Today is the day to celebrate the most important attraction in Disney's theme park history.
The original Pirates of the Caribbean ride opened 58 years ago today, on March 18, 1967, at Disneyland in California. This was the first major Disney attraction to open following Walt Disney's death in December 1966. Wildly popular from the start, Pirates went on to inspire not just additional installations at Disney theme parks around the world, but also a multi-billion-dollar movie franchise.
Pirates proved that IP does not flow just one way from the studio to the parks. A great story can work to drive new ways to tell it in any direction. Following the success of the movies, Disney modified the rides at its parks to include the films' popular Captain Jack Sparrow character, portrayed by Johnny Depp. And when Disney brought Pirates of the Caribbean to its Shanghai Disneyland theme park, it designed an all-new experience inspired by Sparrow and the Pirates films: Pirates of the Caribbean Battle for the Sunken Treasure.
Give that the indoor boat ride is a capacity monster around the world, it's possible that more visitors have experienced Pirates of the Caribbean than any other Disney theme park attraction. By delivering for Disney and inspiring copycats around the world, Pirates of the Caribbean has earned a hearty "Yo Ho" and congratulations from theme park fans everywhere.
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All these years I've been under the mistaken impression that Pirates of the Caribbean celebrated its birthday on March 14th - Pie Day!
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Avast! In my opinion the original Pirates of the Carribean ride at Disneyland remains the greatest attraction the Disney company has ever created. There is something absolutely magical about walking into that unassuming facade and being transported to a beautiful bayou... and that's even before the pirate adventure begins. If you get a chance look up the original promotional ride through video. Those first edition animatronics ALL moved their lips in perfect sync to the words. A deaf person could read the lips it was so precise. Absolutely amazing what they achieved. Now if we can just convince them to stop making changes to it, unless they intend to restore it to it's former self.