It began like most journeys through the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction at Disneyland. Except this time we had a VIP Tour Guide. And we entered through the exit. And we immediately got onto the attraction. Other than that it was the same. We got in our boat and sailed through the Blue Bayou, passing the Restaurant at the beginning of their lunch rush.
Everyone sang "Yo Ho" as we viewed the vignettes of the grotto.
Worst case of heartburn. He must have eaten at Goofy's Kitchen.
The Wicked Wench:
How many of you notice these heads popping up with the canon fire?
Poor Carlos. It's bad enough that he has a wife badly in need of dental work, but now he wishes he had paid attention in swim class.
Plenty of characters along the way to see, such as this Jack Sparrow animatronic at the Costurera:
and the onlookers for the wench auction.
Sorry, no Red Headed Wench shots this time; I was on the wrong side of the boat for that.
Always great to see this guy. "Here kitty, kitty…"
sounds like my next door neighbors at 3am. For realz.
Once known as the Hairy Legged Pirate, this guy has obviously fell victim to manscaping by Imaginears.
The attraction was coming to a close as we approached the jail. A skeleton…
3 nasty dudes…
another three trying to get out…
The chair and rafters overhead should have warned me that there was trouble up ahead.
When I saw the lady in the boat ahead of me stand up, I assumed she was a cast member. Then I saw what she was wearing and knew that she wasn't. Then I figured she was looking for a quick photo opportunity as she perilously straddled the boat and the "shore."
Wrong on all counts. She was having a panic attack, as she told everyone in the boats who cared to listen as they passed her by. Why she would choose to exit the boat just as it was about to take her to dry land is beyond my comprehension.
You won't find her on the map at the end, but she should be on there.
Hard to tell what you might find at the Park these days.
Get your Disneyland photo fix at my main website.
How long did they stop the ride? Was the skeleton in the jail always there? I don't remember him or maybe I was always concentrating on the three pirates trying to escape.
ReplyDeleteThat was the funny thing…the ride never stopped. If it did, it was after our boat went up the ramp. The skeleton has been there for as long as I can remember, but he's difficult to see. The first jail cell that you see.
ReplyDeleteWow! What a moment you captured there. That's a keeper. Did you guys notify the attraction hosts or did they already know there was a problem by then? Or did the woman somehow get back into the boat before it went up the fall?
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, I notice the bobbing heads every time I take a ride on PoTC. Same with the jailed skeleton. As for the Hairy Legged Pirate, I thought it was manscaped the last couple of times I rode but wasn't sure.
One more question. I always see it spelled "imagineers" in official and non-official publications about Disney but lately I noticed a few bloggers and some commenters on discussion boards have spelled it "imaginears" like you did in today's post. What's that all about?
It was an extra enjoyable post today. Thanks, Dave!
Our Tour Guide immediately called in the information. Surprisingly, the cast members on the attraction were unaware. Hard to believe with the amount of surveillance cameras on that attraction. The woman was still ashore with the animatronics as we went up the ramp. No idea on the spelling of Imaginears vs. Imagineers.
ReplyDeleteWhat was I thinking? Of course your Tour Guide would've called it in. Duh! I can just see it next visit. "There's lap bars on them thar boats!"
ReplyDeleteI hope she doesn't have a panic attack halfway through Space Mountain.
ReplyDeleteStill, what a unique pic. You ride it a hundred times and think you've finally seen it all, then one day you get treated to that.
With animatronics like her it'll be no time until they get that Yul Brynner animatronic walking around Frontierland. ...and Fantasyland, and Tommorrowland, and...
Having operated the attraction, this is a first for me. You were at the right time, right place. Unfortunately these are the things that end up in liability lawsuits which can eventually destroy the overall enjoyment of the attraction. Pretty soon everyone will be put into a caged boat to keep them in place. And yes, there are a lot a cameras...at least when I was running the attraction. However, most were placed around the drops and lift as that is the critical location for guests to "remain seated". KS
ReplyDeleteAnd taking another look at that picture, it is at the base of the lift where she should have been in sight of the cameras during my watch.
ReplyDelete