I remember being a wee bit disappointed the first time I went inside Monstro and you just came out the other side. I think I was expecting a dark ride or something inside him. Quickly I saw that wouldn't be the case and I thought "bummer."
That was it for me too, I suppose. I'm pretty sure I was more relieved than disappointed at the time.
"We're beggars and blighters and ne'er do-well cads, Drink up me 'earties, yo ho. Aye, but we're loved by our mommies and dads, Drink up me 'earties, yo ho. Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me." ( I know you sang it )
For those too young to remember, that lighthouse outside StorybookLand wasn't just for decoration. It was a ticket booth; one of many scattered around the park that sold extra tickets in the days of A-E tickets if you ran out and needed more.
Here is one from Disneyland's Pirates construction. Is that tunnel a lift hill? Or maybe basement kitchen? The tree looks like the Swiss Family Tree House.
At the time that New Orleans Square construction went vertical, Pirates of the Caribbean was intended to be a walkthrough of wax figures. It wasn't until the success of AAs and the iasw boat ride system at the 1964 World's Fair that the concept as we know it came into being. Construction crews then had to go back and modify the pre-built structures (as rudimentary as they were at that phase) to expand the basement level and fit the boat ride in. Because of this design/construction progression, it's unlikely that the hole in the photo was intended for anything more than a simple elevator or staircase