Pirate Adventure Cruise

[Wendie]

I'm in the midst of planning out every detail of our January trip and I need help deciding on this one.

I think my son would love to do the two hour Pirate Adventure cruise. He is 4 and a huge Jake and the Neverland Pirates fan and I think he would really dig this. Originally I was thinking this was an awesome opportunity for him to go have a fun time while my husband and I had two hours to explore a park by ourselves. Then I realized that we're only in the parks for four days and two hours of our morning being taken up by this might not be the best option as this is our first Disney trip and probably our only trip in a long time. That's basically half the morning.....

So, question A: Has anyone done had kid's that did the Pirates Adventure Cruise and do you think it's worth the time investment?

B: If you're spending one day in each park, is it a bad idea to do somethign so time intensive?

C: If this IS a great way for us to get some adult time, which park would you think our son would most likely not bother missing out on two hours of? (My husband isn't a huge fan of rides and my son is a huge fan of Jake, Mickey, rides, and the Little Mermaid if that helps at all LOL)

And D: Do they even do these cruises year round? The page doesn't come up in any of the searches when I search on the Disney site, nor does it have any dates listed on it, yet it pops right up on the page I bookmarked....

TIA

 

[Jbausch]

We haven't done this particular cruise yet but I am booking it on our next trip.
I have read the one from the Beach Club is the best. You can find information when you pull up the resorts they happen at on WDW website. It is under recreation.
I personally think these activities are very worth it. This is where Disney shines and where you separate Disney from any other theme park!
We have done the Pirates League, Pirates & Pals firework cruise...and my kids had the BEST time! One of my favorite Disney memories and watching my kids sword fighting dressed in full pirate garb in the contemporary halls. It was late at night so hardly anyone was around but they were having so much fun!
You could even turn it into a Pirate Day. Do the Cruise, later the Pirate League ( parents can do it too) , walk in the Pirates Parade and finish with Pirates and pals firework cruise. Nice way to see the fireworks. ( of course it all depends on how much you want to spend)
Hope you have an awesome time!

 

[Wendie]

We are planning on doing the Pirates and Pals fireworks cruise as well.

I think the "No Parents Allowed" is really my big kicker. Part of me is sad to miss two hours of his Disney experience (not see his reactions, not really know how much fun he had) and part of me is excited to have two hours in the park with just my husband LOL

 

[GWhitten98]

We have it scheduled in our trip in 3 weeks, but we are doing 9 days so this is on a non-park day for us. The kids have no idea and I think they are going to be very excited.

You might think doing in your Epcot day. You could drop him off at the one at Beach club and then walk through the international gateway to Epcot; spend a couple of hours and then walk back and get him. I know you said you aren't big ride people but Soaring with just the two of you would be fun!

If not would you possibly have time for him to do it on your departure day? Do an early 8am breakfast at Cape May and then go from there...

 

[Marthasor]

My son has done the pirate adventure 3 times - twice from BC/YC and once from GF. He enjoyed the BC/YC one the best!

Yes, he had a lot of fun and yes, I enjoyed the 2 hours to myself (went to the spa at Dolphin and the spa at GF!), however, with only one day per park, this is a hard call.

If you want to do it, my suggestion would be to do the one at BC/YC and go to EP. The only caveat is WS doesn't open until 11 am, so you would have to go all the way back into Future World to do anything. By the time you walk in and walk back, you would only have about an hour in EP. Other suggestions would be to go to the spa at the Dolphin, play a round of mini-golf at Fantasia or take a walk and have a good breakfast at one of the hotels.

Other thought - do the Pirates and Pals cruise together. It's an evening cruise that leaves from CR for all ages and starts with kids activities, a big dessert buffet and a meet and greet with Hook and Smee. You then go out on a boat, see Wishes and meet Peter Pan at the end. By doing this, you would all get a pirate cruise and you won't lose any park time.

If he loves Jake and the Neverland Pirates, he could also become Jake at the Pirate's League in MK

 

[DCbride]

Here's my 2 cents:

DD7 has done 3 pirate cruises over the past 3 years (BC/GF/CB). She loved the first 2 and was just ok about the one this past summer. 2 hours is barely time to grab a bite to eat at the resort, let alone go to a park. (This past time at CB we drove to DTD to quickly look in the running store and were sweating getting back on time) So don't count on time in a park. We made reservations at Kona for breakfast and that was fine, but again I felt rushed.

If you want some time with DH, maybe consider one of the kids clubs. DD loves the clubs and asks us to book her time there each trip. The new Club Disney is at the Poly and you could go to MK, or the Sandcastle Club would give you time at Epcot at night.

But, it also sounds like you would rather just watch your son's expressions as he soaks in all the Disney magic. So, spending all 4 days together exploring the parks might be your best option.

 

[NicoleLarson]

Here's my 2 cents:

DD7 has done 3 pirate cruises over the past 3 years (BC/GF/CB). She loved the first 2 and was just ok about the one this past summer. 2 hours is barely time to grab a bite to eat at the resort, let alone go to a park. (This past time at CB we drove to DTD to quickly look in the running store and were sweating getting back on time) So don't count on time in a park. We made reservations at Kona for breakfast and that was fine, but again I felt rushed.

If you want some time with DH, maybe consider one of the kids clubs. DD loves the clubs and asks us to book her time there each trip. The new Club Disney is at the Poly and you could go to MK, or the Sandcastle Club would give you time at Epcot at night.

But, it also sounds like you would rather just watch your son's expressions as he soaks in all the Disney magic. So, spending all 4 days together exploring the parks might be your best option.

I second this. My DD5 did this in February from GF and loved it. However, this was her 8th WDW trip and we were there for 8 days. I would not spend the time, personally. Like the above poster, try one of the kids clubs instead. This way you don't waste precious morning touring time and you won't feel rushed. My DD5 loves the kids clubs as well. She begs us every trip to go to Simbas Clubhouse at AKL.