Another Great Blog Post: MK's favorite ghost: George

[daguru]

Goodnight, George... a Ghost Story
What follows may rate as a bizarre exercise in nostalgia, if you will permit it. It deals with issues which may upset some people, and so if you do elect to read it I most humbly suggest that it be read wth a whimsical and open mind as I will attempt to faithfully relate the colorful stories and myths as they were first told to me which make up such a vital part of the oral tradition of the Walt Disney World "underground". So much of this tradition is unrecorded and so the reader may, as she chooses, read the following merely as an account of the superstitions and urban legends which circulate through breakrooms and utilidors. Those of us who worked there, however, will probably never be as sure...

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"The most famous faux fatality was 'George', the imaginary welder who was killed during the construction of Pirates of the Caribbean... [...] The imaginary victim is most likely a Disneyified amalgam of the actual fatalities at Disney World.." - David Koenig, Realityland, pg. 144

The first day I ever walked into Pirates of the Caribbean was a bright Florida winter morning in 2005. I don't mean I rode it - I walked into it, through a tunnel, around a large pool of water, opened a door which looks so real and textured from the boats but is really a painted plywood flat, and was looking right at a grotesque mannequin of a fat woman. She has no legs, just a pole extending up into her body, and up close the already garish makeup was like a clown's face. The building was quiet and still, the water glassy and calm, and the figures were twitching. Those things move after they're turned off, and sort of spasm occasionally at the wrist or neck. But the eeriest thing was the silence - it isn't until you've seen a Disney park utterly abandoned and quiet and left to the painters and pressurewashers and mechanics that you realize that they aren't places for human beings, and that all that warmth you feel in the bright light of day comes from that reassuring music, the faces, the people. Under worklights and powered down, those attractions are more like ghost houses, museums staffed by nobody for a crowd that may never return.

Eventually a voice issued from the PA system: "Good morning, George."

This is the first part of a great blog post about George, the ghost of MK's PotC. You can read the rest of the post here: http://www.2719hyperion.com/2009/03/goodnight-george-ghost-story.html
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Up or Down North, South, East, or West An Adventurer's Life is Best!

[jahosifatz]

We used to say "George, mind your manners." right as we left the Wicked Wench vs. fort battle so we wouldn't go 101.

[CTKnight3]

Hmmm, I was told by numerous people that going into the Hauted Mansion with the lights on and seeing everything was way scarier than the ride itself...

[jahosifatz]

Mansion with the lights on is cool. I'll post some pics (I need to scan them in first).

[RavenStGermaine]

That was such a neat story! I know the "hard facts" may not be present in stories like that, but I do love a good ghost story. The odd thing, though: the article mentioned that people will feel an odd sensation when passing under hairy-legged Old Bill. More often than not, I get a feeling when I pass under him that can only be described as the heebie-jeebies. It's the only part of the ride where I feel like that. I always passed it off as me being grossed out by his filthy feet. Now, though.... hmmm....
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Beth's Blog