Disney reshapes nightlife complex - Pleasure Island

[hokielutz]

I don't think they are getting rid of the current clubs that are there now... granted if attendance drops off significantly at any of them... you may see something else take its place.
The one thing that I didn't like about PI (and its been mentioned earlier many times was the walking access to PI and around it. Not much fun at all to walk around the island during the day. Easier to park on one side, shop and then use your car to get to the other side.
Anyway, I hope the clubs will stay and go through normal improvements. I'll miss the live performances on the outdoor stages.

 

[Epcot82Guy]

I really wish they weren't making these changes... I liked the Old PI... are they getting rid of the Comedy Warehouse? That's sad. I just don't like how it is basically going to become West Side II. I think it is losing it's uniqueness

At this point it is a bit unclear what is going and staying.

I personally am really torn by this decision. On one hand, I absolutely agree with the logistical decision. The travel from West Side to Marketplace was a nightmare and needed to be fixed. I like the idea of opening it up and making it flow.

However, I agree that this is entirely destroying the uniqueness of PI. It is becoming West Side II. I have always found DTD to be much more fun than City Walk, and a large reason is that it is segmented and has three areas with three feelings. Now, this is sort of blending them all into one. I also think that the insulated, adults-only aspect was a great thing. As a kid it was a right of passage ("Some day I can go hang out on PI!"). I agree that the market for that has changed, but I wonder if some of it could have been left. I would have loved to see a walkway basically extend from the new bridge around behind Comedy Warehouse to where the miniwaterfront is (with the toy boats) and behind the complex along the lake and then meet up by Motion. Keep Raglan Road outside the complex, cut RNRBC in half basically making one live music club and an entertainment place like Jillians (the latter of which would be outside PI), change over Motion to something to open up the area near Fultons. Then have gates near BET, up the stairs by AC, and in the zone between Mannequins and the new live music club. This should drastically reduce the overhead costs of PI, dropping entry costs, and it reduces the number of places so that people should fill up the spots more fully. I guess I just like the limited access area and think that was something great and unique to Disney. But, I also agree that logistically something needed to be done and that opportunities existed to make better use of the space. I wish it could have been a balance between the two instead of this complete loss of what PI was.

 

[DisneyBuff]

I have to say I am a bit disappointed. When I went there in the past I went to have a good time. Like the young woman said in the main thread, I won't want to be there going from club to club with kids there if I am intoxicated. I enjoyed the fact that there weren't kids or just general people funneling through at any given time. Westside is like that, just imagine putting a few clubs there next to the theatre, it would change the entire feel of the area. I didn't go to pi just to go to a club and stay in there, the idea was to experience a night life, club to club, live music, and great atomsophere. Are they going to get rid of the outdoor bars, the jello shots and adult entertainment as well? That is what made PI.

 

[altec]

Looked for this but carnt find it.

Any one know a date for the re-model to be finished, or at least the major stuff we are seeing now?

thanks

 

[DznyGrlSD]

R.I.P. W.E.S. - I have too many fond memories of that area

 

[jmvd20]

I really like the way PI was prior to these changes. Being able to spend a night out, drinking a beer while walking around from club to club. Stumbling over a crack that wasn't there, and then just laying on the ground starring at a beautiful clear starlit sky :lookaroun.....

It was the one and only spot at WDW for adults only and that was a nice retreat for many folks, myself included. I would imagine that they will have to change many of the things that I liked. Like someone else has mentioned about adult style entertainment, jello shots, street bars etc... It seems to me that those will all have to go. Having an atmosphere like that with kids around is just asking for trouble. They will basically be turing it into just another section of DTD. That may be best for the company financially, and for practical reasons, but that doesn't mean I have to like it

 

[ToTBellHop]

They are trying to make Downtown Disney more like it is over at Disneyland--which is, from my experience, MUCH MUCH more popular. It also has the benefit of being adjacent to the Theme Parks, but it still has really awesome atmosphere and theming, it's just much different from our Downtown Disney. It mixes the shops, dining, and adult areas much better as opposed to having distinct districts, and I think that is its appeal. EMH certainly hurt DTD, but evening EMH are also not every night, a fact Disney could use to DTD's advantage. I think these changes will be successful; you will lose some of the old atmosphere in an effort to create a more unified DTD atmosphere, which I don't have a problem with. If the demand for a nighttime, purely-adult district is waining, this is the best choice for Disney--keep the clubs, but add more shops and nice restaurants, and the idea of adding a ferry b/t the districts sounds very nice to me. I agree that a nighttime bus from the parks to DTD is a must, though, starting at maybe 4 pm (get people to DTD by dinner time). People would be more willing to leave Epcot at say 4 pm to shop and eat, and return to the parks by 7:30 or 8 pm for the fireworks and perhaps EMH. They just need to shift the focus from the "party til 2 am crowd" to the "nice evening out on the town" family crowd. Sounds like a gold mine to me.

 

[Epcot82Guy]

I think the bus service is what hurt it the most. Isn't there a way to check resort IDs with a scanner as people board or even to enter the bus station (build it past DQ on the West Side). I feel that would dramatically increase the attendance at DTD, regardless of what they do with the area.

 

[MissK]

I think the bus service is what hurt it the most. Isn't there a way to check resort IDs with a scanner as people board or even to enter the bus station (build it past DQ on the West Side). I feel that would dramatically increase the attendance at DTD, regardless of what they do with the area.

Perhaps they could install a system like the Metrocard system we have here in New York City, except you would swipe your resort card and a light would flash if it was okay? I would imagine the technology is there to prevent people who may have kept their resort cards from old stays to use the system.

 

[dxwwf3]

I`m not going to drag up the usual "they don`t build `em / spend money like they used to" debates again. You and I will always agree to disagree on this I`m sure. Guess what though - I`m actually excited by the Seas Nemo ride and the PotC enhancements! As much as I miss WoM, I highly enjoy Test Track. I`d be the first to say, if it were here today, when is Horizons having a major update? I`m not all about dissing new development - indeed it`s one of the things that excites me the most about TWDC's parks in general. I`m just - possibly too - critical in my observations.

I didn't think that those interested in WDW history were allowed to think this way :lookaroun :animwink:

I pretty much have the same opinion and same park philosophy as what is posted above. Naturally, I'm going to be more skeptical about changes to my favorites, but I thought that was human nature? As far as Living Seas, POTC, and Nemo show at AK go, I'm totally behind these upcoming changes. But it doesn't mean that I can't enjoy the way Sea Base Alpha used to be and have great memories either.

I think where wannb is more innocent until proven guilty, me and you are more guilty until proven innocent :lol: (And of course that is an over generalization and not always accurate). But I do feel that if something is done well and I enjoy it, I'll be the first person to praise any change (The Land comes to mind very quickly). However sometimes it can be easy to be on the innocent until proven guilty side because no matter what argument can be used against a change, nothing ever seems to be good enough. Either "well the average guests like it better" or "at least it is better to have something new than something old" and etc.

If I can stop my "Deep Thoughts By Jack Handy" section of this post for a moment, I must say that I have never been to Pleasure Island so I have no problems personally with any changes that come along. Of course, I've also never been to DisneyQuest, mini golf, or ANY water park. When I'm at WDW, I either want to be at one of the 4 parks or at a resort.

A more family friendly atmosphere at PI might spark an interest in me because I have no desire to be around a drunk, party atmosphere (One of the reasons I don't like being in CityWalk while exiting a park at UO). However, I can feel for those big PI fans that enjoy the more adult atmosphere of this area. I think everyone knows that I can sympathize with that :lol:

 

[uglybug2005]

Lessening the grade of the hill will actually require building up the level of the land on the East end of the island, as the "hill" the West End Stage used to sit on is actually a building that houses PI's costuming and cast break areas, as well as green rooms for AdveClub and Comedy Warehouse, but it's the slantinnel, they do their research mostly on the internet, so I don't expect them to understand more than 50% of the things they report on.

 

[DVC_Couple_PA]

I just had to post as PI always held a special place in my heart. You see...I worked on "the Island" back in 1990. I started a month after they began the "New Year's Eve Every Night" theme. Back in those days, PI was the place to be. Those were the days of the real "Manican". When a girl would ride up and down the island on a horse pouring drinks. When the Island had valet parking. When we would pack about 13,000 - 15,000 people in on a Saturday night. I could go on and on. Being on the Island then was an adventure. So from my perspective, PI died a long time ago. It's time for a change.


Long live the "21 Rum Salute"!

 

[RandySavage]

I, too, have fond memories of PI in the mid-90's. It was still fresh then and was considered The Place to go at night for both resort guests and locals. I remember stretch limos lining up to drop off party-goers. The Rock & Roll Beach Club had a great band at the time and was it was relatively easy for an underaged guest like me to get served there.

But the best part was that during consecutive family vacations in April, "Otis Day and the Knights" (from Animal House) performed their hit songs (Shout and Louie Louie) on the outdoor stage, while a few thousand people danced, drank and sang along. It was a wild time. Shame that the street party element will be gone, but I guess that's how things work. "Back in my day..."

 

[speck76]

I, too, have fond memories of PI in the mid-90's. It was still fresh then and was considered The Place to go at night for both resort guests and locals. I remember stretch limos lining up to drop off party-goers. The Rock & Roll Beach Club had a great band at the time and was it was relatively easy for an underaged guest like me to get served there.

But the best part was that during consecutive family vacations in April, "Otis Day and the Knights" (from Animal House) performed their hit songs (Shout and Louie Louie) on the outdoor stage, while a few thousand people danced, drank and sang along. It was a wild time. Shame that the street party element will be gone, but I guess that's how things work. "Back in my day..."

it "no longer worked"

like everything.....it had its lifespan.....