AN. This is my first fic in the Disney fandom and I've decieded to do a little Disney history! Please R&R and enjoy!:D
A Pirates Tale
Closing time, the saddest part of the day at the magical kingdom of Disneyland. No guest to entertain or be amused by. Nothing interesting going on at nighttime; all that happens is cleaning, going over the ride routes to look for any lost items. Once the night inspection is done, the cast members shut everything down and leave the attraction alone for the night and tend to the outside of the park and the attractions that are having more technical difficulties.
For the pirates aboard the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction though,closing time was a time to make fun of the silly and weird guest that went by and the reactions of some of them when they saw certain scenes. It was also a time they'd settle down-well, settle down a bit- and tell each other tales of myths, theories and experiences. They'd gather around to tell each other fascinating stories. Pirates' tales.
The Pig Pirate snored loudly in his sleep, loud enough to cover up the pigs that made their 'oink' noise constantly, day or night. Constantly enough to make nearby people and pirates want to rip their ears out. Or rip out the throat of the pigs. One of the pirates even asked one of the ladies who chased them if they could borrow their pan to smack the life out of them. Of course, the lady refused stubbornly.
The Pirate sitting on the barrel with the pink ladies dress cuffed his big hands over his ear's complaining, "Make those pigs SHUT UP! I ain't gonna STAND it anymore! I'll do anythin'!"
A woman with curly brown hair popper her head out of the adjacent cylinder barrel, "Well, maybe if you gave me back my dress I'll happily go over and shut them up."
The chubby pirate stared at his prized pink dress. "Aw, come on sweet cakes, when mornin' comes visitors won't be as amused by our scene if your out of the barrel and dressed. Where's the humor in that?"
She glared at him, "Humor!? I'm surprised this IS a scene! Don't you think people would think that this is a little inappropriate for young children passengers on this attraction?"
He shrugged carelessly, "Then they should put some sort of warnin' in front sayin' 'NOT FOR CHILDREN', I mean, what do ya think could possibly replace this scene? Me lookin' at a treasure map with you lookin' at it over my shoulder from the barrel? Ha! Why would they do that? They should just put a 'NOT FOR CHILDREN' sign on the front of our attraction."
The curly brown haired woman sighed, "Oh yes, not for children, so much family fun there!"
"No! What would REALLY make this attraction better is if WE weren't being treated like animals!" called a woman who was being auctioned off not too far away. She wore a blue and white dress and held a tissue in her hand with and older woman behind her comforting her.
The auctioneer snorted, "Stop complaining! You'll never be free and face it!"
The crying blonde just cried some more, the lady still comforting her. Then she said, "What I don't get is how that red head can actually like what's happening!"
The red head, how held up her dress in an elegant way and patted her hair back, exclaimed, "I do not!"
The blonde stared at her accusingly, "Yes you do! You just love the attention you get day after day. I even think a park guest whistled at you when their boat passed by!"
"We're whistling at her now!" called out a pirate across the river.
"See? My point!" stated the blonde.
The red head just made a 'humph' sound and went back to smoothing out her delicate hair.
"You guys are arguing about that when I'M here drowning!?" exclaimed the mayor, who's voice echoed from the town well. The pirate pulling the rope allowed the mayor to sing lower into the well until you could here the gurgling of the mayor as he tried to protest. With the rope still in hands, the pirate laughed, "I love my job!"
So this particular night for the crew on Pirates of the Caribbean, was spent bickering among each other instead. There constant bickering finally got to the pirate captain, who stood on the ship that bombed the village fort. Like the pirate on the barrel, Blackbeard clasped his hands over his ears with irritation. "Arg! Somebody make them shut up!" But his crew only stared at each other, not exactly sure how. It was times like these thy wished they had real cannons.
Scowling, Blackbeard stomped off his ship and down the river until he came to a halt under the bridge. "All right mates!" he roared, "Gather 'round now!
Everyone stared at the pirate captain, curious. But they all gathered. Although the auctioned women stumbled making their way down the steps being tied together. The pirate drowning the mayor let go of the rope to see what Blackbeard had to say, everyone heard a splash in the well but didn't do anything. Blackbeard grabbed himself a barrel to sit on and he said, "Alright mates, so you can shut up, let me tell you a tale, a small tale, of the one who is responsible for our very existence. Walt Disney."
His listeners edged closer, grinning, Blackbeard began his story.
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"As you all know, Walt Disney is the cause of all this, as everyone likes to call it, magic. He was born in 1901 of December 5th in a bedroom on Tripp Avenue as the fourth son of Flora and Elias Disney and was baptized on June 8th, 1902 at the St. Paul Congregational Church in Chicago. He was the younger brother of three others: Herbert, Raymond, and Roy and later a younger sister joined the family in December of 1903 a day after Walt's birthday. Ruth Flora Disney was her name.
"Now the Disney couple had their hands full raising a family in Chicago. Elias was worried about the effects a big-city life could mean for his children. After some neighborhood kids were sent to prison for robbery, Elias had it and began searching for a better place to raise his family. So, he moved to a farm in 1906 that her purchased for 3,000 dollars for 40 acres of land. Quite a lot of money at the time.
"Young Walt loved the new farm life and the experiences it had to offer. When he wasn't helping his mother, he would explore the nearby woods coming across wildlife like raccoons, foxes and other animals. And that mates was how Walt had received his love for nature that had kept with him.
"It was during his early years on the farm where Walt drew his first pieces of artwork and sold his very first drawing to their local doctor, Dr. Sherwood, who had asked young Walt Disney to draw him a picture of his horse named Rupert. Dr. Sherwood had paid Walt a nickel for it.
"Walt Disney started school late and he attended Park School in Marceline with his younger sister, Ruth.
"It was 1910 when things began to get rough on the farm. Elias had sadly became ill and could no longer handle the work the farm required. Herbert and Ray Disney grew tired of the farm work and headed off to Kansas City. Roy and Walt were too young to do much for the farm so as painful as it was, the Disney family had to sell their farm and livestock and rented a house downtown for Ruth and Roy to finish second grade. The move wasn't to Walt's liking being around all the sights and sounds of the big city when he was used to the tranquil farmland.
"Walt had always imagined things differently as you all know, why mates, one time when Walt's fourth grade teacher told them to draw a bowl of flowers, Walt's drawing stood out from the others because his flowers had faces and their leaves were arms! Ha ha! Ahem, moving on.
"Ah yes then there was that time in 1915 on Abraham Lincoln's birthday. Walt gave everybody a surprised when he came to school all dressed up as one of our nation's most well known president! Makeup, fake beard, everything! He was able to recite the Gettysburg Address and both teacher and principal were impressed! He was taken to every class room to recite it!"
"Ahem, sorry for the side stories, but moving on, Walt was able to enroll in a Saturday art class at the Kansas City Art Institute and he was able to greatly improve his drawing techniques."
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Blackbeard paused for a breath, "Okay," he rasped. "I think maybe I'm going into too much detail. He gazed around at the intrigued faces around him.
"It is a lot of detail, but I do love the story," mused the red head.
Blackbeard sighed, "Alright ladies, we're gonna skip ahead to his high school life and I'll try to summarize it better."
"Summarize, but still make it sound like a story," added in the auctioneer.
Blackbeard nodded and continued.
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"It was at McKinley high school where Walt Disney first published his drawing as a cartoonist in The Voice, the campus magazine. Some of his print themed the desire to win the war in Europe, for World War One was happening at this time. Soon his need to help his country became his dominant desire. He and a friend, with a-heh, heh!-a little lying on his age on his passport application, were able to join the Red Cross.
"However, to the delight of the country, the Armistice was signed on November 11th in the midst of Walt Disney's training. A list was drawn up of 50 men to sail to France to aid the troops preparing to head for home. The 50th name on the list was Walt Disney!
"When Walt got back from France, he made is career choice as an artist, although his father was not pleased with the choice. Walt applied for the Kansas City newspapers but was unfortunately not accepted. But Walt was able to get into the Pesmen-Rubin Commercial Art Studio. There, he met Ubbe Iwwerks- who had later shortened his name to Ub Iwerks- Walt and Ub worked well together and became close friends and they eventually went into a business themselves."
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Blackbeard tugged lightly on his beard, "Ah, now is where Walt Disney's story really begins." Then he frowned, "I do too much detail!"
A pirate that was listening to the story on the bridge above called out, "You should try to cut the detail. Interesting, but we don't got all night. You can't to into detail Walt Disney's whole life in one single night! And don't forget the test runs!"
Blackbeard waved his hand dismissively, "Right, right. I promise I'll try harder with that."
"But still make it sound like a story!" the auctioneer reminded him.
"Yes, yes! Now may I continue?"
The rope pulling pirate nodded, "Sure, you were the one who interrupted yourself in the first place."
Blackbeard glared at the pirate and went on with the story.
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"Well Ub and Walt formed the Iwwerks-Disney partnership. But it only lasted a month when they saw and ad that the Kansas City Slide Company was looking for an artist to do cartoon and wash drawings. After being urged by Ub, Walt applied and was amazed when they were offering him $40 a week. And being a good friend he was, Walt asked his boss a month later to hire Ub too. It was at the Kansas City Film Ad that Walt discovered his new love for animation. Walt was able to borrow a camera and was able to complete minutes of animation and showed it to Newman Theatre. They loved it and wanted to buy a new one every week. Walt was also able to persuade young artist to aid him in his new lust for cartoon production, offering only promises of better things to come. They created animations called Laugh-O-grams for Pictorial Clubs, a distributer who paid 11,000 for a series of Laugh-O-grams.
"When money grew scarce in 1923, Disney made a last effort by hiring Virginia Davis, a four-year-old girl model and had her play Alice in Alice's Wonderland. Basically about the live-action girl Alice who journeys into the cartoon world. Later, Alice's Wonderland led to the creation of the series of Alice Comedies.
"While Walt's company grew, so did Walt's relationship with a girl named Lillian Bounds who worked for him as a secretary, inker and painter. He finally proposed to her in her brother's home in Lewiston, Idaho on July of 1925."
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Blackbeard was interrupted by 'Awwwwws' of his listeners. Blackbeard snapped at them, "Don't interrupt! Do you want me to finish or not?"
"Please continue!" pleaded the curly brown girl who waddle herself over with the barrel.
One he had everyone's attention, the story resumed.
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"Now, skipping on to the Oswald series. Oswald the Lucky Rabbit was a new series that was made to be for Universal. Oswald became a hit and a new cartoon appeared in theaters every two weeks.
"Walt was overall pleased with the first year run of Oswald, but when he and Lillian went to negotiate a second year for Oswald in New York, he found out that Mintz hoped to continue the series by himself in is own studio without having to pay Disney and his studio's overhead. Only Ub Iwerks of the primary animators remained loyal to Walt Disney. From then on, Walt become very protective of all the animations he created.
"On the train ride back from New York it is believed that Walt Disney had created what would become one of the world's most recognizable characters- Mickey Mouse! Soon Mickey Mouse appeared in the first sound cartoon, Steamboat Willie, it premiered on November 18th, 1928 at the Colony Theatre in New York.
"The short became a huge success and Walt went on board for a whole Mickey Mouse series!
"Mickey Mouse series was a hit! It was popular! Everyone wanted a bit of Mickey Mouse before there feature presentation whenever they visited a movie theater. Along with the Mickey series, Silly Symphonies was born, a series of cartoons based on musical themes. Mickey Mouse merchandise was also produced and sold. Mickey Mouse had become famous worldwide!
"With the success of Mickey Mouse, Walt Disney moved on to create the world's first full length animation, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. On December 21st of 1937 the animation was given a big premiere in Hollywood. Walt Disney was thrilled. He couldn't even remember the names of the dwarfs when he stepped up to the microphone! Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was a major success!
"Over the years Walt Disney and his company created and released many classical movies and new and improved Mickey Mouse cartoons and True Life Adventures along with other shorts. Then one day while watching his daughters ride the merry-go-round at an amusement park when and idea came to his head. The idea of a Mickey Mouse Park came to his head, a park where both parents and children could have fun together. And thus, came the idea of Disneyland mates!
"Walt had originally planned to create his park on a 16-acre plot on Riverside Drive in Burbank across the street from the Disney Studio. But with Walt's dream growing rapidly, 16-acres just wasn't enough to hold his massive sized dream. So he began seeking out a new site for Disneyland in the Southern California area. Eventually, a suitable site was found for his park 38 miles from Burbank in Anaheim. Walt Disney showed his plans for the park on a weekly television show on ABC.
"Disneyland began construction in July of 1954 replacing and orange grove and after one full year of construction and an investment of $17 million, Cinderella's Castle drawbridge opened to it's first guest and opened it's gates to it's five themed lands of Adventureland, Frontierland, Fantasyland, Tomorrowland, and Main Street, U.S.A. with 20 attractions to show off!
"Disneyland grew, mates, it grew, gaining and loosing attractions, always improving. The 1964 World's Fair was approaching and Walt had to prepare. He put on hold his Haunted Mansion attraction to focus on the fair. "It's a Small World" was going to be featured at the fair, a tribute to children around the world. But along with that, Disney was creating an audio-animatronics figure of Walt's favorite president, Abraham Lincoln. That was complicated for Walt because the same technique he used for the Tike Room birds weren't advanced enough for Lincoln. But with hard work, the Disney Imagineers were able to bring Mr. Lincoln to life in his show, Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln. At the World's Fair, his show astounded his audience. A whole new world of audio-animatronics was born!
"By now mates, Walt Disney was planning for and East Coast Disneyland secretively to prevent nearby swamp lands from going up in price. Aye! Rising prices are terrible! Anyway, Walt Disney was also creating a new attraction-" "US!"
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Blackbeard glared at the drunken pirate across the river. "DON'T INNTERUPT! What is so hard about that lad?!"
The drunken pirate shrugged, "I was just tellin'."
"We'll I'm telling the story! Not you! Be thankful you're on the opposite side of the river!" Blackbeard hissed.
"Yes, and ye was doin' so good with no interruptions," sighed the pirate who still had the woman's pink dress.
Blackbeard just rolled his eyes, "Listen mates, I'm almost done, so sit tight and just LISTEN! Now where was I……?"
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"Anyway, Walt Disney was also creating a new attraction. That would be us, the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction. He showed his viewers on his T.V show a sneak peak of the attraction on Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color. Sadly though mates, we were the last attraction he personally supervised for on December 15th, 1966, ten days after his 65th birthday, the legendary Walt Disney died of lung cancer. He didn't live to see his East Coast Disneyland complete. In honor of his brother, Roy Disney renamed the project Walt Disney World. And the park opened on October 1st, 1971 with the Magic Kingdom and later opening up Epcot-Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow. The Haunted Mansion finally opened in 1969 after years of sitting empty on Disney property.
"The legacy of Walt Disney still lingers everywhere in the air. And remember one thing mates; 'That it was all started by a mouse.'"
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The cast of Pirates of the Caribbean all stared at him as he finished his story. The red head was the first to speak, "My, that wasn't the most happy ending. He died! I never would have guessed!"
The blonde auctioned woman cocked and eyebrow at her, "You never would have guessed? May I ask you where you've been? He's been dead for at least thirty-five years! Welcome to reality!"
The red head made a face at her and turned away with one of her, "Humph!"
The pirate on the bridge said, "Nice story, very nice. Good to know about the man who created us."
The drunken pirate just nodded in a clumsy way and went back to drinking.
Popping her head out of the barrel again, the curly brown haired lady praised, "I thought it as a wonderful story Captain Blackbeard!"
"Heh, nice story an' all, but uh, what does it 'ave to do with us an' bickerin'? Questioned the pirate with the stolen pink dress.
Blackbeard laughed, "Nothin' of course! I just wanted to keep you quiet for a bit because you guys bickering was giving me a headache!" Blackbeard heaved himself up and kicked the barrel aside. "Well, 'night lads! And keep it quiet or you'll be walkin' the plank!"
The pirate cast began to go back to their spots, then the rope puller paused, "Wait do you hear that?"
"HELP ME! GET…. .ME OUT…….. OF……. THIS …….WELL! I CAN'T……… SWIM!"
"Should I get him out?" asked the rope puller.
Blackbeard waved his hand dismissively, "Nay mate, the Cast Members will handle that. Just go do anythin' that'll keep ya quiet."
The rope puller shrugged, "Okay, less work for me!"
Blackbeard returned to his ship and the cast of Pirates of the Caribbean remained quiet and Blackbeard leaned against his ship to enjoy the rest of the night, in peaceful quietness.
AN. How did you like it? Most of the information here should be pretty accurate. I wanted to add in more, but I figured it was best to keep it as summarized as possible! Please review!
Also, the information in this fic was taken from the book, Disney, The First 100 Years