If there is a ride that represents the true heights to which Disney can climb, it's not one of their great roller coasters, it's this ride. In essence it's a simple concept. It's a dark ride, where you ride around in a large boat through a large themed pirate themed town and the area around it. It's a ride that's been imitated in places such as Drayton Manor and Europa Park, but not bettered.

In theory you think a better ride could be built. The first version of this ride opened in California back in 1967, this version opened back in 1992. The models here avoid feeling old and tatty, but they do have a bit of a nostalgic feel about them. Surely a park could make a ride using more advanced technology and create a better ride.

That sounds easy on paper, but there is something this ride does that all the technology going can't create. It does a magnificent job of recreating what feels like part of an adventurous fantasy world. It creates an immersive world, with no end of humour, and character behind the models that almost brings them to life, in a way you wouldn't think could be done with animatronics in a theme park. There's also a phenomenal amount of detail, including lots of small touches you might not spot the first time you ride, but will mean you can spot something new on repeat rides. It's a dark ride all other dark rides should aspire to.