Pirates Voyage Taking Shape in Panama City Beach as Construction Progresses
January 3, 2025Captain Blackbeard’s treasure – buried and otherwise – is taking shape at Pirates Voyage Dinner & Show, the newest Dolly Parton attraction which is located in Panama City Beach, Florida.
“This is going to be a show that we are really excited about introducing to everyone in the Panama City Beach area. People have been asking us for more details, so we thought now would be a good time to share some of the latest construction details – as an early Christmas present! It's like we’re giving you some seashells along with jingle bells,” Dolly laughed.
Construction on the Pirates Voyage building began last summer and was “topped off” with the final steel beam laid in mid-August. The biggest task other than the framing of the building itself is to create the lagoon, the centerpiece of the set that will house the two pirate ships where the action of the entire show takes place. The digging of that lagoon began this week and will require removing approximately 210 loads of soil and sand via dump truck (that’s approximately 5500 tons). Once excavation is complete, 1160 tons of concrete will be poured to create the “walls” of the lagoon and the midship portion of the interior that will become Buccaneer Bay, which is the setting for the dinner show experience.
After the concrete is poured, the 15-foot-deep lagoon will be filled with 600,000 gallons of water. In addition to the concrete base, the lagoon walls are supported by 128 45-foot-deep steel sheets weighing 3200 lbs. each – that’s a total of 409,600 lbs. or a little more than 204 tons. The building “skin,” which in construction terms is the surface or shell that encloses and shelters the interior space, is covered in 1500 sheets of plywood, and that wood is secured by more than 200,000 screws. As the power, speakers and lights begin to be installed throughout the Pirates Voyage building, more than 100,000 feet or roughly 20 miles of wire will be used to complete all necessary functions for the dinner show.
“Seeing all the details take shape is an exciting part of this project, especially the development of the centerpiece of our dinner show – the lagoon in Buccaneer Bay,” said Jack Lawrence, Pirates Voyage CEO.
The $60 million project is set to be complete in late spring 2025. Reservations for the new dinner show will start being taken for all 2025 shows in January; ticket information is available at on our website here.
