Free CityWalk Party Pass Loophole

Long-term Blog readers will recall when CityWalk was offering free all-club Party Passes via the Orlando Coupons website. After seeing so many of us locals redeem them, they added a restriction that may have been their intent all along: Must Show Proof of Convention Attendance, (badge) to be redeemed.

Well if you go to that website now those restrictions are still there, except if you click on the Latin Quarter icon. That route allows you to print a coupon good for all CW clubs that does not have that restriction. What's weird is if you go to the Latin Quarter icon from elsewhere within that website, you go to the offer which does have the Convention-only restriction. So, do you want a free Party Pass?

1. Go to www.orlandocoupons.com
2. If on that first page you see the Latin Quarter icon, click on it and follow instructions to print a coupon without restrictions.
3. If on that first page Latin Quarter is not one of the choices, close your window and start over. Following other pathways to find Latin Quarter icons or coupon links will take you to a Party Pass offer which does have the Convention restriction.

Club Report: Suite B Lounge (Davie's Angels)

While the Los Angeles Angels were over in St. Petersburg last night playing the Rays, Davie's Angels were in Orlando last night playing Breaks and House and Dance. The talented female disk jockey trio opened Suite B Lounge with Orlando's-own DJ Heather Collins!

The early crowd was dancing all over the place.

I typically run into some Mannequins people in here but not so last night.

I mentioned this in my club report last month that Heather only plays real records off real turntables. We don't see her enough in local clubs!

The crowd continued to grow as patrons from nearby club Vain wandered in.

After a little over an hour, Heather turned the controls over to Tampa's DJ Bella.

Using CD's and playing mostly Break Beats, there were other recognizable songs in the mix too.

The resident dancer kept things interesting.

Cool. DJ Bella plays all over the country.

And it got even more crowded in there. Don't forget to order yourself a Code Red shot.

The final angel of the evening was Palm Bay's DJ Jennifer Marley (Party95.com), taking over the decks around 1am.

While Marley's music too was mostly Breaks, she opened with a classic dance hit from back in the day that caught everyone by surprise and had the crowd go crazy!

No laptop computer here! You can hear Jennifer Marley sets Monday-Friday from 6pm-10pm on Party95.com. She often includes guest DJ mixes such as the one by DJ Peapod of Mannequins back in February.

Club Report: Club Zen Exotic Lounge

The carcasses of clubs that have occupied this location on Pine Street are piled high. Blue Room, Red Velvet, Voyage' and most recently Deja Vu Ultra Lounge. Thus I kind of chuckled when I saw yet another club was going to give it a try. The new Club Zen Exotic Lounge is now open and........I was impressed! Using "Oriental" as a theme, the club has what few others have....a theme. Jason the DJ was pumping out one House/Dance song after another taking advantage of an incredible sound system that's been installed. Using a new entryway that predecessors did not have, you're immediately drawn into the theme and directed down stairs into the main room which has one large bar and a dance floor that is not segregated from other standing areas. Dancing girls on platforms get things moving and with two of those platforms in the club's windows, passersby both on foot and in cars take notice. If they advertise the place and keep the great music, Zen has a great chance! (Note to Readers: The new club has..........shiny disco balls!)

PI Update: New Rumor Says Further Demolitions Cancelled & Clubs Could Reopen!

I want to make clear that the following information was provided to us by one of our sources but I've not been able to get any kind of secondary verification. The source is reporting that allegedly all further demolitions on Pleasure Island have been stopped.  The real bombshell information though, if true, is that some or all of the clubs will be made available for 3rd party leases, as is, for any use including being refurbished and reopened as clubs!

The information given to us is that Disney would not reopen the clubs, they would have to be 3rd party leases. We're told that the clubs could not be the same as what was there previously but they could be "similar". Not entirely sure what that means but my guess is that Mannequins, for example, could not reopen as Mannequins but it could reopen as a dance club with a different theme with a revolving dance floor (which we're told is still in there). Ditto the other clubs; they could be leased and reopened in a similar to what they used to be yet different manner.

If this rumor is true, this is the best possible news short of Disney just reopening the places themselves! Nightlife would return to Walt Disney World and Pleasure Island would no longer be a ghost town. Other shops and restaurants would want to be part of that action! I want to emphasize again that this is just a rumor from one source and I have no verification of its accuracy. It should not be relied-upon by anyone for any decision-making.

Does this mean that the Hyperion Wharf project has been postponed or perhaps even canceled? I don't know. Now that Spring Break and Easter crowds have gone we'll know soon whether demolition walls go up around BET and AC per the prior rumors as well as the blueprints we posted here on the Blog. We'll soon see if work on the amphitheater begins anew. But wouldn't this be awesome if it's true!

This Weekend In Techno Town

THURSDAY: Always listed as among the world's top Trance DJ's, Above & Beyond (GB,FIN) are in Orlando for a concert at Roxy. $25 Also playing at Amphitheater in Tampa on Saturday nite. 

 Also on Thursday, House music is on the agenda at Senso as DJ Oscar G (USA) from Club Space in Miami returns to O-town. Got to see him at Spy Bar in Chicago this past January; great dance music! $10

FRIDAY: It's Davie's Angels 2 at Suite B Lounge on Friday night. Watch 3 female DJ's mix up Funky Breaks, Electro Breaks and Kick Azz Breaks back-to-back-to-back. Local DJ Heather Collins is on at 10:30pm, DJ Bella from Tampa at 11:30pm and then Palm Bay's DJ Jennifer Marley (Party95.com) at 12:30am

SATURDAY: More Breaks on Saturday night as Ill DJ Chris B is spinning in the friendly confines of Vixen Lounge. He's pictured here at Icon last summer.

Trance, House or Breaks, there's something for everyone this weekend in Techno Town!

PI Update: 8TRAX Lit Up Tonight

For the first time that we're aware of in over 2-1/2 years, the outside lights at 8TRAX are shining brightly this evening as shown in these pics taken by Save Pleasure Island Blog roving reporter William.

The chains that kept spectators away from Mannequins, 8TRAX and Soundstage doors have also been removed. What does it all mean? Amid rumors of Mannequins, Orlando Harley and 8TRAX being turned into a large restaurant, amid sightings of Disney managers touring the closed clubs and amid rumors that Hyperion Wharf may have been indefinitely postponed if not outright cancelled, we don't really know! It's a story the Blog is working on! Maybe someone just forgot to turn off the lights.

Internet Dance Radio Options With Orlando Connections

Looking for great music on the internet? There are many good ones out there but these three stand out not only because of the excellent music quality but also because of their connections to Orlando. RadioDanz.com is the oldest of the three internet stations and even at that it's only about 3 years old. Based in South Beach/Miami, the station plays Dance/House around the clock. But Friday and Saturday evenings belong to the DJ's when a continuous stream of the best of them play one hour sets. And of the 17 DJ sets presented each week, 3 of them hail from Orlando! Fridays at 9pm it's DJ Mickey Bono from Bliss Ultra Lounge, Saturdays at 10pm it's DJ Leony from Heat and Latin Quarter and Saturdays at 11pm it's DJ Smooth from CityWalk/Universal Resort. http://www.radiodanz.com

Party95.com is less than one year old and it's based on the spirit of the old Orlando Dance station, 95.3Party. This is the most unique of the three stations listed here because it's nearly all about Florida and particularly Orlando-based DJ's. DJ's Mickey Bono and Smooth bring their mix shows here as well but you can also hear unique offerings from DJ Andy Hughes, DJ X-Andy, and Cyberian Soundz. Add to that Tampa DJ's Chris Craze and Mondo and the Space Coast's Jennifer Marley, you have an awesome lineup of music. And each DJ brings their own style which means the sound is not uniform 24/7. http://www.party95.com

The newcomer on the block and already doing a great job is Florida Beat Radio, the brainchild of Orlando-based DJ Smooth. He's taken every mix show he's ever done (and he did a bunch back in the day on XM's BPM) and add in mixes from other DJ's plus live broadcasts on Thursday and Saturday nights from Bliss Ultra Lounge and you've got one really attractive assortment of music 24/7. The station is fully automated although Smooth will drop in and do some live mixing and announcements from time-to-time! http://www.floridabeatradio.com

Electric Daisy Carnival Takes First Price Increase

High demand for tickets to Electric Daisy Carnival - Orlando has led to the first price increase for the event with standard tickets going up from $99 to $109 for the entire 2-day event. That's still a great price. Single day tickets have now been released though with standard tickets at $60. Here is the line-up of DJ's that we've been able to piece together so far with more likely on the way:

DAY 1 - FRIDAY, MAY 27TH: Tiësto, Afrojack, Gabriel & Dresden, Dirty South, Skrillex, Goldie, 12th Planet, Downtin, Porter Robinson, Bunny of Rabbit in the Moon, Craze, Klever, Castle.
DAY 2 - SATURDAY, MAY 28TH: Ferry Corsten, Paul van Dyk, Benny Benassi, Markus Schultz, Morgan Page, Calvin Harris, Diplo, Datsik, Dirtyphonics, Feed Me, Claude van Stroke, Beardyman, AK1200.

This will be the largest Electronic Dance Music Festival to ever hit Orlando and it will be taking place at Tinker Field outside the Citrus Bowl Stadium. Over the next few weeks I'll be posting songs that you're sure to recognize from many of these DJ's!

Club Reports: Bliss, The Beacham & I-Bar

No new horizons explored last night as I just wanted the tried and familiar. Bliss Ultra Lounge had a good crowd earlier than usual as DJ Smooth (Florida Beat Radio, RadioDanz, CityWalk) was working the boards for at least the first hour while resident DJ Mickey Bono was away at a wedding. (Not his own!) He had the dance floor moving well-before the typical 11:30pm filling time.

The overall younger crowd shows what you can draw without Hip Hop!

102 ain't the only thing that jamzz!

Difficult to move at times.

Mickey Bono (Beat Thrillerz, RadioDanz, Florida Beat Radio, Party95.com) came onboard a little later and kept things moving quite nicely with 100% Dance and House!

If your feet and your heart can operate at 130 bpm's, Bliss is the place for you!

I stopped by The Beacham (formerly Tabu) early and heard DJ Richie Rich spinning nothing but House to the then mostly empty club. I returned later in the evening to hear the more-expected Top 40 and Hip Hop mix since it was 102Jamz Night.

The new owners have invested in new light bridges, a new stage and an all new sound system. The preexisting weekend club nights continue as they're highly profitable but other nights they're bringing in bands and big name DJ's For instance, Swedish DJ Avicii performed to a huge crowd this past Tuesday.

DJ Richie Rich is mixing more House music into his Saturday nights but he goes to nearly 100% House and Dance during his shows at House of Blues Service Industry Nights at Downtown Disney West Side. He'll be opening for DJ Sandy there next Sunday night, May 1st.

Large, large crowds at The Beacham!

Finally, there was time for a visit to Independent Bar for their Saturday night New Wave night.

The music is all New Wave / Old Wave hits from the early to mid-80's with MTV/VH1 style videos.

The club has different music formats on different nights which means you're not likely to hear on Saturday nights what you'd hear on Wednesdays, Thursdays or Fridays.

DJ Rob aka DJ Dem Rok (Independent Bar) joining the masses down on the dance floor! Always a great time at I-Bar!