Dinner Shows
In the interest of adding a couple of new and different elements to the itinerary, we have two dinner shows booked for our October vacation:
- the 20’s inspired Al Capone’s:
http://www.alcapones.com/ and
- the swashbuckling Pirates Dinner Adventure
:
http://www.piratesdinneradventure.com/
Dinner shows aren’t everyone’s idea of a good time, but we’ve had a couple of successes so far that make us excited to give these a try. We’ve done the Outta Control Dinner Show in Orlando on a previous family vacation and thought it was EXCELLENT.
We’ve also been to Medieval Times on multiple occasions (the Toronto castle) and again, thought it was a very worthwhile overall experience. We’re totally okay with the “cheesy” factor of these events and generally go more for the entertainment value than the food.
The meal at Capone’s (an Italian buffet) gets some pretty decent reviews, so while the 20’s gangster theme is less appealing to me than the pirate theme, I am much more excited about the actual dinner here than at Pirates. Pirates is a plated meal versus a buffet, with a couple of different options (basically beef, chicken or vegetarian) from which to pick at the time tickets are purchased.
Steve would like to dress up for both events, hence the reason we are working on a second set of costumes versus just our pirates gear. I think I will stop by to see our costume lady later today to see if she’s made any headway on something to fit my big guy
(My boss has decided to close the office early again today.....so as of noon, I'm outta here! 
).
We chose to upgrade our tickets to both events to VIP entitlements. By booking online at Capone’s, we automatically saved 50% on the ticket price so the upgrade was very affordable. At Capone’s, the VIP perks are listed as follows:
“Be Treated like a true "Goodfella" with the best seats in the house no matter when you book your tickets. Get a choice of drinks and appetizers along with a nice stack of Casino chips to take advantage of Al's Backroom gambling operation located on the second floor in the Four Deuces Lounge. Then you will be seated in the theater first have access to the Buffet, Salad Bar and Carving Station before the rest of the general public. Plus receive a take home souvenir glass. VIP Tickets are distributed on a very limited basis so order yours before they are all gone.”
I’m short, so they had me at “best seats in the house” (I absolutely detest not being able to see properly
). Steve was lured in by the gambling in the lounge prior to the show, and the souvenir glass (a nice addition to his bar
).
At Pirates, there were several different options for upgrades, each with a different price point. We opted for the highest tier (if you’re gonna go, go big, right?
) and purchased the “VIP Ship Experience” at an addition $30 per person. It provides us with:
- Front Row Boat seating.
- Access to the Governors VIP Lounge before the show where guests may enjoy; upgraded & exclusive appetizers, VIP Restroom and Smokers Garden.
- 15% Discount at the giftshop when you show your upgrade sticker.
- Priority access to the main show area.
- Guaranteed interaction with the Pirates during the show (for those who wish)
- Unlimited soda and beer during the main show.
- Two complimentary glasses of champagne or house wine.
- Guaranteed opportunity to board the ship and take pictures with the cast.
It was the front row seating and the guaranteed interaction with the cast that sold us on the upgrade, especially since we are going to be in costume. Speaking of costumes……apparently, since we are visiting during the month of October and the attraction is in Halloween-mode, they apparently have a costume contest nightly where we have a chance to win some sort of a prize (as if Steve needed an incentive to dress up
). In addition to the costume contest, during the entire month of October they swap out their regular show for their Halloween production of “Vampirates” :
http://www.piratesdinneradventure.com/orlando/explore-the-show/vampirates-halloween-adventure/ .
We are considering Ubering to both venues rather than driving, so that Steve can partake in the included alcohol to whatever extent he wishes. Especially now that we have the Uber Livingsocial offer (saving us a cool $18 in fees……thank you
@dyalizers !), it seems to be a particularly good idea to do so.
Capone’s was definitely the less expensive of the two dinner shows, with two adult tickets (including the VIP upgrade and factoring in the 50% savings on the base admission for ordering online) ringing in right around $100 with tax. Pirates, in comparison, was about $165 for the two of us with a 25% off coupon code, the VIP upgrades, and tax. I will be interested to see which one turns out to be the best overall value when price, food and entertainment are all factored into the equation. Having the VIP upgrades at both events should allow us to compare apples-to-apples where value is concerned.
Both dinner shows have been high on Steve’s to-do list, especially, for many years but didn’t appeal to Jake in the slightest. With this being just a couples trip, it seemed like a perfect time to give them a try. We have them scheduled for back-to-back nights fairly early on in our vacation (we arrive on Friday the 14th, and the dinner shows are scheduled for Monday the 17th and Tuesday the 18th, with Pirates the first night and Capone’s the second) and will probably do some of the attractions at the Orlando Eye complex during the afternoon of each of those dates. Both shows begin at 7:30 pm so we have lots of time during the day to explore.
And so, the countdown continues.....83 days to do
. By early next week, we will officially cross over into the 70s!
.) So it's a personal preference for me. I wouldn't look at someone in that shirt and think they needed a tank, it would just look nicer on me with one, I think.
Or do you just throw them way when the trip is over?
. Okay, well, not really.....but yeah, my underwear drawer is well stocked 
. Thank goodness there are no trips scheduled for anytime in the first half of 2017!!
Womens pants sizes are just awful, why can't they just be the same everyone?
. If candy doesn't work, chocolate has been known to soothe the soul. Or wine.
.
. It was actually one of the things that I loved about that top.....because I find that layers in the heat (even thin layers) make me hot and cranky.
ignore the coats/cleaning stuff. The chocolate gets shoved in wherever we have room. Forgot we have a whole box of solid chocolate bunnies. Would have been good to have remembered during strawberry season!
I would hate to see you guys miss out on a trip of a lifetime 
. One of the days I am so grateful to work in an air conditioned office.
. Oh, how I wish I had dates confirmed so I could have taken advantage of that offer!!
. But...it looks fabulous, the meal looks delish, and the hokey-ness of the event is right up my alley. I assure you, we *WILL* do HDDR at some point within the next year or so!
