Disney has just started the most convoluted and confusing retheme and ride closure agenda we have ever seen. It started with Tiana’s Bayou Adventure and now things are off the rails. We just got word that Pirates of The Caribbean is set to replace it’s a small world. We’re going to dive into the details on this wild story below.
What’s the most popular ride at Magic Kingdom? Splash Mountain. This is why Disney just announced that Splash Mountain will return to Disney World. However, to do this, they are retheming Pirates of The Caribbean to Splash Mountain. That way Tiana’s Bayou Adventure can live on since Disney already invested a lot of money into that project. You can read our story on that here.
The closure of Pirates of The Caribbean caught many guests off guard and was a disappointment. This is true especially when Disney had plans to make it a Jake and The Never Land Pirates Adventure ride. A lot of discussions are happening around Pirates of The Caribbean and now we finally know what’s going to happen to the ride.
Pirates of The Caribbean is set to replace it’s a small world. Much like how Splash Mountain is moving into Pirates of The Caribbean, Pirates of The Caribbean is moving into it’s a small world. This is a great way for Disney to retheme and update their rides without experiencing supply chain issues. Essentially they are just shuffling their rides around the parks.
According to the official statement, “With Splash Mountain now taking over Pirates of The Caribbean, we need a new home for Pirates of The Caribbean. After careful consideration, we determined that it’s a small world is the best new home for Pirates of the Caribbean. We are currently evaluating the future of it’s a small world and will provide updates later.”
As you can see in the quote above, there appear to be discussions on what will happen to it’s a small world. It’s not clear if it’s a small world will close forever due to this change or if they will find a new home for this world-famous attraction. This comes as a surprise to us since we recently reported here that it’s a small world was going to become a walk-through attraction.
How Do These Rethemes Impact Magic Kingdom?
As many people might expect these complex changes may lead to significant ride closures. Currently, Splash Mountain is closed to retheme to Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. In fact, Disney has already started construction. Soon Pirates of the Caribbean will close to make way for Splash Mountain to replace it. Now it’s a small world is closing and will reopen as Pirates of The Caribbean.
This means there will potentially be three very popular Magic Kingdom rides all closed at the same time. This is a complex retheme because as Disney guts a ride, they fill it in with pieces from the other ride. This is not typical for Disney, however, this seems to be the best option given the current projects.
We’re guessing that Disney didn’t initially plan on retheming Pirates to Splash Mountain, it was a last-minute decision based on how guests reacted to the closure. Now Disney is trying to make up for it by moving their rides around the park to keep guests happy. Because of this, they are forced to try a new retheming method than in the past.
The good news is Disney doesn’t need to worry about supply chain issues and is essentially just moving rides to new locations. Because of this, the closures shouldn’t be too long for these rides. We expect them to be closed for 6-12 months. However, the rides will all be closed at the exact same time, which will increase wait times across the park.
What do you think of it’s a small world being rethemed to Pirates of The Caribbean? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
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I was just at MK last week and “Its a Small World” walk thru was open. Wonder if they are going to dig out the asphalt and put the fiberglass track back, but that would not be safe. Hopefully it will be a walk thru “Pirates of the Caribbean” you know safety 2nd!
A walk through ride about pirate ships and the sea? Oh yeah that makes perfect sense smh So dumb.
not y’all beefing over a bs article
I’m so bummed it’s a small world is closing. It was my favorite part…looking, learning, tasting all those countries…even the staff from them. I want to bring my grandson….not anymore. To replace such learning..and in a cool way…is sad, compared to some pirates.
We’re going to miss tasting the countries on it’s a small world too