For an attraction that is staged at no cost, it's pretty spectacular. Think the tail end of Disneyland's nighttime Fantasmic, but without the singing. The British captain is almost comically sporting, requesting politely that the rogues receive a boarding party, then seeming affronted by the rebuff. His commands and pronouncements are delivered in a voice that is almost effete. Soon, of course, all heck breaks loose.
Fires break out.
Pirates tumble from the rigging, hanging upside down by a snagged heel. Crewmen on both ships are blasted off the deck and plunge into the drink below. The British ship has uncanny good fortune during the battle, in that its cannons are aimed at the Tam O'Shanter Motel across the street, yet somehow the shots take sharp right turns in flight and score direct hits on the pirate vessel. Incredibly, the ship sinks right there before your eyes, the noble captain going down with it until the water laps over the top of his hat. This expensive production isn't put on entirely for fun, though.