The massive article had GIGANTIC blow-up photos of scenes from the ride in Disneyland and Walt Disney World. Unfortunately, they appear not to be online.
Enjoy!
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Hooked on 'Pirates'
By Linda Shrieves | Sentinel Staff Writer
Posted July 16, 2003
Outside the Pirates of the Caribbean ride in Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom, amid the tourists trying on pirate hats, hook hands and eye patches, a discussion turns to pirates -- and their hunk potential.
Frankly, it's not a lengthy debate.
As any old theme-park salt knows, the pirates on the famed Disney water ride are a crusty, scruffy-looking lot. With heavily bearded faces, dirty bare feet, gap-toothed smiles and leering eyes, they are not exactly the kind of pirates you would like to meet at happy hour.
Conversely, in Disney's latest blockbuster movie, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, a few of the pirates are dashing, swashbuckling ladies' men.
Well, only a few.
"Johnny Depp was the only good-looking pirate," says Iva Bloyd, a 24-year-old college student from Beaumont, Texas.
"No, he wasn't," replies her 13-year-old sister, Jessica. "Orlando Bloom was."
"Well, he wasn't really a pirate," Bloyd says, shrugging.
Not that it matters to fans of the theme-park attraction. Disney tourists are eager to see the movie that immortalizes one of their favorite rides. Likewise, visitors who have seen the new film are equally eager to experience the ride that inspired the movie.
Yo-ho-ho and all that.
Yet, in an age of The Matrix-like computer graphics and big-screen comic-book heroes, who would have guessed that the stiff audio-animatronic pirates that inhabit Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean ride could inspire such a swashbuckling action-adventure flick? The movie has been a surprise hit, earning twice as much money at the box office last weekend as its nearest competitor. That's good news for Disney, given the film's un-Disneylike PG-13 rating -- awarded because of the creepy pirate crew that turns into skeletons, violent scenes, and fatal, but not gory, swordplay.
If there has been an uptick in ridership on the water attraction, Disney officials haven't noticed because it's always packed -- particularly in summertime.
But some fans seem to be seeing the Pirates ride in a new, even sentimental, light.
Take Disney regular Larry Fulk. The 38-year-old computer graphic designer from Largo, and his wife saw the movie Thursday, then searched a nearby Disney Store for movie-related T-shirts. When they couldn't find any, they did the next best thing: Bought four-day passes to Disney World.
"After we saw the movie, we had to come and ride the ride again," says Fulk. "This was the first ride we wanted to get on."
"He's always been a pirate at heart," adds his wife, Tammy. "He's always loved the water, he's been a diver, a treasure hunter, the whole thing."
Though most of the movie was filmed in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, any audience worth its weight in Mickey Mouse T-shirts will recognize some familiar moments from the ride. For instance, when pirates in jail dangle a bone in the direction of the jailhouse mutt, in hopes of snatching the jail's key from his mouth, Orlando audiences roar their approval.
"Back home, when my husband saw that scene, he was the only one who laughed," said Lynette Bloyd of Beaumont, Texas. "But when we saw the movie here, everyone laughed -- because they've all been on the ride."
Regular Disney World patrons will also spot familiar scenery in the film when Depp's Capt. Jack Sparrow heads to Tortuga, a pirate-occupied town, in search of his old ship, The Black Pearl, and his mutinous crew. In Tortuga, there's a never-ending party going on, with pirates drinking two-fisted, women chasing pirates and even a pirate asleep amongst the pigs -- just as in the ride.
Yet there's no Jack Sparrow in the ride, no Black Pearl, nor is there even a plot.
"There's really not a plot thread in the attraction," says Disney spokesman Charles Stovall. "It's not that kind of ride."
The moviemakers instead used the Pirates of the Caribbean ride as a framework, and then laid a storyline on top of it. So some scenery may look familiar, including a scene when the Black Pearl anchors in Port Royal and pirates invade the town. The scene looks strikingly like the scene park visitors encounter when their little boat is caught in the cannon fire between a pirate ship and a fort.
Although some visitors may find the theme-park ride, created in 1973, a bit hokey, Disney has no plans to update it. There is a reason, after all, that Pirates of the Caribbean remains a park favorite.
"This one's a classic and we hope the film version will be as well," says Disney spokesman Rick Sylvain. "The ride is cherished by a lot of people who look forward to seeing it when they visit the park."
Walt Disney originally came up with the concept of a pirate adventure ride in the 1950s and presented the idea to the staff at Walt Disney Imagineering. A decade later, the ride debuted in 1967 at Disneyland. The pirates made their first appearance at Disney World in 1973, two years after the park opened.
Pirates have occasionally run afoul of the politically correct crowd. In 1997, Disney officials shut down Disneyland's ride for a face lift -- and in the process changed the scenes in which the audio-animatronic pirates chased buxom women. After some tinkering, Disney Imagineers placed trays of turkey and wine in the maidens' hands, so that it would appear the pirates were chasing them for food and drink.
In Orlando, the women in the attraction have always chased the pirates, using brooms and pitchforks to push them out of their houses.
But if you're looking to chase down movie-related merchandise at Disney World, think again, matey. The gift shop at the end of the ride sells Peter Pan-related pirate merchandise and pirate T-shirts that advertise the theme-park experience, not the movie.
"At Walt Disney World, there's no merchandise available that's related to the movie," says Stovall. "It's all related to the attraction."
Dan and Michelle Apple of Grass Valley, Calif., don't care. As they pored over hand hooks, toy guns, eye patches and other pirate paraphernalia for their two boys, they reflected on their 81/2-minute adventure on the high seas.
"This is one of my favorite rides," Apple says. "This is a period in history, and I think it's a fun way to go back in time -- without having to really experience it."
As for the movie, she and her husband plan to see it as soon as they get home from vacation.
"Frankly, I'm surprised it took them this long to make this movie," Apple says. "Kids love pirates."
And a hearty yo ho ho to that!
Linda Shrieves can be reached at lshrieves@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5433.
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Enjoy!
_____________________________
Hooked on 'Pirates'
By Linda Shrieves | Sentinel Staff Writer
Posted July 16, 2003
Outside the Pirates of the Caribbean ride in Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom, amid the tourists trying on pirate hats, hook hands and eye patches, a discussion turns to pirates -- and their hunk potential.
Frankly, it's not a lengthy debate.
As any old theme-park salt knows, the pirates on the famed Disney water ride are a crusty, scruffy-looking lot. With heavily bearded faces, dirty bare feet, gap-toothed smiles and leering eyes, they are not exactly the kind of pirates you would like to meet at happy hour.
Conversely, in Disney's latest blockbuster movie, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, a few of the pirates are dashing, swashbuckling ladies' men.
Well, only a few.
"Johnny Depp was the only good-looking pirate," says Iva Bloyd, a 24-year-old college student from Beaumont, Texas.
"No, he wasn't," replies her 13-year-old sister, Jessica. "Orlando Bloom was."
"Well, he wasn't really a pirate," Bloyd says, shrugging.
Not that it matters to fans of the theme-park attraction. Disney tourists are eager to see the movie that immortalizes one of their favorite rides. Likewise, visitors who have seen the new film are equally eager to experience the ride that inspired the movie.
Yo-ho-ho and all that.
Yet, in an age of The Matrix-like computer graphics and big-screen comic-book heroes, who would have guessed that the stiff audio-animatronic pirates that inhabit Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean ride could inspire such a swashbuckling action-adventure flick? The movie has been a surprise hit, earning twice as much money at the box office last weekend as its nearest competitor. That's good news for Disney, given the film's un-Disneylike PG-13 rating -- awarded because of the creepy pirate crew that turns into skeletons, violent scenes, and fatal, but not gory, swordplay.
If there has been an uptick in ridership on the water attraction, Disney officials haven't noticed because it's always packed -- particularly in summertime.
But some fans seem to be seeing the Pirates ride in a new, even sentimental, light.
Take Disney regular Larry Fulk. The 38-year-old computer graphic designer from Largo, and his wife saw the movie Thursday, then searched a nearby Disney Store for movie-related T-shirts. When they couldn't find any, they did the next best thing: Bought four-day passes to Disney World.
"After we saw the movie, we had to come and ride the ride again," says Fulk. "This was the first ride we wanted to get on."
"He's always been a pirate at heart," adds his wife, Tammy. "He's always loved the water, he's been a diver, a treasure hunter, the whole thing."
Though most of the movie was filmed in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, any audience worth its weight in Mickey Mouse T-shirts will recognize some familiar moments from the ride. For instance, when pirates in jail dangle a bone in the direction of the jailhouse mutt, in hopes of snatching the jail's key from his mouth, Orlando audiences roar their approval.
"Back home, when my husband saw that scene, he was the only one who laughed," said Lynette Bloyd of Beaumont, Texas. "But when we saw the movie here, everyone laughed -- because they've all been on the ride."
Regular Disney World patrons will also spot familiar scenery in the film when Depp's Capt. Jack Sparrow heads to Tortuga, a pirate-occupied town, in search of his old ship, The Black Pearl, and his mutinous crew. In Tortuga, there's a never-ending party going on, with pirates drinking two-fisted, women chasing pirates and even a pirate asleep amongst the pigs -- just as in the ride.
Yet there's no Jack Sparrow in the ride, no Black Pearl, nor is there even a plot.
"There's really not a plot thread in the attraction," says Disney spokesman Charles Stovall. "It's not that kind of ride."
The moviemakers instead used the Pirates of the Caribbean ride as a framework, and then laid a storyline on top of it. So some scenery may look familiar, including a scene when the Black Pearl anchors in Port Royal and pirates invade the town. The scene looks strikingly like the scene park visitors encounter when their little boat is caught in the cannon fire between a pirate ship and a fort.
Although some visitors may find the theme-park ride, created in 1973, a bit hokey, Disney has no plans to update it. There is a reason, after all, that Pirates of the Caribbean remains a park favorite.
"This one's a classic and we hope the film version will be as well," says Disney spokesman Rick Sylvain. "The ride is cherished by a lot of people who look forward to seeing it when they visit the park."
Walt Disney originally came up with the concept of a pirate adventure ride in the 1950s and presented the idea to the staff at Walt Disney Imagineering. A decade later, the ride debuted in 1967 at Disneyland. The pirates made their first appearance at Disney World in 1973, two years after the park opened.
Pirates have occasionally run afoul of the politically correct crowd. In 1997, Disney officials shut down Disneyland's ride for a face lift -- and in the process changed the scenes in which the audio-animatronic pirates chased buxom women. After some tinkering, Disney Imagineers placed trays of turkey and wine in the maidens' hands, so that it would appear the pirates were chasing them for food and drink.
In Orlando, the women in the attraction have always chased the pirates, using brooms and pitchforks to push them out of their houses.
But if you're looking to chase down movie-related merchandise at Disney World, think again, matey. The gift shop at the end of the ride sells Peter Pan-related pirate merchandise and pirate T-shirts that advertise the theme-park experience, not the movie.
"At Walt Disney World, there's no merchandise available that's related to the movie," says Stovall. "It's all related to the attraction."
Dan and Michelle Apple of Grass Valley, Calif., don't care. As they pored over hand hooks, toy guns, eye patches and other pirate paraphernalia for their two boys, they reflected on their 81/2-minute adventure on the high seas.
"This is one of my favorite rides," Apple says. "This is a period in history, and I think it's a fun way to go back in time -- without having to really experience it."
As for the movie, she and her husband plan to see it as soon as they get home from vacation.
"Frankly, I'm surprised it took them this long to make this movie," Apple says. "Kids love pirates."
And a hearty yo ho ho to that!
Linda Shrieves can be reached at lshrieves@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5433.
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