The world’s most famous “bateau” ride — the inspiration behind one of the most successful series of films ever made — received exactly the kind of action-packed opening it deserved when Pirates of the Caribbean opened on this day in 1967 at Disneyland. A marauding group of pirates and scallywags climbed aboard the Columbia, disembarked at New Orleans Square, overtook city guards and battered their way into the locked doors of the attraction! Once inside, they saw what has charmed the world ever since — the most advanced Audio-Animatronics® figures ever to populate one of Disney’s most timeless adventures. Although Walt didn’t live to see the beloved attraction in operation, he was alive when the Blue Bayou was completed; however, he refused to open the restaurant until work on the attraction was finished.
