Club Report: Halloween at The Groove

DJ AJ was the only normal person in the house!

You knew it was going to be a fun night last night when a very much alive Michael Jackson appeared on stage at The Groove in Universal CityWalk. There was no official Halloween party or prizes but that did not keep some people from showing-up in costume nonetheless. Less than last year though; maybe only about 5%. It was fun and festive with the usual assortment of drink specials. Upstairs was closed so it was very crowded downstairs.

Top 100 DJ's Named

Did you vote in this year's Top 100 DJ contest from DJMag?  Earlier this week at Ministry of Sound in London the winners were announced.  Here are the Top 10:

1 Armin van Buuren (NL) (#1 DJ 4 years in a row!)
2 David Guetta (F)
3 Tiesto (NL)
4 Deadmau5 (CDN)
5 Above & Beyond (GB)
6 Paul van Dyk (D)
7 Gareth Emery (GB)
8 Markus Schulz (D)
9 Ferry Corsten (NL)
10 Axwell (S)
The entire Top 100 can be found at: http://www.trackitdown.net/news/show/104039.html

Club Reports: 80's Night at The Groove

Really slow night last night at 80's Night at The Groove. What people were there remained mostly on the sidelines throughout the night and few ventured onto the dance floor. Perhaps they were mourning the loss of DJ Doc Wells (8TRAX) who no longer works there. My phone died on me so I was unable to get more details. DJ AJ was playing the music; perhaps so many people are partying this weekend that they sat out Thursday night. I noticed for the first time that 80's Night is now Service Industry night too. DJ G-Clef (Celebrate Tonight) at Red Coconut Club had a relatively small crowd too with the club getting a late start following a private event. Latin Quarter was a bit more crowded but slow compared to most Thursdays; ditto for Margaritaville.

PI Update: Motion Stage Removed

Bridge #1 from Marketplace is moving towards completion. Looks like it has a week or two remaining until it's fully opened. Then they can move the demolition equipment into place!

Demolition/construction at the Lily Pad is now wholly contained within it's own construction walls. Notice that 4 street lamps have been installed. If you look at my October 16th article, there was one of those 3 in 1 lamp poles in that area just like the one in the foreground of this picture.

A better look at the fence blocking the backstage utility area behind Raglan Road. The Pleasure Island directional sign that was there a few days ago is now gone. A new construction wall is in place as well as the new PI walkway will be routed back behind there.

At Motion, the clearing out continued today and the stage at the rear has now been removed. DJ Talie will be spinning up there no more! The center truss and construction walls that were laying in there last night have been removed too. We're still awaiting the filing of a construction specific to the demolition of Motion.

Breaking News: Motion Demolition Imminent

Save Pleasure Island Blog team coverage live from Pleasure Island this evening with roving reporters Thommy and William on the ground! Please excuse the photos but it's dark out there! Island sources confirm that the main walkway is going to be routed, as previously reported, through where Motion currently stands.
CLICK ON PHOTOS TO ENLARGE
PHOTO 1: Scroll down to last Tuesday's article and you'll see a Pleasure Island sign on top of that fence  behind Raglan Road. It's been removed!
PHOTO 2: Commotion in Motion. Sources say that entertainment gear was removed today as they begin clearing the place. Another source say Motion is definitely coming down.
PHOTO 3: The center truss has been lowered and sits on the floor.
PHOTO 4: The main window in front of Adventurers Club has been covered and may have actually been removed too but can't tell because of the covering.
NOT PICTURED: Construction permit filed for AMC Sign Package. They are changing their name from AMC Pleasure Island 24 to AMC Downtown Disney 20. Some theaters are being merged and enlarged to include tables.

Will try to get photos in daylight tomorrow morning. If you're local and don't have pictures of your favorite buildings, you need to come out and take some soon as some buildings won't be here much longer!

Trick or Treat: Halloween Options

Let's begin downtown with several of the options there. Bliss Ultra Lounge has Lady Gaga's DJ VH1 performing on Sunday night. Nothing extra planned for Saturday night but a lot of people downtown will be in costume on that main party night so expect craziness nonetheless at Bliss!

Antigua's Halloween party is also Sunday night with DJ Nova (Blue Martini). Like Bliss, expect plenty of costumes on Saturday night as well, just no contest.

Tabu Night Club always goes overboard for Halloween so they're holding contests on both Saturday night and Sunday night. The biggest contest though is on Saturday night with DJ Richie Rich.

Wall Street Plaza is a closed off downtown street with bars and restaurants lining both sides. There is an outdoor stage featuring a live band and this year's it's 80's cover band Rockstarz. This year is Plazaween Number 10 and it's on Saturday night.

Moving down to International Drive and Pointe Orlando, Adobe Gila's is holding Monster-Ween in the venue and also outside. Yes, Adobe is still in business but Lulu's Bait Shack is becoming a new country bar but that's the subject of a future article!

At Universal, nothing official out at CityWalk again this year but I've attended the past two years since PI closed and usually somewhere between one-third and one-half the partiers are in costume. So it's crazy and a lot of fun. This year on Saturday night. Don't forget to print a voucher for a FREE CityWalk Party Pass, valid for entry into all the clubs, at OrlandoCoupons.com!

At Walt Disney World, Rix Lounge in Disney's Coronado Spring Resort is holding their 2nd annual Black & Orange Ball. This event is on Friday night. Go to Rix website for more details.

Finally, Atlantic Dance Hall at Disney's Boardwalk Resort is not holding any official Halloween events either that I could locate and so it just depends on whether people will show up in costume or not for resident DJ Pat. There are no Halloween parties on Pleasure Island either however DTD is having trick-or-treat throughout the complex including PI, but only for the kids!

This Blog Endorses PUSH for Mayor

PUSH

Election day in the United States is just one week away! One of the most hotly contested mayoral races is in the City of Bay Lake, Florida, where PUSH and BLANK have been fighting it out for Mayor of Tomorrowland.The 22 residents of Bay Lake will go to the polls to make their selection. PUSH recently picked up key endorsements from EPCOT World Showcase, the Transportation and Ticket Center as well as from Disney's Hollywood Studios. The only new endorsement for BLANK was by Disney's Boardwalk. Pleasure Island (not pictured) is also supporting BLANK which is not surprising considering all the other wrong decisions made out there. But this Blog supports PUSH all the way and thus presents this commercial on his behalf:

Pollo Campero Opening Soon

Construction on the new Pollo Campero fast-food Latin chicken restaurant is moving rapidly and should be completed within the next few weeks. Located in Downtown Disney adjacent T-REX Cafe, it is being built in the former DTD McDonald's.  An official opening date has not yet been announced but it is supposed to open in November; one just recently opened in Tampa.

Club Reports: CityWalk

Attended a wedding & reception last night featuring a pretty decent DJ however he was only paid until 9:30pm so that party came to a way-too-early conclusion. Knowing that I had not visited CityWalk on a Saturday night since mid-September, there was time to head over and check things out. And I'm glad I did as there were summer-like crowds throughout the complex including Red Coconut featuring the shy DJ Raoul (Power 95.3). 

The Groove was wall-to-wall with partiers for the mostly Top 40 and Hip Hop mix by DJ AJ. There was a continuously long line all night to get in. Once inside, lots of nice scenery! 

But the absolute highlight of the evening was the incredible set of House/Dance music put on by DJ Leony (Sirius/XM BPM, RadioDanz.com, Mega98.1, Senso) at Latin Quarter. The evening had been sprinkled with the stuff, intermixed with the more expected Salsa and Reggaeton. But all-of-a-sudden and without any warning around 12:45am, he switched to Dance and it never stopped until the lights came on close to 2am and he was forced to stop!! The dance floor was absolutely mobbed for this hour+ set as revelers cheered each new song! It ran so late I literally had to run back to The Groove to pay my tab in the already-closed club.

PI Update: Connecting The Dots

CLICK ON MAP TO ENLARGE
Let's connect the dots across Pleasure Island to see what has occurred and what rumors say are going to occur:
A - Demolition actually began last year with the removal of the old Ticket Booth adjacent the #1 Bridge.

B - Demolition then started up again this past July with replacement of Bridge #1 from Downtown Disney Marketplace. That reconstruction is still in progress. (See Blog 10/19/10)

C - The Lily Pad concert area was in the way of the new walkway so it's currently being demolished.(See Blog 10/19/10)

D - The new walkway will apparently travel into the current backstage area between Raglan Road (22) and Portobello (23). (See Blog 10/19/10)

E - Motion must be demolished to make this happen. What a waste!

F - The allegedly leaky and moldy Rock'n'Roll Beach Club comes down too. Supposedly between E & F is where a nautical-themed restaurant will be built. What was known as Pleasure Island gets a new nautical-themed name. I've reported previously on a Lighthouse-style outdoor fast food restaurant/bar being built here too. Schussler Creative, designer of T-Rex, Rainforest Cafe and Yak & Yeti, figure prominently on the new venues coming to the Island. GREAT STUFF: GO TO BLOG 1/2/10 & VIEW THE 3 LINKS IN THAT ARTICLE!!

G - Paradiso 37 remains, of course. It's the only new addition to PI since the clubs closed.

H - Soundstage/Adventurers Club come down. They're really one building.

I - Unfinished business. When they took down the lighting bridge/catwalk last November, they had to leave one of those metal towers because they didn't know what to do with that huge Harley Davidson Store logo sign. We'll see how they finally deal with that! (See Blog 11/23/09)

J - After many years, looks like valet parking could be returning near the #2 Bridge.

K - Mannequins, 8TRAX & Comedy Warehouse buildings get new nautical-themed facades but they remain standing and hopefully get some tenants. Idea: how about a couple music venues and a comedy club?

L - The new walkway leads over the #3 Bridge to Downtown Disney West Side.

In  my Blog article on 10/17/10, I mention rumors posted by PKD & Raven who are somehow "in the know" on what is happening. Additional comments from them:
RAVEN: $3.6M in lighting alone; They are putting a lot of effort into the transformation.
PKD: It (the project) is very massive, and with all still going according to plan. I honestly believe many here will like the outcome. As I mentioned previously, they will start on the east side and work their way west up the waterfront hill as can (already) be seen with walls starting to appear.

So lots going on and it's only just begun. The article in the Orlando Sentinel quotes Disney spokeswoman Zoraya Suarez as saying they would unveil some details within a matter of weeks.

DJ Concert Calendar

Fans of Mannequins and fans of techno/dance music in general have a LOT of upcoming options so I'm going to publish the ones that I'm currently aware of. If any other big names get added later, I'll post them separately:

SUN 24OCT DJ Ben Ross at House of Blues
WED 27OCT DJ's KJ, Orlando & Rob-E for Resurrection Reunion at Tabu
THU 28OCT DJ Datsik (CDN) at Roxy
SUN 31OCT DJ Richie Rich at House of Blues
THU 11NOV DJ Paul Oakenfold (GB) at Firestone Live
FRI 19NOV DJ Tiësto (NL) at UCF Arena
SUN 21NOV DJ Roger Sanchez at Senso
WED 24NOV DJ's Dave Cannalte & Kimball Collins for Aahz Encore at Tabu

Blog Gets Mentioned On Fox35 News

Monday night's breaking news story about PI construction permits being filed made it onto all the Orlando-area television station news programs. The story that local television station WOFL Fox35 News ran had the most extensive coverage and....mentioned the Save Pleasure Island Blog!

Club Reports: The Groove & Red Coconut Club

Fun night out at CityWalk last night as they get ready for Halloween. There is no official Halloween party out there next Saturday night but a lot of people show up in costume anyway.

The live band Switch aka Nerd Ranger was on The Groove stage last night for 80's Night. Their wacky brand of music is popular although most of the audience watches rather than dances. DJ Doc Wells (8TRAX) played more 80's between their three sets and after they finished.

This couple from Scotland was having a grand time!

Not super crowded last night but a decent-sized crowd nonetheless.

Save Pleasure Island Blog roving reporter Thommy was in the house along with friend Becky to do the Thriller dance. They had an entire group that was supposed to perform together however the rest of them felt Halloween Horror Nights was more important!

A number of others in the crowd joined in though.

Red Coconut Club had a good crowd on hand too. The earlier band set times are now in effect but interestingly, a different band was on the stage. Maybe the regular Herb Williams Band finally demanded a vacation!

As the night got later, the music being played by DJ G-Clef (Celebrate Tonight)  increasingly morphed from Top 40 into Hip Hop.