Why Pirate Night on Disney Wish is Different from the Older Ships

Many changes were made in the Triton class of Disney Cruise Line ships compared to the older vessels. The good news is that there is still Pirate Night on Disney Wish and its sister ships! The event is familiar complete with costumed characters, special foods, and parties on the pool deck. I’d even argue they’ve managed to make it a more enjoyable experience, and I’ll tell you exactly why.

What Night Pirate Night Falls On

The scheduling of Pirate Night on the Disney Wish can vary from one cruise to the next for a multitude of unpredictable reasons. That being said, the schedule is usually pretty consistent, particularly on shorter cruises. And right now, that’s the only kind the Wish sails. But since they can be really short, you may have specific questions.

Pirate Night on 3-Night Cruises

There is still Pirate Night on cruises only three nights long! Pirate Night is a hallmark of Disney cruising, so they’re going to squeeze it in whenever they can. But this begs the question…

Which Night is Pirate Night on a 3-Day Wish Cruise

Disney avoids scheduling Pirate Night on the first and last nights of a cruise. The first night is too soon for such a big celebration, and it would end too late for many guests to enjoy the festivities on the final night. Everyone has to get up super early to get off the ship!

So for a 3-day Wish cruise, Pirate Night occurs on the second night, regardless of which port it’s at that day. It’s usually Nassau, but it could be Castaway Cay if Nassau is not on your itinerary.

Which Night is Pirate Night on a 4-Day Wish Cruise

With the extra night, it can be tough to know when to plan for Pirate Night on a 4-night cruise. For our cruise, and on every other Disney Wish cruise I’ve seen, Pirate Night always happens on the third night. This is usually the night before the Wish either docks at Castaway Cay or stays out at sea, depending on your itinerary.

If you want to be 100% sure that your booked cruise will have Pirate Night on the third night, just check the DCL Navigator app when your activity booking window opens. You should see “pirate makeovers” available at Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique on the scheduled pirate day, as opposed to the usual fairy tale makeovers.

Dressing Up for a Disney Cruise Pirate Night

Costumes on Pirate Night are not required, nor are they something everyone partakes in. But you will see a lot of people dressed for the occasion. On most sailings, a majority of Disney cruisers put in some kind of effort to match the theme of the evening. You’ll see everything from simple head bandanas to full-on pirate Halloween costumes!

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Disney Cruise Pirate Night Ideas

If you do want to join the pirate crew on Pirate Night, there are a lot of ways to do so, depending on your budget and commitment level!

Throw on a Bandana

As of 2024, the Disney Wish has finally started giving guests special Disney-branded pirate bandanas to wear on pirate night. But if you don’t want to match thousands of other cruisers, feel free to pack your own! A bandana makes a big impact to your outfit without taking up a lot of luggage space.

Bandanas are also usually available for purchase on the Wish at Mickey’s Mainsail. It might seem silly since you’ll get some for free, but the ones for sale are different from the free ones.

Pack a Pirate Accessory Kit

Check your costume jewelry stash! You just might have a hoop earring or eye patch stored away, waiting for its moment. Disney also allows you to pack toy swords in your luggage! Just make sure it doesn’t look remotely real, or it will be confiscated. A foam sword would be your best bet.

For my kids, I actually packed collapsible light swords and surprised them with them on Pirate Night. They had a blast waving them around on the pool deck at parties, and it made them easy to spot in the crowd at night.

Make or Buy a Pirate-Themed T-Shirt

Whether you want the whole family to match or your husband just refuses to wear costume clothes, t-shirts are a great way to go! I used my Cricut Maker 3 to cut out some heat transfer vinyl and iron it onto a shirt for my husband, as seen below.

There are also plenty of simple tees available for purchase that do their best to turn you into a swashbuckler.

Bring a Ready-to-Go Costume

We happened to be sailing a Halloween on the High Seas cruise, so there were a ton of pirate accessories and costumes at our local stores we could’ve used for our cruise. A lot of people book Disney cruises really far in advance, so if Halloween comes up between now and your cruise, keep an eye out for costumes! Alternatively, pirate costumes are pretty much always for sale at online retailers.

Rather than full-blown costumes, I decided to get my kids some striped shirts and kids’ pirate accessory packs that came with felt hats, eye patches, and capes. We used the accessories again on our Fantasy cruise!

Book Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique for Your Kids

On Pirate Night, no princesses are made at BBB. Instead, there’s a Pirate League takeover! The best part? It’s not just for kids! Even adults can get scurvied up at Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique on Pirate Night, along with any child at least 3 years old.

There are two packages available to all ages. The makeup and accessory kit for $59.95 includes a drawstring bag with a special pirate coin, bandana, eye patch, necklace, earring, plastic sword, and map. The Swashbuckle for $99.95 adds on a vest, belt, and shoulder parrot. The biggest package for $199.95 is the only one that comes with a full pirate costume in addition to the accessories from the smaller packages. This option is only available to kids ages 3 to 12. It also comes with a telescope!

It’s worth noting that pirate makeovers tend to sell out quickly on Disney cruises, so book it as soon as you can. On our cruise, regular makeovers were still available to book all the way up to boarding day, but none for Pirate Night.

Book the Salon or Barbery for a Styling

Looking for a more sophisticated transformation? I highly recommend checking out the adults-only salons for a fun Pirate Night hairstyle! At the Untangled Salon for ladies, they have a Braid Bar where you can request something simple or a head full of braids – just ask for the price up front!

My husband actually booked Hook’s Barbery for a hair trim on Pirate Night. While he was there, he asked the barber if he could braid his long beard like a pirate’s. The barber said he’d never done it before, but he gave it a go, and it turned out GREAT! Josh left them in all night and all throughout our time snorkeling at Castaway Cay the next day.

Disney Wish Pirate Night Menu

The Pirate Night menu on Disney Wish is, unfortunately, exactly the same as the old menu on all the older ships.

Many people thought Disney would take the release of a new ship class as an opportunity to try a new menu, especially considering many cruisers feel the old menu isn’t that good. Alas, they’ve decided to stick with fleet-wide consistency for Pirate Night food.

That being said – 3-night Disney Wish cruises do NOT serve from the Pirate-themed menu. This is so you can enjoy the new dishes from all three new main dining restaurants! So if you actually want to try Pirate Night menu options, you’ll need to book a 4-day cruise on the Wish.

We did get to try the pirate-themed menu on our first-ever cruise on the Disney Wish, and we agreed that it’s not the best food we’ve ever had. The MDRs served much better dishes from their unique menus. Fortunately, we’d stuffed ourselves with sandwiches and desserts at Olaf’s Royal Picnic a couple of hours earlier, so we didn’t want much to eat anyway.

When the Deck Party Begins

As with the older ships, the Disney Wish has two distinct Pirate Night parties held on the pool deck. I highly recommend you catch both of them, and both of them are kid-friendly!

Mickey’s Pirates in the Caribbean

Repeat Disney cruisers will recognize the character deck party from the old ships. Both the characters and the storyline of Mickey’s Pirates in the Caribbean are the same as they’ve always been. Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, and Goofy (dressed as pirates) teach everyone how to be good buccaneers. Just in time, too, because Captain Hook and Mr. Smee have nefarious plans in place!

The start time of this show can vary from cruise to cruise. But on our cruise, and on the schedules of other Wish cruises I’ve seen, it’s usually scheduled to start at 7:45PM. This allows the first dining group to finish eating and catch the deck show before heading to their evening entertainment in Walt Disney Theatre. While the show only lasts about 20 minutes, it’s full of good wholesome fun and a sing-along the kids will love!

We had time after the show to stop by our room and drop off the kids’ toy swords before heading to the theatre. On our bed, we found that our host left us special chocolate coins with a pirate skull and crossbones on one side and “Dead Men Tell No Tales” on the other. There was also a towel creature that we couldn’t quite identify… but we were impressed, nonetheless!

Pirate’s Rockin’ Parlay Party

On Pirate Night, Disney Wish does have one advantage over the older ships, and that is the new evening show: Pirate’s Rockin’ Parlay Party! Unique to the Triton-class ships, this pool deck party starts around 10:15PM and lasts about 30 minutes (including fireworks).

A pirate rock band known as the Scalawags – or was it Swashbucklers? I’m not sure – performs classic rock hits along with Captain Redd. She’s explained to be a descendant of Captain Redd from the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disney parks.

On our cruise, I quickly recognized her fellow singer in blue as the same man that played Prince Eric in the ship’s production of The Little Mermaid. Not that I got lost in his eyes, or anything…

Anyway, in addition to “Yo Ho (A Pirate’s Life for Me),” Redd’s band plays other famous hits such as:

• Part of “We Will Rock You” by Queen
• “We’re Not Gonna Take It” by Twisted Sister
• “Rock and Roll All Nite” by KISS

Though from what I’ve seen and heard, they don’t always play all of this at every show. The only one that seems consistent other than “Yo Ho” is “We’re Not Gonna Take It.”

A favorite familiar bit from previous pirate parties is still featured in Pirate’s Rockin’ Parlay Party, though: the dramatic entrance of Captain Jack Sparrow from high above the stage.

Disney Wish Fireworks

For the finale of this final pirate deck party, the Disney Wish sets off a series of fireworks timed to the theme from Pirates of the Caribbean. Fireworks displays at sea can only be found on Disney Cruise Line, so you don’t want to miss them!

There is No Late-Night Buffet

The Disney Wish does NOT offer a Pirate Night buffet in Marceline Market. And based on reports over the last couple of years, the old ships aren’t bringing it back, either. However, on our way back to our room, I noticed that Daisy’s Pizza Pies did have plenty of slices on display and ready to go. Not interested in pizza, but still feeling a craving? Room service on the Disney Wish is 24 hours a day!

Other Disney Wish Pirate Night Activities

Photo Opportunities

Throughout the day, you’ll see several scheduled opportunities to take pictures with Disney Wish characters including Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, and Goofy. All of them will be decked out in elaborate pirate costumes!

There are even opportunities to meet Captain Hook and Mr. Smee (together), but the lines for them can get long. You should plan to get there at least 30 minutes early. Hook and Smee are usually scheduled to meet at 4PM and 5PM, with about a half-hour break in between. Cast members WILL cut off the line if it gets too long.

Pirate-Themed Crafts

While there’s no guarantee, and the DCL Navigator schedule doesn’t always specify the type of craft, many of the day’s creations on Pirate Night are pirate-themed. In fact, you’re likely to notice a pirate theme in most of the ship’s activities that day.

Pirate Trivia

On most cruises, around 4PM you’ll see Pirate Trivia being held somewhere on the Disney Wish. It’s usually in the Triton Lounge, which is very small, so get there early if you want a seat.

Learn to Draw Captain Hook

There are a lot of “learn to draw” opportunities throughout Disney Wish cruises, but who can resist learning to draw the ultimate ship villain? You’ll generally find this activity on the schedule around 4:45PM, and it’s also usually held in the Triton Lounge.

Captain Hook’s Pirate Crew in Oceaneer Club

Scheduled around 9:15PM, this activity could interfere with the evening’s entertainment at Walt Disney Theatre (depending on what it is). The good news is the three main Broadway-style shows are usually NOT scheduled on Pirate Night – unless you’re on a three-night cruise, of course. But if your kids aren’t interested in whatever is happening at WDT, drop them off at the kids’ club for some smarmy adventures with Captain Hook! You’ll still have time to pick them up before Pirate’s Rockin’ Parlay Party.

Curse of the Black Pearl on Funnel Vision

After the final deck party, fireworks, and residual dancing have ended, grab a chair and settle in wherever you have a good view of Funnel Vision. If you can stay awake, the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie will start playing on the giant screen around 11:15PM!

Tips for Pirate Night on Disney Wish

Disney goes to great lengths to ensure everyone aboard has a fabulous time on Pirate Night. So much so, that it may not be possible to participate in all of the special pirate-y activities! Here are my best tips for making the most of your day.

It’s Okay to Skip Pirate Food

If you want to try an adults-only dinner, schedule it for this night. On a 4-night Wish cruise, this is the only night you can enjoy an upcharge dining experience without missing out on the other restaurant menus in your Disney Wish dining rotation. And take my word, you won’t regret skipping the Pirate Night menu for it.

I don’t recommend dinner at PALO or Enchante on a 3-night cruise at all, because you’ll miss out on one of the MDRs. In this case, opt for a brunch instead (if you can get a reservation)!

Bring a Costume

Or at least a pirate shirt. No, it’s not required. But I promise you this: dressing like a pirate really helps you get into the groove. You’ll enjoy everything a lot more when you feel like you’re a part of it!

Dress Up Before Character Meets

Get your pirate gear on as early as you can! I noticed many guests who had first seating chose to go back to their staterooms and change into pirate gear after dinner. Don’t do that! The character meet-and-greets are mostly before dinner, and you’re unlikely to catch the ones in the evening if you’re attending both deck parties.

If you’re worried about getting food on your costume, well, tuck a napkin in your collar! When taking photos with Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, or Goofy in their pirate outfits, you’ll love them so much more if you’re dressed to match!

Show Up Early to Deck Parties

My family and I got to the pool deck 10-15 minutes before the shows were set to start, and we got pretty great viewing spots right in front of the stage. But the entire pool deck, including the areas on the deck above, filled up lightning fast!

Tell Your Kids What to Expect

Mickey’s Pirates in the Caribbean is quite wholesome, but it does feature some fight scenes and cannon fire, which might scare little ones. Captain Hook can also be a bit creepy. Reassure them ahead of time that it’s all pretend! Pirate’s Rockin’ Parlay Party is less fighting and more rocking, but it is loud. Jack Sparrow’s entrance may also frighten children who think he’ll get hurt. Fireworks are scary to some as well.

Stand in Front of the Stage for Mickey’s Party

We got to the first party early enough to be close to the front. As a result, my kids were able to actually see what the characters were doing. It’s much better than relying on the Funnel Vision screen. Mickey’s show doesn’t have fireworks, so there’s no need to worry about having a good view of them.

Stand Starboard Deck 12 for Captain Redd’s Party

While I enjoyed being close to the stage for this show as well, I quickly realized the primo spot was actually up higher and to my right. Why? Well, when the fireworks started, they went off the starboard side of the ship. Not only that, our view was somewhat obstructed by the AquaMouse water slide.

Had we been on deck 12 to the right, we’d have been able to see everything – including the show – without obstruction. If you have kids, this is still a good idea, because the rock band is pretty loud. Being close to the speakers can be a bit much for them.

Get a Starboard Verandah Room

Don’t care for crowds? Get a starboard room with a balcony. If we had wanted, we could’ve watched the fireworks from the comfort of our Disney Wish verandah room since we stayed on the starboard side! If this is something that appeals to you, do know that the higher the deck, the better the view.

However, please know that *officially* you are not allowed on your verandah during the fireworks. This is because of the risk of fireworks debris coming down on you, so be aware and prepared for that if you choose to sneak out. If fireworks aren’t important to you at all, you could always just enjoy a drink at Hyperspace Lounge without a crowd!

Grab Pizza at Daisy’s Pizza Pies Afterward

When we walked by the quick service station, there was no one in line yet! This is a really great idea if you plan on hanging out on deck to watch Curse of the Black Pearl. Ask for several slices and enjoy the movie while you eat.