Pirates of the Caribbean is one of the most iconic theme park attractions ever created. After more than 50 years, the ride has created memories for millions, but the ride has also been the source of controversy, as it has undergone numerous changes over the last five decades. The most recent significant change was an emotional moment for one Walt Disney Imagineer, not because of what was being taken away, but what was being added.
The first episode of the new season of Behind the Attraction on Disney+ is all about Pirates of the Caribbean, and Jeanette Lomboy, the Walt Disney Imagineering Vice President, is featured frequently, as she says that Pirates was her favorite ride during those classic childhood trips to Disneyland. I spoke to Lomboy about the ride and the Disney+ series, and she told me that the show reminded her what an emotional experience it was to add the female pirate Redd to the ride because she knew what it would mean to all the kids going through the attraction as she once did. Lomboy said…
When I was going through the process of us, adding Pirate Redd, which is the first female pirate to any of our Pirates Of the Car Caribbean attractions worldwide. It was like a very emotional moment for me to say. ‘I am touching the classic attraction that I knew and loved as a little girl, as a child, and I'm making it better.’ I get. I get to be part of the team that is putting in a female pirate. So from this day forward every little girl or any child or anyone coming through here will see themselves and say, ‘I can be a pirate.’
The decision to transform the “wench auction” in Pirates of the Caribbean was met with your expected level of outrage whenever something that is fondly remembered from childhood gets changed, which is to say, far more than is justifiable. A lot of people had problems with the decision to change the redheaded woman being sold to pirates into a pirate herself. Redd is even a character who walks around the park at Disneyland and can occasionally be seen in New Orleans Square.
While many hate to see their favorite attractions change (just ask Splash Mountain fans right now), the history of Pirates of the Caribbean is a history of change. From the shift away from pirates chasing after women to the addition of Captain Jack Sparrow to the attraction, the core experience has always remained the same, but the details have continued to change.
Jeanette Lomboy certainly had seen that original version of the attraction countless times herself, but she doesn't believe anything in Disney Parks is untouchable. For her, it was about having a hand in the attraction that meant so much to her.
She made a change and focused on how that change would impact the generations of people who would grow up with this version of the ride, and what it would mean to all of them. Pirates of the Caribbean certainly played its part in Lomboy becoming an Imagineer, and it will likely continue to do that for generations to come.
