That is exactly the way PI was run once they removed the turnstiles. It killed to mood of the island
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Changes at DTD
- Thread starter ImaYoyo
- Start date
Alektronic
Well-Known Member
I agree with poor management decisions. But, PI wasn't put in the middle. It was separate on its on island. The big mistake was building the West Side right next to it, sandwiching PI in the middle but not worrying about traffic flow between the Marketplace and the West Side. So they should have built walkways on either side but instead let's have everybody walk in between all the clubs because it was cheaper that way or maybe they wanted to close PI all along.
lazyboy97o
Well-Known Member
The West Side really was the big boondoggle. Its offerings list shows that it was supposed to be a bit more geared towards an older audience. My guess is it was supposed to be more of a shopping compliment to Pleasure Island than it was an extension of the Marketplace. Instead of building into the parking lot, to extend the shops to create the not planned for, but now needed meshing between the Marketplace and West Side, the easier and cheaper option was to nix the clubs. I am of the opinion that the error started with the West Side, but the financial solution ended up being that Pleasure Island had to go.
71jason
Well-Known Member
Actually, this is exactly what they did (technically "wristbands" not "armbands" but I think we are talking about the same thing). Two problems: first, the main PI walkway was soon clogged with strollers and kids, which put a damper on the whole adult party atmosphere. Second, WDW used the new influx of non-paying customers to justify removing all the outdoor entertainment--live bands, fireworks--that really made PI a rare nightlife expereince.
The solution would have been to build a waterfront walkway--most of which already exists. Or, as LazyBoy97o says, keep West Side a more adult-oriented companion to PI, so that it would have been de facto 21+ after, say, 9:00.
71jason
Well-Known Member
I agree with most of what you say, but I fail to see how closing at least four revenue-generating clubs (at least two of which were obscenely profitable) and replacing them with nothing is a "financial solution" to anything. WDW seriously overestimated the value of their DTD real estate, especially without PI there to draw what people it did even without much advertising. By all accounts, they thought high-end restaurants would be lined up to get in on DTD and that just didn't come close to happening. The financially smart thing to do would be to re-open at least a handful of the clubs, but corporate pride and the need for those who made the initial decision to cover thier "assets" prevents that.
lazyboy97o
Well-Known Member
I am not trying to defend the decision to close the clubs and agree that they should have just admitted defeat. The clear sign of over estimated the value of a Downtown Disney location was the closing of all clubs, at once, before any new tenants were in place. I was just saying, if you were looking at meshing West Side with the Marketplace killing the clubs looked like the much cheaper option then building new facilities around Pleasure Island. New facilities would involve building into the parking lot, so that would mean adding spaces and rerouting the Pleasure Island bus stop (but having bus, tram?,service go between the Marketplace and West Side might have helped, make people walk to Pleasure Island, not the West Side).
Mouse Detective
Well-Known Member
There is plenty of evidence to support that conclusion. And that's what just doesn't make sense. PI did not interfere with Disney's goal of being family-oriented and it certainly did not interfere with Disney's goal of making money.
:hammer::hammer::hammer::hammer::hammer::hammer::hammer::hammer:
That really was the start of it all. WS was a knee jerk reaction to Citywalk. Now Citywalk is left thriving because poor planning of WS lead to the closure of PI
MarkTwain
Well-Known Member
There sure were a lot more things get hammered on Pleasure Island than there are today...
Well, at least McDonalds already has a planned replacement, and even better, something that seems to have a very positive reputation. Unfortunately, the same can't be said about PI proper.
The first boldened quote is the path I am very saddened Disney did not take; it certainly would have been the most sensible thing to do. Instead of closing the clubs and destroying a center of profitability to create that "bridge", they could have just built on the parking lot between West Side and Marketplace to create a new district that connected them. Then build parking structures on the remaining lots, which would probably improve car capacity anyway. The flaw in that plan, of course, was that that would require they already had contracts in place for DtD additions, which as we can now see, is something that they have never had.
And as for the second boldened quote, I completely agree.
lazyboy97o
Well-Known Member
Looking at the aerial imagery, I am not not so sure that new parking would have been needed. There is a huge lot north of the Cirque du Soleil building. Is this Downtown Disney parking? What about the lots between the Cirque du Soleil building and the old West Side bus stops? Were those intended to be more shops that would have created a connection between the bus stops and the rest of the West Side?
trr1
Well-Known Member
can you link to these images that you are talking about?
I really feel sorry for the business's that are trying to make a go of it on PI. Not sure how they have lasted this long, you would think they would atleast announce what the plans are for the future. Did Landry's decide not to open more resteraunts in PI, it seemed like this was the likely plan but haven't heard anything about it for a while.
Mouse Detective
Well-Known Member
It's been many months since there were ANY new rumors about Pleasure Island.
Rob562
Well-Known Member
Those lots are open and available for Guests to park in, but people rarely use them because we lazy Americans prefer to drive our gas-guzzling rental cars in circles for an hour just to park close to where we want to go...
I think better transportation within DD (possibly as simple as more frequent water taxis and better signage so people know it's a viable option as opposed to walking) would really help pedestrian and vehicle traffic within DD.
There are two or three expansion plots down by Cirque, though. Look for the large, grassy areas in the triangle between Cirque, HoB and the old West End bus stops.
-Rob
This is there through to the end of this year
http://www.wdwmagic.com/Shopping/Ridemakerz.htm
No news beyond that.
I was in there last weekend, and while it is impressive what they've set up in there, I also got a real sense of it all being very temporary and easily removed.
lazyboy97o
Well-Known Member
As of now, RideMakerz is considered temporary through at least the summer. There is no date yet announced for its closure.
While not my cup of tea, and a little too ordinary, I think it would be interesting to see all three strores within the old Virgin Megastore building. Have Build-A-Bear, Build-A-Dine and RideMakerz all right there under one roof. Excess space could even be used to test new concepts, offer special limited concepts or even excluse Disney lines of the Build-ASWhatever idea.