Pleasure Island at WDW closing permanently
Jul 7, 2008, 6:26 pm
#1
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Pleasure Island at WDW closing permanently
I just received a postcard from Disney in reference to my Pleasure Island Annual Pass confirming what has been reported on many Disney fan sites: Pleasure Island and all nightclubs will close for good by September 28, 2008. There is a number to call to ask about AP refunds and other options.
I live in L.A., but as a confirmed Disney Parks fanatic and WDW Annual Pass holder I travel to Orlando several times a year. As a fan of Adventurer's Club and Mannequins (especially on Thursdays
), this is very sad news. 
I live in L.A., but as a confirmed Disney Parks fanatic and WDW Annual Pass holder I travel to Orlando several times a year. As a fan of Adventurer's Club and Mannequins (especially on Thursdays
), this is very sad news.
Jul 7, 2008, 7:04 pm
#2
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Yes, the local news outlets were all over this when the news broke about a week ago. Apparently, the PI complex is being replaced with more shops and resturants to make the area more "family-friendly".
Jul 8, 2008, 11:28 pm
#3
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This has been coming for years. Disney always had trouble accepting PI, except perhaps in the mid-90's when it was quite literally a cash cow. Of course those were also the years when they actually presented the most impressive, unique nighttime entertainment concept in the world. Early this decade the bean-counters took over and slowly disintegrated what made PI special. Shock of shocks, revenue dropped which only added more fuel to the cutback fire. That death spiral could only have ended in the announcement to shut down.
Manne-queens on Thursdays was indeed an institution. My wife always teased me that it was the only night of the week when I got more lustful looks than she did...
Manne-queens on Thursdays was indeed an institution. My wife always teased me that it was the only night of the week when I got more lustful looks than she did...
Jul 9, 2008, 8:47 am
#4
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It seems odd that they'd nearly eliminate nightlife options from the resort, though. It kind of diminishes the current one-stop nature of the Walt Disney World Resort experience. There's some nightlife over at the Boardwalk, but not a lot. Maybe they'll add a venue or two over there to help.
Jul 10, 2008, 8:48 pm
#5
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I am very curious to see what they're going to do to address that deficiency, SRQ Guy. The primary reason they opened PI back in '89 was to answer guest complaints that there was nothing to do on property at night, and to retrieve a lot of the revenue Disney was losing to Church Street Station (the only alternative at the time). There are a lot more places for people to go at night now, but I can't believe Disney is just walking away from that money stream.
And the loss of the Comedy Warehouse and Adventurer's Club is actually a huge loss to the company overall. The talented performers there were world class. And the Adventurer's Club was a unique place that drew a good crowd every night of the week. Even people who didn't like the concept of PI at all would recommend to their friends to visit that one club.
And the loss of the Comedy Warehouse and Adventurer's Club is actually a huge loss to the company overall. The talented performers there were world class. And the Adventurer's Club was a unique place that drew a good crowd every night of the week. Even people who didn't like the concept of PI at all would recommend to their friends to visit that one club.
