Pirates League Booked - Any tips?

[gorjus121]

This is our 4th trip to WDW and the first time our boys will be surprised with the Pirates League experience. We have a reservation for 9:55 am (the earliest they had available). We are planning on getting them the First Mate package. Any tips you can give would be appreciated?

 

[Mousemommy1]

No tips...because it's a pretty simple process, but our girls did it and loved it. The kids are given makeovers, taken to the secret room for pictures and given a pirate name. We were glad they liked it and it was sooooooo much cheaper than BBB.

There is a parade they can come back and do later on, but our girls weren't interested so I'm not sure about that.

 

[michyi]

This is so much fun! My boys did this. They chose full face skeleton make-up. It was so cute. Taking it off that night was another story. I suggest bringing baby oil to take off the make-up easily. Have fun!

 

[ajwolfe]

I would definitely bring make up remover wipes with you. Depending on what time of year you are going you might want to not have them wear light colored clothing that day. My boys have done this twice. The first was in cooler months and it was no biggie; the second was in warmer months and by the end of the day some of it was sweating off a bit and got on their shirts - I'm looking at you light colored dri fit UA shirts that were ruined.
Also, if you have MM they will add all the pics from the secret room to your collection and they are cute pics. Feel free to take your pics during the makeover and tell your kids that they will be talked to like a pirate while getting their make overs - so maybe they can have some clever things ready to talk about.
Have fun!

 

[DisneyCAL]

My DD5 and DS5 both did Pirates League. They loved it. The Ghosted Pirate really is a drastic change in appearance! It took a bit to get off, I used my Neutrogena wave scrubber on his face. But a little black remains around the eye only because I didn't want to go at it too much so close to the eye. The upside is he looked like Johnny Depp after. A morning time would probably be better as DS almost fell asleep in the chair during our 1:30pm appt.. I bought DS a Pirate shirt and DD a teal dress with fish on it to add to the effect.

 

[BubblyTrip]

We did it two years ago when DS was just 5. He is not shy at all, but was a little thrown by the sarcasm of the CM who had him (and she was one of the famous ones you read about...people love her). I would prep a shy kid that the people are silly, or some such language. I also prepped him that Jake was not the best option, as it was hot when we went and I knew a furry wig would be a problem. We did buy a bonus pirate shirt while there that has held up great. Last year we brought the gear and I did some make up on him myself (some scars with eyeliner), so he got to show it all off again.

 

[Mom22beans]

I was considering this for our kids DS4 and DD6 but wondered if my shy, hesitant little man would freak out! He has NEVER had face paint on and lst Christmas (14) FREAKED at any character that came within 20 feet of him- to the point of crawling under the table and between my legs! Is this a good or bad idea?

 

[DisneyCAL]

I was considering this for our kids DS4 and DD6 but wondered if my shy, hesitant little man would freak out! He has NEVER had face paint on and lst Christmas (14) FREAKED at any character that came within 20 feet of him- to the point of crawling under the table and between my legs! Is this a good or bad idea?

There aren't any characters walking around. The CM's here aren't scary in any way, if anything they're comical. They are good at handling any personality, my DD5 is the opposite of DS5 and they both loved it. Also there are options that have less paint applied, there is a ghost pirate with thick paint and one thats thinner.

 

[BMonhaut]

Echo the makeup removal. My son was five and did the Bones (or maybe it's called Ghosted Pirate). We were a little unsure he wanted the makeup on all day (we did ours at 10am) but he kept that and the full costume (total cost of about $100) on for 12 full hours that day! He loved it. Like other posters said, let your kids know the CMs will talk to them - they'll ask them where their ship came in from, how many cannons are on it, etc. It's really fun to hear them interact. Also, recommend that day for character meet and greets - Peter Pan, Sheriff Woody, and Jessie were all scared of him and he loved it. When we did ETwB, Belle asked him if he was a "good pirate or a bad pirate" - and he responded "Bad Pirate". He was in character the whole day, and got lots of reactions from the different characters, even in parades. Your kids will love it.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

My DS8 has done this twice. Just be prepared for a LOT of waiting. There is waiting between every segment of the process - waiting to be called to do the pirate name, then waiting for a chair to become available, then waiting for the photo room to become available. He enjoyed it, but honestly, he also enjoyed the knights package at BBB, which was much cheaper and now, just really enjoys getting his face painted. He always does it in Tomorrowland and there has never been a wait. Would I recommend it Pirates League? Yes. But for the PP who says her son is shy and she isn't sure how he will react, I would suggest, perhaps making an appointment toward the end of your trip and trying one of the face paint stations prior to that. If he doesn't react well, simply cancel Pirates League. That's a lot of money to spend on something that may end up upsetting your child. My DS did the Jake package on his second visit to Pirates League and that wig was off by the time we passed Swiss Family Treehouse on our way out of Adventureland . . .

 

[NicholeB630]

Following this. Can anyone tell me what all is available to purchase at the store? Not sure exactly what my kids will want to wear and it will be hot in September so I want to just get them something there to wear for the Halloween Party.

 

[DisneyCAL]

We did the standard package and bought outfits off of amazon for cheaper. This way you can choose things that are nice and light for the hot weather. The accessories they get for the Ghosted Pirate First Mate Package were enough, didn't really need to purchase anything else. For our daughter we found a teal colored t shirt dress with a cute fish scene on it to make it look more mermaid-ish. I thought what you get for the money is a very good value especially in comparison to bbb.

 

[kreckl]

Bring eye makeup remover! It was tough to try to get that off late at night with a tired kid. Another thought is that if you plan to do splash mountain to do it before the makeup, as you are told to keep it dry. My son ended up wanting the whole thing removed about 15 minutes after we left. EVERYONE was commenting to him as soon as we left the experience and it made him self-conscious. We went back in to see if they could help us take most of it off ( he had the full face done) and they were great. He just left the eye liner on with his patch and sword, bandanna etc and loved that.

 

[gorjus121]

We have a 9:55 am appt for both our boys. Do you recommend arriving early and how long should we expect to be there?
I want to plan our Fast Passes appropriately and not have to worry about rushing.

 

[DisneyCAL]

You should be there 15min before appt. to check-in and choose your package. When make res you may say the package, but they will ask again. This also gives you time if you want to change them into a special outfit. Our res was 1:30 and we were done with package and pictures by 2:20, both dd and ds were done over and ds had the thick ghost paint, which takes more time.