Yo Ho, Pirates fans! This weekend you can celebrate the 45th anniversary of Pirates of the Caribbean, the first indoor ride-through adventure to be built on such a grand scale at Disneyland park. It opened March 18, 1967, and was an immediate guest treasure.
We featured a fun video on last year’s anniversary about the making of the attraction and it sparked great chatter among mateys reading the Disney Parks Blog. Michael from Tennessee said it best: “Happy Anniversary me hearties! May your journeys continue to inspire and delight us for many generations to come! YO HO!”
This year, we’re sharing a video with scenes from Pirates of the Caribbean attractions at four Disney theme parks around the globe, plus some fun facts about the attraction at Disneyland park, Tokyo Disneyland, Magic Kingdom Park and Disneyland Paris (which was the last to open on April 12, 1992).
Did you notice the differences and similarities? Hope you enjoy this Pirate trivia:
Disneyland Paris includes the exciting dueling Pirates, swiping at each other with actual swords.
At Magic Kingdom Park, guests queue through subterranean passageways of El Castillo and emerge on the shores of Pirate’s Bay where they board their boats (Les Bateaux) along a rocky beachfront. In the queue, guests pass the famous gag of two skeletons locked in a cell playing chess, stuck in a stalemate.
At Magic Kingdom Park and Tokyo Disneyland, guests disembark after the Treasure Room and then take an escalator up to exit into the park.
At Disneyland park, the Blue Bayou restaurant also opened March 18, 1967 – an early forerunner of today’s popular “themed” restaurants.
Three Disney Parks include references to Jack Sparrow, Captain Barbossa and the blockbuster “Pirates of the Caribbean” films. All three include the smoke/waterfall effect with projections of:
Davy Jones and Blackbeard, alternately, at Disneyland park
Blackbeard at Magic Kingdom Park at Walt Disney World