TMOne of the other threads started to turn into a "What Killed Mannequins" discussion so I thought I would begin an entire new thread about what led to the decision to close Pleasure Island as an adult clubbing locale.
In my opinion, Mannequins and all of Pleasure Island was "killed" by a lack of promotion coupled with a continuing series of blunders. I remember the days not that long ago when arriving late meant you had to park far beyond Planet Hollywood. But they quit advertising the place so people quit coming. It's not like some new, better competitor came along. Tourists, the mainstay of the place, forgot about it because it wasn't promoted. "Carpe P.M." was the last advertising campaign and that was around 2001-2003! The 20% off-coupons brought in the business.
Then came the ill-advised blunders. There was this grand plan to put outsourced shops on the island but they couldn't do that if the island was closed to most potential customers. So the turnstiles were removed and club tickets were checked at club doors. The island was then open to everyone. But the exclusivity of the island disappeared and the panache associated with it. Teens began to congregate and there were complaints from passersby who were not PI customers anyway. Midnight fireworks ended. The band stages and the bands were eliminated. Parental complaints of actually allowing their poor child to witness someone drinking an alcoholic beverage increased since those just passing through could actually run into club patrons with drinks in hand. Oh the horror of it all. The Missing Link building was renovated but nothing ever reopened in it so that looked like a dead zone. There was no innovations to improve anything. It was apparent that the plan was to let the island sink into obscurity so that they could justify closing it. I think that the island remained profitable in the end however since Disney is ALL about the money, it was thought they could have greater profits closing the clubs and reusing the land for other things. So here we are 1 yr later with empty buildings and a vast wasteland. That's my theory......yours?
10 comments:
Back in 1988-89 I heard of PI (Mannequins) from a friend I never knew about it until then and still never heard advertisement for PI for years after yeah i sure they had advertisement in tourist papers or what ever the 1st real advertisement I heard for PI was Carpe P.M. and that was it so what I am saying is this back in 1988-2003 they didn't need to advertise PI and the last 8 or so years when they let and or made the "DJ" play the crap he played that is the downfall! and that is what I think KILLED Pleasure Island
Thanks for your comments. In the early days there was so much word-of-mouth advertising and things in the press about PI that formal advertising was not really needed. The early 2000's were critical times when promoting PI was necessary to sustain it and it worked. But then they stopped.
Not sure what you mean when you say they let or made the DJ play crap. Mannequins was always a "techno" club however techno has evolved.
There is a relatively new category called "Dance" music that can include songs from the House genre, songs from the Trance genre and songs that are Top 40 and Hip Hop remixes. A lot of purists don't like the latter two categories but fact is songs remixed to 110-130 beats per minute qualify as Dance songs and they do get a lot of club play nowadays. I understand Tiesto is even remixing Rock (guitar-oriented) songs into techno, heaven forbid!
They ruined the atmosphere when they dropped the gates and let everyone on. Strollers and good times are polar opposites.
Anon, you are absolutely correct. It definitely felt "awkward" weaving between parents and kids when going from one club to the next.
I agree w/ the comments about the ungating of PI. It was very ackward, and the 'exclusiveness' feeling of PI slipped away.
Carpe P.M. Kungaloosh.
felt like city walk!
Good point. CityWalk does have family traffic walking through it although sometimes the "upstairs" part is restricted to those 21+.
To their credit, CityWalk also has a band stage with a free band that attracts teens and others that aren't buying anything.
In my opinion, PI died the same day as approx.3000 New Yorkers... 9/11/01. Immediately follwing that disaster, ALL of the great outdoor entertainment ended as well as all the dance shows in Mannequins. The unique party atmosphere was gone for good and, apparently, the "bean counters" thought it was too expensive to put back. Yes, it was true that attendance slowed for a while as well it should have during such a sad time, but by the end of that year everything SHOULD have been back to normal... but it wasn't. All of us who remember the 90's and early millineum at PI know that nothing else could ever hope to even come close.
Susieque, your posting is the first time I've ever seen anyone equate the downfall of PI to the 9/11 attack. I won't disagree because my on-going history with PI began in 2002 when they still had a Gate, stages, live bands and fireworks. The clubs were packed even then, at least on weekends and CM nights.
If the terrorists killed Mannequins, then the terrorists need to be killed.
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