Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean ride is a classic. You can find it at both Disney parks in the United States, along with Tokyo Disneyland, Disneyland Paris, and Shanghai Disneyland, so it's safe to say that people all over the world know about this ride — and if they don't, they've probably seen the very popular movie franchise that was based on it starring Johnny Depp and Kiera Knightley.
One of the most famous scenes from the ride involves a scruffy dog who's sitting outside of a prison cell, holding the keys that the pirate prisoners are desperately trying to get ahold of. And as it turns out, there's actually a pretty cool backstory behind this dog — and why he looks the way he does.
Disney fan @findingamyjoy recently shared this cool Disney World fact in a video on TikTok that's all about the four-legged star of Pirates of the Caribbean.
Did you know that the dog in that scene at the end of the ride was actually modeled after Walt Disney 's dog? And not only that, but the same dog also makes an appearance in another ride found at Disney World: Carousel of Progress. That's pretty cool!
Walt Disney's Real Life Dog
As it turns out, it wasn't just the dogs in these popular rides who Walt's real life dog inspired. His Chow, whose name was Sunnee, also served as the inspiration for one of the scenes in the beginning of Lady & the Tramp.
Sunnee was a surprise Christmas gift for Walt's wife, Lillian, after she told him she'd like to adopt a Chow Chow.
"She brought this big hat box over and put it in front of my wife. And my wife said, 'Oh, Walt! You didn’t?!' She didn’t know I bought a dog. She thought I bought her a hat! So, she started to open it and it moved. When she opened it this little chow stuck its head out. And from that time on, that was her baby," Walt said in a video preserved by the Walt Disney Family Museum.
This scene plays out in Lady & the Tramp , when Lady, as a puppy, is first introduced. So cute!
Walt said that he "never saw anyone so crazy about an animal" as Lillian was about Sunnee , and that was that — she was a part of the family forever!
Next time I'm at Disney, I'll be thinking of Walt's dog when I ride Pirates of the Caribbean. What a cool way to pay tribute to his beloved furry friend.
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