ORLANDO, Fla. – Despite major damage from Hurricane Irma last fall and a fire during renovations in April, The Pirate’s Dinner Adventure on International Drive sold out for Wednesday’s debut comeback performance.
“Honestly, it’s bigger than I thought,” Pirate’s director of marketing, Skyler Rankin, told News 6.
The sellout is vindication for the company’s decision to spend more than $3 million to upgrade the entire 800-seat theater, from lights to seats to sound system.
“Our numbers are way up, more than I expected," Rankin said. “We’re not done with the hiring process.”
Part of that hiring will be to staff a new burlesque-style show set to debut in September in an adjoining theater.
Rankin said the first order of business is the Pirate’s Adventure with new production surprises.
“We have dragons and mermaids, it’s going to blow them away,” Rankin said.
Ethan Riewaldt was part of the original Pirate’s cast in 1999, now, he’s back, playing Captain Sebastion the Black.
“We have servers that are here (from) when I was here in ’99," he said. “They’re bringing back families that depend on the Florida economy and the Pirates’ Dinner Adventure.”
Michael Murphy, originally from New Jersey, saw the show before the Hurricane Irma shutdown. He takes the stage as Antonio the Swordsman, the Yellow Pirate.
“There’s dozens of people plus techs and rigging, it’s a large operation," he said.
Pirates is starting with single shows each night but eventually it will expand to offer afternoon performances.
For more information go to www.piratesdinneradventure.com.