Fun Find Friday
October 23, 2015
Location: Adventureland, Magic Kingdom
Today we are going to be taking a look at an often
overlooked detail in Pirates of the Caribbean. More specifically, an
item in this scene:

While there are several details found within this
scene that most guests don't catch on their first, second or
hundredth trip aboard their ship, there is one specific item here
that deals with the history of the attraction and the Disney company
as a whole.
One of the main Imagineers that worked on the
attraction was originally an animator for the company and was part
of Walt Disney's legendary Nine Old Men. The man I'm talking about
is none other than Marc Davis. While Marc brought characters like
Snow White, Cruella de Vil, and the always popular Tinker Bell to
the screen, it was later in his career that he began to develop
characters in a three dimensional setting.
Walt brought Marc onto his team of Imagineers prior
to Disneyland's opening where he worked on classic attractions like
The Jungle Cruise, The Enchanted Tiki Room, and Great Moments with
Mr. Lincoln. In the mid-1960s Marc worked on two of his most popular
attractions: The Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean. While
neither of these attractions has a very solid storyline, it's the
character development that Marc created for the characters within
the attractions that have made them classics.
So how does this all tie together to the picture
above? If you take a look just above the archway you can find a
shield with what appears to be a Latin phrase inscribed below it. In
reality, this phrase isn't Latin at all, but a nod to the famous
animator and Imagineer that brought so many characters we love to
life. The phrase? Marci Daviso, or Marc Davis for short!

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