Pirates of Caribbean Behind the Scenes - Part Two

Here is the part two of the Pirates of Caribbean Behind the Scenes article, and this one is a brand new one. All the pictures include in this article are rare Imagineering pictures which were reproduced in a hard to find Pirates of Caribbean brochure released in the 70's. In this 50 pages collector's, readers can see Marc Davis at work...



Or plenty of Marc Davis artwork like this one...



Also include, pictures of Walt Disney like this one with one of the POTC Audio-Animatronics.



The brochure also include great shots of the original Disneyland attraction and lot of pictures of WDI legendary Imagineers creating the ride.

We will begin by the sculpting of POTC figures, with, on the picture below, WDI sculptor Blaine Gibson with the pirates heads.



Again, Blaine Gibson, sculpting a figure for the POTC model.



Another pictures of a WDI sculptor named Joe Kaba.



On the picture below, Peter Kermode, WDI sculptor who took over after Blaine Gibson left Imagineering.



On the next picture Imagineers Blaine Gibson, George Snowden and Mark Davis with a pirate sculpture.



Then it was time to dressed the different figures. On the first picture below, Alice Davis is taking care of the "red hair".



On this next picture, Bob Sewell and another Imagineer take care of a dog who is part of the show...



While Leota Toombs is finishing the make-up on one of the pirates head...



And Imagineers Dave Schweninger (left), John Franke (center) and Roger Broggie, Jr (right) put in place one of the Audio-Animatronic figure.




Next step, the Animatronic animation. On the picture below, a WDI Imagineer working on a pirate's head.



Below, Imagineer Roger Broggie checking the metal structure of a pirate Audio-animatronics.



As we know, nothing could have been done without the big 1960's computers system, here is WDI Imagineer Legend Wathel Rogers in front of them.



Imagineer Ken O'Brien with a Pirate's animated head.



Meanwhile, X Atencio and George Bruns are finalizing the famous song "A Pirate's life for me"...



...and Imagineer Bill Justice studying prints from a film of an actor performing the auctioneer pirate that will be used for the animation of the Animatronic pirate.



But Pirates of Caribbean it's also fantastic decors. On the next picture, Imagineer Colin Campbell is working on the model of the "Wicked Wench".



Later, other Imagineers will build a real size "Wicked Wench"...



While another one gives the final touch on one of the cannon...



Or another paints on the parking lot the little boat on which drunken pirates will stand in a scene of the attraction.



On this last picture shoot when everything was put in place in the ride building, Disney Legends Claude Coats and Fred Joerger.



Pat Burke recalls a story from Fred Joerger: "I often met Fred at Barone's Pizza after work with another co worker and Fred would tell stories about Walt. He said Walt's death was a "Great" shock back in 1966 as they were trying to get the new Disneyland Pirates of the Carribean attraction done and open. Walt always came around for the final walk abouts for adjustments and changes, but he was not able to do this due to his sickness and death. So Fred said he and Claude Coats, the field Art Directors, would have to go ahead and fill in for Walt and look at the ride as he would have done. As they say the show had to go on. So Pirates became the first show opened after Walt's passing."

We will end with a picture of this double-page from the brochure showing the famous Pirates of Carribean fun map showing the different scenes of the ride.




Thanks to leave a comment or discuss this article on D&M english forum on Mice Chat

All pictures: copyright Disney Enterprises Inc.

When Popular Science Magazine went at WED Enterprises

Two weeks ago an major event happened: all the issues of legendary Popular Science magazine are now available on line. And when i say "all" i mean ALL the issues since the magazine was founded in 1872, 138 years ago! Everything, every page was scanned, not to mention the famous covers like these below or the smallest ad. Incredible. If you're young this news may not impress you, but for people of my generation Popular Science is really a legendary magazine, just like LIFE was in its own category.



When you're on the Popular Science Archives web site HERE all you have to do is to type a key word, and the site will search in all the archives the articles related to the key word and this back in time up to 1872. To give you an idea how "back in time" it is, 1872 the date of the first issue was only 7 years after the end of the U.S civil war! And believe it or not but at that time some of the issues had 750 pages!

So, no need to say that when i heard that Popular Science archives were on line i went instantly to the site to see if i could find article related to "Disney". Because Popular Science is a magazine carrying articles on science and technology subjects the first key word i typed was "Walt Disney Imagineering" and among the results one interesting article that i've found was the one below, a January 1964 article in which Popular Science went to WED Enterprises and met the cavemen audio-animatronics that WED was preparing for the New York World's Fair Magic Skyway.





Then i typed "Disney" as key word and of course dozens of articles appeared in the result includin the one below, a rare January 1941 article called "Mickey Mouse goes classical related to the Fantasia movie and the technical innovations created for the movie recording and the in theatre incredible audio system.







My next key word was - no surprise - "Disneyland" and in the old issues you can find small articles like the one below talking briefly about the Disneyland railroad...



Sometime you can find interesting pictures even in smaller articles like this one about the People Mover, showing the track system...



Of course if you're a fan of scientific topics these Popular Science archives should put you in heaven and we will never thank enough the creation of internet which made possible to have treasures like this available for every one - and for free!



Thanks to leave a comment or discuss this article on D&M english forum on Mice Chat

Pictures: copyright Popular Science

Gordon Cooper, when a Legendary Astronaut became a WED Imagineer

Here is the part three of D&M "Man on the Moon" celebration, and Imagineer Pat Burke is back on Disney and more with a great story.

Before the Apollo missions in the late 60's, the Mercury missions opened the way to the conquest of the moon. Seven legendary Astronauts were part of this Mercury team - see picture below - and among them, the famous Leroy Gordon Cooper that you can see above in this gorgeous 1962 NASA picture.



What is less known is that ten years later or so, Gordon Cooper will become a WED Imagineer and Vice-President of Research and Development! Incredible!

I introduce now the great Pat Burke, who will tell you his memories about Gordon Cooper, Imagineer at WED Enterprises.


Gordon Cooper, from Test Pilot to Astronaut to being an Imagineer.
By Pat Burke.

"After WED Enterprises got Walt Disney World open in 1971, it was time to start working on Walt's "Dream City of the Future" Epcot. Ray Bradbury was the elected spokesman and was often seen in the halls at then WED Enterprises before it became WDI. Having come aboard in 1972, I was a bit surprised when I heard about a new recruit I had met earlier in the late 50's. In 1973, Disney President Card Walker, had hired a new Vice President of Research and Development. Having grown up around all the test pilots for Edwards Air Force base or Murdoch Field, as it was called back then, Gordon Cooper was a name I heard about often. X 1 to X15 Test Pilot Scott Crossfield, lived just a few doors down from my family, as there was not a lot of housing at Edwards. I believe Scott called him Gordo at some BBQ's my family attended at his home. My father, who had been in the Army Airforce training pilots in WW2, was the first contractor to be hired to build their new homes out near the Base.

Gordon moved out there after graduation in about 1957, and it was soon after that he had his first encounter with UFO's that were well documented in a film he submitted to his superiors that never went anywhere public. So seeing Gordon Cooper in the mid 70's as our new Vice President of Research and Development was not that hard to believe. We were getting both Space Mountains going for Walt Disney World in 75 and Disneyland in 77. Some of Gordon's Mercury 7 teammates, 6 astronauts in total of the 7, helped launch Space Mountain to the waiting public at WDW. Gordon Cooper was also hired by Card Walker to promote Epcot. He also helped us to get some infrared photos taken from an overhead Space Satellite in about 1974, of our Lake Independence site for ski run development.

I was lucky enough to join a group of WED Imagineers several times for a lunch in the park with Gordon. We would all pick up our ZUP'S or Pecos Bill's sandwiches and head to the nearby Griffith Park for a meet and eat session with our VP. There we would learn about his "Right Stuff" test pilot days, being an Astronaut with Mercury 7 and all the UFO's and alien encounters he had been witness to. Like Walt, he believed "it was fun to do the impossible!" and he had surely done that. He seemed to fit right in with Space Mountain and Ray Bradbury for our Experimental Prototype City of Tomorrow!"


I managed to find on Youtube the video of the Space Mountain opening at Walt disney World in 1975. You will see some of the astronauts invited for the Grand Opening event and, of course, Imagineer Gordon Cooper!





Twenty years later, in 1995, another legendary astronaut, Buzz Aldrin - the 2nd man who walked on the moon - was invited to celebrate the opening of Disneyland Paris Space Mountain.

And more recently at Disneyland Anaheim, it was Neil armstrong himself who came for the Grand opening of the "new" Space Mountain!





Here is the video of the ceremony where you'll see Neil Armstrong speech.



Thanks to leave a comment or discuss this interview on D&M english forum on Mice Chat

Pictures: copyright NASA or Disney

Youtube video: copyright Disney

Did the beautiful National Parks Posters inspired WED Imagineers for Disneyland Attraction Posters ?

Recently, i've discovered these wonderful National Parks posters that you will see below. Obviously most of them were designed a long time ago - i didn't found the exact date but i would say at least 60 years ago. When i was looking at some of them, i couldn't stop thinking about the old Disneyland attraction posters. You know, posters like this one of the Grand Canyon Diorama...



...or this one realised for the "Rainbow Caverns"



...or also this one, always for the Grand Canyon Diorama.



Although the Disney posters are more stylised, i've wondered if the style of the posters you will see below served as inspiration for WED Imagineers, a long time ago. As i don't have the answer, if anybody at WDI reading this article knows about it, he is welcome to let us know in the comments!

Edited: I just had the confirmation that these national parks posters were the most direct inspiration for some of the attraction posters, and specially for the DLP Grand Canyon Poster.

And now, it's time to discover these great National Parks posters, i'm sure you will enjoy them a lot!





















Let's end with this poster realised for the Old Faithful Inn at Yellowstone. As i told you in a previous article this old hotel served as inspiration for WDW Wilderness Lodge.



As i'm pretty sure that some of you would like to have one (or more) of these posters at your home if it was posible to find them, i have a good news: it's possible! At least two web sites exist where you can order them in big size and it is Ranger Doug Enterprises and The Parks Company web sites.

Disney attraction posters: copyright Disney