Disneyland’s “Pirates Fans First” Event

Director Rob Marshall was on hand and even joked about how crazy early it was. Marshall went on to introduce the trailer and talked about filming in the Hawaiian jungle, LA, Puerto Rico and London where they finished filming only 2 weeks ago.

The trailer, which was screened twice for the fans, is filled with Penelope Cruz as Johnny Depp’s love interest, Blackbeard played by Ian McShane –  the “scariest character yet,” and showed the beautiful yet dangerous mermaids. It was more like an extended teaser but has great 3D effects in natural, instead of CGI, environments. They also showed a short featurette that traces the franchise from the designing of the original Disneyland attraction all the way through to “Stranger Tides.”

“Fans First” winners were given private access to the original ride before it was opened to the public for the day.

KTLA’s Sam Rubin covered the event live from the AMC Theatre 12 in the Downtown Disney District and Disneyland Park. Pirates fans could also listen to coverage of the event during Ryan Seacrest’s show on KIIS-FM 102.7.

The lucky fans were treated to a special Pirate after party with breakfast and given a commemorative pin featuring the new Pirates 4 key art. Everyone enjoyed the pirate actors and musicians and recited the “Pirate’s Oath” in a ceremony on the bow of the Columbia sailing ship. For added fun, fans who came to the event in a pirate costume won special prizes.