Friday, March 20, 2009

PI Rumor Central



UPDATED SUNDAY 3/22/09: It's been a whirlwind week of PI rumors. Since these rumors were spread across multiple days, I have attempted to summarize all of the PI rumors right here. New information that I did not include previously is in italics.

PI LIVE:
Supposedly the booth for PI Live will move from it's current location above the Hub over to the tech booth above Laffers Cantina. There will be DJ auditions this coming Tuesday at Motion. They want DJ's that cannot only spin music but also have the ability to interact with guests. There will be some kind of "dueling DJ's" with the DJ's going back and forth to entertain the guests. They are trying to liven things up on the far west side of PI near the bridge to WS. The reason for moving the booth and the music is to eliminate interference with the Irish music at Raglan Road and the Latin music at the restaurant/night club opening soon on the waterfront.

PARADISO 37:
According to the website, this is the name of the new Central/South American restaurant and night club under construction at PI. Located in the waterside building that was formerly home to the Missing Link Sausage Company and a few shops, they will also feature a tequila bar and food court called Street Foods of the Americas.

MANNEQUINS & 8TRAX:
Allegedly a very high ranking Disney executive from the Entertainment division was in Orlando and touring PI this past Monday and after seeing the situation out there, basically told Maingate (the WDW entertainment complex) to immediately restore the sound and lights in these two clubs in order to get the rooms "show ready". I received an e-mail from someone else who apparently works at Disney who denies there are any plans to do this. Another source reported to me that in a later meeting with around 20 people, the executive mentioned above was screaming and wanted to know whose idea it was to close the clubs. Apparently after I posted these rumors they spread like wildfire across WDW.

Another source reported that to quell the wildfire, an e-mail was sent out shortly thereafter to CM's stating that the clubs will open permanently but only for conventions (private rentals); in other words, the 3 clubs previously announced as being available for private rentals through September 30th could now be booked beyond that date. And also in other words, the inference is that there is a misunderstanding about what it means that the clubs are reopening and if you're asked, that is what it really means. This whole e-mail thing is a rumor too but if its true my Blog posting must have pushed someone's buttons because Disney does not traditionally comment about rumors. Another new rumor says that the reopened clubs will be operated by a 3rd party vendor, not by Disney. Another source says that E-Brands is the 3rd Party vendor. This company is behind the Latin restaurant and night club currently under construction on PI.


ADVENTURERS CLUB:
Disney boards poster Maistre Gracey quotes sources telling him that Adventurers Club will be reopening in June, 2010 as a dinner show type club. The audience will move from room to room as a unit so all shows are viewed. The BET Soundstage may be converted to extend the space of the Club since it is actually one building below ground level. Another source says they can't open until after the closure anniversary because of union labor contracts. It is a fact however that AC is available right now for private rentals through September 30th (and perhaps beyond).

MOTION:
Motion is available for private rentals at least through September 30th and perhaps longer now. A rumor from a month ago was that this club was going to reopen within a year. Other than that, there are no new rumors about Motion.

SOUNDSTAGE:
The contract with BET ended last year and BET Soundstage is now simply the Soundstage Club. Soundstage is available for private rentals at least through September 30th and perhaps beyond now. The rumor from last month was that SS was going to reopen within a year. I am currently trying to rent this place out for a Mannequins reunion party and we are close on a deal. There are no new rumors about Soundstage.

COMEDY WAREHOUSE:
Sorry, but absolutely no rumors about CW.

ROCK'N'ROLL BEACH CLUB:
Absolutely no rumors about this place except the old one which says the building has so many leaks that it needs to be demolished.

OK, that's the summary of all the rumors. Let's see what develops over the next several weeks. Hope for the best!

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