Tortuga Tale

The latest pirate enhancements to Caribbean Plaza in Adventureland at the Magic Kingdom have come with the addition of Tortuga Tavern (replacing former quick service restaurant El Pirata Y El Perico). The selection of Jolly Rogers displayed above the door tells us pirates are definitely welcome in this establishment. As soon as you step inside, though, a strict code of conduct is quickly spelled out for customers:

Of course, vandals have added their own comments on the code over the years...

Every Man has Equal Title to Fresh Provisions

(iffin he has the gold)

Ye fair ladies shall be treated in a favorable manner

(wenches be not fair ladies)

A witness shall be present for gaming at cards or dice

(short drop and sudden stop for cheatin' scallywags)

Duels by cutlass or pistol shall be taken outside with witness

(ye witness must have one good eye)

Damages unto an establishment shall be paid in gold, doubloons or pieces of eight

(parrots be not legal tender)

And the final addition, scrawled along the bottom of the code: "No Monkeys!"

Wander further into the tavern, and you'll come across this collection of props, including the very book used to sign up a crew for ships preparing to leave port. Look closely. You'll see a complete list of the crew of The Black Pearl (where Captain Jack Sparrow has crossed off Hector Barbossa's name and added his own) and Queen Ann's Revenge, led by Captain Edward Teach... the notorious Blackbeard.

The opposite wall features an imposing mural of Blackbeard (as portrayed by Ian McShane in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides). Note the smoldering fuses in the ends of his beard, as well as destinations from the films marked on the map behind him, including Tortuga and Port Royal.

In this same room, you may also notice the fireplace, alongside which is hung a portrait of a young woman. Those strictly familiar with the Pirates of the Caribbean films might assume this to be Elizabeth Swann or Angelica Malon, but it's not. In fact, for all the movie references in Tortuga Tavern, these details (and this woman) get to the true heart of the tavern's tale.

This is Arabella Smith, a character from the Young Jack Sparrow series of books. In those stories, Arabella is a teenager whose father runs a tavern in Tortuga and whose mother is thought to have been kidnapped and killed by pirates (that's a picture of her mother on the mantle above the fireplace). Arabella meets a teenage Jack Sparrow, and together they set off on their first adventure in piracy.

Of course, that was a long time ago, and Arabella and Jack have each gone their separate ways... or have they? It seems Arabella Smith has returned to Tortuga to take over as owner and operator of the recently-renamed Tortuga Tavern. That's her portrait on the sign out front, with flowing auburn hair designed to lure men in for a drink (the year of establishment - 1673 - is a nod to the opening of Pirates of the Caribbean at Walt Disney World in 1973).

From inside the dining room, you may notice that this wagon filled with provisions also has tossed inside it an old sign for a place called The Faithful Bride. This was the original name of Tortuga Tavern, back when Arabella's father ran the place. It was named in tribute to his wife, although Arabella would later discover she wasn't kidnapped at all, but left her family for a life of piracy. Fans of the films may also recall The Faithful Bride was the place where Captain Jack Sparrow and Joshamee Gibbs went to procure a crew for their voyage to Isla de Muerta in Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl.

So Arabella has returned to Tortuga, perhaps hoping to run into her old pal Jack. Well, if you see him, let him know she's here... in the private residence above the tavern, where the hat and coat on the hook outside the door let you know Jack's "Bella" is in.