Argh! New Pirate Character Dinner at Vero Beach!

starbox

"There is more treasure in books than in all the p
Joined
Jul 4, 2006
On Monday nights (5-10 p.m.) from Memorial Day (May 25, 2009) through Labor Day (Sept. 7, 2009), Shutters at Disney's Vero Beach Resort hosts the new Pirate Character Dinner, featuring appearances by Pirate Donald and Pirate Goofy, along with a family-style, all-you-care-to-eat dinner. Think of it as an epic summer blockbuster, only with less Johnny Depp and more pulled pork.
The bounty includes such swashbuckling highlights as guava barbeque ribs, rotisserie chicken, brisket, barbeque pulled pork, roasted potatoes, corn on the cob and baked beans. (For the traditional Shutters menu, walk the plank next door to Sonya's. Sorry, no more pirate references.)
The cost is $26.99 for adults and $12.99 for children ages 3-9. Advance reservations are recommended, so call (772) 234-2180 to reserve your place at the table, lest ye end up in Davey Jones' locker (okay, one more pirate reference).
It's all part of Pirate Day, filling summer Mondays with pirate-themed events and recreational activities. (Note that while these activities are fun for everyone, they're even more fun for those dressed in pirate costumes, so pack accordingly.)
****************************************************************

We just made reservations for June 8th! Looks like LOTS of fun and it's not a character buffet! (I hate buffet dining!)
 
On Monday nights (5-10 p.m.) from Memorial Day (May 25, 2009) through Labor Day (Sept. 7, 2009), Shutters at Disney's Vero Beach Resort hosts the new Pirate Character Dinner, featuring appearances by Pirate Donald and Pirate Goofy, along with a family-style, all-you-care-to-eat dinner. Think of it as an epic summer blockbuster, only with less Johnny Depp and more pulled pork.
The bounty includes such swashbuckling highlights as guava barbeque ribs, rotisserie chicken, brisket, barbeque pulled pork, roasted potatoes, corn on the cob and baked beans. (For the traditional Shutters menu, walk the plank next door to Sonya's. Sorry, no more pirate references.)
The cost is $26.99 for adults and $12.99 for children ages 3-9. Advance reservations are recommended, so call (772) 234-2180 to reserve your place at the table, lest ye end up in Davey Jones' locker (okay, one more pirate reference).
It's all part of Pirate Day, filling summer Mondays with pirate-themed events and recreational activities. (Note that while these activities are fun for everyone, they're even more fun for those dressed in pirate costumes, so pack accordingly.)
****************************************************************

We just made reservations for June 8th! Looks like LOTS of fun and it's not a character buffet! (I hate buffet dining!)

Thanks to the kind poster on the VB adoration thread who gave the first head's up, I got a reservation yesterday for the first day, Memorial Day Monday! I'll let you know how it is. (Though I do like buffets, I think the family style will be great.)
 
Thanks to the kind poster on the VB adoration thread who gave the first head's up, I got a reservation yesterday for the first day, Memorial Day Monday! I'll let you know how it is. (Though I do like buffets, I think the family style will be great.)

I'm still debating whether to do it on Monday. I just don't know whether I should stay here that late with work looming early on Tuesday morning.
 


:confused3 How can you hate buffet? If I'm eating out, I want buffet.

I'm thinking you live higher class than me... :)

Not high class - just have a phobia about sharing food. I can't even share food with my husband and kids (eat Mexican with me and I divide the salsa and cheese dip into individual bowls). The idea of sharing serving utensils and having strangers picking through my food is really horrible. :scared1::eek:

I'm also scared of outer space, which is why I can't ride Space Mountain.

OTOH, I'll pick a snake up with my bare hands and I don't flinch at needles. :woohoo:
 
I'm still debating whether to do it on Monday. I just don't know whether I should stay here that late with work looming early on Tuesday morning.

Boy.....I'm mad I just missed this. :(

PammyK, did you attend? fers31, IMO you didn't miss much, though I will say we are not huge BBQ fans (I like BBQ, but only if it is really good).

We attended the new Pirate Character Dinner Monday night. Seating started at 5:00 PM, and our ADR was for 5:20 PM. We waited about 10 minutes to be seated although there were still quite a few empty tables when we sat down.

There was a small treasure chest at the entrance (with a plug for the special celebration cakes), the wait staff was dressed in pirate costumes and the tables were set with a pirate bandanna and eye patch for each guest, plus a mini pail with crayons. Our grandsons were dressed as pirates, accessories and all. I didn't see anyone else dressed up while we were there. Once seated, the kids were given a sheet to color and a very poorly copied "autograph sheet" to use for the characters to sign.

DSC_1157.jpg


DSC_1148.jpg


DSC_1153.jpg


DSC_1155.jpg


The only interaction was with Donald and Goofy, each dressed as pirates (pretty nice, rich looking costumes, actually).

DSC_1137.jpg


DSC_1143.jpg


First problem was there were only two characters and both had (briefly) visited the table before we received any of our food other than the bread (corn bread and rolls) and butter. They passed by a couple of times during the dinner, but never actually stopped again. There was nothing else (music, staff interaction, etc) to continue the pirate theme beyond the basic decorations and two character greetings. Trying to keep the kids' interest and get them to eat dinner at that point was not the easiest task. In fact, one of the boys ate a roll and maybe three bites of corn - and that was it. I was also disappointed in that despite the boys being in full costume, there was barely any acknowledgment. Now, I don't expect everyone to fawn non-stop over kids that are dressed, but really - if it is a "theme" night a little interaction beyond "oh, nice costume" would have been nice!

Second problem was the food. They served a salad with a slightly sweet vinaigrette, basically lettuce with tiny bits of cucumber. It was nothing to rave about - it was pretty standard "mass feeding" salad. Next were two platters, one with potatoes, half corn on the cob pieces and a bowl of baked beans. The second platter was pulled pork, roasted chicken, some ribs and some sort of beef. The food was cold, the meat platter more so than the sides. The beef and chicken were very fatty and the corn was so soggy I think I could have wrung half a glass of excess water from the half cob! All the meats were however pretty tender and had decent taste, albeit pretty standard steam table fare. Had they been at least warm the taste would have been ok, except for all the fat. Non-alcoholic drinks were included but there was no dessert included. You could of course add on dessert (~$6-$16 or so per) should you so choose. As a reference, the ribs, corn, potatoes and chicken were pretty much identical to what we had at the Hoop Dee Doo Revue 2 years ago, although there at least you got strawberry shortcake for dessert!

Bottom line, I could have found a lot better ways to spend $100 than at this dinner. There is no way the "theme" was worth the extra $$ to make up for what was mediocre food at best. Unless either the food or the overall experience improves I would advise you to save your money and look elsewhere for a way to spend your time and money.
 


Bottom line, I could have found a lot better ways to spend $100 than at this dinner. There is no way the "theme" was worth the extra $$ to make up for what was mediocre food at best. Unless either the food or the overall experience improves I would advise you to save your money and look elsewhere for a way to spend your time and money.

Darn - - I hate to hear that it was a flop!! Still, you got some great pictures out of it, so that's *something* (your "pirates" looked absolutely adorable). :lovestruc
 
On Monday nights (5-10 p.m.) from Memorial Day (May 25, 2009) through Labor Day (Sept. 7, 2009), Shutters at Disney's Vero Beach Resort hosts the new Pirate Character Dinner, featuring appearances by Pirate Donald and Pirate Goofy, along with a family-style, all-you-care-to-eat dinner. Think of it as an epic summer blockbuster, only with less Johnny Depp and more pulled pork.
The bounty includes such swashbuckling highlights as guava barbeque ribs, rotisserie chicken, brisket, barbeque pulled pork, roasted potatoes, corn on the cob and baked beans. (For the traditional Shutters menu, walk the plank next door to Sonya's. Sorry, no more pirate references.)
The cost is $26.99 for adults and $12.99 for children ages 3-9. Advance reservations are recommended, so call (772) 234-2180 to reserve your place at the table, lest ye end up in Davey Jones' locker (okay, one more pirate reference).
It's all part of Pirate Day, filling summer Mondays with pirate-themed events and recreational activities. (Note that while these activities are fun for everyone, they're even more fun for those dressed in pirate costumes, so pack accordingly.)
****************************************************************

We just made reservations for June 8th! Looks like LOTS of fun and it's not a character buffet! (I hate buffet dining!)


Is anyone else hoping that they try this at Vero Beach, work the kinks out, then offer this at the larger WDW as FINALLY a character meal that targets young boys?
 
popcorn::
We're going in August so I'd like to hear more about it before I book it!!!! We're only there for 3 nights & I want to try Shutters once at least...but I've also read about some really good offisite dining options so I want to plan this one out a little bit... Anybody else try it yet??
 
popcorn::
We're going in August so I'd like to hear more about it before I book it!!!! We're only there for 3 nights & I want to try Shutters once at least...but I've also read about some really good offisite dining options so I want to plan this one out a little bit... Anybody else try it yet??

We're doing it a week from Monday :yay:. The price is a bit steep - but in line with Disney dining (and we have TIW). Personally, I'd rather pay for this menu than the regular Shutters fare (which we've been very underwhelmed with). The Hoop-De-Doo/Spirit of Aloha/Whispering Canyon/Garden Grill-type family-style meals are all pretty consistently average in our experience.

That said - the pirate characters look beautiful. Our kids are past the restless-dining stage, so we're looking forward to this!!!!!
 
We will be at Vero Beach the week of July 16. :beach:
Three adults debating whether the Pirate Dinner is worth it? pirate:
 
I do not remember if they still have it. It was worth it for us, but this is a very old thread.
 
I do not remember if they still have it. It was worth it for us, but this is a very old thread.
I read about this on the DVC site. They are still having the Pirate Night Dinner. Is it worth it for three adults? ($30.00 per adult)
 
Last edited:
I read about this on the DVC site. They are still having the Pirate Night Dinner. Is it worth it for three adults? ($30.00 per adult)
It was very good character interaction. I think we ate ribs and seafood....we had a party of 9, 3 children, we enjoyed it.
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!









Top