Pirates of the Caribbean Facts

Pirates of the Caribbean was loosely inspired by such Hollywood films as Captain Blood, The Sea Hawk and The Buccaneer, plus Disney’s Treasure Island, Kidnapped and Swiss Family Robinson.

The fire effects in the Burning Town scene were so realistic that prior to the attraction’s grand opening the Anaheim Fire Chief asked that the effects automatically shut off in the event of a real fire.

The attraction opened to the public at Disneyland on March 18, 1967, with an official grand opening on April 19.

It cost $15 million to build New Orleans Square ($8 million of which was spent on Pirates of the Caribbean). This is equal to the amount the United States paid for the real New Orleans in the Louisiana Purchase of 1803

The façade of the attraction was partly inspired by the Cabildo building in Jackson Square in New Orleans that served as the seat of the Spanish colonial government in 1799.  It is also noted for being the site where the Louisiana Purchase was signed in 1803.

The attraction is housed within two large show buildings totaling 112,826 feet and featuring 750,000 gallons of water that flow through a 1,838-foot canal.

There are approximately 122 animated characters (68 lifelike humans and 54 animated animals) in the Audio Animatronics cast of Pirates of the Caribbean.

Disney Imagineer X Atencio, who wrote the attraction’s memorable title tune – “Yo-Ho (A Pirate’s Life for Me),” is the voice of the Jolly Roger skull and crossbones before you plunge down the waterfalls. 

The film Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl had its world-premiere on June 28, 2003, at Disneyland in California and featured the longest red carpet in history (trailing from Main Street into New Orleans Square).

The new enhancements to the attraction made their initial debut on June 24, 2006, during a star-studded world premiere at Disneyland in California of the all-new film Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest.

The first appearance of Captain Jack Sparrow occurs during the familiar “Dunking Scene” where one of the pirate leaders is interrogating the village’s mayor, trying to find out Captain Jack’s whereabouts by consistently dunking the poor magistrate in the well.
Captain Jack Sparrow appears again in a barrel, sneaking glances at a treasure map held by a nearby salty old pirate.
Captain Jack Sparrow’s third and final appearance in the attraction occurs in the finale “Treasure Room” scene where he can be found relishing in his good fortune to be the first to find the town’s cache of treasure.

The ruthless Barbossa can now be seen as the Captain of the Wicked Wench in the attraction’s famous battle scene. The ship was not changed to the Black Pearl, since the story in the attraction is set before Captain Jack obtains that ship.

The new dialog of Captain Jack Sparrow, Davy Jones and Barbossa was voiced by the actors in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies [Johnny Depp, Bill Nighey and Geoffrey Rush].

An apparition of the ghostly Davy Jones, a prominent character in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, can be seen in the attractions’ mysterious grotto labyrinth, materializing via a fantastic waterfall effect.

The “Treasure Cache” scene contains original movie props, including the Aztec treasure chest, from the hit 2003 film Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.