The Healer and the Pirate

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Monday, February 7, 2011

Monday - A New View INSIDE the Sailing Ship Columbia - Part 1

So one of my great loves is Disneyland, and I also love (the fantasy ideal of) pirates and privateers.

Sail boldly forth into the wilderness on a full-scale replica of a majestic 3-masted ship from the 18th century. Sailing Ship Columbia recreates the grand pioneering adventures of the famous vessel that discovered the Columbia River and became the first American ship to circumnavigate the globe.

--Disneyland website

How could I not love this?



At one point in time they had sails (not sure if they ever let them down)--but they got in the way and I reckon weren't helpful for Fantasmic! (a nighttime show that re-dresses the Columbia as a pirate ship!). Now, the masts are bare, which aids visibility, but makes the Columbia move a bit like a ghost ship...



The top of the ship is where most people hang out, as the ship floats past Frontierland, New Orleans Square, and Critter Country. (Also lets me try out my zoom lens.)





But, you can go below deck to what is supposed to be a recreation of what the real Columbia would have looked like back when it was doing fur trading.






Either the stair lighting is not exactly historical, or those mean 1700s fur traders kidnapped a lot of tiny pixies.



Looking up above from below deck. Good reason to be careful when wearing a skirt...





The displays in the center of the ship are gently roped off to keep them undisturbed. (Being a ship AND at Disneyland, of course everything is glued down.)



Easy to get a good view of the galley:





But for some reason, Disney seems concerned about people climbing in the bunks, so they're rather aggressively roped off, making a good picture near impossible.



From the shadows, it appears I put my camera through the ropes here?


And even worse, the beautiful (tiny!) cabins and such around the ship are blocked by doors with large wooden spindles to block your view.


They look fairly historically-accurate, but they're also view-blockers...

Or are they? Check back next Monday and we'll see!


Close up on the map on the desk

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