There are moments and then there are Disney moments. We had a lot of really incredibly moments during our family’s recent trip to Walt Disney World. Seven days and six nights at Disney inevitably add up to some pretty memorable experiences. (I will be writing about my top 5 best memories from the trip in an upcoming post.) There was one moment, however, that was one of those moment’s that we will all remember for the rest of our lives.
My son Brandon is a huge pirate fan. Huge. He lives in a fantasy world in which he is always looking for treasure on the ground, in flower beds or in planters in the park. He talks about pirates, likes to read about pirates and would watch the Pirates of the Caribbean movies daily if we would allow it. Because of this, we made an effort to experience Captain Jack Sparrow’s Pirate Tutorial in Walt Disney World. In fact, it was the only entertainment we made an effort to see while at the parks. In fact, we got to the show area 30 minutes before it started on a very hot, very humid day just so we could be sure to go to the show and hope that Brandon would get a spot in the tutorial.
For those of you who haven’t been to Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom and seen Captain Jack Sparrow’s Pirate Tutorial, think of it as a scaled down version of the Jedi Training Academy for pirates. Children sit close to the stage hoping to get called up for training. Only a few children are pulled up before the crowd for one-on-one training, but the nice thing about the show is that Captain Jack addresses all of the children in the training and goes over the pirate “moves” before bringing up trainees and all of the children in attendance are given a certificate and brought up on stage afterward.
As luck would have it, Brandon did not get called up to train with Captain Jack, but my youngest son, Connor, did get called up with Captain Jack. While we felt heartbroken for Brandon in the moment, we were thrilled for our little guy’s opportunity to train with such a famous pirate. And bless Brandon’s heart, he has had not an ounce of jealousy because he feels as though he fully participated in the show because he got to go up on stage at the very end and get a certificate. He is such a saint, that kid. Most kids would have been upset, but he was just happy to be there and be “part” of it all in his own way.
When Connor got pulled up on stage with Jack, we really weren’t sure what to expect. We were way beyond nap time and Connor isn’t exactly the easiest child or very good at taking directions. As you will see in the video, Captain Jack definitely has the instincts of a parent because he was kind, patient and understanding with our little guy who quickly because the comic relief of the show. I know this video is a little long, but trust me when I tell you it is worth it.
I cannot even begin to tell you how incredibly special this moment was for our family. Brandon and Connor are still talking about their pirate training, running around the house with swords and such, two weeks after our trip. Captain Jack and Mack are incredible pirates and I cannot thank either of them enough for their patience, kindness, professionalism and commitment to the magic. They will both be part of our family’s special memories and that is a gift that we will always treasure. These two pirates deserve an incredible bounty of good fortune and treasure.
