5 Times the ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ Movies Referenced the Disney Ride

Disney has been making movies based on their popular attractions including Jungle Cruise and The Haunted Mansion. However, their biggest success is the Pirates of the Caribbean movies which transformed the ride into one of the most successful franchises of all time.

It introduced new characters to the lore like Johnny Depp’s Jack Sparrow while also taking audiences on a swashbuckling adventure across the seas.

While the movies are quite different than the ride itself, there are still plenty of references to the ride that hardcore Disney parks fans would notice. Some of them are plain to see, while others can be harder to pick out.

The Skeleton in Bed In the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, guests travel through caves filled with skeletons and treasure. One scene features a skeleton that is laying in bed amongst their treasure.

In Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) and Jack Sparrow stumble across the skeletal remains of Juan Ponce de Leon. The remains are sitting in a bed and the two pirates have a conversation with the skeleton in the middle. The skeleton is modeled after the pirates from the ride, with the bed also containing a skull and crossbones on the headboard.

Mr. Gibbs sleeping with pigs When we first meet Mr. Gibbs (Kevin McNally) in The Curse of the Black Pearl, he is sleeping in the mud with a pile of pigs. This is a reference to a scene in the ride where one drunk pirate is sleeping happily in the mud with pigs.

The pirate in the ride doesn’t have a name, but it is neat to see that Mr. Gibbs actually becomes a prominent character in the Pirates movies. Sailing the seas certainly beats sleeping with pigs.

The dog with keys One of the most iconic scenes from the ride involves a dog that is holding keys in front of jail cells. The pirates in the cells are trying to entice him with a bone in order to get him to bring over the keys. The dog simply looks confused and continues to wag his tail.

In The Curse of the Black Pearl, Jack ends up in a jail cell for a brief amount of time. The cell next to him features a group of pirates who are trying to get the keys from a dog. Jack tells the pirates “The dog is never going to move,” which is true for the ride as well considering it’s an animatronic.

“Dead Men Tell No Tales” In the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, there is a haunting echo throughout the caves of someone saying “Dead men tell no tales.” It’s an iconic line from the ride that can be heard in the movies several times. The subtitle of the fifth movie does borrow this phrase.

It also can be heard in At World’s End. When the crew of the Black Pearl go over a waterfall, the screen cuts to black and audiences can hear the phrase as it is heard in the ride. It’s a famous line because it rings true but it also sounds like something that would be uttered by legendary pirates.

“Yo Ho (A Pirate’s Life of Me)” The thing that most people remember from the ride is the song “Yo Ho (A Pirate’s Life for Me).” It is sung throughout the attraction by the various pirates who are attacking the town. The song was originally written by George Bruns, a composer for Disney films, and Imagineer Xavier Atencio.

In The Curse of the Black Pearl, Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) and Jack sing this song while stranded on a deserted island. Jack also utters the phrase “Drink up, me hearties, yo ho” at the end of the movie. It’s used in some way in every movie to pay homage to the classic attraction.