Crews reached major construction milestone on Dolly Parton’s Pirates Voyage Dinner Theater

BAY COUNTY, Fla. ( WMBB ) – One of Panama City Beach’s newest, and highly anticipated, tourist attractions has reached a milestone. Construction crews topped the Dolly Parton’s Pirates Voyage Dinner Theater Thursday morning at Pier Park West.

The project is on target to open next spring. Several dozen people stood and watched eagerly as construction crews lifted the final steel beam on top of the pirate’s voyage dinner and show.

Following the topping-off ceremony, Pirates Voyage CEO Jack Lawrence led a tour of the project, highlighting the construction progress.

The attraction, which is part of the Dolly Parton entertainment empire, should open in spring 2025. It’s the first of its kind for Panama City Beach, where guests will experience a dinner and show adventure with pirates, mermaids, and animals, like the salty sea lion.

“People are going to want to come in and see it for themselves. And they’ll walk away thinking, did I see everything and want to come back and see it again?” Pirates Voyage PR Manager Ellen Liston said.

The 60,000-square-foot indoor theater is made of more than 600 tons of steel and 16,000 gallons of paint. Workers will now turn their attention to the interior of the structure.

That means seating for 1,000 guests, the kitchen, and the centerpiece called Buccaneer Bay Lagoon. The 600,000-gallon pool will be 15 feet deep and house two pirate ships, where performers will battle each other daily.

“It’s a fun place to work for the folks that live in and around Panama City Beach. And it’s exciting as a new company that’s here in the area to be able to give back and have that kind of economic impact,” Liston said.

Liston said the project has created more than 400 construction jobs and will add 300 more full-time employees when it opens.

If you are interested in working at Pirate’s Voyage, the hiring process will start in the spring. We will let you know as soon as they start accepting applications.

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