PI Update: Remembering 2006, The Beginning Of The End

Does anyone remember the changes that hit the Island back in 2006, fully two years before the plug was pulled on the Pleasure Island comedy and dance clubs?  2006 was a year that Disney was researching ways to freshen the Island and bring back the excitement that once existed.  We were told at the time that management was out in Vegas trying to get some ideas from there.  But it was also a time when the Island went into transition from an exclusive gated community to a place open to the public, even at night!

Here is how website "AllEarsNet" described what was going on:

Beginning in March 2006, Pleasure Island will undergo some big changes. The West End Stage and the Hub Stage at Pleasure Island are under refurbishment, continuing into late 2006.
Other closings at Pleasure Island include:
-- Superstar Studios -- closed March 3.
-- Missing Link Sausage Company -- closed March 19.
-- DTV -- closed March 19.
-- Zen Zone -- closed March 19.
-- Reel Finds -- will close April 1.
-- Changing Attitudes -- will close April 1.
-- Orlando Harley-Davidson -- closed March 19, but will relocate to the former home of Reel Finds and Changing Attitudes.

In reality the West End Stage and Hub Stage were eliminated.  The whole focus was to get pedestrians easily from the Marketplace over to the West Side and that entailed eliminating the West End Stage so that a new #4 Bridge could be constructed in it's place.  Pedestrians turning at the Hub could then see the bridge to the West Side, something not possible in the bridge's original spot. They would no longer have to trek around the gated club district.  In reality, neither stage was needed because the last thing they wanted at the time was to offer free entertainment to non-paying passersby.

The building housing Missing Link and several stores was gutted and renovated with no announced plans of what was coming.  The renovations turned out to be a complete waste of money because ultimately Paradiso 37 leased the space and ironically the building had to be gutted all over again to meet their specs!  2008 quickly arrived along with the announcement that all the clubs were closing.