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I am not a big golf person at all. In fact I only had a few swings in my life, and I had never played Minigolf before our visit to Pirate´s Cove in Orlando. And every time we go travel I think about going to a mini golf as there are none where I am from. So, in our trip to Orlando we decided to go to a MiniGolf. And we decided to go to one of the most iconic out there: Pirate´s Cove. After all, it is pirate themed, it is in the International Drive, it has two courses, one for beginners and one for advanced players. So that´s why or choice was easy: If we were going to a minigolf for the first time in Orlando, it would be Pirate´s Cove.
Now, I will tell you a little bit about our experience there:
This is me, carrying our team´s flag: Belgrano de Cordoba, Argentinian Pirates.
Photo Credit: Dayana Barrionuevo
Since it is pirate themed, all along the course you will see pirate flags, caves, a big treasure chest, and a huge pirate ship to go with tons of decorations that will set the tone. Of course, being in a pirate place, we had to do as we always do and leave our team´s flag, after all they are the Argentinian Pirates of Belgrano, and we offered it as a homage to the hosts.
Now, onto minigolfing: You start on the first hole and then go all the way around the course trying to put the little ball in the hole in as few shots as possible. Of course, things are not that simple, as you will find several obstacles, rocks, hills, tubes, water areas to avoid, jumps, and a lot more twists and turns to make things harder.
After each hole you will annotate how many shots you took for the hole and put it to paper. The one who makes the whole 18 hole course in as few shots wins. And you can compare your performance with the par for the course, which means, how many shots it is expected for a good performance. On my first ever minigolfing, I managed to be 4 shots over par; which I try to convince myself is quite good.
For the activity you will have to allot anywhere from 1 to 3 hours, depending on how big your group is, how much you want to take selfies, chat and fool around; and how good you end up being.
For us, since we were two, it took us a little bit over an hour, and time flew by as we were having a very good time.
A little bit of advice an tips for your visit:
- There is no particular dresscode, and since it is a good family activity, you should be comfortable, and probably be dressed according to the other activities you will have before or after.
- Pirate´s Cove has long hours of operations, opening at 9AM and closing at 11:30 PM. My advice is to try it as a nighttime activity, after dinner to walk the meal off. That way you will also have The Orlando Eye in the back, making for great photo ops.
- Pirate´s Cove is located in the heart of I-Drive, and is pretty close to The Orlando Eye, Madame Tussauds, Ripley Museum, Wonder Works, Sr Frogs and many things more. There are also locations in Lake Buena Vista close by, and other venues in different US states.
- Do I need a reservation? When we went there was no problem and the course was not crowded; but, that will depend on when you are visiting. It can´t hurt to call and reserve in this link.
- Pricing is 13,50 + tax for adults and 10,96 + tax for kids, and is totally worth it. But you can also find discount and vouchers at partner hotels, the Visitor Center and many other options.
- I would recommend to do this when you are resting from the parks and not adding it to a full day of Disney, especially if you have kids in your group.
Tweet this quoteAs I said, all in all, a fun activity and a good option for a quieter day, or as the “prize” for good behaved kids on the Outlet and shopping day of your vacation.
I hope this is useful for your next trip to Orlando. Let me know in the comments section, and follow me on Twitter or other social media for more travel tips and reviews.