Disney to close Pleasure Island's six nightclubs

[dmx10101]

Not exactly a store, but I didn't know where else it would fit.


Disney to close Pleasure Island's six nightclubs

Scott Powers | Sentinel Staff Writer
10:27 PM EDT, June 27, 2008

The six nightclubs at Pleasure Island will soon shut down, as Walt Disney World redevelops the adult-focused district at Downtown Disney.

BET SoundStage Club, Mannequins Dance Palace, 8Trax and three other nightclubs that have for years catered largely to young, single adults -- rather than to Disney's bread-and-butter family market -- will close after Sept. 27. Over the next couple of years Disney will reopen the Pleasure Island area with a broader mix of restaurants and shops.

Though Pleasure Island's possible demise has been the subject of rumors for awhile, the announcement surprised many in the Orlando nightclub business. Pleasure Island, now 19 years old, may have seemed an odd venture for Disney but it appeared to thrive -- so much so that some in the industry have blamed it for accelerating the decline of the nightlife district in Downtown Orlando during the 1990s.

The Rock 'n' Roll Beach Club, one of the other PI nightclubs closed up for good on February 3, 2008.

In announcing what they called "a bold new vision" for all of Downtown Disney on Friday, Disney officials framed the Pleasure Island nightclub closures as a response to their customers, who say they want more broad-based dining and retail opportunities throughout the 120-acre district. "Our bold new vision for Downtown Disney reflects the feedback we receive from our guests each and every day and will enable us to continue to offer the high-quality entertainment that is our hallmark," said Downtown Disney Vice President Kevin Lansberry.

Pleasure Island is the middle section of Disney World's 120-acre dining, shopping and entertainment district, called Downtown Disney. While the two flanking areas, Marketplace and West Side, also have nightclubs, they are parts of restaurants, appealing to broad crowds. In general, those areas appealed to families. Until recently, Pleasure Island has been mostly about nightclubs, and it created an awkward bridge between Marketplace and West Side.

Other businesses in Pleasure Island, including a couple of restaurants, a cigar bar and a couple of clothing shops, will remain open. They already offer the broad appeal that Lansberry said Disney's patrons want from the rest of Pleasure Island. He did not offer specifics about what might replace the clubs, but said Disney was looking worldwide for restaurant and shopping concepts.

In addition, Disney is sprucing up the other two areas, adding new restaurants, expanding and updating a band shell, and bringing in a giant, tethered-balloon attraction that visitors can ride in, going up 300 feet

[Jonah Norason]

Pleasure Island, I believe, opened in the late 1980s or early 1990s. I also remember rumors a few years ago that the whole place would be razed and rebuilt.

Guess they were right.

[beachgal26]

I used to work near Disney and remember when they opened Pleasure Island.  They had a "free opening night" for all hospitality employees and it was the coolest thing that we had ever seen.  Since so much of the Orlando area caters to family-type venues, it was really nice to see something for the adults to do in the evening.

I can't believe that it has almost been 20 years......

:holysh:

[MikeRa]

A new T-Rex Cafe themed restaurant just opened on the Pleasure Island section of Downtown Disney.  It opened on 10/14/2008.  It is owned by Landry's restaurants, who also has two Rainforest Cafe restaurants at WDW: 1 at Downtown Disney's Marketpkace, the other at Disney's Animal Kingdom.