Wenches, Guns, and Pansies

By now, most Disneyland fanatics are aware of the upcoming changes to the Wench Auction scene on the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction (you can read about it here). This post will be sprinkled with some contemporary shots that I haven't published yet (yes, I get behind!), including the first juicy panorama shot.



There has been buzz for years about the Wench Auction scene being offensive because of its portrayal of women as sex objects sold by men. I get it...even though I'm a man, yes, I can understand it. What I never "got" in all the 46 years I have been on that attraction was that particular message; it never really occurred to me. Nope, it was just a fun scene showing some Pirates from the days of yore with a very saucy Red Head in the spotlight. Regardless of the hidden or not-so hidden subtext of the scene, to me, that Red Head was and always would be front and center and in control of the action.



What I DON'T understand is the crazy furor that the upcoming changes are causing. The banner that now reads “Auction, Take a wench for a bride” will be replaced with a sign that says “Auction, Surrender yer loot” and instead, the Red Headed Wench will be a gun-toting pirate. This will remove the "message" of the scene that degrades women; forget any kind of message it might send that carrying a gun is ok. Please people...one offensive item removal at a time.



Here's what I find truly offensive about the announcement itself: that in order to appease a very politically correct and sensitive public in order to keep the cash registers ringing, the Disney Corporation has to continually align itself with the lowest common denominator. Then, in an attempt to keep the "old guard" happy, they trot out a relic like Marty Sklar to say that Walt would be "ok" with this change. Folks, Walt is dead, and nobody really knows what he would think about ANY of the changes being made to his beloved theme park. So please...don't insult my intelligence with that crap.

Here are some of the amusing comments that have been made about the announcement. Misspellings and grammatical errors have been left intact for your reading pleasure:

So basically this what are world has become. We are going to change and censor our history just to be politically correct because a few overly sensitive Idiots don't agree what was and is real.

History? Do people really think that anything left at Disneyland is about real history?

A bigger priority should be changing the atrociously ignorant audio representation of the Polynesian gods in the waiting area of the Tiki Room.

"Me Rongo—God of Agriculture. My land so good to me, I got time for sport. I fly kite. Me number one kite-flyer. Too bad I don’t have key—then me, I find electricity."

Hang on people...I'm sure that attraction will be fixed in the very near future, too.

After 40 years people are now taking offense to this? There are too many overly sensitive fools running amok in society.

Replacing one felony with another. Brilliant!

it's about darn time. because of that ride, I spent my entire childhood and early adult life thinking it was OK to auction women off for marriage or servitude. I've since learned that this is wrong! Just because a cartoon pirate does something, it doesn't make it OK.

I'm offended they spelled your, "yer".

Yo Ho Yo Ho...A Neutered Life For Me...

Disney neutered the Star wars movies........now they are looking for new targets

And to think this was the country that got through WWI, The Great Depression, and brought down Germany, Italy and Japan. We have become a nation of wusses afraid of our own shadows.

Pc correct pansys need to shut their fat mouths and stop ruining everything for others

They censored other parts of the ride back when they added Jack Sparrow a few years ago, too. At this rate the cutlasses will be feather dusters and the muskets will be super soakers in another decade.

And my very favorite:

I guess they need to change the name to "Pansies of the Caribbean".

Amazing that with all that's going on in the world that people find time to be surprised about the Disney Corporation making this change. If you don't like it, don't go to the Park. Vote with your wallet. And if you are in favor of this change, get your ass over to the Park and ride this attraction. It would be interesting to see just how many of the people that vocalized their complaints actually drop money at Disneyland. In the end, who cares. The Red Headed Wench will always survive one way or another.



For more vintage and contemporary Pirates of the Caribbean at Disneyland photos head on over to my main website.

Yo Ho Yo Ho, Pt. 2

Welcome back to pt. 2 of my January 2015 trip through the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction at Disneyland. We begin at the battle involving the Wicked Wench!



I love the smokey smell in this seemingly HUUUUUGE area. You feel like you are drifting through the middle of the ocean, with canon fire volleying overhead.



Unlike other ride throughs, I pretty much stuck to the scenery on my side of the boat, rather than frantically attempting to shoot each side. That can really get exhausting. Typically, I sit on the left side of the boat because the Wench Auction is my very favorite scene. No, I am not into the selling of women, but I do think the Red-Headed gal is a hoot and a half. She stands out against the homely maidens lined up before her.



The Auctioneer is probably one of my very favorite animatronics; his movements are so fluid and his face is the epitome of Marc Davis' style.



No donkey was visible in this tableau of three minstrels and their howling dog. Hopefully the donkey was just getting cleaned up backstage.



The Hat Thief was doing his best to balance the stack on his head; always good to see him in this attraction. Of all the figures, he seems to be absent the most.



A semi-decent shot of the hairy-legged pirate. He always brings a smile to my face.



They may be boring compared to the other scenes, but nevertheless I decided to take some shots of the collapsing structures and burning embers that are between the jail and dueling pistol scenes.





Another character that bears the hallmarks of Marc Davis' style.



It's not easy catching this pirate's pistol when it fires!



Last and in my opinion the very least…



Sure, it looks like Johnny Depp, but this scene is still a snoozer.



A closeup of the crest hanging on the back wall:



My apologies to the scenery on the RIGHT side of the boat, since it got the shaft in this post.

See more Daveland vintage & current Disneyland Pirates of the Caribbean photos at my main website…ALL 4 PAGES!

1967 Journey Through POTC, Pt. 1

One of Disneyland's most beloved attractions opened on March 18, 1967 and continues to be a guest favorite. To publicize its opening, the Disney publicity machine ran this piece in Vacationland Magazine, 1967:

Picture, if you will, the eerie and cavernous headquarters of the infamous Blackbeard, or the swampy bayous on the treasure-laden island of John Laffite. Take a page out of history when pirates sacked the Spanish Main, looted cities, set them ablaze, auctioned off the fair ladies and conquered fortress after fortress. Combine all of this with the most hilarious blackhearted buccaneers the world has ever seen, and you have a small idea of the excitement you’ll experience during a visit to Disneyland’s New Orleans Square this summer for the Park’s newest adventure, the Pirates of the Caribbean.

Using the most advanced techniques of the space age, Disney designers and “Imagineers” (the company’s word for imaginative engineering) have assembled an adventure not only unlike any other in the world, but unequaled entertainment-wise too.

In the best Disney tradition, not a moment is wasted. As the adventure begins, the action begins, and boat-borne guests literally “plunge” into the adventure with a thrilling splash down a 52-foot waterfall.

From there on it’s action and hilarity every league of the way —right up to the exciting climax and grand finale, when an entire port city is set ablaze, right down to the town arsenal full of powder kegs.

How do you escape the raging holocaust —only at Disneyland could you “fall up” a waterfall.

This 1967 promo shot shows the Wicked Wench, complete with its original Blackbeard animatronic:





After the release of the "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie, Blackbeard was replaced by Barbossa. I feel so old when I hear young guests actually believe that the movie came first before the attraction.



Over at the Wench Auction, the Auctioneer has seen very few changes over the years:





See more Disneyland Pirates of the Caribbean attraction photos on my POTC web page.

Vintage Pirates of the Caribbean

Here is a set of four vintage Pirates of the Caribbean attraction images from 1967. The famous Auctioneer is probably one of the most well-known characters in all of Disneyland. He is also one of the most advanced audio-animatronic figures whose smooth movements make him seem almost human. His looks have hardly changed at all over the years, which is surprising considering this attraction celebrated its 43rd anniversary back in March.



This particular scene has been victim to a number of politically correct inspired changes. Here you can see the original concept with a lusty pirate chasing the fair maiden.



Today, the tables have literally been turned, as the fair maiden is now armed with a broom and going after the thieving pirate with a vengeance.



The original gluttonous pirate in this vignette brandished the pink slip of a lass who was hiding her “assets” inside of a barrel.



This closeup shows the little lass, holding a “candle” in her hand as she watches the pirate slobbering over her underwear and pink shoe:



Today, the lass has been replaced by Jack Sparrow and her unmentionables turned into a treasure map. Surely you’ll see some irony in that!



1950’s pop idol Eddie Fisher has passed away at age 82. Here he is with Liz Taylor, enjoying a day at Disneyland with the kids.



View more Disneyland Pirates of the Caribbean attraction photos at my main website.

Tell-No-Tales Thursdays: July 1977, The Flying Dutchman, & Beady Eyes

The photographer who shot the photos from this post also took a number of other excellent images while he was at the park. You’ll have to wait for those! Today I feature the images he got while on The Pirates of the Caribbean, posted here in chronological order. Considering he paid attention to the rules (no flash!), these really aren’t too bad, and a nice historical record of how POTC looked over 30 years ago. As you can see, the auction scene is still pretty much the same...in a good way, of course!









In fact, overall, one would be hard pressed to know right off the bat that these weren’t taken of the current attraction.

This may be akin to blasphemy for the attraction purists, but I am also posting a few pics of the The Flying Dutchman from the famed movie franchise, which my boss shot on a semi-recent vacation.







Back to the attraction—here are the beady green eyes that stare at you as you are being lifted back up to dry land in your pirate boat.





Just as these eyes mark the end of this attraction, this post marks the end of this POTC series; time for Daveland to explore other avenues on Thursdays! See more Disneyland Pirates of the Caribbean photos at my regular my website.

Tell-No-Tales Thursdays: The Auctioneer

Almost as famous as the Red-Headed Wench is the Auctioneer, who is leading the activities of the Auction Wench. Shot #1 is an early publicity shot used on the Viewmaster Reels.



Here’s another view of him as you are about to go under the bridge.







Here is an overall shot of the Auctioneer, surrounded by a buxom wench and his own personal security guard.



Standing by the Auctioneer is this mean and burly looking security guy. He is definitely one of the more amazing AA’s on the ride when it comes to realism.



See more Disneyland Pirates of the Caribbean photos at my website.