Ahoy—dinner and a show!

Hailey Heseltine
ECB Publishing, Inc.

Orlando, Fla., offers countless opportunities during travel. An essential part of the travel experience is trying out local restaurants, but with so many options, it can be overwhelming to decide. If something more on the adventurous side is what you seek, you may find it at the Pirates Dinner Adventure.
Deep in Orlando's entertainment district, Pirates Dinner Adventure provides a unique and family-friendly dinner theatre experience. Guests enjoy a show alongside their meal, complete with music, pyrotechnics, acrobatics and more. The stage is set upon a massive 18th-century Spanish galleon in the Treasure Bay lagoon of 300,000 gallons of water, where the guests aexperience and participate in an adventurous story of the evil pirate King Captain Sebastian the Black and his search for Neptune's Treasure. But when his adopted son Benjamin Blue falls for the kidnapped Princess Anita, it leads into a story full of twists and turns, even featuring a mystical mermaid.
The dinner show is an interactive experience that allows the audience to get directly involved with the story, so they can experience the adventurous life of a pirate firsthand. Complete with sword fights, sea monsters, treasure, comedy, drama and stunts, it's a classic swashbuckling tale for the ages—and a dinner that will not soon be forgotten.
Of course, there cannot be a dinner show without a dinner! Pirates Dinner Adventure has options for every guest to enjoy. Several entree options are available, including vegan, gluten-free and vegetarian options. Appetizers like fried calamari and Caribbean wings can prime your appetite for the main course. A typical dinner may come with the Captain's Chicken Meal, gluten-free or vegetarian pasta or chicken nuggets, but, if you're seeking something a little more adventurous, more options are available to you. You can choose from several dish upgrades, such as the surf-n-turf, a filet and lobster tail served with seasonal veggies and potato puree, beef tenderloin, grilled salmon and more. Though all meals come with a chocolate brownie, that can also be updated to be a slice of fried cheesecake, moonshine cake, ice cream or other options. Please ensure you inform your reservation agent and the staff of any food allergies before and during your visit to ensure you meal is allergen-free. Additionally, it is recommended to make your meal selection before your reservation is made, as you arrange your selection with book, though you will have 24 hours afterward in which you can make changes to your meal choice.
General admission to the family-friendly Pirates Dinner Adventure Orlando includes a first course, main entree and dessert to enjoy as the show is performed. The Treasure Seating options guarantees at least third row seats in proximity to the stage, as well as discounts on drinks and parking, and some items to take home.VIP packages are also available, which guarantee first or second row seating and offer discounts on appetizers, souvenirs, parking and more; also included with the VIP package is free pirate gear and digital photo book access.
Check-in for shows begins 60 minutes before showtime, and the check-in cutoff is 30 minutes before showtime, so make sure to get there early!
Currently, a special discount is available until Dec. 30th. You may be able to enjoy the show and your meal at a lower price. With code CELEBRATE25, you can enjoy 25 percent off tickets for both children and adults. Don't forget to keep an eye out for other special events to come, such as seasonal shows!
To learn more about Pirates Dinner Adventure Orlando or to purchase tickets, you may book online at piratesdinneradventure.com/fl or call (407) 206-5102.

Celebrate color and creativity at Crayola Experience Orlando

Hailey Heseltine
ECB Publishing, Inc.

Do you have a child who loves to play and create? For all things colorful and bright, many parents turn to Crayola products to fuel their child's inner artist—and for a day full of creative fun and color, a trip to Crayola Experience Orlando may be just the thing.
Crayola Experience Orlando, located in the Florida Mall, is packed with over 25 different creative activities in an over 70,000 square-foot space. Their interactive attractions can provide entertainment for the whole family for an estimate of at least 3-4 hours. The games, crafts, exhibits, shows and more are meant to inspire hours of imagination, education and invention beyond just the Crayola Experience.
Artistic activities are the heart of Crayola Experience Orlando, so kids will find countless opportunities for crafting in color. Hands-on cut-and-paste crafts in the Activity Studio are changed often so there will always be something new to create with each visit. Kids will have the opportunity to paint with watercolors, draw with chalk and create their very own custom coloring pages to fill in. They can even melt and mold an old crayon into a fun new shape to take home, and can make custom official crayon wrappers with a color name of their own choice. A new attraction is the Cartoon Creator, in which a CrayolaBot will sketch a cartoon portrait of themselves for guests to color in with Crayola's own Colors of the World crayons.
Other opportunities for play, such as an indoor playground and a variety of interactive games, are also available. Guests can watch fashion or car designs of their own creation be brought to life and modeled holographically, see their on-screen selves dance and play in the Rainbow Rain, turn their own art into the star of a dance show and more!
Part of Crayola Experience is also in the educational opportunities. Kids can see shows to learn about the science behind crayon making, such as at the crayon factory show, when they get a behind-the-scenes look at the creation process behind their favorite crayola products.
Additional activities may be available on select dates, such as character meet-n-greets, special events, and the Slime Lab, which is available on weekends for an additional cost. Keep an eye out for special seasonal events! Coming up next is the Screamin' Green Hauntoween, which features a host of seasonal activities as well as additions to Crayola Experience's regular events, such as character meetings every weekend. This event runs from Sept. 21 to Oct. 31.
Tickets to Crayola Experience Orlando cost $29.99 per ticket when purchased at the location, but ordering them online will save three dollars of the purchase. Included with the purchase of each ticket is a free and award-winning Scribble Scrubbie, a washable toy pet that can colored and recolored. Scribble Scrubbie gets to come home with you as a lasting souvenir.
For a better deal, annual passes can be purchased for $39.99. Passholders enjoy access to exclusive events, unlimited visits, discounts on food, merchandise, tickets for family and friends, and quarterly free bring-a-friend days. The annual passes can be used at more than just Orlando—all Crayola Experience locations can be visited using these passes, so future trips can include even more adventures!
In all, as an affordable, fun and colorful adventure for the whole family, Crayola Experience Orlando can become the highlight of your trip to Orlando.
To buy tickets or to learn more information about Crayola Experience Orlando, please visit crayolaexperience.com/orlando or call (407) 757-1700.