Featured Attractions

Monday, July 14, 2014

Celebrating Walt Disney's Magic Kingdom: The Chicken of the Sea Pirate Ship- A 1955 Original


Located at the end of Fantasyland's enchanted courtyard was a special place to eat at Walt Disney's Magic Kingdom- a pirate ship themed restaurant serving delicious Chicken of the Sea tuna sandwiches. An enchanted place, to be sure, it quickly became a favorite of many a young DISNEYLAND guest. In 1969, Chicken of the Sea ended its sponsorship and the ship became "Captain Hook's Galley".

The ship remained a Fantasyland landmark until 1982. As part of the major renovation to build the Fantasyland of Walt Disney's original dreams, plans were drawn up to move the ship from its then current location (roughly where the current Dumbo attraction is) to a spot on the other side of the Storybookland Canal boats. Unfortunately, the Imagineers didn't seem to remember that the "ship" was really a building shaped like a ship with a foundation that had been re-inforced with concrete over the years to prevent wood rot. The ship could not be safely moved fast enough to keep the entire Fantasyland project on schedule. Huge cost overruns at Disney World's EPCOT Center meant that a proven money-maker like DISNEYLAND needed to be firing on all cylinders and that its centerpiece land needed to re-open as soon as possible. Sadly, that meant the ship could not be salvaged and it became a part of DISNEYLAND history in 1982.