Yo ho yo ho, Pt. 1

Come join me for my gajillionth ride upon the Pirates of the Caribbean at Disneyland! It was a beautiful sunny day, as can be seen from the crow's nest of Tarzan's Treehouse, facing the exterior of the attraction building.

Here's a completely different viewpoint of the façade, looking up from the depths of the queue:



Commemorating the attraction's 30th anniversary back in 1997, this plaque/fountain has always been a favorite of mine:



Everyone now and then I attempt to update shots from my collection; it had been about 2 years since I'd taken any of the portraits in the queue. Sir Francis Verney got his refresh on this particular visit.



A group shot before we boarded our boats:



Hard to believe I had never shot this orange curtained window in the queue before:



The blue lighting of the bayou gets me every time:



The Jolly Roger is the perfect warning before the boat dips down into the audio animatronic magic of the attraction:



More of my favorite blue lighting, this time illuminating the caverns and waterfalls of the grotto:



Turning the corner I did my best for a closeup of the Marc Davis painting:



I have always wanted to crawl out of the boat to get a look at what the Captain is reading through his magnifying glass. Fortunately, good sense (what little I have) has prevented me from doing so.



I love the way the cool lighting of the grotto frames the warm gold tones of the Captain's Treasure:



Anyone care to tally up the riches on view here?



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

Tell-No-Tales Thursdays: Jolly Roger comparison

This post was inspired from an email asking me about when the change occurred on the Jolly Roger talking skull that greets visitors just as they are about to plunge down the waterfall. This first photo I snapped in October 1995. #2 is from 2002:



The 3rd shot is from 2007. I am not sure how many other incarnations existed. Experts? I also received a request for a photo of the entrance queue scene where “Pirates of the Caribbean” was written out in pinpoint lights. I am still looking!



And a recent shot with no flash:



This just in from Bill Sauder, Daveland Blog reader; here is a screen shot from the Disney World of Color show that introduced America to Pirates:



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

Tell-No-Tales Thursdays: Captain’s Quarters

Here’s the Captain himself, inspecting a treasure map with a looking glass, in this early publicity image. So much stuff to look at, it hardly gets boring; always something new to discover with each ride.



Even after 20 trips you could still find treasures unseen, such as the bedwarmer propped up next to the bed.



The eyes really ARE the first thing to go!






The first treasure room that you see on POTC is guarded by a skeleton. How many have attempted (or wanted) to get out of their boat and get a souvenir? Aaaaargh those hidden cameras! Here’s how the treasure room looked when the ride first opened. This is from a vintage Viewmaster slide.





Here are some recent shots taken on the POTC WITHOUT a flash; my new camera is definitely earning its price tag! Notice how the original lighting of the attraction is retained, and the atmosphere is captured much closer to the actual experience as opposed to using the harsh light of a camera flash.









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