Okay, we made it on last night.
It really wasn't that insane. I got to the structure at 5:30, parked in Pinnochio. No one on the tram, no one at bag check. A decent entrance queue, but not too bad. By 6:00, I was in line for Pirates. The line extended into Frontierland, I joined it just in front of the Golden Horseshoe. They were breaking the line to let foot traffic pass, letting a chunk of people at at ime move up to the next section (it was routed behind the petrified tree).
And, of course, it moved. As a matter of fact, it moved too fast. I was waiting for CP, who got off work an hour later than I, by the time she was parking, I was already at up to the Pirates entrance tunnel! Took only 25 minutes to get there, and with my iPod and the overcast sky, it was a breeze. So I stepped aside in the line to wait, and when she got there, jumped back in. From that point, it was only another 15-20 minutes. So 40-45 minutes total, not a problem.
Okay, so what did I think of the ride? It comes out a wash for me, which translates to "I'm happy that it wasn't ruined". There are things that I will miss for certain, and there are new additions that didn't particularly impress/excite me. But nothing is absolutely horrible. It remains Pirates, and for that I'm happy. There's a small nod to the one thing I'll miss the most, which softened to blow a bit...but I still don't like it. The new music is a tad heavy-handed in one scene. And the scene the iSm is already pre-grousing about is a mixed bag.
But that first Depp AA that everyone's talking about is amazing. And perfectly done in that it's added to an existing scene without removing or altering that which makes the scene iconic. And for that I applaud them. The same can't really be said for much of the other additions.
The flashiest of the new effects was indeed impressive...but pointless. I like the execution, I just don't think it needs to be there.
Ramble, ramble, ramble. The long and the short of it is...at least it's not a cross-eyed bride with an axe.