It will be a long one today since I have been away for a long weekend. First off are some photos from the POTC: At World’s End Premiere. Not to be a total suck-up, but nobody does events like Disney. Practically every detail was taken care for those who attended the premiere on Saturday, May 19. People were lined up on both sides of Main Street, breathlessly awaiting the arrival of their favorite celebrities. I still have more pictures to process, but here are some of the best ones so far. Jon Voigt was one of the first to show up, and he definitely took his time with all the guests; his trip down the red carpet was a slow one; it took him about 2 hours to make it from one end to the other (or maybe he just disappeared in the Candy Shop for awhile).
Kevin McNally (Charles Gibbs)
Lee Arenberg (Pintel)
Shaking hands with Mickey
A little pirate entertainment along the way
Frontierland Gates all pirated out (and the end of the line for those not attending the premiere)
Woody greets the guests
Plenty of decor throughout the premiere area
A saucy Minnie as a pirate maiden
Goofy in pirate garb
The stage & screen
Delicious themed desserts
Cuba Gooding, Jr.
“Super” (huh?) Model Janice Dickinson (in all fairness, she took plenty of time to greet people on the sidelines)
Bob Iger
Naomie Harris (Tia Dalma in the movie)
Chow Yun-Fat
Jonathan Pryce (Governor Swann)
Geoffrey Rush
John Lasseter
Jon Voigt still hanging around, greeting Leeza Gibbons, with Joey Fatone on the right
The elusive Orlando Bloom
Pirate band warmup
Ian Ziering and former Miss U.S. A. Shandi Finnessey (she was happier about posing than he was)
Movie banner along Main Street
For more premiere photos, visit my regular website. Disney had plenty of pirate entertainment throughtout the area, including Nintendo games & games of skill/chance. Buffet dinner stations and beverage areas were located at various points, and as you entered the screening area, buckets of popcorn, a beverage, as well as a blanket for warmth were given out (the Rivers of America get MIGHTY cold at night!). And the rides...about 6 rides were open, and they were all pretty much walk-on; imagine having your own private Jungle Cruise tour; the entire POTC ride to yourself; walking on to Indiana Jones and the Haunted Mansion. It was amazing. No babies screaming, no strollers...my kind of night. As for the movie...it was fun, entertaining, and had some great performances...but damn it was long. At almost 3 hours, it was a butt-wrencher, and just really bloated under the weight of too many stories going on at once and too many convoluted in-jokes and plot twists. Kinda' the same way I felt about 2. However, most POTC fans will love it and return for part 4, which will hopefully focus on Captain Jack, the real reason the franchise is so successful.
Moving on...here's an update shot of the Pirate’s Lair at Tom Sawyer’s Island, showing the hanging of the Lafitte’s Tavern sign yesterday:
Due to open this Friday, the queue was already getting setup along the riverbank. Finishing touches are also going on over at the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage as the June 11 date quickly approaches:
And for the vintage diehards, here’s a little nibble from the past (June 1961) to tide you over until the next post:
Somebody clean that water up—it looks nasty!
See more vintage and contemporary Disneyland photos at my main website.
6 comments:
HOLY WOW!!!! Congrats on #300
and what a post it was! Great photos of the red carpet and all!
Keep up the GREAT posts, I love 'em!
HOLY PIRATE WOW! Super shots Dave, nice warm feel to them, you really were able to capture the moment. No strollers or screaming babies, that’s pure heaven! Sounds like you had a stellar time, and nice photo op with Mickey! Tim
Ian's "guest" is fellow Dancing with the Stars alum Shandi Finnessy.
Welcome back Dave, and congratulations on post #300! Thanks for the great photos, it looks like it was a fun day.
Congrats on post #300!
My wife spent the day there and came home with photos nowhere near as good as yours. She and friends arrived too early in the a.m. (4:30) and were ushered past Main Street and stationed in the Hub in front of the Tomorrowland entrance (still part of the Red Carpet)
By the time 'celebs' reached them they were anxious to move on to the "theater". However Matt Ouimett was nice enough to stop for a moment and chat and a few celebs did stop for autogrphs and pix.
Personally I get so much Disney everyday at the studio I just couldn't bring myself to attend.
If I ever get ambitious enough to figure out how to post pictures on my ill-maintained blog I'll post some pix from the studio's recent imagineering day where we got to see up close and personal Lucky the Dinosaur, Muppet Mobile Lab and a behind the scenes presentation by Tony Baxter and Co. of the new Subs.
Thanks for all the nice comments. Hrundi - i definitely can sympathize with your wife. I was stationed by Frontierland, and very few of the "stars" were interested in having their picture taken. Orlando was whisked by in a twinkling. Still, it was a lot of fun, and as I said, Disney really did a great job of making the event a success.
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