Usually when you hear ‘theme parks’ and ‘pirates’ and put those two together what do you think of? Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean of course. The beloved classic ride originally envisioned by Walt Disney to be a portal back in time to the days of pirates, which also spawned a popular multimedia franchise.
But what if I told you that one of Disney’s biggest Floridian rivals, Legoland Florida, is making their own pirate themed water attraction? And what if I told you that it was only a few months away from opening?
Via the official @LEGOLANDFlorida Twitter account the announcement was made that the new ride ‘Pirate River Quest’ will be casting off on January 12th, 2023:
Avast me hearties! Looks like the high seas be changin’ our course and we be needin’ new coordinates for the opening of the all-new Pirate River Quest. Mark ye calendars that the date will be – 1.12.23! pic.twitter.com/r1iMu7e3Pc
— LEGOLAND Florida (@LEGOLANDFlorida) November 1, 2022
Originally the attraction was meant to open this month, but the opening was delayed due to the devastating winds and flooding of Hurricane Ian that hit this past September.
The ride is sure to fit in nicely with the Legoland Pirate Island Hotel, which is located nearby.
A number of news outlets, such as The Street, Rockdale Citizen and Newtown Citizen are calling this new ride a competitor to Disney’s long running Pirates of the Caribbean. Though not much is known about the Legoland attraction outside of the theming, it may be too early to call it a direct response to the nearly 56 year old ride.
It should be noted that while Lego has made multiple pirate themed Lego sets over the years, Lego did briefly partner with Disney on multiple Pirates of the Caribbean Lego sets. 
There was even a Lego Pirates of the Caribbean video game in 2011 developed by Traveler’s Tales (The same company that made the Lego Star Wars, Lego Indiana Jones and Lego Marvel games).
What do you think? Do you plan of visiting Legoland Florida to experience this new ride? Is this new ride meant to compete with Disney? Or is it just another fun ride made for the diverse theming of Legoland? Let us know your thoughts.Â
Source: ALLEars
Pirates & Princesses (PNP) is an independent, opinionated fan-powered news blog that covers Disney and Universal Theme Parks, Themed Entertainment and related Pop Culture from a consumer's point of view. Opinions expressed by our contributors do not necessarily reflect the views of PNP, its editors, affiliates, sponsors or advertisers. PNP is an unofficial news source and has no connection to The Walt Disney Company, NBCUniversal or any other company that we may cover.