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Covid-19 sinks Vampirates

Update: September 12, 2020

Pirates Dinner Adventure has followed up with another announcement that its September 18 reopening has been delayed due to government mandate. No new date has been announced. New (tentative) date is October 16.


Update – September 11, 2020

Pirates Dinner Adventure announced it will reopen on September 18, but there will be no Vampirates this year.


Update – September 10, 2020

Pirates Dinner Adventure has sent out an announcement that the show will reopen as scheduled on September 18. Still no word on whether this means Vampires will sail in October.


Update – September 2, 2020

Since this article originally posted on August 11, two things have happened:

  1. The reopening date for Pirates Dinner Adventure Theatre was pushed back from August 28 to September 18.
  2. On August 14, California Dinner Entertainment (the company in charge of the theatre) laid off 230 workers, including performers, managers, bartenders, kitchen staff, and others.

The first incident indicates that CDE realized they were overly optimistic about being able to meet the necessary Covid-19 safety requirements in time for their anticipated August 28 reopening. The second suggests they have abandoned hope of reopening anytime soon, though advance tickets are still for sale on the website.

No official announcement has been made, and it’s not impossible that the laid-off workers could be rehired. However, phone calls and emails to the theatre are no longer being answered. We doubt that Vampirates will be taking place this Halloween.


Read our original article from August 12, 2020 below…

The Pirates Dinner Adventure Theatre in Buena Park, which presents Vampirates every October, is planning to reopen on August 28, depending on whether its new safety measures can satisfy government health and safety requirements that have kept the venue shut down for months because of the Covid-19 pandemic. If the reopening is a success, that could lead to the return of Vampirates; however, no decision has yet been made on whether to mount the show for Halloween 2020.

Safety measure include mandated mask-wearing, temperature checks of guests over six, limited audience capacity, and expanded space (including a new outdoor area) to enable social distancing. Only parties with advance reservation will be seated together. No walk-in guests will be accepted.

Advance tickets are currently on sale for the Pirates Dinner Adventure’s year-round show, “Secrets of the Deep,” which involves the evil Captain Sebastian Black kidnapping a mermaid, whose magical jewel can summon the deadly Leviathan from the depths of the ocean.

Pirates Dinner Adventure is located a few minutes away from Knott’s Berry Farm, and The Cauldron, both of which are open on a limited basis. If Vampirates flies the skull-and-crossbones this Halloween, The Cauldron is a good place to visit before or after taking in the show, making the trip doubly worthwhile for Los Angeles haunt-seekers driving to Orange County.

Steve Biodrowski, Administrator

A graduate of USC film school, Steve Biodrowski has worked as a film critic, journalist, and editor at Movieline, Premiere, Le Cinephage, The Dark Side., Cinefantastique magazine, Fandom.com, and Cinescape Online. He is currently Managing Editor of Cinefantastique Online and owner-operator of Hollywood Gothique.