What would you do with Pleasure Island? Walt Disney World (WDW) Rumors Discuss What would you do with Pleasure Island? in the News & Rumors forums; Per Lou's rumors update, I thought I'd add what I would do with the now-closed Pleasure Island if I had my way. Besides bringing Adventurers Club back, of course... I'm ...

[TestSherpa]

Per Lou's rumors update, I thought I'd add what I would do with the now-closed Pleasure Island if I had my way.

Besides bringing Adventurers Club back, of course...

I'm big on theming and no one does it better than Disney. Instead of having nightclubs that you could see somewhere else (no offense to Jelly Rolls fans, but similar venues are in every major metro), I'd go with heavy effects, animatronics, etc., to transport you to a place you couldn't see elsewhere.

Some examples:

A train-dining experience. The seating would be in dining cars and the wait staff would be in train uniforms. But the train cars would be ride vehicles and your view from the windows would be a surround film like Soarin' (only train specific). You could pick from different eras and locations including a Tomorrowland-style train ride through a future landscape. At different stopping points, different castmembers would join as part of the entertainment. Walt loved trains.

A haunted night club with Pepper's ghost effects so you can dance with ghosts. The ghosts movements would be triggered by whatever beats and music the DJ is playing so that it's not the same movement. And some castmembers would join in so you wouldn't be sure which was animatronic and which was a "real" ghost. You could dance in the Haunted Mansion's ballroom, or it could be themed in 100 other spooky ways.

[GIOny]

Those are great ideas!! Whatever they do I hope they keep it family friendly so everyone can enjoy it.

[Tim]

Starting at the Marketplace: I'd keep things pretty much the same but I'd put a water feature where everyone stands to get spit on by Stitch. It wastes space. Next, the Lego store goes bye bye. I widen the walkway there to fix the funnel effect it creates. Next, I bring back the clubs but in an open air format so visitors can enjoy the weather. I don't want to spend my nights at Disney inside. I want to enjoy the weather. I would also get rid of Characters In Flight. It just doesn't work. Looks like a car dealer balloon. I would connect the stores on the West Side so getting in and out during inclement weather would be easier. I like the train dinner idea, that works! Then, the big one: A rotating restaurant in the middle of the lake accessible by boat only.

[Mr. Tom Morrow]

Throw in some Applebee's and Wal-Marts.

[edwardsfire]

Keeping it closed is far better than what was there before.....a thug local hang out.
However, Disney WILL redo it to something else. Its my hope that it will be, as stated before, kid friendly and something that IS Disney, P.I. was the anti -disney area that was doomed from the get go.
Now IF, they reopened it as an adult area...and charged say, 50.00 per person, per night....then we wouldnt see any issues like before.
The Riff raff, would then findsomewhere else to mess up.

[edwardsfire]

Originally Posted by Mr. Tom Morrow

Throw in some Applebee's and Wal-Marts.

That actually, would be better than before.

[MJMcb]

I add some unique stores myself. Make it interesting to browse around. Throw in some unique (like Raglan Road) restaruants and the like

[Mr. Tom Morrow]

Nothing like going to the Pleasure Island Bus stop and smelling the lovely aroma of the previous nights vomit. Magical.

[2muchmark]

Hi

I found this thread after googling "Pleasure Island" and I'd like to offer my thoughts on this issue.

Disney made a huge mistake in closing the clubs on Pleasure Island. Very, very big mistake.

For the past 12 years I've had the opportunities to visit alone or with friends. As an adult I enjoyed all of the parks in the Orlando area, but I especially enjoyed the nightlife at Pleasure Island.

The Mannequins club was like no other. Unbeatable sound and light show, great music and DJ's, and no matter what night you went, and no matter how you were dressed (club clothes or just shorts and a T'), you were welcomed and let right in. If you got tired of the music, you could take your drink and walk down the little street to another club, and another and another.

It was a great place for ADULTS to hang out away from the kiddies and be ADULTS. I met lots of great people from all over the world and always had a really, really nice time.

Disney's Pleasure Island was a real draw for me to go to Orlando. It was cooler than Universal Citywalk, and felt much safer than Chuch Street Station. Security at Disney was always top-notch and way, way friendly. I watched them handle one guy who had too much to drink with amazing professionalism. What could have been an ugly or embarrassing scene was handled in a calm manner. He was escorted out of the Island and placed into a cab without even touching the guy. The security people were also nice and relaxed, not like super-uptight / ready to bust a head cops.

So anyway, they closed all the clubs in 2008. Last spring in 2010 I went back to check it out. Talk about depressing.

Disney had not re-opened these clubs, or done anything at all from what I could tell. It felt so empty. Sure there were lots of shoppers buying trinkets and I'm sure that adding even more stores is a good move for Disney, but come on. There are all ready so many stores to buy Disney memorabilia right in that area alone. Did you guys really need to build more?

Pleasure Island was great. You could show up with friends around 7pm, eat a great dinner, drink and dance the night away, and grab free transportation back to your Hotel if you drank too much. Fun, safe, adult, cool.

Gone.

[20K]

Originally Posted by TestSherpa

A haunted night club with Pepper's ghost effects so you can dance with ghosts. The ghosts movements would be triggered by whatever beats and music the DJ is playing so that it's not the same movement. And some castmembers would join in so you wouldn't be sure which was animatronic and which was a "real" ghost. You could dance in the Haunted Mansion's ballroom, or it could be themed in 100 other spooky ways.

That is one of the coolest "fan Imagineering" ideas I have ever heard.

[JNota0005DakMC]

that would be awesome... i like that idea alot...

i think something must be done to PI because walking through it makes you think what once was... and the people above who said it was a thug hangout... theyre right... but if done correctly it might not be the hangout it was...

[supernova]

I've never really had any use for PI. I visited exactly once and wasn't impressed at all, and we only went because it we had to use up our perks (same thing with DisneyQuest) back before the Magic Your Way tickets. Again, it'll never be Universal City Walk, which is more about nightlife than some hastily thrown-together clubs like PI became. And on top of that, I did NOT leave the nightlife of Manhattan to visit night clubs in Orlando, much less Disney World.

[JNota0005DakMC]

Mike this is true... maybe nightlife isnt necessarily needed at WDW... but would you agree something needs to go there so there isnt a gap between the marketplace and west side...?

im not sure Character in Flight was as successful as they had hoped it would be...

[supernova]

No, they priced themselves out of Characters in Flight, and the re-ridability isn't really there. If they could just pick up the entire west side and move it closer, that'd be great. Unfortunately...

[JNota0005DakMC]

check out this thread i just started on the new plans for Pleasure island announced today...

Disney Blog announces Hyperion Wharf