10 Things You Didn’t Know About The Pirates Of The Caribbean Ride

6. The Fire Effect

potc skeleton
YouTube

A large part of the ride takes you on a journey that has been totally pillaged by the pirates, who have set about burning the place and tormenting the townsfolk. This means that as you pass through, large parts of it appear to be on fire. 

This effect was actually created in a pretty simple sounding fashion, using a combination of cloth, fans and lights. Despite this, it actually manages to look very realistic, and a little too much in one case. 

That's because when the Anaheim Fire Department did some checks before opening, just to make sure everything was safe, they were genuinely concerned that it looked so realistic, people wouldn't be able to tell if there was an actual fire taking place, meaning an automatic shutoff for the lights was installed in the event of an actual blaze. 

Contributor
Contributor

NCTJ-qualified journalist. Most definitely not a racing driver. Drink too much tea; eat too much peanut butter; watch too much TV. Sadly only the latter paying off so far. A mix of wise-old man in a young man's body with a child-like wonder about him and a great otherworldly sensibility.