Themed Attractions: Talking Pirates Today

Saturday, September 19, 2009 Themed Attractions: Talking Pirates Today Why are pirates so fascinating? They just arrrrr! An old joke of course but appropriate as today is National Talk Like a Pirate Day* in the US. My little boy did all the Orlando parks and attractions last Autumn, saw Spider-man, Shamu, Mickey and a host of other magical characters...

but a half hour that sticks in his mind was the pirate mini-golf. Something beguiling about these Johnny Depp-style swashbucklers you see, not so much with their modern counterparts, the machine-gun toting Somalis with their outboard motors and offshore accounts…. With the success of the Pirates of the Caribbean series of films, led by Depp’s quirkily accented villain/hero and Dodgeball’s Steve (who thought he was a pirate - inspiration for the Talk like a Pirate guys perhaps?), these seafaring buccaneers remain a prime source of inspiration for themed and gaming developers in the theme park and attractions industries. A fine time, then me hearties, to talk about "lubbers" and "hornpipes" and "bung holes" and highlight just a few of the great piratical (that a word?) adventures currently sailing the seven seas… Alton Towers Merlin’s Staffordshire theme park launched Mutiny Bay in 2008 (right) and also have a monorail train decked out with pirate insignia and treasure (see Sarner gives Alton Towers' Monorail a Creative Facelift). Magic Kingdom Disney’s The Pirates League is a buccaneer adventure featuring makeovers that turn theme park guests into savvy swashbucklers (below). Pirates of the Caribbean: stars a comical cast of rascals, scoundrels, villains and knaves, and sends Magic Kingdom guests of all ages on a rollicking boat ride (below) to a Caribbean seaport under siege by a swashbuckling band of pirates. Furthermore Disney’s Enchanted Adventures Parade features a 39-foot-long pirate ship… There is also an entire pirate themed hotel and casino complex in Treasure Island in Las Vegas (where else?) where one can “ get enchanted by the beautiful Sirens of TI® as they lure a band of renegade pirates into their cove with powerful and captivating melodies”. The image below shows a luckless traveler being captivated by his captor’s medlodies. And finally, the experience which so enchanted my 4 yr old; Orlando’s Pirate’s Cove mini-golf. With over two dozen locations in the US , they provide “innovative hole designs, lush landscaping, and entertaining pirate theming” across the US. So, enjoy your pirate’s day, shiver your timbers and mind that cutlass! (at least, according to their website and a band of devoted followers, including one of our own contributors,* Carolyn Collins Petersen) You might also drop anchor at these dastardly links: The Dark Side of Themed Entertainment Themed Entertainment: A UK family with three children visits Orlando Amusement Parks: Writing about Orlando's Major Attractions Universal Orlando Resort Reveals Highly Anticipated Details about The Wizarding World of Harry Potter 4D Theater: Pirate's Plunder, the latest treasure in the Alterface catalogue
Posted By Charles Read -- At 5:50 PM \| Comments (1) \| Trackbacks (0)
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Categories Amusements Parks, Attractions Business, FECs, Themed Design Tags Alton Towers, Disney, magic kingdom, mutiny bay, pirate cove golf., pirates
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Great blog - like the pictures!
At the end of term at my school one of the highlights was playing 'Pirates' in PE. All the gym equipment was put out, the ropes were let down, the beams were lowered and so on. The idea was not to touch the floor as you were chased around by two appointed 'pirates'. If you did, you were out! I can't recall anyone being injured, apart from the odd bruise. I wonder if it is still played.

Comment By Janet Flynn At 9/19/2009 9:12 PM