The Pirates of the Caribbean ride in Disneyland and Disney World is a fun time: Jack Sparrow is there, planning another one of his escapades amongst scenes that are half new and half a collection of greatest hits from the movies. One of these original scenes, the “Wench Auction” will no longer be a part of the ride, Disney Parks announced today. Instead, it will be replaced with something way less uncomfortable and, hopefully, more entertaining.
The moment a Hollywood franchise jumps the shark is kind of a mixed blessing. Take the Pirates of the Caribbean films, for example. While the latest entry in the franchise — Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales — has received a good going-over by the critics, more than a few have taken this as an opportunity to revisit the success of the original film. On paper, absolutely nothing about Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl should’ve worked, and yet, here we are, 14 years and three-point-five billion dollars later, still remembering how it took us all by surprise.