Pirates of the Imagination: Learn How Disney’s Enduring Fascination with Pirates Will Change Your Guest Experience – Celebrating “Talk Like a Pirate Day”

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Ahoy, mateys and landlubbers alike! Gather ’round, for I’ve got a tale to spin about a day that’s sure to shiver yer timbers and tickle yer funny bones. Arrr, it be none other than the infamous Talk Like a Pirate Day! A day when we cast aside our everyday lingo and let our inner buccaneer run free, savvy?

Every year on the 19th of September, the world transforms into a sea of eye patches, tricorn hats, and parrots on shoulders, all in honor of this whimsical holiday. But ye might be wonderin’, “Why, oh why, do folks suddenly decide to speak like salty sea dogs for a day?”

Well, me hearties, it all began in 1995 when two chaps named John Baur and Mark Summers were engaged in a raucous game of racquetball. As they swung their racquets and swatted at the ball, they started mockin’ one another in pirate-speak. Aye, ye read that right! And from that very moment, a new tradition was born.

Since then, Talk Like a Pirate Day has gained more traction than a rogue wave on the high seas. It’s a day for young and old, scallywags and seadogs, to channel their inner Jack Sparrow or Blackbeard.

What secret is behind the popularity of pirates, when the subject matter was inspired by the lives and actions of some of the most notorious individuals ever to live?

In a word, experience.

While practically no one in their right mind would want to actually be a pirate, almost everyone wants to dream of the experience of a pirate – freedom to come and go as you please, subject to no one save maybe your crew, adventures and danger guaranteed, the chance to become wealthy beyond your wildest dreams…

Walt Disney, a genius in so many definitions of the word, astutely recognized that his cartoons, films, and theme park attractions captured the already-present fascination of buccaneers and the thrilling, dangerous world they inhabited.

Michael Singer, Disney Pirates

When the most recent Disney adventure about pirates, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, hit the theaters in May 2017, it was not just the latest “Pirates” movie from Walt Disney Studios.

It was the latest stop of a long and very successful “voyage” that Walt Disney personally began in 1927, and the company that bears his name continues today. The journey we are invited to join has been one of entertainment, delivered through various media: silent cartoons, animated shorts, live action films, full-length animated features, immersive theme park attractions, and coming full-circle, the blockbuster series “Pirates of the Caribbean” – inspired by the attraction, but only full-realized in the character of Captain Jack Sparrow.

You can read more about Disney’s long history with pirates here.

Ninety+ years of pirate adventures!

As we celebrate Talk Like a Pirate Day, we tip our hats to the enduring legacy of Disney’s pirate-themed entertainment. From the early days of animation to the modern blockbuster films, pirates have played a significant role in Disney’s storytelling. These tales of swashbuckling adventures, cunning villains, and hidden treasure continue to capture our hearts and imaginations. So, me hearties, whether you’re at a Disney park or in the comfort of your own ship (couch), take a moment to savor the magic of Disney’s pirate world on this special day. Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate’s life for all!

Several years ago, it occurred to me that the stories, characters, and objects found in both the theme park attraction and the movies could be very useful in helping organizations understand more about Guest Experiences.

But what does all this pirate stuff have to do with Guest Experience?

I thought you’d never ask…

Jerry Bruckheimer, producer of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, comes close with this comment:

Pirates as a form of entertainment were resurrected for the Disney parks and for motion pictures in a way which was both familiar and completely new. Story is everything, but it’s not about telling the same old story. It’s about finding new ways to tell that story. We’re all looking for that horizon, just like Captain Jack. The trick is to always keep looking not only towards that horizon, but beyond it.

The Guest Experience in your organization is about taking something familiar (welcoming) and making it completely new (experience). It’s about the people, place, and process that come together in new ways to create and deliver an amazing experience for everyone who comes to your campus.

I’ve written a series of posts that dive deeper into the Guest Experience – Pirates connection. Here’s the entire voyage:

This post inspired by Walt Disney and his amazing ability to bring a story to life on the screen through many animation shorts and films, and in person at Disney Parks worldwide

adapted for Guest Experiences by the Pirate Navigator

The Pirate Navigator has hung up his compass and maps, but if you’re really intrigued by the concept of how Pirates and Guest Experiences can go together, drop me a line!

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