As Pirates Voyage Dinner & Show sets its sights on a celebration of 15 years of swashbuckling fun in Myrtle Beach, S.C., the entire crew, including Dreamer-in-Chief Dolly Parton, are reflecting on countless memories and family fun. The first of more than six million guests were entertained in June 2011, and the crew in Buccaneer Bay knows that each show is an opportunity not only to provide special memories for those in attendance but also be a part of the community.
The Pirates Voyage crew is especially proud of their commitment to their community’s children as the sponsor of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in the entirety of Horry County, which includes its Myrtle Beach location. Started in 1995, the Imagination Library is dedicated to inspiring a love of reading by gifting books free of charge to children from birth to age five through funding shared by Dolly Parton and local community partners.
The Pirates Voyage sponsorship of the program began during its first month of operation in June 2011, and in the 15 years that have followed (through May 2026), the total number of books gifted to Horry County’s youngest residents total 1,330,472! Those books represent a total of 42,363 children served for a decade and a half, and there currently are 8,681 children enrolled in the Imagination Library program for the county.
In addition to helping inspire the children who live in their area to read, Pirates Voyage is proud of the continuing contributions it has made to the local community in terms of employment and economic impact. More than 300 people are employed at the dinner show, which operates from February through the first week of January each year. Additionally, the millions of people that have been entertained at Pirates Voyage have contributed to the tourism economy in the Myrtle Beach area, which often results in those visitors returning to the Grand Strand area to repeat these vacation memories.
Dolly said that bringing Pirates Voyage to the Grand Strand area was the realization of another of her dreams to provide a venue where families and friends could make memories together and to provide great jobs in the community. “When we first started talking about concepts for a new show at the beach, pirates and mermaids and the family fun and entertainment that could go with that kept rising to the top of our creative thoughts,” Dolly said. “When I started dreaming up this show, I wanted something special that would take folks on an adventure they’d never had before and that they would remember forever.”
“It’s hard for me to believe that it’s been 15 years since Pirates Voyage opened here,” Dolly continued. “I love that so many guests have created memories here over the past 15 years, and we want everyone to come on over to Buccaneer Bay this summer and help us start another 15 years of fun with all the excitement of the pirate spirit.”
For those making this anniversary year their first Pirates Voyage experience, the fun begins in the Pirates Village pre-show where all mateys participate in a lively sing-along of pirate chants, revel in the tremendous talents of pirate performers and enjoy delicious beverages and snacks all while on the lookout for Captain Blackbeard.
Once in the main show, visitors join the sapphire and crimson teams on a spirited search for Davy Jones’ treasure. During the show, an epic battle unfolds with sword-fighting pirates, blazing cannons and pirates swinging from ship to ship and mast to mast searching for the sunken treasure.
From there, a colorful and fearless crew of characters create an immersive adventure in the show’s Buccaneer Bay combining acrobatics, pyrotechnics, animals, music and all things pirate for a treasure chest of memories. The uniquely-exciting Pirates Voyage showcases the thrill of sword fights, cannons blasting and pirates scaling high above two full-sized pirate ships in a “fight” to win Davy Jones’ coveted sunken treasure. Beautiful mermaids gracefully perform high above the water in Buccaneer Bay, while a couple of castaways that include a “Salty” sea lion win a battle with Captain Blackbeard through clever antics and pirate wit. The show’s newest adventure finds the swashbuckling pirates veering slightly off course and landing in an unknown port where they find a talented and energetic group of South Pacific islanders who combine rhythmic movement, colorful costumes, roaring voices, and exciting vocal and musical exclamations for an epic South Pacific Celebration. The adventurous crew of characters then combines heroics and high-flying fun that will have guests cheering and experiencing thrills around every corner in an epic battle for lost treasure on land, on deck and in the water of the show’s 15-foot-deep indoor lagoon.
As any pirate knows, treasure hunts can work up quite an appetite, so guests are served a hearty four-course feast straight from Captain Blackbeard’s galley. Guests will start the delicious part of this Pirates Voyage with voyager creamy vegetable soup and buccaneer biscuit. The feast fit for a pirate – or mermaid – continues with half o’ roasted chicken, swashbucklin’ sugar-cured ham, buttery corn on the cob and matey’s mac and cheese. For dessert, there’s a choice of either a flaky apple turnover or chocolate coconut cake, served with unlimited Coca-Cola® products, tea or coffee to complete the meal. Vegetarian and gluten-free meals are available by request.
Pirates Voyage was recently recognized as the best dinner show winner in the 2026 Myrtle Beach Herald Readers' Choice Awards.
Show times and reservations are available by visiting piratesvoyage.com.
