Sail the Seven Seas with Molly - Pirates and Pals Fireworks Voyage in Review

I am so excited to say that DGTG correspondent Molly B. is back and today we will be following her on a swashbuckling Seven Seas Adventure... Seven Seas Lagoon, that is!  Hope you enjoy the journey and be sure to visit Molly over at one of my favorite sites, TheWDWDads.com.

An encounter with Captain James Hook and Mr. Smee!

When we go to Walt Disney World every year, we like to throw in a little something special to really make the trip memorable for the kids and for our family. These things are always a “gift from Mickey Mouse” to my children. 2009 was the first year that my oldest son Jake got transformed into a pirate at The Pirates League in the Magic Kingdom. In 2010 we pulled out all the stops, and Mickey delivered a very special surprise indeed to our hotel room in the form of “Mickey’s Grand Welcome” that can be purchased from Disney Floral and Gifts. This past trip in August of 2011 my in-laws wanted to do something special for Jake, as we celebrate his birthday in WDW every year. They spent a few days with us on our trip this year, and since Jake loves pirates, we suggested the Pirates and Pals Fireworks Voyage. I had a feeling that this would be a great time, and I was certainly correct!

The Pirate and Pals Fireworks Voyage (formerly the Magical Fireworks Voyage that was only open to members of Grand Gatherings), is a cruise that sets sail from your port at the Contemporary, on to Bay Lake, where a pirate host will entertain you until you are in the perfect position for a view of the fireworks spectacular Wishes taking place at the Magic Kingdom. You must book ahead of time, and payment is due when you make the reservation. Little pirates under the age of 3 sail for free, but you must include them in the size of your party, because your pirate ship will only have a limited number of seats!

Mommy, Maggie, Ben, Jake, and Daddy ready to set sail!

The cast member took the name of our party, and then handed us a card that told us which ship we would be setting sail on, and what row we were to sit in. We were thrilled to see that we would be sailing on Captain Hook’s ship as opposed to Smee’s, and that we were to be seated in the front row! We were also each given a special bandana that we all had to wear so cast members would know that we were part of the pirate crew!

At 9:00pm the doors to the ballroom were opened and we lay our eyes on a fabulous spread of snacks. We were then told to head on over to the snack table and “raid, pillage, and plunder” as many snack as we could! So raid, pillage, and plunder we did! There was cotton candy, bags of popcorn, pretzels, and trail mix, treasure chests filled with gold wrapped chocolate coins, a variety of granola bars, chocolate chip cookies, brownies, apples, and oranges. There was also a table with coffee, tea, and cold bottled water and cans of soda. We were pretty full from the dinner and deserts we just had, but all of the snacks were individually packaged and we were told that we could take as many with us as we could fit in our bags! This was great because we were able to partake in these treats for the rest of our vacation, and even brought some home with us! Just as the contents of the table were beginning to dwindle cast members came out to deliver even more yummy snacks!

  

Ben, Jake, and Daddy before the cruise

As everyone was finishing their treats, Captain Hook and Mr. Smee came out to meet us! My boys Jake and Ben were absolutely thrilled at this as they had never met them in person before! We were able to wait in line, and The Captain and Smee were happy to sign autographs and pose for photos with each family. You were welcome to use your own camera, and a Disney Photo Pass photographer was also on hand for use.

After everyone had their chance to meet these famous pirate icons, we were introduced to our pirate hosts for our cruise, Patch, and his “identical” twin brother, Patch! Those of us that were sailing on Smee’s ship were told to go to the left side of the room, and if we were setting sail on Hook’s ship, to the right. An adult was picked from each side of the room to carry a pirate flag, and lead the group down stairs to the dock where we would be setting sail. Since we had a stroller, they had my husband go down ahead of the group, so that they could take the elevator, while the rest of us used to escalator.

We boarded our ships, and Captain Hook and Mr. Smee stayed on the docks to see us off. Apparently they were both suffering from a freak case of sea sickness! As we took to the seas, Patch led us in taunting Hook by opening and closing our arms to imitate a crocodile’s mouth, and chanting “tick tock, tick tock!” Hook took off running away from all of us “crocs”!

Patch, Jake, and Grandma

As the start of Wishes grew near, we had one last surprise as we were given a perfect view of The Electrical Water Pageant! We also had awesome views of all of the resorts on the shores of Bay Lake. Finally, Wishes started, and let me tell you, it was truly magical to be able to see it from this vantage point. There were no crowds to fight, and no one to get in our way. I’m not sure I would ever watch it again any other way!

Wishes ended, and we started on our way back to the dock at the Contemporary. As we passed by the Wilderness Lodge, I was tempted to ask if they could make a quick pit stop and drop us off at home! I held my tongue, and we arrived at the Contemporary’s dock. A very special guest was waiting for us to return, and while I should have been very happy to see him, I was very disappointed, because all three of my children had fallen asleep after the fireworks! I am not going to spoil the surprise, and tell you who the kids missed out on meeting. You will just have to experience this amazing cruise for yourself! Maybe we will see you there next year, because I know we will be back!

Mo

DGTG Guest Blogger: Molly is a proud mommy of three Neurotic Disney Children. Though young in age, she is a veteran Walt Disney World vacation planner. She would classify her life in two parts; on a Disney vacation, or planning one. She first visited her utopia at age 3 and could not imagine her life without it. One of her proudest moments was when her son told her that he wanted to be an Imagineer and she can’t wait until her daughter is old enough to have a favorite Disney princess. She hopes to instill a life long love for Disney in her familyithout it. One of her proudest moments was when her son told her that he wanted to be an Imagineer and she can’t wait until her daughter is old enough to have a favorite Disney princess. She hopes to instill a life long love for Disney in her family and any one else who is willing to have a little faith and trust!