Vampirates We've never seen a show where a Pirate is also a Vampire. Hence we sailed down to orange county to brave the stormy seas to see how exactly it looks. In the very end, it did not disappoint. The dinner and show were both fangtastistic. Guests are urged to arrive 1.5 hours prior to showtime, even though the seats are assigned. Early arrival allows you to enjoy the seasonal decorations inside, complimentary passed hors d'oeuvres, access to the bar and most importantly the pre-show 30 minutes ahead of showtime.
The Pre-Show is a MUST-SEE as it is a direct prelude of what's to come and it will give the audience a better grasp of the story later on in the actual show. Without giving away too much; it explains how a trio of Vampire Hunters (Katherine, Jacob, and Freddy) are at war with these blood sucking Vampirates. The best part, guests get to enjoy all this in the large bar area while sipping specialty themed drinks. Each party is categorized by color, each color corresponds to our Vampirate leader that we follow onto the ship as the show draws to a close. We are all now Privateers.
The stage is a magnificient pirate ship facade on an actual body of water. Once seated, the Vampirate for each color warmed up the crowd by getting the audience involved or cracking jokes. The server behind you takes your order during this time while we wait for the show to start. The lights dim, and the speaker plays the iconic Vampire record “Toccata and Fugue in D Minor” by Bach; which indicates that it is showtime.
Freddy, a “ex” Vampire Hunter from the pre-show, opens up with a Pirate hymm. Then the previous characters from the pre-show, which supposedly took place at a “Masquerade Ball”, reappeared to jumpstart the story. Freddy continues his Pirate hmm and introduces the rest of the Vampirates. The Vampirates warm up their respective sections and get the audience involved. A reason why there are colored sections was so the Vampirates can compete against each other through games that require acrobatic stunts and valiant sword fights on top of audience participation. About 20 minutes later into the show, Captain Sebastian Black was introduced. The Vampire Hunters appear again along with the rest of the crew on deck and all hell breaks loose. The battle however was not over here, since both sides seemed to escape from each other.
Much like an actual drama, there were a variety of small story lines that take place with each character which eventually leads to the finale. It is a tale of good vs. evil beautifully done through high-flying acts, acrobatic stunts, swift aerial movements, choreographed sword battles and fights, audience participation, and some modern-themed comedy and innuendo. Though the main characters at the forefront between good and evil are the Vampire Hunters and the Vampirates; the supporting cast member by the name of Saxon was easily the star of the show. Saxon is the Purple Vampirate and also the smallest one on deck. He had the most stage time of all because of the way he jests and the witty quips back and forth between him and the Captain, who boasts a more serious persona but eventually also won the audience over.
We won't tell you how it ends, but in the climax and the final action scene of this story the Vampire Hunters take on the entire crew of Vampirates and their Captain. The ending was pleasant and something we can see an actual produced drama on TV or the big screen. As fans of horror and a participant vampire fan-dom, we enjoyed the final scene as the stage fades into the afterlife. It surprised us, in a good way.
Vampirates is a great event for An All Ages Audience. It is quite impressive the amount of action, stunts, song and dance routines, and level of talent that is packed into this 90 minute show; a little north of 100 if you include the pre-show which is a must. Though we've yet to experience the normal Pirates show, from what we've heard from the guests on the day we attended; “Vampirates” is a lot better and highly worth it. We again look forward to Sailing these Stormy Sanguine Seas. Guests can use promo code: “V-HAUNTLET18 ” for discounted tickets. https://piratesdinneradventureca.com/vampirates/
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