A MOUSE CLUBHOUSE EXCLUSIVE
WALLY BOAG
in the Pirates of the Caribbean opening day festivities

by Scott Wolf

When the Pirates of the Caribbean event opened at Disneyland the press was aboard the Sailing Ship Columbia when a band of pirates on a rowboat arrived, shooting cannons.

They climbed up the side of the ship and ambushed the Columbia, breaking open barrels of rum and getting into a major brawl, with many “pirates” falling overboard.

They raised the Jolly Roger flag, made a man walk the plank, kidnapped women and carried them off and created quite a ruckus as they ransacked the ship.

They then made their way to the entrance of the all new Pirates of the Caribbean attraction where they had to steal the rifles from the guards and kill them before using a battering ram to burst open the “fake” doors to the attraction, allowing the press in.

But, just like the attraction itself, it was all done in fun. The "pirates" were laughing and truly having a great time. Wally Boag can testify to this, because he was the leader of the pack that day.

Wally is best known for performing in over 40,000 performances of Disneyland’s Golden Horseshoe Revue, and spitting out his “teeth” at the end of each performance as well as providing the voice of Jose in the Enchanted Tiki Room.

Walt Disney often used Wally for promotions and special events and with this one, he already had the right experience.

When he was 21 years old, Wally worked at a nightclub called the Pirates Den, dressed in full pirate garb, and that’s where he learned to use the “cutlass.” So he was well-qualified when he taught the new band of pirates how to fight.

At the top of this story, you can see Wally at the event in his blue Captain’s robe on the opening day of Pirates of the Caribbean at Disneyland in 1967, and if that jacket looks familiar, it's because it was made by Alice Davis for the Auctioneer in the attraction. She made several of each costume and Wally had to be careful not to have the velcro down the back open, which was there so easy maintenance could be done to the Auctioneer figure in the ride. According to Wally, Alice was quite nervous about that jacket the whole time... it was the backup costume!

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