When Walt Disney World opened on October 1, 1971, most of the biggest attractions from Disneyland had been reproduced for its only park, The Magic Kingdom. In addition, there were some new attractions, such as the Country Bear Jamboree, that were created for Walt’s new world.
Conspicuous in its absence was Disneyland’s newest and biggest attraction, Pirates of the Caribbean. PotC was the first Disneyland attraction to utilize full-scale realistic people-like Audio-Animatronics figures (Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln was the first ever, but at that point had only been seen at the 1964-65 New York World’s Fair), and it was the hottest ride in Anaheim.
One story goes that during the planning of WDW in the late 60’s, Roy Disney decided that Florida tourists were already up to their eyebrows in pirate lore, and since there wasn’t the time or money for another E-ticket blockbuster anyway, Walt Disney World could do without PotC.
Posted by grumpyoldfool 
