Posted: Tue Oct 19, 2010 8:03 am Post subject: Signs of life at Disney World's Pleasure Island
Two years after Walt Disney World turned out the lights at the nightclubs of Pleasure Island, there are signs of life for the near-forgotten entertainment district.
Disney this week filed a pair of permits signaling the start of new construction at Pleasure Island, a once-popular dining-and-dancing spot that has since become little more than a cut-through between the two retail ends of Downtown Disney. The permits suggest that at least two old Pleasure Island venues — BET Soundstage and Adventurers Club — will be razed completely.
What's more, Disney World President Meg Crofton last week publicly hinted that changes were imminent. In a ceremony honoring new Disney World ambassadors, Crofton listed the "reimagining of Downtown Disney" among a list of current construction projects at the resort, along with the Fantasyland expansion at the Magic Kingdom and a new hotel dubbed Disney's Art of Animation Resort.
Disney declined to discuss the Pleasure Island work in any detail Tuesday morning. Spokeswoman Zoraya Suarez described it as "general refurbishment."
But Suarez said Disney would unveil some details within a matter of weeks. That announcement, she said, would serve as a "continuation" of the vague plan Disney laid out in June 2008, when it announced that it would shutter Pleasure Island's six adult-oriented nightclubs and replace them with shopping and dining options geared towards families with children.
Very little has happened so far. Since the clubs closed on Sept. 27, 2008, the only notable new venue to be added at Pleasure Island is Paradiso 37, a Mexican and South American restaurant that opened in June 2009.
The construction permits, which were first unearthed by the Save Pleasure Island blog, offer few clues. One appears to clear the way for new construction trailers to be erected in the area, while another is for work described only as "overall site construction."
Disney has said in the past that it expects to complete its redevelopment of Pleasure Island by 2012.
Sentinel staff writer Dewayne Bevil contributed to this report. Jason Garcia can be reached at jrgarcia@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5414.
Joined: Mar 25, 2010 Posts: 805 Location: Denver, CO
Posted: Tue Oct 19, 2010 9:02 am Post subject:
Oh, man. I was kind of hoping that whatever they did in the area, they would decide to keep the Adventurer's Club. That's a shame. I had never been there, and I really wanted to visit the place sometime in the future.
As Daguru will attest to, the Adventurers Club was gutted. All the props and such went to Tokyo for an attraction there (Haunted Mansion is I remember correctly). _________________ When you're curious, you find lots of interesting things to do.
--Walt Disney
Joined: May 22, 2007 Posts: 415 Location: Atlanta, GA
Posted: Tue Oct 19, 2010 1:04 pm Post subject:
"Adventurers Club" and "razed completely": that sentence made me sad. Since PI closed I've had no reason whatsoever to visit Downtown Disney on trips to Orlando. _________________ Beth's Blog
I hadn't noticed but it sounds like they shut down all the nightclubs at once on PI, right? But they didn't shut down the entire "island"? Is that how it happened?
Yes, Wizzard. Back from the Sentinel June 28th, 2008:
Walt Disney World is shutting down the six nightclubs at Pleasure Island to make its party district at Downtown Disney more family friendly.
BET SoundStage Club, Mannequins Dance Palace, 8Trax and three other clubs that have for years catered largely to young, single adults -- rather than to Disney's bread-and-butter family market -- will close after Sept. 27.
During the next couple of years, Disney will reopen the Pleasure Island venues with a broader mix of restaurants and shops.
Restaurants/shops considered part of PI had remained open, and you were still able to walk through it between Marketplace and West Side. They added some evening "entertainment", such as stiltwalkers and I believe a DJ. Don't know if they still do it as if I'm going to DTD, it's during the day and I'm there for a specific reason, either to shop for a specific item or grab lunch.
Honestly one of the reasons I don't really go to DTD when on a trip there is that it takes forever to get there unless your resort is right by it as transport is not as frequent.
I completely understand what you mean. It's not convenient to get to without a car, and it's set up in such a way that it's quite the haul to park at one and walk all the way to the other and back, just to look around. Unless you're making some sort of a day with it between shopping, dining, and entertainment in the form of DQ, Cirque, or a concert at HoB, I can see how it would be easy to pass up.
I went over last weekend to check out the Dragon Boat Festival, see Red at the theater, and have dinner at HoB. Never left the West Side. I likely won't be going back over there until Pollo Campero opens so I can give it a try. Since I'm local, I go over once every couple months or so, but it's always with a purpose.
I think I remember from some disney special that "ideally" you should spend a day at DtD. Personally, the stores there are nothing remarkable. If you live out in the middle of nowhere they might be worth a look, but there is no real draw to any location there. I am guessing I am not the target demographic for the location.
My family used to spend time there when we'd visit back in the 80s & 90s and we'd usually plan it as a day break between visiting parks, but we'd also explore a few resorts as well. Even the few times I went to Disney Quest, it didn't eat up much of the day.
When PI was in full force, we'd usually plan to spend evenings there, even if the parks were open late. We'd do the same for Downtown Marketplace. We usually don't spend too much time in West Side, except for DisneyQuest. But even that was an evening destination, and usually only when the parks closed early. _________________ When you're curious, you find lots of interesting things to do.
--Walt Disney
Joined: Feb 21, 2006 Posts: 4196 Location: Sanford, Fl
Posted: Thu Oct 21, 2010 3:52 pm Post subject:
Some of the more popular artifacts are located in the new Vinylmation store at DTD... The rest has been taken down is currently being stored (according to scuttlebutt). There have been some rumors that the plans for Mystic Manor may have/be changed. But, since construction hasn't even started yet, the artifacts will be in storage a while... I image a warehouse and wooden crates like at the end of Raiders.
Right now, the only things left in the club are Zeus/Poseidon, Babs, Yahoose, and the Colonel... I hope if anything, the Colonel is "rescued" and not just tossed... _________________ Up or Down North, South, East, or West An Adventurer's Life is Best!
My guess is the Col. will either be hidden in a new attraction that goes there (like they did with the heads from the country bears and the eyore sign) or it will be sold on ebay since people pay a premium for what Disney use to toss out 20 years ago.
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