Sunday, September 4, 2011

PI Update: Signs of Change

Labor Day weekend in Orlando under cloudy Tropical Storm Lee skies but no rain. So what better place to enjoy the moderate temperature than beautiful Pleasure Island!

The changes at Mannequins are not all that dramatic. The Mannequins letters that were vertically displayed on that metal sign have been removed and subsequent to that the wavy neon was removed off the top of the marquee. But the marquee is still there as are the words Dance Palace.

A view from the opposite side. One can speculate that new DTD management wants to remove all indications to passers-by that these were once clubs. What they did here hardly accomplishes that. And I must have missed that there is new DTD management. Isn't Keith Bradford still the VP?
The Mannequins sign above the rear smoking area door was also finally removed.

The groovy 70's motif was painted over at 8TRAX with beige. Much more generic looking now.....
.....except for this giant 8-track tape cartridge is still inserted at the front door.

And this giant 8-track tape player remains above the rear door.

As reported, the last of the Comedy Warehouse signs was finally removed last week. 
Let's talk about the Adventurers Club. The name which had been imbedded in concrete above the door was concreted over. The few remaining outdoor artifacts were removed too.

Some spot-painting on the tower.

But if you're painting, why in the world do you leave this at the top of the tower? At this moment, the Adventurers Club building lives and is thus the only former club with its original name posted.
Next door at the Soundstage Club both the sign above the door as well as the sign on the pole above the club have been removed. Why is this happening now? Lots of speculation but no hard facts from any sources. Big thanks to my roving reporters William and Thommy as well as several readers for sending me photos while I was cruising which unfortunately I was not able to download on the ship's computers.

12 comments:

  1. I see Bob also describes the 8-trax building as generic

    Good point about change in management, I didn't really follow that either, unless Keith has had enough time now to file through all the corporate red tape to do what he wants with the area, which is to take away all references to the clubs, if that is in fact his idea.

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  2. Thanks for all the photo updates...
    Here's to hoping for some good news in the near future!
    ps. Hope to see you @ CW tonight!
    pss. Wish it was "Pleasure Island Tonight!"

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  3. Sigh.......Seems like more of the same pointless meandering that management has done for the last couple of years. Really is quite amazing, seems to be total incompetence.

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  4. 8-trax got a paint job but it did not have a construction permit for that, right?

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  5. The Adv. club statue's expression seems to have changed to "somebody save me.. they're about to chop me up and put me in the trash!!"

    So it takes 3 years to finish (and yet not!!??) what they started the very night of closing???...and this is positive to any of you?? To me the island looks even more like a wasteland..cuz I doubt those few last touches they got rid of were what was keeping new vendors from coming in. But still god bless the lot of you that can keep the faith.

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  6. Just walked through the former PI today. It was indeed sad to see the former clubs in shambles. I hope they make some decisions and announcements soon..

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  7. First of all thanks for the photos,and the update.
    Could Hultz have taken the place of Bradford?
    Glad to see that maybe "Mannequines" could still be under the name of "Dance Palace".
    Also looks like 8Trax is still going to be there.
    I hope they make some quick decisions about A.C. and Soundstage.
    Also come on guys lets reopen P.I. and let everyone party.

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  8. No, Karl Holz moves from Disney Cruise Line to Disney Vacation Club. My article in July raises the point that his new position can influence what is to happen with Pleasure Island. But he is not directly in charge of PI or DTD.

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  9. Ironically, I believe the "IT JUST GETS BETTER!" sign is still up.

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  10. Yes it is still there. And maybe for the first time in a long time, it really is....getting better!

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  11. ...we'll see.
    I guess SOMETHING is better than closed clubs.

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