Pirates Dinner Show

[auntgabby]

DH and I are taking DS-12, DD-8, & DS-3-1/2 to WDW May 27- June 2 for the very first time. We were thinking about taking them to the Pirate dinner show on our first night (we are arriving around noon that day). Have any of you seen the show and do you think my kids will enjoy it? Any feedback you could give me will be greatly appreciated! I'm new to the DIS, and I have really enjoyed all the helpful hints and great info. I've learned so much and it's nice to know I have someplace to go to ask my questions. You guys are great! Thanks.

Gail

 

[Cilegna]

I saw this during our last trip to Orlando (1/01).The younger kids seemed restless and bored. There was one child who didn't stop crying for the first 10 minutes of the show. However if you are still interested in going, I beleive their website has a $10 off coupon.

[This message was edited by Cilegna on 04-21-01 at 03:39 PM.]

 

[mum4jenn]

We took our 3 1/2 year old Daughter and she loved it.She was running a fever and was not feeling very well but she still liked it.There were a few times when loud bangs scared her but if she had felt better that probably would not have bothered her as much. It is a good show and you should love it too. Especially your boys. It is a participation show and everyone gets to root for the pirate in their color section.GO to the show.

Leesburg,GA

 

[kellymonaghan]

[from "The Other Orlando"]

If there were Academy Awards for Orlando dinner shows, Pirates Dinner Adventure would have to get the best set award. This cheerful melange of old-time Technicolor pirate movie, Broadway musical, and big top circus unfolds in a fog-shrouded domed arena dominated by a towering and ghostly pirate vessel a-sail on the watery deep (into which not a few of the performers take some spectacular falls).

The fun starts in a large antechamber where a Festival, celebrating the arrival of Princess Anita, welcomes arriving guests with Gypsy fortune tellers, face painting for kids, hors d’oeuvres, and a cash bar. There’s even a tiny arcade for die-hard video game freaks. The show proper gets under way with the explosive entrance of a band of oddly friendly pirates who kidnap the princess and a comely gypsy wench. For good measure, they shanghai the entire audience, shepherding us to their outlaw realm.

We know these pirates can’t be all bad when they announce that they will serve us a sumptuous meal, just to prepare us for the torture, maiming, and certain death that will follow shortly. The meal, served by the pirate crew, is a hearty one. Yellow rice with sliced beef and spicy chicken barbecued to a turn on pirate swords.

Then we settle back for a celebration of swashbuckling derring do on the high seas. In a plot that defies rational explication, we find ourselves caught up in a story that involves crew rivalries, the love of a young pirate lad for a princess, long dead pirates, trampolines, basketball, and — would you believe? — a circus aerial act. There is also a delightfully droll and smarmy pirate captain, complete with black beard and a wig of cascading ringlets; his wife is a brassy blonde with a voice like cannon fire. They make a highly entertaining couple.

Punctuated by song, the fast and furious action moves left and right, up and down, comes from behind us, and soars high over our heads. The “Golden Gypsy” dances high above, the pirates compete in wacky games of skill, and kids from the audience are taken aboard to be sworn in as swashbuckling buccaneers. All too soon it seems, the King’s army arrives to save the day. There will probably be times during all this when you don’t know what the heck is going on, but you’ll probably be enjoying yourself too much to care.

All of this cheerfully chaotic mayhem is carried forward by a game and talented young cast. The male pirate chorus is especially fine. Don’t be surprised if your find yourself singing along to the refrain of “Drink, Drink, Drink.” And speaking of drinking, beer, wine, and soda flow freely during the meal and afterwards.

For those who care to linger after the show, there is a “Pirates’ Buccaneer Bash” where crew members lead the crowd (kids mostly) in silly song and dance routines.

Kelly Monaghan
Author of "Universal Orlando: The Ultimate Guide to the Ultimate Theme Park Adventure" and
"The Other Orlando: What To Do When You've Done Disney & Universal"
<img height=100 src=http://www.theotherorlando.com/images/use.jpg> <img height=100 src=http://www.theotherorlando.com/images/orl3.jpg>>

 

[scanmom]

I have never been, but a close friend of mine took his DS (4y/o) and they LOVED it!! He (my friend) told me that this was his son's favorite part of the trip. We are going to try it next trip based on his high opinion!

 

[auntgabby]

I appreciate you taking the time to give me your opinions. I ordered our tickets and made reservations for the day we are arriving. We'll be getting in around midday on Sunday,May 27th. Since it is Memorial day weekend we didn't want to waste a day of our park hoppers on half a day on a busy weekend after traveling. I think the Pirate dinner show will kick-off our week to a good start! Many thanks again!!! CAN'T WAIT!!!!!!!

 

[SimonV]

I've lost count of the number of cast, script and scene changes this show has been through since it opened in 1997 as one of the most ambitious dinner presentations of all, set in a film studios, and with a studio tour and pre-show special effects all as part of the presentation. Nowadays, Pirates has settled down into a pretty reliable and fun dinner show, although I still find the acoustics poor, the story hard to follow at times and the food pretty ordinary (and sometimes slow to arrive). The set IS quite spectacular and the stunts are well staged, but somehow the whole thing doesn't quite gel, to my mind. However, kids seem to get an absolute blast out of it, and the cast can't be faulted for their effort and enthusiasm, especially in the post-dinner party.

simon.veness@virgin.net

 

[kellymonaghan]

When Pirates first opened it was truly amazing.

After the indoor dinner show they had an outdoor movie-themed stunt show with the most incredible stunts I've ever seen at an Orlando theme park, Disney and Universal included. The idea was to have a much more extensive outdoor entretainment menu, sort of a mini-theme park.

They quickly discovered that there was no way they could bring in enough at the box office to pay for such an ambitious undertaking. Too bad. While it lasted it was great.

Kelly Monaghan
Author of "Universal Orlando: The Ultimate Guide to the Ultimate Theme Park Adventure" and
"The Other Orlando: What To Do When You've Done Disney & Universal"
<img height=100 src=http://www.theotherorlando.com/images/use.jpg> <img height=100 src=http://www.theotherorlando.com/images/orl3.jpg>>