A Disney Tale of Two Jack's - Dreams CAN Come True

"All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them." - Walt Disney

Dax became a Pirate's of the Caribbean fan sometime after turning 2, more so geared towards Captain Jack. He started off with just a Pirate's of the Caribbean bandanna, a sword, and a hat, but his obsession grew and so did his pirate wardrobe. He isn't like most kids who grow out of a favorite thing in a few months...this Pirate's thing has gone on for YEARS as he is now 4.5. If you follow along with our day to day lives, you even know that his 3rd and 4th birthday had the same theme and same decorations...Pirate's! He requested a Captain Jack cake for his 4th birthday, that was the only difference. Oh, and being 1 year older.

He named his "pirate ship" (backyard play set) the Black Pearl, he only wants green apples because Barbosa likes them, he roll plays with his Play Mobil pirates bringing in characters like Henry and Carina, and at least twice a day he is sword fighting someone. As far as he is concerned, he IS Jack Sparrow. I remember once when he was eating dinner with his pirate hat on, I called him Dax and I was quickly corrected--he was NOT Dax, but Captain Jack.

Now, we have watched this show at Magic Kingdom a few times prior to this, but THIS time was everything. He was the first kid Jack picked from the crowd when he hadn't even asked for volunteers yet which made ME especially happy. On stage, every time Jack asked if he was ready, the audience giggled each time Dax reached for the sword as Jack passed it over his head saying HE wasn't ready yet. Jack knew the wait would be worth it. Dax watched on as the other 3 boys sword fought Jack's partner and when it finally came time for Dax to take his turn, his face said it all when that sword was FINALLY placed in his hand. 

We knew this was how the show went, but in the moment I was just so excited for it to happen to our son. After all, this was his most favorite moment EVER. Standing along side his favorite Pirate, not knowing what was about to happen, Jack shooed his partner aside and stepped in to personally sword fight with him. I probably would have cried if I hadn't been concentrated on filming it all! He gets star struck in these moments so I was surprised that once given a little push...he went all in swinging like crazy. The audience loved every moment! But who wouldn't? A small Jack Sparrow most likely thinking he was fighting the REAL Jack Sparrow, it was perfect.

I know that Disney is all about dreams coming true, and sometimes they don't even know when it happens..this was one of those moments. They saw a little boy dressed as Jack Sparrow, but what they didn't know was that he is almost always dressed like Jack Sparrow. He loves watching Pirate's of the Caribbean and acting out the scenes. He loves playing with his Silent Mary ship and Play Mobil ships and having the toy pirates act out the movies. He loves helping dress his little brother up like a pirate and sword fighting with him. He loves his pirate pajamas. He asks us weekly to give him a pirate bedroom. Pirate's of the Caribbean is one of his favorite Disney rides. When he watched the promotional video of Johnny Depp dressed as Captain Jack on the Disneyland ride..he asked if we could go see him. He loves green apples because of Barbosa. All day, every day...is pirates! Without knowing, they made a little boy's dream come true. I mean, I even broke down and bought the Photo Pass pictures (credit goes to them for the majority of the pictures in this post), and if you don't have photos included with your pass---you know it must have meant a lot to actually buy multiple of them! Ha! It was worth it though. This moment needs to be remembered forever.

If you are interested in watching his sword fight with Captain Jack at Magic Kingdom, I have linked that video here.

Also, about a year ago I made a video compilation of my favorite pirate pictures and video clips of our little pirate, and that video is linked here.

Do your kids have favorite characters that they just can't get enough of? Here is to making their dreams come true!

"To be a pirate captain, all you need is the sea, possibly a crew.....and a really nice hat." - Jack Sparrow