pirates other big change wasn’t inspired by cultural sensitivity, but rather box office success. In 2006, after the massive success of the Pirates of the Caribbean film series based on the attraction, Disney added animatronics of Johnny Depp’s Captain Jack Sparrow as well as other elements of the films to the ride, altering its plot considerably and tying it to the cinematic narrative. 

Spaceship Earth

EPCOT’s iconic attraction has seen several major changes over the years, with major updates in 1986, 1994, and 2007. 

The initial version of the attraction was narrated by actor Vic Perrin, and featured a large space station final featuring astronauts at the top of the sphere. This version was updated in 1986, with new narration from Walter Cronkite and additional scenes including a “paperless office” and a young boy working on a computer added near the end. The first half of the ride remained mostly unchanged.

Spaceship Earth was refurbished again in 1994, headlined by new narration from Jeremy Irons. Once again, the first half of the ride remained mostly unchanged, while the second was changed drastically. Three scenes, including the two added in 1986, were replaced by a new single new scene depicting a boy and girl using the Internet to video call between America and Japan. The space station and astronauts were removed from the climax, and the descent was also overhauled with new scenes depicting communication of the future. 

Finally, the most recent Spaceship Earth refurbishment was completed in late 2007. New narration was provided by Judi Dench, a new musical score by Bruce Broughton and new “costumes, lighting, projections, props and audio-animatronic figures.” Several scenes were changed, including the former Greek play becoming a mathematics lesson, and the aforementioned video call between the boy and girl with new scenes depicting the creation of mainframe computers and the personal computer, with vague reference to Apple specifically. On the descent, an interactive touch screen system was installed in the ride vehicles that allowed riders can choose their vision of the future.  A major refurbishment was scheduled for the early 2020s, but was canceled in the fallout of the Pandemic. 

Journey Into Imagination

Speaking of ECPOT, the park is the site of arguably Disney’s most controversial ride refurbs of all time: The saga of Journey into Imagination. 

In March of 1983, Journey into Imagination (which was supposed to open with the rest of the park in 1982, but was hit with delays) opened at EPCOT to widespread acclaim. The attraction followed the affable Dreamfinder and his sidekick Figment on a journey through the very concept of imagination. The ride was hugely popular, and Figment became the mascot of the park in many ways. 

The ride was still a fan-favorite heading into the new millennium, but then-sponsor Kodak wanted a new ride. So, the attraction was refurbished — AKA gutted and shortened considerably — into Journey into YOUR Imagination. The new attraction did away with both Dreamfinder and Figment, replacing them with a story about the Imagination Institute tied to Honey I Shrunk the Audience. The ride was, to put it mildly, unpopular. In fact there was so much outrage that the ride closed within two years. 

Journey into YOUR Imagination was retooled into Journey into Imagination with Figment. The are attraction is still a shadow of the original, but does feature heavy does of Figment and has bene a presence at EPCOT since it opened since 2002. That said, we would love to see another update — possibly with the return of Dreamfinder — in the future. 

Hollywood Studios

When Disney’s Hollywood Studios first opened in 1989 as the Disney/MGM Studios, the theme park portion of it was actually viewed as secondary to the fact that it was a real functioning film and animation studio. In fact, the park’s two premiere attractions at opening were the Backlot Tour and the Magic of Disney Animation studio tour. The entire development was part of Disney’s plan to turn Orlando into a “Hollywood of the East” (and, depending what theme park urban legend you believe, possibly Michael Eisner’s way of sticking it to Universal). 

However, as the years went on and it became clear that Orlando would not become the production capital many thought it would, the theme park elements began to take precedence. Major attractions like the Tower of Terror and Rock ’n’ Roller Coaster opened, while the studio elements were diminished. 

By the time the park’s name changed Hollywood Studios in early 2008, it was literally just a studio in name only. These days, the park is defined by massive IP-based lands like Galaxy’s Edge and Toy Story Land, with any hints of its studio past being few and far between, 

Star Tours

Speaking of the Studios park, one of its first major non-studio attractions was the Walt Disney World version of Star Tours. The simulator ride set in the Star Wars galaxy, which was already a classic at Disneyland, remained unchanged for over 20 years, despite promises from George Lucas that the ride film would be updated. Finally, in 2010, the ride was closed for a refurbishment and reopened as Star Tours: The Adventure Continues. The new version features interchange scenes that combine to create hundreds of possible ride experiences. Disney continues to add new scenes to the attraction to this day. 

Kilimanjaro Safaris

The biggest appeal of the Kilimanjaro Safaris attraction at Animal Kingdom is the reality of it. The realistic African setting, the real animals, the unplanned interactions, etc. Which makes it even stranger that Disney initially had a contrived poaching storyline as part of the attraction, complete with animatronic animals! The storyline was eventual phased out of the attraction, and it’s all the better for it. 

These are just SOME of the Walt Disney World attractions that have changed drastically over the years. Stay tuned to AllEars for more Walt Disney World history. 

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Which of these Walt Disney World changes is your favorite? How about least favorite? Let us know in the comments below. 

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