Monday, June 30, 2008

Turn Out The Lights, The Partys Over


Well by now I am sure most of you have heard the news, that Disney Is Closing The 6 Remaining Pleasure Island Clubs. I have had a day to think about this, and I am still depressed over it.

While I understand Disney's reasoning behind the move, PI sitting between the family friendly Marketplace & West Side wasn't the best place for a drunken party town and that they could make more money off high end shops/restaurants that are open longer hours then just the evening. But I still don't like it.

Now I haven't been 21 all that long (a little over 2 years now) so I don't have the long relationship with Pleasure Island that many others have. But I really enjoyed my time I spent drunkenly exploring all the clubs on Pleasure Island. When I go down in 11 days, you know a night of Adventurer's Club and Comedy Wharehouse shenanigans is in the works.

My thoughts are that there is really no big loss in the closing of 5 of the 6 clubs, because I can get similar experiances in my hometown at comedy or dance clubs, the real true loss is the closing of the Adventurer's Club. The Adventurers Club is a incredible and extrememly unique place to spend a night drinking. If you have never been the best way I can describe it is like drinking in a Ripleys Museum with live actors playing different roles and interactive experiances all over the place. There is a awesome library room complete with stage and mysterious piano that plays itself, where most of the main shows are performing including the HOOPLA to end the night. Also I think the AC appeals to a different audience, then the riff-raff associated with the 'dance clubs'. Adventurers Club has become a must do on disney property whenever I go, and I am going to miss it greatly.

I also hate that the plan to replace the clubs and bars with even more shops. Personally I hate the Downtown Disney West Side and this change appears to be an extension of it. I like to go to Disney World for experiances that I can only get their, I can go to a nice shopping mall and get the same experiance I can get at West Side.

Also closing all 6 clubs at once in addition to the 2 large dormant buildings on PI, gives a very dead lifeless area in Downtown Disney. I think it would have been smarter to go with the slow death method for the clubs, closing the individual clubs one by one (yes, the cover price would have had to be lowered) as the new owners are ready to start construction on whatever is next.

I am sure that I'm not the only one upset by the closing of the Adventurers Club & Pleasure Island. There's the thousands of cast members that would use PI as a place to socailize and relax after a shift. I am sure all the people that dumped big money on the 50 year agreement on buying into the Disney Vacation Club, aren't going to be happy that one of the few 'adults only' experiances is being taken away.

I know there is Citiwalk down the block at Universal (which if you take out the Adventurers Club, looks like the superior party location), but if I am staying at Disney there is no bus transportation to get there and it would cost probably around 60 dollars for a round trip cabfare. Sure there is the Atlantic Dance Hall & Jellyrolls at the Boardwalk, which both seem fun and I'm sure business is going to be booming for both of those come October. I have heard nothing but good things about Jellyrolls, which is a dueling piano bar and might stop by on my trip in a week and a half.

I really think that the Adventurer's Club could have some possibilities down the line, I mean it could work as a restaurant for lunch and dinner for families, kids would love interacting with the colonel and the rest of the wild stuff on the walls. Then come 9 o'clock take out the tables and have it be a club again. Sounds good to me, but its just a pipe dream.

I do encourage all the readers of this blog to sign Petition To Save The Adventurers Club. Even though it won't do any good, I will attach my name to it.

Adventurer's Club will be missed and I encourage you all that haven't been to go down and spend an evening in this truly unique establishment, before it gets replaced by something else.

Oh yea, one last thing..........

KUNGALOOSH

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