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Press Release:

First came the ride.
Then came the movie.
Then the movie found its way into the ride.

Now pirates will be taking over another part of Disneyland when Pirate's Lair at Tom Sawyer Island opens Friday. All those pirates — including Jack Sparrow, ladies — who have been milling around New Orleans Square singing sea chanties, posing for pictures and insulting tourists as only pirates can will now be permanently stationed on Tom Sawyer's Island.

"Now you can get as deep into the fantasy of being a pirate as you like," says Disney Imagineer and senior show director Glenn Kellerman. "You can spend the whole day on the island, not just 14 minutes on the ride."

Rafts will take guests to the island, just like before, only now pirates man the boats, enticing people to become part of their crew. Once on the island, you can explore caves, help Jack Sparrow hunt for treasure and join in — or at least watch — swashbuckling sword fights.

The new attraction follows last year's revamp of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, which inserted characters from the movie as well as upgrading the look and sound of the attraction, now 40 years old.

The changes angered some purists. Even Gore Verbinski, director of the "Pirates" movies, blanched at the idea, calling the ride 'sacred'. "As much as it's nice to see Jack and Davy Jones there, part of me thinks they don't belong," Verbinski says. "But it's a different time, and I suppose kids would wonder, 'Where's Jack?'"

The upgraded ride has been largely a hit with the Disneyland faithful, though, a protective lot who howled when the park altered the ride in 1997 to make the pirates a tad more politically correct. (Today they chase food, not wenches.)

"There's more pop, but it stays true to the ride's heritage," says Jeff Baham, who runs the ride fan site TellNoTales.com. A heritage that now is inextricably tied to three blockbuster movies.

"Who'd have guessed that?" asks Geoffrey Rush, whose Capt. Barbossa is now seen on the ride, bombarding the fort that Blackbeard used to assault. "With the first movie, there was a lot of backlash that Hollywood had reached a dead end, basing films on theme park rides," Rush says. "But you look at the ride, it's a pretty good imitation of history, not to mention a beautifully directed art piece. It's not just a ride. It's an institution."
 

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