What is it about Pirates of the Caribbean that so captures our imaginations 55 years later? Looking at the attraction with fresh eyes, one may see outdated technology and vintage jokes that aren’t *quite* fitting to the modern aesthetic. It could be easy to write it off as a slow or boring ride… or even one that should be replaced with a more exciting version (hello Shanghai Disneyland!).
But for many of us, a ride on Pirates with the smell of the bromine in the water and the iconic song written by X. Atencio is like time-traveling to our youth when our imaginations were not relegated to an appropriate box in our minds. We are transported, elevated to a different world equivalent to what most experience in Pandora today. For many of us, we’re sitting in the same boats that once transported us when we were younger versions of ourselves, ducking at incoming cannonballs and wondering if that dog is ever going to give them the key to the jail.
While I can get a bit misty-eyed thinking about all the years between then and now, mostly when I ride on Pirates of the Caribbean, my mind goes into overdrive trying to remember all the amazing stories of how the ride came to be, and the cast of creative characters that brought it to life, none in the least Walt Disney himself.
So, to honor those Imagineers by remembering their stories, here are a few of my favorite obscure facts and secrets about the Pirates of the Caribbean!
Sometimes the details DON’T matter
One of my absolute favorite women Imagineers was Alice Davis, wife to Marc Davis. She was the brilliant costumer behind the 300+ intricate doll dresses of It’s a Small World, and she joked that she “went from sweet little children to dirty old men overnight” when she started designing for Pirates.
Alice Davis has quite a few fascinating stories associated with her time with the “dirty old men”, but one of my favorites was her argument with the sculptors designing the audio-animatronics. She lamented that the sculptors were from “the classical school and they were sculpting male figures just the way God made them.” To accommodate for their, ahem, artistic interpretation, she had to drop the crotches of the costumes down to make more room for all their, uh, details.
The Auctioneer was the first character completed, and he featured a vest that reached his knees. When Walt came around, he wanted to see the figure in action. Marc Davis remembers, “He looked terrific, and everything worked just great until he went back with his arm and he leaned back and said ‘How much am I bid for her?’… and his classical sculpting became apparent through the vest. Everybody said, ‘Oh my God! What are we going to do?’ Alice said, ‘You need to get a hack saw and cut it off.’ I never had to have another discussion with the sculptors again.”
Holding a Grudge
Alice’s husband Marc Davis was one of the main Imagineers behind the development of Pirates of the Caribbean. He’s known for the humor he brings to Disney attractions, and his gags are often some of the most memorable features of the Disney rides we know and love. But one story I love about him, in particular, is when he held a grudge about a difference of opinion… and then did something about it.
After the success of Pirates at Disneyland, he and his fellow Imagineers were excited to work on the Florida Project, creating new, never-before-seen attractions. They assumed people living so close to the Caribbean wouldn’t be as intrigued as the folks in the West were about the rogue pirates, so they set out to develop a new experience called the Western River Expedition. This new ride would feature “Cowboys and Indians” instead of pirates and brigands and would be a wild water adventure through the American West.
As it turns out, people were VERY upset that Pirates would not be traveling to Disney’s Eastern counterpart. They either had heard by word of mouth how amazing the attraction was, seen it featured on Disney’s Sunday night TV show, or had been to Disneyland and fallen in love with it in person. It was clear that Pirates of the Caribbean was considered by the public to be a fundamental part of the Disney experience, so much so that Disney dropped their plans for the Western River Expedition and made plans for Pirates, albeit late in the park design process.
So, Pirates was not an opening day attraction in Walt Disney World in 1971, but just six months after opening day, a site was chosen in Adventureland for the imported attraction. Cast Members at City Hall heard so many complaints about the missing brigands that they started wearing buttons that loudly proclaimed “The Pirates are Coming! Christmas 1973!”
But what does all this have to do with Marc Davis?
Well, Marc was not happy about doing Pirates again and ditching the Western River Expedition. He started talking about how they could make all kinds of improvements over the Disneyland version, to “at least top Pirates with Pirates”, but it never happened. Most of the ride from the Bombarding the Fort scene on is identical to the original, and many of Marc’s ideas for new and exciting enhancements never came to pass.
BUT.
Marc always hated the end of Pirates. Walt’s idea of “going up a waterfall” never sat well with him. He said, “I don’t like the fact that when the ride is over, you have to sit at the bottom of that ramp and then go chug, chug, chugging up this hill and then out, wondering what the hell you’re going to do next. In Florida, we got the people out of the boats, and then they go up a speed ramp and out. But then, we didn’t really think about it at Disneyland. We were just trying to get the ride system to work.”
So while Disneyland’s Pirates of the Caribbean may feature Walt’s dream at the end, Florida’s version is decidedly Marc’s. You exit in the lower level and take a speed ramp up by foot, while the boat travels on and goes up to its own speed ramp without you aboard and back to the loading area.
Ironically, when I polled my followers on TikTok & Instagram about which ending they preferred, it was almost unanimous that everyone would rather have the Disneyland version.
Sorry, Marc.
Bring Back Peg-Leg Pete
Probably my favorite feature of an early version of X. Atencio’s script was Peg-Leg Pete, also known as Honest Marooned Pete. He was a salesman who would have been stationed in the Treasure Room, hawking cursed pirate booty such as necklaces, rings, and earrings under the cover of his trenchcoat.
All of these scenes from the ghostly grotto originally had dialogue that was cut in the final version, performed by either Paul Frees (the voice of the Ghost Host) or J. Pat. O’ Malley. For Peg Leg Pete, this would have been the glorious words we would be able to repeat by heart today had they not been nixed:
“Avast there, mates! Look Here, I can get it for you wholesale! The captain’s away, mates, special discounts today… Guaranteed only from the finest homes… And you never pay retail at Peg-Leg Pete’s! Perhaps something from the bargain basement? Low overhead, mates…. Every one’s a steal… Keeps the prices down and the values up… Who’ll give me twenty doubloons for these earrings? Ten doubloons for a golden necklace? Five doubloons for the whole store!”
While the impact of the silent dead was deemed more impressive than the script, I still wish Disney would bring back Peg-Leg Pete as a character roaming around New Orleans Square. Good ol’ Honest Marooned Pete could be worth quite a bit of entertainment when lines are long and the crowds are vast (as they seem to be most of the time these days).
I could go on for hours with all the fascinating stories of the Pirates of the Caribbean, and at some point, I just might have to share a few more of them. But for now, I’ll leave you with this inspiring tale:
Yale Gracey, the renowned tinkerer and inventor of the Imagineering crew, designed the convincing little fireflies that hover around the Bayou without ever once having seen an actual firefly in real life. He just when to work and figured it out using a grain of rice bulb, a wire, and a small fan.
Maybe you’re feeling stuck doing what you’ve always done. Maybe you’re thinking that that thing you’ve always wanted to do is too far out of your reach, or someone has told you that it is. Maybe you think you’ll never be as good as [insert name here] so you figure it’s not even worth it to try.
Well, my Disney friends, I’m here to say that Yale Gracey could have let a little thing like never seeing a firefly before stop him from creating one, but he didn’t. He Sivako-ed that task and tried, even if it might have felt a little bit impossible at the time, creating future magic for millions of people across decades as they float through the peaceful bayou.
Because he did it anyway.
Whatever you’re facing today, no matter your fears, doubts, or impossibilities… do it anyway.
Don’t be chee-cken!
If you want more Disney History, tune in every Friday at 5:30pm (Pacific) for Distory with Kate & Kirk! LIVE on TikTok with my good friend Kirk from WalrusCarp, we share obscure & fascinating facts & secrets about the Disney parks every week, & answer your questions!
And hey, by the way, I designed the shirt below as a reminder to myself not to keep my dreams perpetually caged up, knowing that the key to my freedom is closer than I think. If you need that reminder too, the Man’s Best Friend tee is for you!
Free the Pirates – Man’s Best Friend Tee
Take up the cause and rally for the release of all captive pirates! You can almost smell the pirate water<span style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Open Sans', 'Helv…
For more obscure Disney history & inspiration, subscribe below!
