Skeleton Crew, Pirates of the Caribbean Figures

By Nick

In my last post I shared a few Disney Parks Pirates of the Caribbean Action Figures. I have one more to share from that line, and some more skeletal pirates in Vinylmation form.

To me, one of the most memorable portions of Pirates of the Caribbean, the Walt Disney World version, (yes, there is a difference between the WDW and Disneyland versions) is the Helmsman.

The Helsman’s accessories include an anchor, a cutlass, a lantern and a knife.

I really love the detailing on these figures.

 

He stands 7 inches, or 17.78 centimeters, tall.

 

Vinylmation Parks #5 Series also has a Pirates Helmsman.

 

I don’t really think it resembles the figure above, very much. Or at all.

By Maria Clapsis.

The ever popular Helmsman makes a return appearance once again in the Pirates of the Caribbean Vinylmation Series, this time with some mates.

Left to right, we have the Skeleton Helmsman, the Skeleton Captain, and the Blue Bandana Skeleton.

 

This series is by Casey Jones.

I hope you’ve enjoyed your look at the pirates, me mateys, please come back aboard soon!

Pirates of the Caribbean Action Figures

By Nick

I discovered these Pirates of the Caribbean Action Figures a few years ago on eBay. I can’t recall seeing them in the parks. They are from the beloved attraction, and not from the beloved hit movie series.
I’ve bought a few through the years, and would like to share some today.

 

This first one, I left in the package, because, well, it’s some cool packaging!

The Treasure Keeper comes with a plethora of accessories, as do all the figures from this line.

 

Relive all the high seas fun!

 

The original price for these figures was $10.

 

Next up, we have the Scalawag, and his little piggy buddies.

 

His accessories are couple of bottles, a cup, a sword and a pistol.

Last, but certainly not least, we have the Readhead. As in, “We wants the Redhead!”

I have the Walt Disney Classics Collection figure of the Redhead, as well as the Auctioneer, and I’ve done a post on them, which can be found here.

 

Not only does the Redhead have a purse and a rose, she is also packing heat! She has a rifle and a pistol. I’m a little surprised the pirates didn’t disarm her when they took her captive!

I have one more action figure from the collection, and will share that in my next post, with some other members of his skeletal crew, so please stop back.

A Pirate's Adventure - Treasure of the Seven Seas Review

by Gaylin

When I was at WDW in May of 2014, I noticed the kiosk just past Pirates of the Caribbean (heading towards Frontierland), I asked what it was and was told it was a treasure quest for guests to go on. Since I was on my own and on a quest for ice cream, I didn't check it out further.

Fast forward to March 2015, I am at WDW again with my friend Tyler, we stopped at the kiosk and asked again what it was or what we did. After hearing the answer: it is a quest, 5 different maps that lead you to clues all over Adventureland to finally get to the treasure. I convinced Tyler we needed to do one maps worth of clues.

When you go in the kiosk, there is a scanner for your Magic Band. Once you scan the band, you are assigned a map. The maps themselves are really nice and it turns out the only 'treasure' you take home from this quest. Having scanned your band the screen shows you the first clue on your quest. You find the symbol of the clue on the map and go in search of it.

Once you find your clue, you press your Magic Band against it until it registers you and then magic happens! Without giving too much away, the clues move, talk, things open or close and once you have started on this quest, it is difficult to stop. We did all 5 maps! And the time flew, we forgot our tired feet and how hot it was out and how much walking we were actually doing going from clue to clue and then back to the kiosk for another map!

Some symbols are easy to notice, like the palm trees on this skull.

And the snake on this ??? what ever it is. 

You can see the symbol on this gun handle as well as the glowing clue on the right hand corner of the chest. I was astonished at how many of the clues glowed through solid items like this chest.

I admit, the creepy eyes that opened on this totem to give the next clue were pretty freaky!

And finally, the pronouncement that you have finished all the clues and are due the treasure. Sadly the 'treasure' is in a chest that we couldn't open.

I am sure a lot of people think of this as a way to keep boys entertained by something with no princesses but we had a great time. Would I do this again, even having done all 5 maps - a definite yes, it was a lot of fun. More than once during our quests, other guests noticed we were doing this and went off to start the quest themselves.

I was very impressed by the effort that went into this quest, so many clues, too many to show here, I took 40 photos during the quest. I would recommend doing this with another person, I would have found some of the clues without Tyler's help. We laughed a lot, were surprised more than once by the intricate responses that were involved in some of the clues. All in all, it was a great way to spend some time being a team, not worrying about line-ups or rides or what to do next, we just got another map and kept going!

Editor's Note: If you'd like to read more, guest writer Dan Haley also reviewed this attraction awhile back : http://disneymusings.blogspot.com/2013/12/a-pirates-adventure-treasures-of-seven.html

Trip Report: October 11th-October 17th 2014 - Part 3

by Nick

Monday, October 13th

Despite having stayed up so late the night before, I was up early enough to watch the sunrise through our porthole.

After Barbie woke up; okay, after I woke her up, we went to breakfast at Cabanas, where there are several different food stations and plenty of choices.

We then took a dip, as well as a quick soak in the hot tub, literally overlooking the ocean, as there is a clear bottom.

Barbie in her "French Style" suit, 

which prevents as much sun as possible from getting to her fair skin!

We then headed to the Aquaduck, which opened at 9:00am, so there was almost nobody in line, in fact we rode twice in a row. The Aquaduck is the water slide which goes around and over the boat. It is really a lot of fun, not to be missed, but I suggest getting there early, as waits get very long as the day progresses.

We then watched as the Dream sailed into and docked in Nassau. 

We had booked the Discover Atlantis tour in advance. As our tour wasn't until 11:15am, we had plenty of time to get showered before heading to the D Lounge on deck 4, where we met with other people doing the same tour, and from there we left as a group, gathering on the pier.

We then walked to micro buses that transported us to Atlantis. The ride was an adventure unto itself, as people seemed to drive wildly all over the island!

Once we arrived, we were given headsets so that we could hear our tour guide, who, despite being extremely friendly and knowledgeable, was so soft spoken, even the headsets turned up to 11 wouldn't have helped in hearing her well.

Our first stop was the series of aquariums known as "The Dig," which, along with it's many species of aquatic life, offers what is supposed to be a look at debris from the lost city of Atlantis.

We then had a long walk to the next aquarium area and got to see some of the other areas of Atlantis.

The Predator Lagoon was our next stop.

Afterwards, we had the option to continue to other aquarium sections or the rest of the common areas of Atlantis, but we decided to return to the ship.

We had a late lunch on deck 11, at the outside food areas by the pools. The cheeseburger from Tow Mater's Grill was really delicious, better than the burgers found at the Disney theme parks. The chicken nuggets were also good. Barbie had a panini from Filmore's, which was good. We also split a couple of pieces of pizza from Luigi's. Yes, pizza on a cruise ship, and it's good! It wasn't as good as the pizza we'd had on the Wonder, but it was still tasty.

After eating, we went to the Atrium Lobby just in time to catch Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and Goofy dressed in their Halloween costumes.

We then headed back to our stateroom and showered and got changed into our Pirate gear, as it was Pirate night! Barbie sewed her dress and my vest weeks in advance of this evening!

We got photos with Peter Pan, Hook and Smee, then headed to deck 12 to watch as we sailed out of Nassau, and to see the sunset as we waited for the Mickey's Pirate Academy show at 7:45pm.

The Pirate Academy features Mickey looking for people to join his crew. We were trained in the ways of being a good pirate, just in time too, as Hook showed up with his crew, and challenged Mickey and his mates to a Pirate off!

Dinner was at The Royal Palace that evening. I had the prime rib while Barbie had the pasta with seafood. Everything was very good. For dessert I had the Rum Soaked chocolate cake which was also really good, and Barbie had the Coconut Cream Treasure, which she said wasn't bad.

By now, decks 11 and 12 were getting very crowded for the evening's Buccaneer Blast. We were very lucky to get a prime spot.
This 10+ minute stage show stars Captain Jack being pursued by other pirates for a gauntlet of great power.

Indeed, the gauntlet has the power to shoot fireworks out over the sea!

It was a thrilling ending to a long jam packed day.

Part 1 of the Trip Report can be found here, while Part 2 can be found here.