Last Look Inside: Club Motion

Pleasure Island dance club Motion closed with all the others in the early morning hours of September 28, 2008 with DJ's Hollywood Bob and Pete Haynes playing Top 40, Hip Hop and Line Dances for the capacity crowd.  Within 24 hours the Motion sign was removed from the building and that was the end.

The Island became eerily dead at night and by early 2009 PI management announced that Motion, Soundstage Club and Adventurers Club would be made available for private events.  Disney used Motion quite a bit for their own meetings but in June, 2009 an actual rental event took place.  A Gay Days promoter rented the club for a dance party.  Disney blocked the place off so that no one would think Motion was really open; only those who had tickets or knew specifically about the event would be allowed back there.

The promoter allowed me inside and I got to experience the euphoria one last time of being inside a Pleasure Island dance club.  My visit was early and it was pretty empty at that hour.  DJ Manny Lehman would come on around midnight and I was told he put on a pretty crappy show!

In May, 2010 the club was still standing ready but to my knowledge was only being used for Disney events.

Motion's iconic DJ booth was there during my visit.

September, 2010 shows evidence of a recent meeting inside Motion.

And again in October, 2010.

The end came quickly though as gutting of the place began in November, 2010.

One more view.  In December, 2010 the wrecking crews came and by the end of January, 2011, Motion was gone.

PI Update: What About The Clubs?

Welcome to Pleasure Island, where two clubs were demolished a few years go but five remain.

Mannequins Dance Palace stands in 3-story splendor, home to a large revolving dance floor that at one time made it America's top dance club!  But ill-suited for anything but a dance club.  It's been empty since the place closed to a capacity crowd in 2008.

Supposedly immune to demolition because it housed the power grid for all of Pleasure Island, two recent sources (and a persistent reader!) have it being demolished.  Perhaps all the new Disney Springs construction that is coming requires a new power grid anyway, making this one obsolete.

8TRAX is technically in the same building as Mannequins so they will share the same fate.  In recent years the building has housed boxes of merchandise for other stores in Downtown Disney.

BET Soundstage Club, later simply Soundstage Club after the contract with Black Entertainment Television expired, has sat empty since 2008.  The chances of this multi-level venue being demolished is sadly 100%.

Comedy Warehouse too has been empty since 2008, serving only as a source of electrical outlets for musical acts performing on the nearby Purple and Green stages.  The stage remains at the bottom, the numerous levels of seating booths remain above.

Last but hardly least, the future of the Adventurers Club building remains a mystery.  Stripped of nearly everything, the building was pictured in Disney Springs concept art and thus seems to have a future as some sort of restaurant/cafeteria and may be spared demolition.  We should know soon the fate of all these beloved buildings on beautiful Pleasure Island.

Club Reports: Syn Nightclub, Independent Bar

Opening weekend for Syn Nightclub, located at 57 West Pine Street adjacent Backbooth and Boss.

Saturday night resident DJ Mickey Bono (Beat Thrillerz, RadioDanz) in the booth bringing the familiar sounds of Bliss Ultra Lounge back to downtown!

Dance floor stayed pretty full for the Dance/House music format.

Management says they had a big crowd for their Thursday night foam party but were pretty empty this past Friday night.

For the time being they will be open Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights only.

The DJ booth is located up above the dance floor, Mannequins-style.

Very cool place with a lot of potential.  Great music!

Capping off the night at Independent Bar.

Saturday night resident DJ Indie John on the controls.

The dance floor here stayed really crowded, as it typically does.

By now you know that the Saturday night music format is 80's New Wave.

For whatever reason 80's music attracts people of all ages and all walks of life.

Always plenty of nice scenery.

And a good time was had by all!

Breaking News: Laffers Cantina Closing!

Beautiful Pleasure Island's days are numbered folks.  If you have the time, you really need to come visit one more time because views like this won't be available after this week!  In fact, next Sunday (May 5th) marks the end of many things as we've come to know them on the Island.

Sources say it will be the final night for Laffers Cantina as it closes one more time.  The venue had closed with the clubs in 2008 but then was quickly brought back to liven the very dead Island.  Named after all the laughs that used to occur in the adjacent Comedy Warehouse, it was one of our few links to the past.  

This is "Keith's Park", a shady area between the Lego Imagination Center and  
T-REX Cafe.  We're told this will be the new home for the "Live Statues" beginning Monday, May 6th.

This is the faux-grassy park area located between Wetzel's Pretzels & Bongo's Cuban Cafe.  Performers from Pleasure Island's Purple Stage and Green Stage have been told to report here beginning May 6th as well.  Looks like a good place for dancing!  To be called the "Park Stage", we're told entertainment acts have been warned not to be too loud so they don't disturb patrons at Bongo's.

Ahh, I'm not sure how they would not disturb patrons at Bongo's!

We previously reported that DTD entertainment management currently housed in offices beneath West End Plaza was supposed to move today to this new trailer located out in the Q-Lot beyond House of Blues.  Along with everything else, that's delayed until next Monday as well.  Readers, Pleasure Island as we knew it has been gone for 5 years.  Pleasure Island as we've come to know it will be gone after this week!   

PI Update: Adventures In Charity

By now you're familiar with the annual Adventurers Club Reunion put on by the Congaloosh Society,  It takes place on that fateful weekend in September when Adventurers Club and the rest of the clubs were shuttered.  While the 2013 event is still under development, they're pleased to announce that this year's weekend will include something new: Adventurers In Charity.  Many former AC & CW cast members will be attending for a "Hoopla" style show with proceeds going to their own selected favorite charities!  Mark you calendars for September 28, 2013 at 6pm at the Holiday Inn - Lake Buena Vista on SR 535, just south of I-4.  More details can be found on their Facebook page.  Wow!

Friday Funny

DJ's From Mars ( I ) video shows how easy it is for anyone to become a great EDM DJ/Producer thanks to the availability of computer programs that do all the work!  Thanks to Blog reader DJ MadManRay for sharing with us!

Pacha Ibiza: Trouble In Night-Life Paradise

 

Saw this interesting article about club Pacha from the New York Times here: 

I understand the position of Pacha owners, but I think they're wrong.  Electronic Dance Music has long been popular in Europe and Ibiza was (is) the mecca for fans of the genre.  There was little competition from the United States until the recent EDM boom.  Now it seems Pacha is simply wimping out.  And I think their experiment is going to fail; no one flies to Ibiza to listen to rock'n'roll.  They made their millions the past two decades by charging clubbers €30 entry fees and €10 drinks and paying DJ's a relative pittance, and they think that was ok for them.  Now that DJ's are the new superstars and commanding large fees just as athletes do, Pacha protests and no longer wants to be in the game.  I doubt their plan will survive and if they don't change course for the upcoming 2013 season, they're going to find their place empty!

This Weekend In Techno Town

THURSDAY APR 25
Grand opening weekend for new dance club Syn Nightclub with big events every night!  Thursday night you'll find DJ ATM and a massive Foam Party too. Check website for UCF, Full Sail & Disney Housing bus times.
($10)

FRIDAY APR 26
Syn's first "I Luv Fridays" event with DJ Tranquility spinning Bass, Dubstep & Trap.  Ladies Free until midngiht and $1 drinks for all until 11pm.
($10) 

Also Friday night at Suite B Lounge it's an always interesting mix of Progressive and Trance, this weekend by DJ J13, DJ Evo & DJ Intrikit!
(Free until 11pm, then $5)

SATURDAY APR 27
If you miss those great Saturday night's at Bliss Ultra Lounge with Vocal House/Dance from DJ Mickey Bono, Syn Night Club is his new Saturday night home!  Promoter expects to bring in the same crowd so it should be great!  Ladies Free cover & drinks until 12.
($10)

Over at Firestone Live, DJ duo Showtek (NL) will be bringing their Hard Dance EDM music format to town.
($20)






It's the last Saturday of the month which means DJ's Agni & Robb Blak are back at Bikkuri Lounge for another night of "Lost In Trancelation"!  What an incredible night last month with guest DJ Suzy Solar!  This month the guest DJ is Mindchime, a guy who likes to play a lot of Vocal Trance!

(FREE)



 

Party outside the United States this weekend at Club V aboard Victory Casino Cruises in Port Canaveral.  It's always a great place to drink, dance and gamble and this Saturday night it's even better as the NLP DJ group descends on the ship!  Click on the flyer for details.  Ship sails promptly at 7pm and returns before 1am.  Admission charge includes parking, port charges, boarding fee and full use of the club and on-board casino.
($10)

Psy Is Back

Will Psy and his song "Gangnam Style" go into the music history books as a "one-hit wonder"?  Blog reader ClubMaster shares with us Psy's followup "Gentleman M/V", a K-Pop song which already has close to 200 million views on YouTube.  Looks like this is catchy enough to have staying power although the dance moves pictured in the video seem rehashed from the original hit. 

PI Update: Island Entertainment Moving

PICTURED ABOVE: Andre Caram Band  PICTURED BELOW: band Nova Pop

Sources tell Save Pleasure Island Blog that the entertainment acts that have been taking place on the Island since 2010 will likely be moving over to the park area adjacent Bongos Cuban Cafe, Downtown Disney West Side, beginning next Monday.  Apparently the Entertainment Managers at DTD have been kind of "freaking out" because there was no word from upper management about what the plan is and they didn't know whether to schedule the bands for May or not.  They did test DJ Hollywood Bob in the park on April 11th so that seems to be the plan.  Interestingly, remember that trailer placed in the Q-Lot beyond Cirque which was to be home for those currently working in offices beneath West End Plaza?  Well they're still working down under there, apparently not moving to the trailer until next Monday as well.  (The cast member cafe, which is also under the Plaza, did close though as previously reported here on SPI.)

Club Reports: The Courtesy, Bullitt Bar

First visit to The Courtesy since when they first opened last year.  Only two of the six side-by-side venues on Orange Avenue north of Washington Street have opened; not sure why the delay with the others.

Place is packed but the only music is off an iPod and it's very much in the background.  I asked the manager why this place has been so successful; what niche is it filling?  He said it's all about craft drinks.  They stock the regular alcohol brands but also a whole lot of others.  Indeed, I counted 25+ brands of gin on one shelf!

Also a visit to Bullitt Bar over on East Pine Street.  Recent passes-by I've only heard Hip Hop blaring out the open front window.  Not this night though.

Live band on the small rear stage playing a folksy Country sound.  WTF?  I quickly learned that the Florida Music Festival was taking place and this was one of several venues in town hosting live bands.  In this case it was band Slickwood.

Followed by a much easier to look at and listen to Bean.  She was singing what I would call Indiepop songs.

And in the crowded house, a good time was had by all!