The
original version at Disneyland, which opened in 1967, was the last attraction
whose construction was overseen by Walt Disney himself. He died three months before it opened. The
ride transports guests through a series of sets portraying a pirate raid on a
Caribbean Village. It also became the basis for the Pirates of the Caribbean
film series, which debuted in 2003. Since 2006, Disney has incorporated
characters from the film series into the ride such as Jack Sparrow. This
ride is fun because there are two mini drops that the boat goes down. It is
also an exciting ride because there are so many things to see on the ride that
you always have to have your eyes wandering. The
second floor of the facade was originally designed to be a private Disney
family apartment. Instead it later opened as an art-related retail/museum space
called the Disney Gallery until late 2007 when it was replaced by the Disney
Dream Suite.
Urban Legend: “A long-standing urban legend maintains that Disney was cryogenically frozen and his frozen corpse stored beneath the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland. However, in addition to the fact that Disney was cremated, the first known cryogenic freezing of a human corpse did not occur until January 1967, more than a month after his death.”
