Pleasure Island Clubs To Close?

[fizzle75]

I'd be happier than a hog eatin' slop if Disney just totally gutted PI and made it more family friendly for those of us who don't drink, smoke, club hop, etc. There's lots of us who hate going anywhere near PI and feel very uncomfortable there. My wife and I love Raglan Road but we rarely go there because we hate wading through the cigarette smoke and throngs of drunken idiots being loud and obnoxious.

I say level the place, build a new Cirque type theater for some type of new Disney stage show(or maybe even Wicked), build a really nice family friendly bowling alley with a strong Disney theme and move the clubs that are still somewhat thriving to the resorts. PI just seems like wasted space IMHO and I think it would be more profitable for Disney if it were turned into something more family friendly.

I love to bowl(I totally stink at it though) and my wife and I have been saying for quite some time now that Disney needs a bowling alley and that we would love to see what Disney's imagineers could come up with for one.

Now, I know I'm gonna get flamed and slammed for being too "stuffy" and conservative but I'm just expressing an opinion that I think alot of WDW fans share.

I realize Disney are aiming for a very specific demographic with PI but they have created an area that has very limited appeal and thus is not as profitable as it could be.

As it is, we almost never set foot in Westside and that's a real shame because we really enjoy going to Cirque, Virgin and the AMC.

 

[sbkline]

I'd be happier than a hog eatin' slop... Now, I know I'm gonna get flamed and slammed for being too "stuffy" and conservative...

I don't think you need to worry about getting flammed, dude. Everyone's gonna be too busy laughing over your Southern hick expressions to be offended by the rest of your post. :lol:

 

[Thiger]

my sugggestion: plus PI, maybe double-plus it (sorry to sound orwellian).

1) keep the AC and comedy club. They're big draws and work really well.
2) maybe use the AC formula in a different environment. Maybe a Club 54 disco-rama crowd straight from the 70's?
3) bring in a bowling alley/ Dave n Busters/ family type place (no not disneyquest) something teen friendly

***First things first: bring in hot bartenders. No offense to the people who tend at PI but anyone knows that sexy folk sells booze. Seeing the Cast wearing those silly shirts just doesnt work it.

4) dare i say it? c-a-s-i-n-o (let the flaming begin)
5) maybe bring in top drawer cover bands, like the ones who do the whole show. Like Led Replica and such.

and last, but definitely not least:

AA Karaoke. Basically you'd have 'Mickey's party jam' where the gang would be in AA form and MC while people sing karaoke. I think it'd be a huge huge huge success. It'd be super family friendly and you'd draw a lot of people.

ok, there's my 3-cents

 

[fizzle75]

I don't think you need to worry about getting flammed, dude. Everyone's gonna be too busy laughing over your Southern hick expressions to be offended by the rest of your post. :lol:

Should I have been a little more refined and used "happier than a coondog on a bare leg" instead. :animwink:

 

[echoscot]

I totally understand your sentiments. I was never a fan of PI. ALthough I did hear that AC and CW were good, maybe keep those two for the shows...

 

[sbkline]

Should I have been a little more refined and used "happier than a coondog on a bare leg" instead. :animwink:

:ROFLOL::ROFLOL:

 

[scottb411]

Downtown Resurgence

Back when DD opened, Orlando didn't have any real local places and the college in Orlando (UCF) had about 25,000 students that mainly stayed around campus.

On New Years Eve this year, there will easily be over 100,000 people in downtown Orlando (Wall Street, Church Street (Antigua / Latitudes) and all up and down Orange Avenue and Thornton Park. UCF is approaching 50,000 students and the undergrads and recent alums all go downtown. Throughout downtown, there are easily over 50 bars with drink specials half the cost of Disney and Universal, no kids, and not very many tourist (although I'm sure this is going to start to change).

Restaurant Row on Sand Lake (West of I-4) is also stealing the nightime scene from DD and Citywalk. The theme parks club prices are just to expensive and are dominated by tourist dressed in their shorts and t-shirts.

Other local places that have sprouted up are Celebration, Winter Park, Millenia Mall, Lake Mary, Waterford Lakes, and Winter Garden Village that locals are spending their nights at.

Stating that, Disney will always own the family night out together for visitors to Orlando. They are moving in the right direction.

 

[mlayton14]

Another vote for dumping the whole "club" thing. No one goes to Disney to go clubbing .... except for maybe some teenage locals which I doubt really has any impact on the big picture .. if they want to go to Disney parks they will go regardless if clubs are there or not.

Real Estate at Disney is valuable .. turn it into something that the average traveler to Disney wants - dining, shopping, non-rowdy-teenager stuff. Let them get their rocks off in downtown orlando or universal ... 99.9% of the tourists wont care.

 

[ImaYoyo]

Ug... my last post on this one because I'm growing tired of talking to a wall... If "no one goes clubbing", then why in the world is 8 trax pulling in the sums of cash that they are. If you don't know how much cash it's pulling in, then i would say you're not exactly qualified to say "it's not working".

And to respond to a few items below:

1.) They're not "big draws" as far as consuption goes. Drinks are what make a club profitable. Comedy is NOT an extremely profitable location. See multiple previous posts by myself and others on this.
2.) 8-trax anyone?
3.) is there really a big difference between D&B and DQ? Other than that D&B is not as big, serves full meals, and charges per game instead of per admit?
*** hot bartenders? Doesn't sound like a disney hiring policy to me...

my sugggestion: plus PI, maybe double-plus it (sorry to sound orwellian).

1) keep the AC and comedy club. They're big draws and work really well.
2) maybe use the AC formula in a different environment. Maybe a Club 54 disco-rama crowd straight from the 70's?
3) bring in a bowling alley/ Dave n Busters/ family type place (no not disneyquest) something teen friendly
4) I'm having trouble finding how a casino is more family friendly than a bar...
5) Top "drawer" cover bands... is there such a thing? Aren't those two contradictory? Can't say I've ever heard of Led Replica...

That being said, yes, P.I. is still changing, yes, it's trying to become more profitable. But it certainly is not losing money, nor is it barely profitable. It brings in a good chunk of change. And when it comes down to it, it's all about value to the investors, and having an "adult escape" on property is an added value. If you don't like it, don't go. Clears up an extra seat for me at the A/C...
***First things first: bring in hot bartenders. No offense to the people who tend at PI but anyone knows that sexy folk sells booze. Seeing the Cast wearing those silly shirts just doesnt work it.

4) dare i say it? c-a-s-i-n-o (let the flaming begin)
5) maybe bring in top drawer cover bands, like the ones who do the whole show. Like Led Replica and such.

and last, but definitely not least:

AA Karaoke. Basically you'd have 'Mickey's party jam' where the gang would be in AA form and MC while people sing karaoke. I think it'd be a huge huge huge success. It'd be super family friendly and you'd draw a lot of people.

ok, there's my 3-cents

 

[ImaYoyo]

:lookaroun

Another vote for dumping the whole "club" thing. No one goes to Disney to go clubbing .... except for maybe some teenage locals which I doubt really has any impact on the big picture .. if they want to go to Disney parks they will go regardless if clubs are there or not.

Real Estate at Disney is valuable .. turn it into something that the average traveler to Disney wants - dining, shopping, non-rowdy-teenager stuff. Let them get their rocks off in downtown orlando or universal ... 99.9% of the tourists wont care.

Wait a minute. I just read this and HAD to come back... Real Estate at Walt Disney World is valuable. Are we talking about the same 47 square mile complex that has yet to come close to having developed more than 1/5th of it's land holdings? Just curious...

 

[sknydave]

I think someone is confusing what they personally prefer for what actually brings in money.

 

[Tom Morrow]

:lookarounAre we talking about the same 47 square mile complex that has yet to come close to having developed more than 1/5th of it's land holdings? Just curious...

According to the Reedy Creek website, they've used roughly 1/3rd of the land. Which is still not very much.

 

[TravisMT81]

people must be unaware of how much Disney does in the convention business. These guest want a place they can go after their meetings. Most of the people on here must only walk through PI and never go into any of the clubs.

 

[nyfrenchy]

but the drinks is not the only source of revenues. WHat about tickets & annual passes? Personally, I bought a PI annual pass only and only for the Comedy Club and Adventure Club, I rarely step into the dance clubs.

To continue on your point. The CW will only sell maybe one drink per person during the session, but not everyone orders. And there are what 4 shows a night? 8 Traxx has people coming and going the entire time and probably holds 4 times the patrons that Comedy can seat at one time. People in the dance clubs order more than one drink. Do the math and you will see a multiple difference in revenue and profit between the two.

 

[DisneyNeighbor]

Build a concert venue and book some of the Disney talent or other popular artist.

Nothing extreme, but they could book different concerts every week.

My kids would love to see Hanna Montana and being at Disney would really plus it.

 

[Piebald]

PI is too expensive. Even when I was a CM and went with friends I'd never buy drinks. They don't even give you free coke! Why go to PI (at least as a college student) when you can have fun (read: get wasted) for 5-10$ tops.

 

[unkadug]

PI is too expensive. Even when I was a CM and went with friends I'd never buy drinks. They don't even give you free coke! Why go to PI (at least as a college student) when you can have fun (read: get wasted) for 5-10$ tops.

PI wasn't built to "get wasted", if you want to "get wasted"...please go somewhere else!

 

[Brian Noble]

So, that's the thing: what is PI's market, really? Especially given the current entertainment focus of keeping everything in the clubs---all but two of which are dance clubs.

It's not the young-20s crowd, because those folks generally lack the coin to pop $8 a throw for "enough" rum and cokes.

It's not the parents with grade school-and-younger-kids. Those folks need to get a babysitter to go to PI (unless they're just foolish). I'm not sure enough do to keep the island afloat. Though, those that do would probably find 8-trax fun, and maybe RnR Beach, but probably not the other dance clubs.

Convention buisiness might fuel some of it, but look at what CSR is doing---building a pretty nice club for their convention business. Evidently, PI doesn't fill that need.

It's not the empty-nesters, except maybe AC and CW.

It might be parents with middle-school and teen kids, because they don't need babysitters. But I'm guessing those folks are more likely to be focusing on Universal and patronizing City Walk.

As near as I can tell, it leaves the late-20's/early-30's singles and younger couples. And, folks, most of those people are going to Vegas or someplace similar, or perhaps even Universal---not Disney.

So, who is the market? I get that PI was built in part as a response to Church St., but how many folks there were Disney guests going offsite for a good time vs. locals? Maybe not many. If that's the case, then PI was perhaps never a good idea.

 

[sknydave]

PI wasn't built to "get wasted", if you want to "get wasted"...please go somewhere else!

Well having bartenders at every corner possible tell a different tale.

 

[Thelazer]

Look back to the glory years of PI and you'll see that, first the Island was gated. You had to be 18 to go into most clubs and 16 for others. Not many parents brought there kids. The island was also, not a "part" of DTD. There was no "West End" so there was no traffic flow issue of tourists having to go thru the mess of drunken people. Of course, there were hot bartenders at the time. There was stage and they did bring in big name acts.

But now let’s fast forward to today. Hot bartenders make more money in Vegas, or LA, they don’t work at Disney. Disney’s isn’t “The Place” to be if you’re a hot bartender. The West End creates a traffic flow issue, forceing tourists to wade thru the drunken mess. There is no fixing that, without removing the drunken mess. Nightlight in general has changed; big clubs are no longer trendy. Small lounge clubs, VIP, that’s all the rage (hence the new RIX place) Sexiness is in (see any club in Vegas) large industrial spaces are out (see PI, and btw Disney could never do “sexy”)

Therefore and this is the takeaway, the island can no longer exist in its current state. It must change. The problem is "What" it will change into. There seems to be no overall plan or focus. Until someone gets an overall plan we will continue to see these odd rumors of one club going, or some crazy bowling ally... or the knockdown of a wall to expand 8-Trax (Nothing new, the talk on that started 2 years ago… and is the DUMBEST idea ever)