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| (Aug. 29, 1955—1982) CHICKEN OF THE SEA BACKSTORY: Built of wood in the middle of concrete with a small amount of water surrounding it. Tuna sandwiches, tuna salad (served in mini boats), tuna burgers, and hot tuna pies were served at the Pirate Ship Restaurant at the counter below the deck. The Pirate Ship Restaurant was also known as Captain Hook’s Pirate Ship and the Chicken of the Sea Restaurant. (1961—1982) SKULL ROCK BACKSTORY: The Skull Rock Lagoon was added in 1961 and served as a scenic backdrop and seating area for patrons of the restaurant. Based on Skull Rock from “Peter Pan,” you could enjoy your food while listening to music & the cascading waterfall. Kids were often chased by Captain Hook behind the waterfalls and through the small caves. At night, the eyes of the Skull glowed green. Skull Rock & the Pirate Ship were both demolished in 1982 to make way for the “new” Fantasyland. The original intent was to move the Pirate Ship near the Storybook Land entrance, however, the ship (which had either been replaced by a concrete version which was more stable or reinforced with concrete) could not be moved in one piece without damaging it. There was no money in the budget to rebuild her, so she was taken apart instead. The mermaid figurehead was to be removed and saved, but fell out of the sling and broke into many pieces from an Imagineer’s truck when it went over a speedbump. Some sources say that the rigging from the ship was re-used in the Tinkerbell Toy Shop. Rumors have also persisted that some pieces were salvaged and re-used in the Disneyland Peter Pan attraction, but based upon comparison photos, this seems doubtful, and there is no documentation for this, either. If you’d like to build your own Chicken of the Sea Pirate Ship model, you can order one on Amazon.com  and use these photos as a guide for painting the ship. Most photos available for purchase as enlargements; email your request. To view photos, allow popups in your web browser & click thumbnails below. |
1955 |
1956 |
) Paco the talking parrot, Feb. 1956 |
) Feb. 1956 |
) March 1956 |
) March 1956 |
) March 1956 |
) March 1956 |
) Oct. 1956 |
) 1956 |
) 1956 |
) 1956 |
) 1956 |
) 1956 |
) 1956 |
) 1956 |
) 1956 |
) 1956 |
) 1956/57 |
1957–1958 |
) July 1957 |
) July 1957 |
) July 1957 |
) July 1957 |
) Nov. 1957 |
) 1957 |
) 1957 |
) 1957 |
) 1957 |
) 1957/58 |
) 1957/58 |
) April 1958 |
) May 18, 1958 |
) June 1958 |
) Aug. 1958 |
) Sept. 1958 |
) Sept. 1958 |
) Sept. 1958 |
) Sept. 1958 |
) 1958 |
) 1958 |
1959 |
) Feb. 1959 |
) June 1959 |
) June 24, 1959 |
) Aug. 1959 |
) Aug. 3, 1959 |
) Oct. 1959 |
) Oct. 1959 |
) Oct. 1959 |
) Oct. 1959 |
) Nov. 1959 |
) Nov. 1959 |
) Nov. 1959 |
) Nov. 1959 |
) Nov. 1959 |
) 1959 |
Misc. 1950’s |
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| CoxPilot & Chicken of the Sea Memories: In the 1965 shots you’ll notice that the sails are unfurled; perhaps for the Tencenniel? Not many people speak of the food at the Chicken of the Sea. I remember getting a HOT tuna burger w/chips and a root beer lunch, and sitting by the waterfall skull and enjoying the shade. It was one of the nicest places to eat in that area, unless you would go all the way down to Main Street. It was an easy walk from the Flight Circle in Tomorrowland, and was a good price. Employees were to eat away from guest areas, but we got away with it because we were lessees. And, skull rock was a great place at night with all the colored lights and running water. The Chicken of the Sea boat had tables inside for a while, but they seemed to disappear after awhile. We all assumed that it was too small an area for eating, and it took more staff to clean up. The outside area was cleaned by WED people, not Chicken of the Sea people. That kind of thing seemed to go on all over the park. They also seemed to turn off the water flow at the bow of the ship after a while. Maybe replacing the pump became costly. Walt would have never let that stuff slide, but in the last few years of his life we did not see him at the park much.
My favorite place to have lunch is shown in the photo above (on the bench against the rocks). I can smell the steamed tuna on a bun now. Notice how the shadows seem to be stretching to the west, so I would say it was early morning before the park opened. About the guys in photo #2:The cast member on the right is waring a pea coat and deck shoes (my guess is he’s a Chick-o-the-Sea guy), and the older man on the left is dressed in the usual “sweeper/maintenance” duds. Both seem to be placing a table in just the right spot. My feeling is these photos are by the Disneyland records/history people. The park before opening is a magic time, even today. |
1960 |
1961–1962 |
1963–1965 |
) March 1963 |
) May 31, 1963 |
) June 1963 |
) June 1963 |
) June 1963 |
) June 1963 |
) March 1964 |
) April 1964 |
) June 1964 |
) August 1964 |
) 1964/65 |
) Jan. 1965 |
) Jan. 1965 |
) April 1965 |
) June 1965 |
) June 1965 |
) Sept. 1965 |
) Sept. 1965 |
) Sept. 1965 |
1966–1969 |
Misc. 1960’s |
) 1960's |
) 1960s |
) 1960s |
) Date unknown |
) Date unknown |
) Date unknown |
) 1960s |
) 1960s |
) 1960s |
) 1960s |
) 1960s |
) Panavue slide |
) Panavue slide |
) Skull Rock |
) early 1960s |
Don Fisher & The Tuna Burger |
) Daveland reader Don Fisher submitted a photo of a vintage trayliner that he has saved for many years (as well as one of himself at the wheel of the ship, above). He has very fond memories of this particular restaurant. “I remember the tuna burgers they served there. As a matter of fact, I saved one of the tray liners that has the tuna burger recipe on it. I believe I acquired it about 1969-70; I was in the Navy at the time. It is too bad that the restaurant closed down.” Don–I couldn't agree more! Obviously from the plethora of photos taken over the years, it was a guest favorite! Too bad it couldn’t have survived the 1983 move.
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1970’s–1980’s |
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| ©Dave DeCaro, All Rights Reserved |
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