Disney Characters

One of the compulsory and surprisingly enjoyable parts of my Disney visit was posing for photographs with Disney employees dressed in silly costumes. You can’t visit Disneyland without meeting Mickey. Somehow I imagined that he’d be bigger.

And how could I leave the Magical Kingdom without a photograph of myself hugging a giant Woody?

Just as we were on our way out of the park I spotted the back of another instantly recognisable figure reaching out a casual hand to mess up an orderly product display as he passed. Even from behind, I couldn’t have missed him swaggering along ahead with another two Pirates.

I grabbed Patricia’s arm. “Look! Look! It’s Captain Jack Sparrow! Wow, what a great likeness!” Patricia looked in the direction that I had gestured, but her eyes missed Jack in the crowd and locked on an enormous, dark-skinned pirate with a huge orange feather in his hat. Helen Keller couldn’t have confused this guy with Johnny Depp. Patricia gave me a baffled look as I dragged her up the street after them.

“Hey Jack!” I called.

The figure turned with a familiar bow. “Captain Jack” he rasped in a startlingly good rendition of the character’s famous slur. He chatted with me for a minute or so, in character, and posed for this photograph while swaying distinctively through the crowd. This guy probably has the most fun job in the park, goofing off and posing with his arm around breathless women, but he earned it with a lot of long hours practicing in front of the mirror.

My favourite Disney character of all was the one that we created for ourselves after we left the park. Dad might have missed out on Disneyland, but he still had a taste of the Disney spirit.