Captain Hook's Pirate Crew is a kids only experience at Walt Disney World. Children ages 4-12 can have a night out, while their parents have a night to do boring adult things.
Reader Lynn White let her little Swashbucklers go on this adventure. They have reviewed their experience with Captain Hook so you can decide if this Pirate adventure is right for your kids
Disney World isn’t just for going on rides or even doing things as a family. There are lots of fun things to do around Disney World that are separate from the parks, and even just for kids!
This past trip I scheduled my kids for Captain Hooks Pirate Crew. As a nervous mom I had all the questions. Will they like it? Will it actually be fun? Was it really worth the amount they were charging me ($55 per child plus tax)? How many people would actually be watching my kids? After all, they would be on a boat in a lake at one point in the evening. How do they handle pick up?
My kids are SUPER friendly and I was concerned that they would say hi to someone, hug them, and the cast members would just assume that was the parent. So I called Disney, and I did my research.
As far as pick up goes, Disney assured me that they checked ID's to make sure that the adults dropping off matched at pick up. This was a relief, but other than that, the people on the phone couldn’t tell me a whole lot more about the process.
I reserved a spot for my kids without really knowing what to expect. I just hoped that when it came time for me to pick them up at the end of the night they weren't completely bored or dying to leave. Let's just say I was definitely NOT disappointed.
First off I should explain that I have a 4 year old daughter and a 6 year old son. They are not quiet in the least, and this was their first time to Disney World. We had already been in the parks and this was at the end of Day 6 of a 7 day trip, so I totally would have understood if they were tired.
Captain Hook’s Pirate Crew is located at Disney’s Beach Club Resort, which is
located right outside of the International Gateway entrance to Epcot. The program is for ages 4 to 12, with the only caveat being that they have to be fully potty trained and able to use the bathroom unassisted.
The program goes from 5pm until 8:30pm, but you are allowed to drop them off as early as 4:30pm. When we arrived we were informed that they could stay as late as 9pm if were willing to pay an additional $15 per child. This could mean that if Mommy and Daddy wanted to watch the fireworks alone, then you do have that option.
When you arrive you are given a waiver to sign and say who is authorized to pick
up, and a dinner order form to fill out. They were able to select from things like chicken legs, mac and cheese, and spaghetti and meatballs. Drinks, sides, desserts, and even a snack of Goldfish crackers were also available. My daughter was so full from all the dinner that she actually passed on the chocolate cupcake with chocolate frosting, large gold chocolate chips and a white chocolate candy bar on top with Captain Hooks picture on it. They sent it home with her instead. My daughter NEVER says no to dessert, so clearly it was enough food.
Once signed in they tell the kids what teams they are on and given a beaded necklace that corresponded; red, blue or green. In our case both our kids were on
the red team. When taking a quick glance at their list it looked like they kept
siblings together, which I liked.
After we handed in the forms we were then told to take them into the clubhouse, where another cast member greeted us. There were probably at least 5 or 6 cast members inside the room at the time. She allowed the kids in and from there I must rely on the stories my kids have been telling me, and I honestly can say that my kids have been talking non-stop about it!
They were each allowed to pick out their own “Pirate name” which ended up being something like Buccannear (child’s name), or Hurricane (child’s name). They write their new pirate name onto a name tag that they get to wear for the night.
Once all the kids have arrived the real fun starts! They get a visit from none other than Captain Hook himself. Now, he can’t stay long. He only stays long enough to tell all of them that he will allow them to join his pirate crew if they will help him find some treasure.
There is another female pirate that comes out and is supposed to help the kids
(because Captain Hook is a very busy pirate and has to run off). She guides them to solve some fun puzzles which lead them on a fun treasure hunt. This treasure hunt was supposed to take place on the lake outside of the resort, where they would all don lifejackets and board a pontoon boat and sail around the lake before finding the treasure and returning to the clubhouse.
Unfortunately for our kids it was lightening and threatening rain, but they didn’t care. They ended up still doing a treasure hunt but instead their hunt was around the resort, all on dry land. They didn’t know the difference (thankfully mommy didn’t tell them about the boat just in case. It is Florida after all and you just never know about the weather there).
My 6 year old son was in complete awe about the size of the gems in the treasure
chest they found (he insists they were the size of his arm), and both kids keep
talking about how Captain Hook is going to be really mad at the girl pirate because she told them that she was stealing the whole treasure for herself. She gave each child a “gold doubloon” for helping her and then she took her treasure.
When I saw this coin I thought for sure this was going to be one of those light-weight plastic coins you can get anywhere, but no! It was really solid, actually a little heavy, golden-colored coin with Captain Hooks Pirate Crew stamped on one side. There was definitely nothing cheap about this coin.
After their treasure hunt was completed they all came back to the clubhouse for
their dinner and dessert, and when they were done and waiting for us to arrive they got to color their own treasure maps to take home with them as well.
When we picked them up they were so excited to tell us EVERYTHING that they immediately came running to the waist high door yelling and jumping up and down with excitement while my husband showed his ID. Once checked and approved, they opened the door and the kids couldn’t contain their excitement to share all that had happened while we were gone. They spent the entire walk back to our car telling us everything in quite detail, breathless with excitement.
I will note, we were staying on property but I was informed that you didn’t have to
be staying at a resort to sign them up, and since it is in a resort and not a park, you don’t even need to have park tickets to have them attend.
In conclusion, if we ever go to Disney World again, and they are offering this or
something similar for our kid’s ages, we will DEFINITELY take advantage of it! It was probably one of their favorite parts of the trip! My 4 year old has her “gold
doubloon” in a special place in her room, locked in a box so it’s safe. I’m so happy we decided to give it a try and sign them up! If you have the opportunity to sign your kids up, do it!
You can sign your kids up for Captain Hooks Pirate Crew by calling Disney at (407) 824-KIDS or having your travel agent book this experience for you.
It is available for kids age 4-12 years old, and costs $55 per child. More information can be found on Disney's website here.
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See you at the parks,
-Julie
*photo courtesy of Disney
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