Mouse Extra

by Dave 

It was forty years ago today, when the Walt Disney Company opened the doors to a crowning achievement in theme park history.  March 18, 1967 was the opening day at Disneyland of perhaps the most popular ride in the world; The Pirates of the Caribbean.

The perfect blend of technology, storytelling, and music, Pirates captured the imagination of everyone who experienced it from the day it opened, and still does forty years later.  From X. Atencio’s infectious melody and lyrics to the barely family friendly dialogue of the characters, the ride is the greatest example of the collective genius that was Walt Disney and his Imagineers ever produced.  In a time before political correctness, Disney was able to make light of subjects that they would never touch today.  But it gives these mechanical buccaneers an air of authenticity that is inescapable.  They would drink, chase women, steal, and even auction of the local…beauties.  Could you ever imagine WDI writing something like these Atencio’s lyrics?

Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate’s life for me.
We pillage, we plunder, we rifle, and loot,
Drink up, me ‘earties, yo ho.
We kidnap and ravage and don’t give a hoot,
Drink up me ‘earties, yo ho.

Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate’s life for me.
We extort, we pilfer, we filch, and sack,
Drink up, me ‘earties, yo ho.
Maraud and embezzle, and even high-jack,
Drink up, me ‘earties, yo ho.

Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate’s life for me.
We kindle and char, inflame and ignite,
Drink up, me ‘earties, yo ho.
We burn up the city, we’re really a fright,
Drink up, me ‘earties, yo ho.

We’re rascals, scoundrels, villans, and knaves,
Drink up, me ‘earties, yo ho.
We’re devils and black sheep, really bad eggs,
Drink up, me ‘earties, yo ho.

Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate’s life for me.
We’re beggars and blighters, ne’er-do-well cads,
Drink up, me ‘earties, yo ho.
Aye, but we’re loved by our mommies and dads,
Drink up, me ‘earties, yo ho.

It is hard to believe that Disney would feature the words kidnap, embezzle, char, ravage or high-jack so prominently in a major e-ticket attraction.  But anything else would have caused the realism of the theme to suffer.

Those of us who call Walt Disney World our home park, have the early guests to thank for having some Pirates of our own.  When Disney World opened, there were no Pirates.  In fact, Imagineering had planned to not include them in the park, reasoning that folks who grew up only miles away from the Caribbean would not be as fascinated with them.  But it wasn’t just Pirates that guests wanted to see.  It was Walt Disney’s Pirates, and the demand they voiced caused Disney’s executives to quickly throw together a smaller modified version of the instant Disneyland classic.  Though the original is admittedly longer and more entertaining, Orlando’s Pirate’s remains a great experience.

From my earliest memory of the Magic Kingdom, Pirates of the Caribbean was the first place we would go as I think my father was more excited then I was.  Every trip had to start with a rollicking ride through world of Walt Disney’s drunken scallywags.  And I know I am not alone.  Four decades later, people at both coasts beeline to this attraction to begin their trips.

So here’s a hearty Happy Birthday to the scoundrels themselves.  And I raise my glass to toast of these bad eggs, and those who brought them to us.