We Want the Redhead! - "Imagineering" the New Pirates Lounge

Hey Ohana,

When many of us think of WDW we immediately think of our favorite attractions. Whether they be park originals or new additions, many of the attractions in Disney parks offer much more than a thrilling minute and a half experience, but a much deeper story that stays with us even after we pass through the exit turnstile. It’s this story telling that makes us excited to return to our favorite place over and over again. So when Disney announces that they will expand upon the story of one of our favorites, our minds go into overdrive and we begin dreaming of what that may look like.

Today, we’re chatting about just that because at the most recent D23 event this past summer, Disney announced that they will be expanding upon one of the most popular stories in Disney parks…Pirates of the Caribbean! We are of course talking about the announced Pirates Lounge that is coming to WDW’s Magic Kingdom THIS YEAR!

Disney's concept art for the Pirate Lounge

As soon as this was announced we of course heard the immediate debate of whether or not a lounge should be coming to Magic Kingdom. We’ll leave that debate up to you, but since we know that it is coming we now get to start dreaming up what that experience might be like. So join us as we put on our Imagineering hardhats and discuss what we hope to see come to the new Pirates Lounge.

To begin, Disney hasn’t really given us much information about the lounge other than a few logistical things and a couple pieces of concept art. We know that it will be located where the old Pirates League location was in Adventure land near the attraction. Our immediate concern with this location is that as it stands, it’s quite small. We are hoping that Disney has some extra space that can be utilized to make what we think is going to be a VERY popular spot able to accommodate the demand. We do like the location itself as we will be fully immersed in the Adventureland and Pirate feel as we walk up to the location though! 

The previous entrance to The Pirates League which will be making way for the new lounge. Photo cred: blog mickey

Since Disney hasn’t really given us many details about this new experience, our minds honestly only have one thing to compare it to…Oga’s Cantina in Hollywood Studios. We are hoping that this new lounge will share the same level of immersive storytelling as Oga’s (and honestly even more so), but we feel like this new Pirate’s Lounge can’t simply be a quickly thrown together bar with some pirate memorabilia on the wall. It is especially important to make this a truly amazing experience and in essence an attraction in and of itself to justify being the first lounge in Magic Kingdom and one attached to such a special property. 

There are a number of different aspects that we’d love to see incorporated into this lounge starting from the exterior. What we DON’T want to see is some giant menu board outside like many of the other dining locations around Magic Kingdom. We also don’t want some extra large marquee. Instead, we want it to be almost secret…like a Pirate gathering would most likely be. Something only known to those who are supposed to be there. Now of course they have to make some sort acknowledgement as to the entrance of the location, but a creative nod to it would be more pleasing. 

An old, heavy looking wooden door. A skull and crossbones above it. Barrels of rum stacked outside. Things that would make you say hey, that seems interesting. We also want it to be here where the story telling begins and we’re going to start with one of the 2 BIGGEST hopes we have for this location…who’s bar is it? For us there is only ONE person that would make this a truly amazing expansion of the story being told in the attraction itself and that is of course (no not him)...Redd!

We want this pirate lounge to belong to the long-time favorite character of the ride that has seen a makeover in recent years (again we’ll leave the debate as to whether or not those changes should have happened up to you). Whether the lounge be named “The Redhead’s” or simply “Redd’s” this would make for a great connection to the ride itself while also serving the long-time fans of Pirates!  And we don’t want it to just be a sign on the exterior or a nod to her inside, but SO much more (which we’ll get to in a minute). 

I mean come on, she just looks like she'd own a Pirate tavern!

So how does one get into this location? Well first, we have a feeling that this aspect will be similar to Oga’s. You’ll need a reservation. At first it will be hard to get and then as time goes on a little easier. You’ll probably only get 45 minutes inside with a 2 drink limit (and unlike Oga’s NO you won’t be able to get one to go). We also believe that there will be a check in location outside of the lounge itself. We hope that like Oga’s you will be “escorted” into the lounge in a fun way. We’d love to see a pirate host walking us up to the door and sharing the password or secret knock for us to enter before being let inside.

Once we enter the actual lounge, we are really hoping that it’s one of those “wow it’s a lot bigger in here than it looks like from outside” situations. If it were up to us, we’d love to see multiple rooms within the lounge with different feels. However, upon entering we’d be welcomed into the largest area. A rowdy mix of run-down pirate decor and upscale “stolen booty” surrounds you as walk in. A large wooden bar lines one side of the room with a wall of rum barrels stacked behind it. Both long sharing tables and smaller high top tables are scattered around the room (no awkward booths like in Oga’s please) giving patrons a variety of choices to enjoy their beverage and bites. Various pirate flags hang from the rafters and odds and ends highlighting the seafaring nature of the attraction adorn the walls. 

We’re expecting it to be dimly lit by lanterns on the walls and perhaps a candle-lit chandelier centrally hung. And while you won’t be able to see into the lounge from the outside, we really think you should be able to “see outside” via virtual windows. Think of the magic portholes they have on Disney cruise ships. These windows will allow you to look out over the caribbean beach the lounge is located on. In the distance you see pirate ships sailing by or perhaps right on the other side of the window a pirate fight breaks out on the beach. How fun would this be to include some easter eggs from the films as well? The Black Pearl sails by, or Captain Jack himself comes up and knocks on the window asking for more rum! Making it even more immersive, the time of day and weather in the virtual window matches that of the outside from which you just came. 

Utilizing the existing technology and just morphing it to the Pirate theme will allow Disney to save cost, but at the same time really enhance the experience once inside the lounge.

After entering, a pirate host will greet you and show you to your table and provide menus (style ala old treasure map of course) and then the fun begins. The second of the 2 aspects we are most hoping for that we think will set this experience apart from the rest are the cast members and the interaction with them once inside. We mentioned we want this to Red’s place and that will require that Red herself be right there with us! Interacting with patrons around the lounge, standing atop the bar yelling to the crowd, and perhaps even leading us in a sea-shanty or two (Yo-Ho and Whale of a Tale come to mind for me). The rest of the “crew” will have the same level of character building that was present in the earlier days of Galaxy’s Edge where they will be able to create various “uniforms,’ names, and stories for their characters. They will engage in the show, singing along with Red and chatting with patrons while serving. 

This is perhaps the most important aspect of the Pirate’s Lounge. We don’t want just another boring sit-down lounge that is highly themed to pirates, but instead we want it to be an attraction unto itself that both continues the story of the ride and expands the universe that we love so much. We also think this is another great opportunity to merge the Pirate attraction and film universes by having none other than Captain Jack himself randomly pop in once in a while. Imagine the interaction that could happen between Red and Jack depending on the mood either is in that day!

One of the things that Disney has mentioned that will be included inside the lounge that we are excited about is the Barker Bird! The animatronic parrot that once sat outside the Tiki Room and Pirates (in different iterations) calling to passerbyers to come in or reciting a line from "A Pirate's Life for Me" is said to be a part of the lounge. Whether he's just perched up in the corner or will be active is yet to be seen though. However, we think this is another fun opportunity to build the interactive aspect with guests. Our idea would be to incorporate a system similar to Turtle Talk with Crush over in EPCOT and have a CM backstage interacting with the guests as the Barker Bird. This doesn't have to be constant as some pre-recorded lines can be used throughout the day, but occasionally having the Barker Bird actually speaking with guests would be so much fun!

The Barker Bird or Peg Leg Pete as he's known in his Pirate form.

As we sit or stand at our table we look over our menu. Personally I’m hoping for a little more when it comes to the food options that what we typically see at Oga’s. 2-4 items at any given time simply is not enough, especially when you will most likely have people enjoying the lounge who might not be the biggest drinkers, but still want to enjoy the experience the lounge will offer. We know this is not a sit-down or even quick-service style spot where you’ll be getting full meals, but a little more than a charcuterie board (which we still want) and a mix of odd crispy veggies is definitely called far. A mix of small plates of meat, seafood (I mean come on it is Pirates), and FAMILY FRIENDLY bites would be amazing. AND…go with me here…Turkey legs. Yes I think the controversial Disney “snack” has a place here. Biting in a a hunk of meat seems very pirate-y to me and we know they already make these enmasse for the park so it can definitely be a easy and quick option for the most-likely 45 minute time limit we’ll face. 

However, while the food will definitely be important, this is a lounge after all and the drink menu should be the highlight. We’re expecting a very RUM-forward menu here and rightfully so, but we’re also expecting a decent beer menu as well (ale, grog, whatever it be named). The one thing we are hoping it will NOT be is a clone of Trader Sam’s from over in the Poly. Tiki and Pirate are two different themes and we hope that is acknowledged. We expect a few tropical-theme drinks as this is most likely on a Caribbean island somewhere, but honestly I can’t remember the last time I watched a Pirate documentary and saw the crew sipping fruity drinks with little umbrellas in them. We should also expect that, like Oga’s, there to be a fun pirate themed menu of cocktails to choose from, but that many will be premixed here as well. Hopefully we'll see some fun from the bartenders while mixing different drinks though. 

There is one more piece to the menu that we think MUST be included…or not included? This is a pirate lounge and what could make this menu more fun than by having a few secrets. We’re definitely thinking there needs to be a hidden-menu at this location and honestly if one of the specialty cocktails on this menu is called “X- Marks the Spot” they missed out. Learning the password to access this secret menu could be a fun experience as well with clues hidden on the actual menu for you to discover! It’s also safe to expect there to be something you could bring home with you as well in the form of souvenir cups, but again we’re really hoping these are Tiki glasses like at Trader Sam’s but rather something that will again make me feel like a pirate when holding it. A metal tankard, a goblet (ala the one Jack hold’s at the end of the ride), or even say the skull of my enemy, would all fit well into the theming of the lounge.

Now THAT looks like a Pirate enjoying a beverage! Photo Cred: WDW Magazine

Now, we also mentioned that we are hoping this location to have multiple rooms, but realistically we don’t know if this will happen just based on the amount of room we know that exists (again hoping there’s more we don’t know about). However, even with more limited space, even just having a smaller secondary speciality room would make this a very interesting spot. We’d love to see something along the lines of “the captain’s quarters” where the decor might be a little more upscale than in the main room indicating the elevated status the captain holds. We also think this would provide Disney with an ideal opportunity to include a “add-one experience” (which they seem to love doing these days) by making access to the captain’s quarters an experience that you can purchase for a limited number of people. Inside you’d have access to higher quality rums and wines (such as pirate captains usually kept for themselves upon raiding it from another ship), personalized service, and maybe even a quick individual visit with Red herself! We’re thinking along the lines of price fixed experience complete with a rum or wine tasting, a charcuterie board, and souvenir glass all included with maybe a little extra time inside (about an hour). 

As our time inside the lounge winds down and we cover our tab, we’re reminded to grab our swords and pistols (which we were required to leave at the front door with the host) as we head out and again to be sure to keep the lounge's location a secret. 

Oh, and the coasters look like different treasure coins (gotta collect em all lol)!

So what do YOU think about our ideas for the new Pirate’s Lounge? If you want to hear more of them and some others, be sure to check out episode 63 of the pod “BSI - The New Pirates Lounge.” We’d also love to hear YOUR ideas, so head over to our FB group to continue the conversation!

Thanks for reading and as always… See Ya Real Soon (Matey)!