Back from the trip, and thought it'd be a good idea to give my tips/advice for anyone who'd need it in the future
Check-in and Seating Selection
- I asked for the "red" or "orange" section when we checked in since I thought the middle of either side of the boat would be the best view, and we were then placed in the "red" section. Funny thing was that after we'd finished checking in, a lady checking in at the next window asked for the "purple" or "yellow" section since she'd been told those were the best. I instantly doubted my choice, but we'd already been given a color, so I didn't dwell on it. Now that I've seen the layout of the stadium table seating, and as fine as the middle red section was, I'd choose to sit in the "yellow" section if I ever went again. It was angled to face the front/middle of the ship with a better view of the actors who seemed to face forward more often and that section was closest to the entrance/exit doors. Really, as long as you ask for anything except "blue" or "green" which was angled against the back of the ship on either side, you'll be fine. Just preference, I guess. You can Google Pirate's Dinner Adventure for images to give you a better idea.
-They suggest getting there early like 3:30pm for the first show and I think that's a good idea because the earlier you get there, the closer the row to the front they'll put you in (assuming you're not getting the upgraded packages which already put you in the front). We arrived at 4pm due to traffic and were put in row 13 of the red section. Can't remember how many rows in total, but I'd say there were about three or so more rows behind us. Unlike in Medieval where you're only place in a color section and then it's a free-for-all for which row in the standard section that you can make it to it seems, at Pirate's they give you a color section ticket stapled to your receipt at Check-in that tells you which table row number you're in. The only free-for-all part at this show is that the earlier you are to you're table-row when you're herded into the show area, the further down you're told to go in your row to fill up all the seats.
-Rewinding a little, after checking in at the front window and walking into the building, you're asked to pose behind a ship's wheel. Someone in your party will have to stand/kneel in front and "hold" a dragon that's hatched in an egg. (We joked afterward about why there had even been a dragon when this was supposed to be about pirates, but we'd later find out that that dragon egg played a part in the storyline of the show.) Anyway, the photo will be brought to you later on and they'll ask if you'd like to purchase it for $20 dollars. It comes with an (this is off the top of my head) 8X10, 4x6 and two 4x3s for the price.
Lobby & Pre-show
-As you're waiting out in the lobby/bar area, there's a small number of tables and also long benches lining the perimeter. Some employees walk about the room with small trays of appetizers. Much like Costco samples, really, of meatballs on bread, carrot/celery sticks, etc. but it's a nice little extra that helps if you're hungry. Alcoholic drinks at the bar are sold for a hefty price. My dad purchase a pina colada to share with my mom for $16 (!) dollars. It comes in a souvenir glass cup, but still, that's an expensive drink. Plan to spend if you want alcohol. Now the other side of the large lobby had a store-area with plenty of souvenirs (plastic swords and guns, bandanas, flags, etc.) but we didn't peruse that area for long to know what kind of pricing they had.
-About 20-30 minutes before the show was to start, there is a pre-show at the bar area that served like a back-story and intro to the storyline in the show. Pretty entertaining and some cool stunts were involved.
Food
-For the meal, they offered soup or salad for an appetizer, and a refillable pitcher of a soft drink for your group. Coffee was also available and so were alcoholic beverages that a server would get you at the bar and bring to you if you chose. We were then asked to choose between two plates. 1) Beef skewers with vegetables and mashed potatoes or 2) Chicken with rice and vegetables. (Chicken nugget option for kids) I'd read somewhere that the chicken plate was twice as much food as the beef skewers, so all except one of our party chose to get the chicken plate with mashed potatoes substituted for the vegetables. (I'd also read somewhere that the mashed potatoes were the best thing on those plates, so we were glad they let us substitute with no problem-- I suggest you do the same. They
were the best thing on our plates! lol) The soup appetizer was pretty bland with no flavor and I think I even added some salt in hopes that it would make a difference. Nope. I'd suggest going for the salad. As for the chicken plate, the chicken was a very good sized portion as were the rice and mashed potatoes. Definitely more than the five-or-so pieces of beef on the skewer stick. It's just that the food as a whole wasn't that spectacular or memorable, so don't go with the mindset that you're going to this show for the meal. It's really for the show experience.
-We weren't celebrating anything special like a birthday or anything, but it seemed like they brought over a small cake slice with a candle to anyone who was. Also our "red" pirate came over before the show started to select individuals in our section and wished them a happy birthday, chatted a little and posed for a picture with them.
-While we ate, it was pretty dark in the show area, making it harder to see the food in front of us, but luckily there were some lighted battery candles placed between every three people or so, and my brother had the good idea of moving the closest one between our two plates so we could see better
It helped big time.
Show
-At the beginning of the show, many children and adults who were celebrating a birthday and their names were called were able to go aboard the ship as a group and take a photo. Again, we didn't purchase a birthday package or tell our waitress that we were celebrating anything so I don't know if you specifically needed to purchase the birthday package for this or not, just thought I'd give my observation.
-Now, since we'd been to Medieval Times many times before, it was hard not to compare this show to it. Pirate's is a smaller-scale production since it doesn't have the building size that Medieval has. But this show was definitely more kid-centric with its jokes, songs, and dialogue. We cheered, booed and laughed along. Even so, I don't want to sound too critical, but the story seemed to have too many plots that made the show seem to go all over the place. In fact, I don't even remember which pirate crew color had "won" since there seemed to be two different competitions against the pirate colors during the course of the show. One, I think, might have been to see which pirate would be the new first-mate, and the second could have been to see which pirate would marry the princess. But the multiple plot lines (including a dragon?) crisscrossed all over the place or went no where of importance so it was difficult to keep track. I guess I'll just leave it at saying that I definitely like Medieval Times better for its more serious effort at portraying the time period, straightforwardness and better food, but the combat stunts and choreography in Pirates was definitely entertaining to see. I'm glad we went, and despite the sporadically-paced storyline, it was worth seeing at least once. This is my opinion, of course, and I'm sure kids wouldn't even mind the storyline, since the pirates are what matter lol
Miscellaneous
-(Regarding tickets) Last thing I wanted to say was to keep an eye out for special deals on tickets. The regular adult ticket price of $60 is way too high for this dinner show. I checked online one week prior to our trip and they were having a January ticket special for $30 (or $32, can't remember) per adult. The thing is though that we were going on Feb. 1st, so I called the ticket office number and thought I'd have to plead a little to have them give me the special price, but I didn't have to at all. I simply told them I saw a $30 deal on their website and wanted to know if I could get that price for the Feb. 1st show. The woman said certainly, and that was that! Completely helpful and easy
So my point is, to look out for those deals and call the ticket office.
Thanks for reading!
