PHOTOS - Building demolition work now in progress at Pleasure Island

[jt04]

But to the point made earlier, CityWalk is also/moreso a destination for locals living in the area to hang out whereas Downtown Disney is focused mainly on the vacationing population it already has. To those local visitors 3rd party everyday restaurants might be ok and or preferred than a more higher priced resort specific restaurant and matching merchandise. I just don't think that's what most Disney vacationers are looking for.

DTD has become at least as important to locals as it is tourists. That will be a winning formula imo.

 

[Hummer1676]

I agree with that. What DTD seems to be lacking is mass appeal right now. Geez, the massive Virgin Megastore has been turned into a place where you can build a toy truck. Seriously?!? The only excuse for that can be lack of interest from other businesses who could fill that space. I seriously don't have a problem with outsourcing to an extent, but something is happening that companies aren't interested. I am not sure what Disney's plan is, since they have trouble filling the space that is actually open now at DTD.

Disney seems to think to highly of themselves. Universal does not. Universal gets the idea that lowering rent will bring more tenants in while disney thinks to highly of its downtown area. If they would ease up on the rent and bring in some big name tenants it would be more packed. If they put in a Dave and Busters it would do a killing. I agree that people don't want the same thing thats in thier home town and want unique experiences and the T-Rex restaurant is a great idea and has decent food. They need to find a way to draw more people there at night. The restaurants aren't what i would call great they are decent at best. The prices are also quite high when you can go down the street and get a cheaper meal. If they lower rent then restaurants would lower prices. Its all economics and they are failing misserably at it.

 

[menamechris]

DTD has become at least as important to locals as it is tourists. That will be a winning formula imo.

Whoa..that is so not true...Haha! I live here, and I can tell you, I don't know, bumped into, or heard of anyone who has spent any significant amount of time at DTD. CityWalk - yes. I-Drive - yes. Downtown Orlando - yes. DTD - umm, no.

 

[devoy1701]

Whoa..that is so not true...Haha! I live here, and I can tell you, I don't know, bumped into, or heard of anyone who has spent any significant amount of time at DTD. CityWalk - yes. I-Drive - yes. Downtown Orlando - yes. DTD - umm, no.

that's what i thought.

except for maybe middle schoolers who's parents drop them off there for an evening because it's Disney and it's "safe" and they figure they can hang out without adult supervision.

 

[menamechris]

that's what i thought.

except for maybe middle schoolers who's parents drop them off there for an evening because it's Disney and it's "safe" and they figure they can hang out without adult supervision.

LOL!! I DID that when I was in middle school! But PI was open then. We couldn't go in, but we sure felt like grown ups with reservations at Rainforest Cafe. Ha!

 

[jt04]

Whoa..that is so not true...Haha! I live here, and I can tell you, I don't know, bumped into, or heard of anyone who has spent any significant amount of time at DTD. CityWalk - yes. I-Drive - yes. Downtown Orlando - yes. DTD - umm, no.

The parking lot is evidence to the contrary. And that is with a half-baked DTD and dead former PI. Everytime I go to the Marketplace or the AMC it is crowded. So, just because it doesn't appeal to your circle does not mean that is the case for everyone. You seem to be the one who is out of step with the majority of visitors to DTD.

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

How many time are you going to contradict yourself in a thread?


At not with.

 

[Alektronic]

Disney seems to think to highly of themselves. Universal does not. Universal gets the idea that lowering rent will bring more tenants in while disney thinks to highly of its downtown area. If they would ease up on the rent and bring in some big name tenants it would be more packed. If they put in a Dave and Busters it would do a killing. I agree that people don't want the same thing thats in thier home town and want unique experiences and the T-Rex restaurant is a great idea and has decent food. They need to find a way to draw more people there at night. The restaurants aren't what i would call great they are decent at best. The prices are also quite high when you can go down the street and get a cheaper meal. If they lower rent then restaurants would lower prices. Its all economics and they are failing misserably at it.

They wouldn't put in a Dave and Busters because it would compete with Disney Quest. But now, they are putting in a Dave and Busters on I-Drive across from Pointe Orlando/WonderWorks.

 

[JEANYLASER]

thanks for the info!

 

[jDoor]

They wouldn't put in a Dave and Busters because it would compete with Disney Quest. But now, they are putting in a Dave and Busters on I-Drive across from Pointe Orlando/WonderWorks.

You know... despite the popular negative opinion on here.. DTD is packed on a nightly basis... with the 'offseason' exceptions, of course..

 

[menamechris]

The parking lot is evidence to the contrary. And that is with a half-baked DTD and dead former PI. Everytime I go to the Marketplace or the AMC it is crowded. So, just because it doesn't appeal to your circle does not mean that is the case for everyone. You seem to be the one who is out of step with the majority of visitors to DTD.

Seriously? Where do you think the employees park? Or did you think they were shuttled in from some other location? Not to mention, it is not a big parking lot to begin with. People rent cars. And I would challenge you to not be able to find a parking space at any given time. NOW - go to any of the other places I mentioned in my previous post at that Orlando "nightlife", and try finding a parking space within a 1 mile radius. In all seriousness, I LOVE how much you love DTD. It's awesome. And I hope that HW is everything we all hope it will be. But to say that DTD is successful - and further, to make a statement that LOCALS love it - it brings all of your points into question, because nothing could be further than the truth. What do you seriously think people drive all the way out there to do? Look for new purses and pieces of art? To ride a balloon every weekend? I wouldn't even argue your point if you said locals go to Epcot to party. Drinking around the world is favorite pasttime to alot of us who live here, but DTD? Still no.

 

[zulemara]

The idea of Pleasure Island died the day they ungated the island, then outsourced locations which made it impossible to gate the island again. I have no problem with there being a mix of entertainment options. I do have a problem with how they went about it and the idea that all of HW will be outsourced, which means we aren't gonna get Disney creativity. If we end up with more laughable 1980s(if that) animatronic figures in loud restaraunts, HW is going to suck, plain and simple.

If they would recognize the need for more adult options and open a comedy club(be it AC or CW) and a dance club or 2(MDP/8-trax) they could have that mix without creating the "party" atmosphere that drove PI in its early days.

Either that or create another party area on property. Lord knows there is enough land for them to do so if they desire. I don't really care WHERE the clubs are located, but I want something to do at night. PI got blamed for the West Side business going downhill, but after PI closed, 2 stores closed, 1 cut itself in half, and the entire place has been laughable. I'm most upset that this whole time, the clubs could have at least been open, making money, and I could be having fun there, but instead, short sighted decisions lead to a wasteland for 2+ years.

 

[menamechris]

The idea of Pleasure Island died the day they ungated the island, then outsourced locations which made it impossible to gate the island again. I have no problem with there being a mix of entertainment options. I do have a problem with how they went about it and the idea that all of HW will be outsourced, which means we aren't gonna get Disney creativity. If we end up with more laughable 1980s(if that) animatronic figures in loud restaraunts, HW is going to suck, plain and simple.

If they would recognize the need for more adult options and open a comedy club(be it AC or CW) and a dance club or 2(MDP/8-trax) they could have that mix without creating the "party" atmosphere that drove PI in its early days.

Either that or create another party area on property. Lord knows there is enough land for them to do so if they desire. I don't really care WHERE the clubs are located, but I want something to do at night. PI got blamed for the West Side business going downhill, but after PI closed, 2 stores closed, 1 cut itself in half, and the entire place has been laughable. I'm most upset that this whole time, the clubs could have at least been open, making money, and I could be having fun there, but instead, short sighted decisions lead to a wasteland for 2+ years.

I would totally agree. I think that is why there is such a backing for AC to return. That in and of itself would not create a "party atmosphere" at HW, any more than the Tequila Bar does in Epcot.

 

[steve2wdw]

I took the following pictures of the Pleasure Island demolition work on Sunday, January 16th. Two of the three were taken from Characters in Flight, the balloon located on the West Side.

Enjoy!

 

[Trinitys Ghost]

Whoa..that is so not true...Haha! I live here, and I can tell you, I don't know, bumped into, or heard of anyone who has spent any significant amount of time at DTD. CityWalk - yes. I-Drive - yes. Downtown Orlando - yes. DTD - umm, no.

I think that is going to vary from person to person. I live in the Orlando area (have for 7 years), and for me, Citywalk = no, I-Drive = no, Downtown Orlando = no, DTD (during PI years) = yes.

For me, Citywalk has never held the same interest as DTD did back before PI closed. I've been to Downtown a few times, but it's not as exciting as other downtown areas I've been to, and I-Drive to me always seems like it's full of a line of cars, filled with passengers trying to figure out something to do. I may be wrong on the latter, but heading there a few times myself, it seemed as such.

 

[menamechris]

I think that is going to vary from person to person. I live in the Orlando area (have for 7 years), and for me, Citywalk = no, I-Drive = no, Downtown Orlando = no, DTD (during PI years) = yes.

For me, Citywalk has never held the same interest as DTD did back before PI closed. I've been to Downtown a few times, but it's not as exciting as other downtown areas I've been to, and I-Drive to me always seems like it's full of a line of cars, filled with passengers trying to figure out something to do. I may be wrong on the latter, but heading there a few times myself, it seemed as such.

I agree with you that DTD was more popular during the PI days of the 90s. But as you know and I know, all of the club areas have dropped off in Orlando. Church Street Station was also a thriving club scene in the 90s, and now it is completely dead. One has to assume that the same trend followed at Pleasure Island, with profits dropping off, and people loitering while spending the least amount of money possible. Whatever locals did enjoy DTD for Pleasure Island, are not returning weekend after weekend for what is there now....

 

[jakeman]

Citywalk is well...Citywalk is filled to the brim with third parties, many of them less unique than what is available at DTD (Burger King, Moe's). However, it does have an intangible energy that DTD is lacking.

Perhaps, while it is articulated here that no third parties should be allowed in DTD, the real concern is that these third parties will not energize the area like Citywalk has.

One of the things I've noticed anecdotally is that the locals have begun to shun Disney in the past decade or so, with the exception of the Food and Wine Festival.

Whether that is because of the quality or focus of Disney has changed or the variety and quality of local establishments has increase is debatable (I would say it is probably an equal portion of both).

While most of us are lamenting the loss of the clubs and adult venues, I wonder how much of that crowd was supported by locals?

Regardless, it is pretty obvious, intentional or not, PI had some poor decisions hoisted upon it in its last decade.

Also, just quickly addressing the DTD is busy argument. Marketplace may be pack, and even West Side may have a respectable crowd, but that huge chunk in the middle has been a ghost town every time I walked through it. That's 1/3 of your real estate not doing anything.

 

[wm49rs]

Citywalk is well...Citywalk is filled to the brim with third parties, many of them less unique than what is available at DTD (Burger King, Moe's). However, it does have an intangible energy that DTD is lacking.

Perhaps, while it is articulated here that no third parties should be allowed in DTD, the real concern is that these third parties will not energize the area like Citywalk has.

One of the things I've noticed anecdotally is that the locals have begun to shun Disney in the past decade or so, with the exception of the Food and Wine Festival.

Whether that is because of the quality or focus of Disney has changed or the variety and quality of local establishments has increase is debatable (I would say it is probably an equal portion of both).

While most of us are lamenting the loss of the clubs and adult venues, I wonder how much of that crowd was supported by locals?

Regardless, it is pretty obvious, intentional or not, PI had some poor decisions hoisted upon it in its last decade.

I would think a Rickey Nelson tribute band will pull the locals in by droves.....

 

[jt04]

How many time are you going to contradict yourself in a thread?

Perhaps your incredibly narrow point of view can't handle another opinion that does not fit within your predetermined limits and therefore you perceive it as contradiction. Yep, that is it.

You know... despite the popular negative opinion on here.. DTD is packed on a nightly basis... with the 'offseason' exceptions, of course..

See, you can say this a million times but if it does not fit the consensus lie it will just be ignored. See the following......

Seriously? Where do you think the employees park? Or did you think they were shuttled in from some other location? Not to mention, it is not a big parking lot to begin with. People rent cars. And I would challenge you to not be able to find a parking space at any given time. NOW - go to any of the other places I mentioned in my previous post at that Orlando "nightlife", and try finding a parking space within a 1 mile radius. In all seriousness, I LOVE how much you love DTD. It's awesome. And I hope that HW is everything we all hope it will be. But to say that DTD is successful - and further, to make a statement that LOCALS love it - it brings all of your points into question, because nothing could be further than the truth. What do you seriously think people drive all the way out there to do? Look for new purses and pieces of art? To ride a balloon every weekend? I wouldn't even argue your point if you said locals go to Epcot to party. Drinking around the world is favorite pasttime to alot of us who live here, but DTD? Still no.

DTD is no longer what you have determined it should be. You are in denial of that and therefore you see it as a failure. Yet the place is doing very well so it is not hard to project that once the changes come it will be doing even better.

It will never again be the place people go to 'party' in that sense but it will be incredibly and increasingly popular. Everything in life does not revolve around drinking. With Pumbas being the exception. :dazzle:

 

[jt04]

Citywalk is well...Citywalk is filled to the brim with third parties, many of them less unique than what is available at DTD (Burger King, Moe's). However, it does have an intangible energy that DTD is lacking.

Perhaps, while it is articulated here that no third parties should be allowed in DTD, the real concern is that these third parties will not energize the area like Citywalk has.

One of the things I've noticed anecdotally is that the locals have begun to shun Disney in the past decade or so, with the exception of the Food and Wine Festival.

Whether that is because of the quality or focus of Disney has changed or the variety and quality of local establishments has increase is debatable (I would say it is probably an equal portion of both).

While most of us are lamenting the loss of the clubs and adult venues, I wonder how much of that crowd was supported by locals?

Regardless, it is pretty obvious, intentional or not, PI had some poor decisions hoisted upon it in its last decade.

Also, just quickly addressing the DTD is busy argument. Marketplace may be pack, and even West Side may have a respectable crowd, but that huge chunk in the middle has been a ghost town every time I walked through it. That's 1/3 of your real estate not doing anything.

Um yeah, that is why they are building Hyperion Wharf. Perhaps you have not heard of it.