 |
| Long holiday weekend meant one more night of partying and our sister website Orlando Entertainment News was at Barbarella for "Old School Summer", a sold out AAHZ event ft. DJ Icey (USA), Kimball Collins (USA) and Mannequins' own Dave Cannalte (USA). The pics are here. |
 |
| DJ Anabel Englund (USA) actually sang part of her set last night at Day 1 of the Skyline mini-festival outside The Vanguard. All the pics are on our sister website Orlando Entertainment News here. |
 |
| We recently received an inquiry from Blog reader Troy about something and he included this old photograph with his question. We got that inquiry answered for him but what intrigues me the most about this pic is it reminded me about the two bridges that used to cross over to the West Side. At the time this photo was taken, there was one bridge (painted yellow) that crossed from the Island over to the West Side and another bridge that passed beneath it. That bridge actually ran from the PI parking lot, passed under the yellow bridge before depositing pedestrians on the West Side. When Pleasure Island was active at night, the lower bridge was the route taken by those traveling from Downtown Disney Marketplace over to the West Side, bypassing the gated Island. (During the day the Island was open and Downtown Disney pedestrians could travel between sections via PI.) The Island bypass became an issue as West Side stores complained that they were losing business because PI was in the way. That was one of the factors which led to the Island being shuttered. However, prior to that happening, the West End Stage was removed along with the bypass bridge. The then-yellow bridge was moved towards the lake, connecting the Island to the West Side where the removed bridge used to connect. The Island then became ungated at night. It was no longer necessary to go around the Island. Sadly, parents pushing strollers and teenagers did not mix well with alcohol-infused Islanders, another factor in the demise. Thanks, Troy! |
 | ||||
| THURSDAY MAY 27 | |
 |
| FRIDAY MAY 28 & FRIDAY MAY 29 |
 | ||
| FRIDAY MAY 28 |
 |
| SATURDAY MAY 29 & SUNDAY MAY 30 |
 |
| SATURDAY MAY 29 |
 |
| SUNDAY MAY 30 |
 |
| SUNDAY MAY 30 |
 |
| The elevator inside Morimoto is so shiny and sanitary. Traveling on it does not bring passengers any excitement. |
 |
| On both the ground and 2nd level, the elevator door opens to the inside of the building. |
 |
| The old rumor about Mannequins reopening when the lift made it from the 2nd floor to the 1st floor did turn out to be prophetic. The old elevator never made it there and instead they turned off the elevator light, lol. |
 |
| Today's riders will never know the joy of hearing the music grow louder and louder as the Mannequins elevator did as it ascended. Today's riders will never know the excitement of the elevator door opening to this! |
 |
| This past Friday the Orlando Sentinel published a remembrance article about Pleasure Island. Sentinel columnist Dewayne Bevil will take you down memory lane in his article here. |
 |
| It took all day to load it but today's article on our sister website Orlando Entertainment News has finally gone to press. Dedicated to the late DJ Chronic (USA), The Gemini Party at Ace Cafe was the place to be yesterday afternoon and evening. DJ Berto (USA) is pictured above. You can find the article here. |
 |
| Downtown Orlando has a new lighted selfie sign. Check it out along with our Friday night club reports on our sister website Orlando Entertainment News here. |
 |
| Today over on our sister website Orlando Entertainment News we talk about how Ace Cafe has led Orlando out of the post-covid19 era and moved us forward with DJ events. And there are 4 more coming up you should check out! Just click here. |
 |
| WEDNESDAY MAY 19 |
 |
| FRIDAY MAY 21 |
 |
| FRIDAY MAY 21 |
 |
| SATURDAY MAY 22 |
 |
| SATURDAY MAY 22 |
 |
| No real reason to post 8TRAX pictures today. Just wanted to stare at them. |
 |
| Home to 70's Disco and 80's Funk, the dance floor was nearly always full. |
 |
| They sure knew how to create a vibe and make it a fun place! |
 |
| The website WDW News Today is reporting that Disney has ordered certain pieces of clothing wear displaying the Trader Sam's Grog Grotto name along with a humorous tiki faces and paddles to be removed from sales and destroyed. Apparently, as Disney faces criticism from cultural appropriation, things like this will no longer be acceptable. |
 |
| Trader Sam's Grog Grotto is a popular bar located at Disney's Polynesian Village Resort in Bay Lake. The link to the article with much more detail is here. |
 |
| Could these types of changes influence merchandise or what is on display at Jock Lindsey's Hanger Bar on Pleasure Island? |
 |
| That remains to be seen. Trader Sam's is south Pacific themed while Hangar Bar is Indiana Jones themed which means "African explorer" motif. It's very much related to the old Adventurers Club. But that doesn't mean there isn't cultural appropriation taking place there too. Heck, even AC might be facing a cultural backlash now were it still around. We'll see how this plays out. |
 |
| The crowds are returning to |
 |
| DJ December Beaches (USA) was one of four DJ's last night delivering Disco to the crowd at Barbarella (formerly Independent Bar). It wasn't 8TRAX Disco music but it was Disco nonetheless. Check out Friday night pictures on our sister website Orlando Entertainment News here. |
 |
| Difficult to see on this photo I took Tuesday afternoon on my flight back to Orlando from Miami but you can make out, in front of that large aqua blue swimming pool, the guitar-shaped tower of the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood. We hope to check out the nightlife there sometime later this year. The only club I'm aware of there now is called Daer Nightclub/Dayclub and of course they have a Hard Rock Live theater. But it's far cry from the nightlife district they used to have with club names like Passion, Opium, Pangaea and Gryphon. But we'll give it a try! |
 |
| WEDNESDAY MAY 12 (TONITE) |
 |
| FRIDAY MAY 14 |
 |
| FRIDAY MAY 14 - EVENT CANCELLED |
 |
| SATURDAY MAY 15 |
 |
| SATURDAY MAY 15 |
 |
| SUNDAY MAY 16 |
 |
| Beautiful Pleasure Island ten years ago this month. The clubs had been closed for more than 2.5 years but many of them remained standing just like they had been when open so hope remained that Disney would come to their senses and reopen a couple of them. |
 |
| The elevator in Mannequins remained stuck on the 2nd floor. Rumor had it that if the elevator ever made it to the 1st floor, Mannequins would reopen! |
 |
| Front doors of 8TRAX still had that 70's vibe! |
 |
| It would come later that Disney would finally paint-over the groovy colors, hoping that someone would rent the place. |
 |
| Of course by this point Motion and Rock'N'Roll Beach Club had already been razed. |
 |
| In order for the pedestrian-friendly "Motion Corridor" to pass through here. |
 |
| At the other end of the Island at West End Plaza, human statutes created some entertainment for passers-by. |
 |
| The parking lot before there were parking garages. Those were the days! |
