OFFICIAL The Pirates League Thread

[Berlioz70]

I keep seeing... "has anyone done The Pirates League" threads, so I thought it would be good to get everything in once nice centralized area like the BBB.

I can give the basic information, but encourage anyone who has done the experience to post a review!

OFFICIAL DISNEY WEBSITE

Reservations:

Call 407-WDW-CREW
Reservations are available 180 days in advance (+10 if staying at a Disney resort)
Reservations are NOT available on-line, and will NOT appear on your on-line itinerary.

General Overview:

The Pirates League is open daily from 9:00a - 4:00p (last appointment at 3:30).
At 4:10 there is a daily Buccaneer Brigade experience.
YOUTUBE VIDEO OF BRIGADE.

NOTE: If you want to participate in the parade, make your appointment no later than 2:45.

MNSSHP: Appointments are available until 7:00 on party nights.

Larger Photo of All Looks



FIRST MATE package
$34.95 and includes the following:
Choice of facial effect: Hook, Cursed, Multi-eye Jack, Black eye Jack, or Blackbeard
Reversible bandana
Earring and Eye Patch
Sword and Sheath
Pirate Teeth
Pirate Pouch
Temporary Tattoo
Unique Pirate Coin Necklace
Personalized Pirate Oath
Official Pirate Name

Image of Cursed, Multi-eye Jack, Black eye Jack & Hook from Stitch Kingdom

Image of Blackbeard from DPB


EMPRESS package
$34.95 and includes the following:
Lip Gloss and Nail Polish
Reversible bandana
Earring and Eye Patch
Sword and Sheath
Temporary Tattoo
Unique Pirate Coin Necklace
Personalized Pirate Oath
Official Pirate Name

Image of Empress from DPB

MERMAID package
$39.95 and includes the following:
Luminous mermaid makeup and makeup palette
Hairstyle and color-changing hair clip
Distinctive color changing mermaid necklace
Nail polish
Mermaid sash

Image of Mermaid from DPB


JAKE package
$29.95 and includes the following:
Jake and the Never Land Pirates bandana with faux hair
Sword and sheath
Pirate Pouch
Unique pirate coin necklace

Image of Jake from DPB

CAPTAIN package
This package was discontinued in January 2010.

Pirate Paint

Pirate Masters use Ben Nye MagiCake Aqua Paints.

For more info on the paints, visit BEN NYE'S Website.

Pirate Garb (costumes)

Pirate Garb is available at an additional cost, prices vary:
Boney Pirate (hat included) - $65
Captain Hook (hook and hat NOT included) - $50.
Captain Jack (hat included) - $65
Maiden Dress (hat included) - $50
Garb shift (hat NOT included - option for adults/child, in image it's the boy on the right) - $35

Links are from other DISboards reports/reviews.

NOTE: Garb and faces do not have to match. You can get the Boney face with the Captain Hook Garb, etc.

Pirate Portrait

Everyone will have an individual picture taken near the end of the experience. The photo will be printed and available to purchase. Photopass+ includes one 5x7 Portrait.

The first photo, with The Pirates League map case/folder, is $14.95.

Additional photos, without the map case/folder, are $9.95.

If a photo is purchased, the additional portraits may be added to a Photopass Card at Exposition Hall or on-line. Photopass cannot be utilized if no photos are purchased at the league.

Gunners (photographers) are not present during the actual transformation, so there will not be any pictures taken until the very end.

If you have a couple people going through the process together you can request a group photo, but they may not be able to accommodate based on how busy the League is. Also, the lighting for the picture was designed for one person, adding many more people is going to start putting shadows onto faces.

FAQ

What is the age range?
Minimum age is 3, there is no maximum. Many adults do participate in the experience!

Why is the minimum age 3?
This limit is from the pirate paint manufacturer, the paint is not tested on children under 3. Also, the merchandise (i.e., the eye patch and earring) is for children age 3 and up.

My child is under 3, what can he or she do?
Legally speaking, TPL will never paint on a child under 3 (it doesn't matter if their birthday is tomorrow, today they are 2). Therefore, if your child is under 3, they will not be able to make a reservation. If there is walk-in availability, they may be able to take children under 3, but will NOT apply the face paint. It becomes the same as the No Face Option listed below, there is no discount for this option.

How long does the experience take?
It averages 30-45 min once in the chair. Add additional time to get dressed and be prepared for a wait. For planning purposes, 90 min should be good.

Do I need to bring a comb?
When making a reservation, you will be told to bring a comb/brush. In truth, neither are needed.

What is done with hair?
If a girl's hair is DOWN with the Empress/Mermaid, it will be twisted back. If her hair is up, it will not be touched. Hair is not touched for the other looks.

Where is The Pirates League?
It is located in the Caribbean Plaza within Adventureland. The physical entrance is between The Pirates of the Caribbean attraction and the Pirates Bazaar merchandise shop. It's a little hidden away, but if you ask any pirates in the area they should be able to point you into the right direction.

Can I tip the Pirate Masters?
Pirate Masters can accept tips, cash only. Tipping is subjective, but I'd encourage it if you had a positive experience!

Can I bring costumes from home?
YES!! It is best to change into the costume before checking in. If the league is slow then they may allow you to use the Powder Rooms, but if it's busy they will not. There is no time to change between the pirate paint and the portrait.

Is the Pirate Paint hard to remove?
Mostly no, but for the black, yes. The best way to remove the paint is with a foam cleanser makeup remover, baby wipes or shaving creme. Liquid makeup removers are pretty worthless.

Are the costumes hot?
Yes. But most kids do not care and will wear it all day anyway. The heaviest costumes are the Boney and Captain Jack. The Hook undershirt is a tank, so it's easy to just remove the jacket. The Garb shirt is pretty thin and popular for summertime.

What happens if my kid is too scared?
Book the appointment anyway. If your trip allows it, bring your kid by a day or two in advance so he/she has a chance to look around as a preparation. If the time comes and he/she is too scared, the appointment can be cancelled at NO CHARGE. TPL will not charge based on a scared child, they charge if a family does not show up at all. Better safe with an appointment because there are busy times TPL will not take walk-ins.

Can we do the experience without face paint?
Yes. Recognizing that some people want to be pirates, without all the paint, you can request no face. Since the cost of the package is for the merchandise, NO discount is given to those without a face.

Is an appointment required?
Yes. The Pirates League can be booked 180 days in advance. Due to the popularity of the 4th movie, the League is booking up about 2-3 weeks in advance. If you are unable to make an appointment you can attempt to walk-in, but the majority of people are turned away.

Each morning the reservations are re-evaluated for the day and some additional slots may be open (sometimes just one or two, sometimes it's closer to eight or nine). These slots are filled on a first come first serve basis. If you walk-in right at 9 they will schedule you for later in the day, based on the openings. By 9:30-10:00 all of these slots are typically filled and no additional walk-ins are taken.

My party is greater than 2, why can't we get in at the same time?
Based on chair availability, only two people are allowed in the same time slot. Many people are able to book appointments side by side while others may have a longer gap (30-40 min) between appointments. Pirates will try their best to take in the entire group together. If the group is greater than 4, they may request the group to be broken up into smaller groups (typically based on how it will be paid for).

Can I watch my family/friends if I'm not becoming a pirate?
Certainly!! You're also welcome to take pictures. Please note, the secret room can only hold 6 people at a time. An option is to split up multiple pirates so that the group can enter the room in smaller crews. If there is only one pirate, the group cannot be split, unfortunately some will have to sit out.

What Pirate Characters are available for a meet and greet?
Jake meets at Disney's Hollywood Studios, outside of the Disney Jr. show; as well as at Play 'n Dine for breakfast and lunch.

Across from the League you can watch The Pirate Tutorial with Captain Jack Sparrow, but he does not take individual pictures or sign autographs. Sometimes Captain Hook and Mr. Smee will make random appearances at Disney's Hollywood Studios, but these are inconsistent and hard to plan for.

[Goofy'slady]

Cool, our oldest daughter has a ressie to be made over into a Pirate Empress during our trip next month. She feels like she's a bit to old for BBB unlike her 4yr old lil sister but when she found out about PL she thought that was cool.

I'll have to report back to give our experiences with BBB and PL, on different threads of course but I think it's great for there to be more choices for those who like the whole idea of getting made over Disney style!

T.

[RandFamily]

I've seen a lot of questions about the Pirate League experience and what I liked best about it was that it wasn't just about getting make-up - it was a true EXPERIENCE! First you get your pirate name, and then while they do your makeup, they stay in character and chat with you. Then you take an oath to become a pirate and then get to see the treasure room, etc. It's so much more than just makeup -it's like being part of a little improv theater group.

I went for my 50th birthday with my young adult kids and we all got made up and had a blast!

I highly recommend it!!!!

[Berlioz70]

Just a shameless bump - I've added some FAQ in the first post from other threads!

[brandym]

Brenna....you are great

Do you know how much the boney outfit is?

[buzzmom3]

My son did this last year and it was amazing! It is so worth the money! He had a great time. The Pirate Master for his experience was awesome and from our home time. I want to do this again when my daughter is old enough, she will be about a week short of 3 on our June trip So next year.

[Berlioz70]

Originally Posted by brandym

Brenna....you are great

Do you know how much the boney outfit is?

Since I've been gone a couple months I'm not positive on any of the costume prices. I think Boney and Jack are $65. Elizabeth Swan is around $55. Maiden is about $50. I'm not sure how they are selling Hook and Garb because they used to come with accessories before and I'm not sure if they do anymore.

[brandym]

Darn!! DS #2 really wants to be boney....and he wants the costume! Well, more chores I suppose...he has $.50 saved! LOL!!

Thanks, Brenna!

[Swimalie]

My son just did this last Tues for his 5th birthday. It was a total surprise from us (his parents) and he loved it! All smiles the whole time. And normally he's not a makeup kid and yet he got it done. It was great and I highly recommend it for anyone considering it.

The only thing I wish is that they had told us then that we could have purchased extra pictures. We bought the 1 offered but didn't know we could have bought another one. My parents were with us and I would have bought one for them, too.

We went back around 2 for the Buccaneer Brigade. That was great, too. The pirates that led that were fun and great with the kids and the kids enjoyed marching around and, of course, getting treasure at the end.

[BreezysMom]

From start to finish the Pirates League was so much fun! After two previous experiences at BBB DD decided she was over the whole Princess thing. Lucky for her the Pirates League opened!

We scheduled our visit the afternoon we were attending MNSSHP so she could dress as a Pirate! I loved the whole set up of the room and Pirate Brenna was wonderful with DD. I think DH was envious of DD and wanted to be turned into a Pirate himself



Upon arrival DD had to spin the wheel to mix the dice...these would help determine DD's new Pirate name.

The dice along with her birth month and she became Jade Backscratcher She was not pleased with the Backscratcher part!

Next we met Brenna who transformed her...

After she was through DD was given the Pirate oath.

Upon completion Brenna announced to the whole place "We have a new Pirate" The whole place errupted in applause and hoots and howling! It was great

Afterwards, she was given a given a sword and instructed how to use it and then we were escorted into the secret room. No photos allowed in the secret room

Afterwards, we chatted with the Pirates at the front desk while we waited for our picture. It was a fabulous experience for all of us and DD can't wait to go back and do it again our next trip! I have never met a nicer group of CMs in all our trips to Disney! Even when we walked by a few hours later one of the Pirates called out to DD!

In my opinion the Pirate League is a must do for boys and girls!

[brandym]

Your DD looks great!!

I'm so excited for our trip!! I ordered DD an "EMPIRE" (that's what you call it when they take a princess and a pirate and mix them all up) (she's 5) dress of off etsy and found the boys skeleton and captain jack costumes just now for great prices!!

[brandym]

sorry Brenna, another question...

Do you know if you can use your Disney Visa 10% discount?

thanks!!

[Berlioz70]

Probably not, The Pirates League does not work like a regular merchandise location. If they offer discounts, it's specific to them and they are not included in offers elsewhere on property.

[brandym]

Thanks, again. Off to bed...won't pester you anymore tonight

[dzaharchuk]

We are hoping to do the Pirates' League during our October trip on the night of MNSSHP.

From what I've read, the latest appointment we can book will be 3:30? Also, if we are making res. for 3 kids, can I book all for same time, or will I have to book 3:30, 4:00, 4:30... How fast do appt's book up? Will I be okay if I book at 180 day mark?

My dd is dying to be E Swann, and is desperately trying to talk her little brother into being Jack Sparrow..