Thursday, August 22, 2013

PI Update: Final Boarding Call

While we usually focus on Pleasure Island's clubs, let's not forget some of the other amenities that made PI the great place that it was!  One example was PI Live Bar, named after the PI Live DJ booth which was across the main aisle from it.  It's closed and behind the demolition wall so you can consider it GONE.

 Could not immediately find a picture of the PI Live DJ booth itself but did locate this picture of it being demolished.  DJ's would play music from up there that was broadcast over speakers across the Island.. It closed with the Island's clubs in September, 2008.  Unanticipated by DTD management though was the fact that with everything on the Island closed, the place became a scary dead zone at night. Within months they were forced to reopen the booth and play music to passers by!  But it later closed again with the creation of the Celebrate Tonight performances and then was demolished. GONE.
Laffers Cantina too closed with the clubs 5 years ago.  Like PI Live, they reopened it to alleviate the dead zone feeling the Island had taken on. It was immediately adjacent the Celebrate Tonight shows and after CT died its slow death, was part of the Island's "ultralounge" concept.  Demolition was completed earlier this week.  It had a great run but it is now sadly GONE.
Do you remember Stage Pizza?  It was located adjacent the #2 Bridge near Mannequins for years and then was relocated to this spot by Soundstage after the clubs closed. During its run it filled many an intoxicated tummy around 2am but now it is simply GONE. 
Feugo is a cigar bar and a liquor bar located near The Hub.  It's supposed to close when its lease expires which we thought was this month.  But for the moment, Fuego is still HERE.
Just a few years ago this kiosk was called the Adventurers Club Cart.  But shortly after Downtown Disney's "Ministry of Truth" took down all the club name signs and hid the Adventurers Club itself behind tall bamboo plants, the name was changed to simply Adventurers Hut.  Certainly portable if need be, for the moment it remains HERE.  And as a bonus, charge your purchase and your credit card receipt will read "Mannequins Alley Bar".  Ladies and gentlemen, this is your final boarding call for beautiful Pleasure Island.  Come visit before everything you loved is gone!
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2 comments:

  1. 71August 25, 2013 at 10:57 AM

    It was only 2 or 3 weeks, but I still remember "ghost town" PI with no music playing and barely any lighting down Hill St. Truly creepy, given it was Halloween season.

    And I'd forgotten the post-Celebrate Tonight attempt to create an outdoor "ultralounge". With nice patio furniture (that 2 months later was crappy Wal*Mart patio furniture). And cocktail waitresses who lasted, what, a week? (Man, the bartenders ahted them.) Guess people didn't take to having strollers pushed through their "ultralounge."

    Seriously, so many laughably bad ideas since the decision to close the clubs--if TWDC had real shareholders rather than Pixie Dust addicts, Wall Street would have Iger by the short and curlys right now.

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  2. KingBobAugust 26, 2013 at 6:43 PM

    Jason71, the "ultra lounge" was originally to be titled the "West End Street Bash" but when they finally started it, it went without a name. I think they've done as well as one could have expected under the circumstances. And the Andre Caram Band has been really popular out there. The revenue has been a pittance compared to what PI clubs were bringing in though.

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