A lot is about to happen in Magic Kingdom.
Pirates of the Caribbean
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure will open on June 28th, but early previews of the new ride have already started for some Disney World visitors. A new MASSIVE expansion is coming to the park, too, along with a bar inspired by the Pirates of the Caribbean. Yes, we said it — a Pirates of the Caribbean BAR is coming to Magic Kingdom. Now, we don’t have many details about this bar or where it will go, but y’all…we think we just found a HUGE clue about its location.
Last year, Disney announced the new bar and released concept art, which features Barker Bird, who will be moving into the new tavern. Disney called the tavern a “first-of-its-kind experience” that will extend the story of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. Say what? Okay, yes, please, and make that happen NOW!
©Disney
So Disney has been pretty quiet about details about this new Pirates of the Caribbean tavern where guests of all ages will be welcome to tell their adventuring tales from land and sea. However, we love a good mystery and we’ve been trying to uncover exactly WHERE the new bar will go. Now, we think we could have just found a BIG clue!
We LOVE this ride!
So we noticed that the Disney World website is now showing that Tortuga Tavern, a quick service location near Pirates of the Caribbean in Adventureland has NO hours. Hmmm…well, that’s curious.
©Disney
So we decided to head to Magic Kingdom and check it out for ourselves, and sure enough, Tortuga Tavern is CLOSED. Now, Tortuga TAVERN is already sort of supposed to be like a Pirates of the Caribbean bar, but not quite like the one Disney has promised. So is Disney planning on taking this existing location and plussing it up to create the new tavern?
Tortuga Tavern is closed
Now, to us, it looks like Tortuga Tavern is closed for good, which could indicate it’s about to get a massive makeover. However, we were also told by Cast Members that it was a seasonal closure, but we’re a little confused about that. If Tortuga Tavern was seasonal, wouldn’t it be open during the busy summer months (like now) like most of Disney World’s seasonal dining spots? Plus, the menu has been completely removed, too, which usually happens with a permanent closure.
Menu removed
Inside, the counters are also covered, at least suggesting it won’t be open again anytime soon, if ever.
Counters covered
To quote Alice, this is getting curiouser and curiouser — especially since Disney just filed a new permit for constuction work on Caribbean Plaza. Yep — if this permit is for the Pirates of the Caribbean Lounge, that would make it NOT at Tortuga Tavern…
New permit for construction in Caribbean Plaza
The permit is for General Construction to be performed by Whiting-Turner, a company that has done previous work at Disney World. The permit expires on August 31st, 2025 — so this could be a long project, or perhaps one they don’t plan to start for awhle?
We’ll continue to dive down into the pirates rabbit hole to uncover what we can about the new tavern. Or, you know, Disney, you could just make an announcement or something so we don’t have to play detective (although where’s the fun in that?).
Stay tuned to DFB for more!
Everything We Know About the NEW Pirates of the Caribbean Restaurant Coming to Disney World
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What do you think? Would Tortuga Tavern be a good location for this new Pirates of the Caribbean tavern? Sound off in the comments!