Original Scale of Pirates?

[marni1971]

Nothing was in WDWs Adventureland west before Pirates. The area was backstage, and undeveloped. The show building and Plaza were built especially for PotC in Orlando.

 

[lazyboy97o]

The physical location of the building made no difference -- it was already designed and parts prefabbed...WDW wasn't about to create an all-new structure when they had already spent the money on the materials for a different design.

That makes no sense. Western River Expedition was part of Phase 2, intended to open later. Pirates was originally not intended as a replacement in the way Western River Expedition was intended to replace Pirates of the Caribbean. It also falsely assumes that Western River Expedition was a standalone attraction, when it was part of the larger Thunder Mesa expansion that would have included lots of rock work, landscaping and an intertwined roller coaster (what a young Tony Baxter successfully spun off as the standalone Big Thunder Mountain Railroad).

 

[TP2000]

The physical location of the building made no difference -- it was already designed and parts prefabbed...WDW wasn't about to create an all-new structure when they had already spent the money on the materials for a different design.

This is confusing to us, as it's something never before mentioned by any official or unofficial Disney source in regards to the creation of Pirates of the Caribbean at WDW.

What I think you've done here is accidentally got your wires crossed, and mixed up the "prefab" version of WDW's Haunted Mansion, whose interior sets and animatronics were produced simultaneously with the Disneyland version of Haunted Mansion in 1969.

 

[Wilt Dasney]

Western River Expedition was planned for Frontierland, where Big Thunder Mountain Railroad now sits. I want to know where RonAnnArbor heard that Pirates of the Caribbean utilized an existing (already designing?) structure, as that is something not mentioned anywhere else.

Ouch! Boy, do I feel slow today. I knew there was a historical tie-in between WRE and MK's PotC, but I totally had the details off. Of course you're right, and WRE was planned for Frontierland, not Adventureland.

 

[Lee]

It was pretty simple -- it was rushed into existence, and it was made to fit into a building that was originally designed for a different ride, with different vehicles, in a different layout.

The physical location of the building made no difference -- it was already designed and parts prefabbed...WDW wasn't about to create an all-new structure when they had already spent the money on the materials for a different design.

No. On all counts.
Not sure where you got that from...:shrug:

I want to know where RonAnnArbor heard that Pirates of the Caribbean utilized an existing (already designing?) structure, as that is something not mentioned anywhere else.

With good reason...

 

[yellowstone]

You have probably already found out about this, but yes New Orleans has a rich history when it comes to pirates. In the 1800's, New Orleans was the 4th largest port in the world, the richest city in North America, and very close to the Yucatan Peninsula and the Caribbean. What better place to sell and trade all that pirate plunder. Jean Lafitte, a famous pirate, had close to 1,000 men that he commanded. He was based in New Orleans and just to the south around Barataria Bay. Without his help, Andrew Jackson would not have defeated the British during the battle of New Orleans in the War of 1812. The narrow road between the Cabildo and the St. Louis Cathedral is called "Pirates Alley". It was known as Pirates Alley from the early 1800's. Perform a search on Privateer and New Orleans, you will see that the city embraces the historical significance of it's past partnerships with pirates.

 

[TP2000]

You have probably already found out about this, but yes New Orleans has a rich history when it comes to pirates. In the 1800's, New Orleans was the 4th largest port in the world, the richest city in North America, and very close to the Yucatan Peninsula and the Caribbean. What better place to sell and trade all that pirate plunder. Jean Lafitte, a famous pirate, had close to 1,000 men that he commanded. He was based in New Orleans and just to the south around Barataria Bay. Without his help, Andrew Jackson would not have defeated the British during the battle of New Orleans in the War of 1812.....

Thanks for the great reminder just how rich the pirate history is in old New Orleans. Particularly the connection with the famous Jean Lafitte.

At the Disneyland version of the Pirates ride, the loading dock where you get in your boat is called Lafitte's Landing.

Interestingly, the name is spelled differently in the 1967 version of the ride, with two f's. When they did the Pirate's Lair overlay at Tom Sawyer Island 40 years later in 2007, they turned the "old cider mill" into a pirate tavern and named it Lafitte's Tavern. But this time they spelled it with two 't's.

But way back in the 1950's, before Walt even had an idea for a pirate wax museum, there was the "New Orleans Street" of Frontierland that led to Adventureland around the bend. And it had an anchor placed in the flowerbeds there called "Lafitte's Anchor" with an informative plaque afixed to it.

Lafitte's Anchor, New Orleans Street - Disneyland 1950's.

More info and pics of pre-1966 New Orleans Street in Frontierland can be found here. http://davelandweb.com/frontierland/auntjemima.html

Today that same anchor and plaque has been moved further west about 100 yards to a flowerbed along the river in what is now New Orleans Square. I won't ruin the backstory of the plaque, as it's something you need to read yourself. :lookaroun

Lafitte's Anchor, New Orleans Square - Disneyland 2010

New Orleans and pirates have been a part of Disneyland since the 1950's, long before animatronics and 3,000 riders per hour E Ticket boat rides were dreamed up. Walt obviously understood the connection between the city of New Orleans and infamous piracy.