Peg leg

The waiting area for Voyage of The Little Mermaid at Disney’s Hollywood Studios is littered with some fantastic maritime memorabilia. Are these items that Ariel herself has accumulated in her quest to be part of our world? Or are they donated pieces, like the artifacts of the west that reside at Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn & Cafe? No matter where the objects come from, they show off the best of the sea, and today we’re walking a mile in the shoe, err, rather leg, of one of the seas’ most famous ne’er do wells.

This leg is listed as once belonging to L.J. Silver, an obvious nod to Long John Silver. Silver is the quartermaster in Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island. In the novel, the peg-legged Silver spins fanciful tales about his life to enamor the young hero, Jim Hawkins. His pirate stripes are soon revealed, mutiny ensues, pirate battles ramp up, treasure is lost and then found, and, in the end, Silver’s escape is facilitated and he lives to plunder another day.

I wouldn’t imagine that Long John Silver would bequeath his leg to Ariel when he sinks down to Davy Jones’ Locker, but I could foresee him needing a replacement leg. After replacing the wooden leg, and hopefully naming it Smith, I imagine Silver would simply toss the unneeded limp overboard. Where, once upon a time, Ariel found the leg and added it to her collection.