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| It's been years since we saw lines to use the Cupcake ATM outside Sprinkles in Disney Springs Marketplace. The photo above shows how it used to be! |
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| During recent visits, this is how it is now. No line whatsoever. It appears to still be operational but the excitement about using a machine to get a cupcake seems to have waned. Everyone is now in a queue directly across the No. 2 Bridge to Pleasure Island to buy baked goods from Gideon's. |
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| We weren't downtown last night for the crop tops and short shorts. No, we were downtown for the music. You can find the Saturday night pics on Orlando Entertainment News here. |
A filler article for today to show you the planes I flew on this past week:
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| Delta flight DL1271 MCO-JFK |
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| Airbus A321 |
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| Delta flight DL46 JFK-AMS |
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| Airbus A330-900neo |
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| KLM flight KL1927 AMS-GVA |
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| KLM Cityhopper E195 |
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| EasyJet flight EJU8458 CDG-LGW |
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| Airbus A320 |
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| Norse Atlantic flight ZO782 LGW-MCO |
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| Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner |
Just a few events for this month-ending weekend!
FRI 28JUL FIXTION DJ Sacha Robotti (USA)
FRI 28JUL VANGUARD DJ 4B (USA)
SAT 29JUL ELIXIR BAR DJ Max Styler (USA)
SAT 29JUL IRON COW DJ Flashdrive (USA)
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| The so-called Lombard Promenade was a gift from Meriweather Adam Pleasure to his wife Isabella following a visit to San Francisco where they discovered the equally-curvy Lombard Street. So he replicated it on Pleasure Island. |
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| This was the Lombard Promenade. Even after the clubs closed, this feature allowed pedestrians to travel from the Island's lower level to the upper level. |
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| The height difference between the lower and upper levels of Pleasure Island are still there today, of course. It's just blocked now by the WC building beside STK Steakhouse (upper level) and a different WC building next to 8TRAX (lower level). A service court exists behind the wood doors. But no promenade. Poor Isabella. |
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| There is no doubt that Gideon's Bakehouse has been a huge success. Replacing a loser shop like Erwin Pearl Jewelry in that prime spot at The Hub, the place opened to huge lines! |
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| On our recent morning visit the line stretched to Mannequins. In the year after they had opened, the lines stretched past Mannequins and all the way around to the ground floor at 8TRAX. |
Even though I'm out of town this weekend, there are some good events for you to attend!
THU 20JUL IRON COW Thump: DJ Amber Jane (USA)
THU 20JUL GILT CONCERT VENUE DJ VLCN (USA)
SAT 22JUL VANGUARD Nero (GB) - DJ set
SAT 22JUL HENAO Shade: DJ Brennen Grey (USA)
SAT 22JUL ELIXIR BAR DJ Martin Ikin (GB)
SUN 23JUL ELIXIR BAR DJ Fleur Shore (GB)
SUN 23JUL McQUEENS DJ m.ON.R.O.E. (USA)
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| Construction of new restaurant Summer House is moving right along. This is located along the main pedestrian pathway in Disney Springs West Side where Bongo's Cuban Cafe once stood. |
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| View from that main pathway shows this will be a 2-story venue with perhaps even an outdoor balcony to dine on. You'll recall that Bongo's had an outdoor balcony. |
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| East-facing view. |
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| West-facing view. |
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| Opening 2023? Given Disney's construction track record at Disney Springs and given just 5.5 months still remaining in 2023, we're skeptical. But we'll keep a close watch. |
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| Bob is on the go again, this time to visit the Tour de France. Blog articles might appear at strange times due to time differences but keep checking back, especially for weekly features such as "This Weekend In Techno Town" and "Friday Funny". |
DL MCO-JFK
DL JFK-GVA
U2 CDG-LGW
ZO LGW-MCO
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| Freestyle singer Cynthia (USA) was looking great at last night's "Freestyle Explosion" show at Amway Center. Sister website Orlando Entertainment News has the pics here. |
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| Three years ago this month we were still in the middle of the Covid-19 scare in Orlando but things were slowly reopening. But overall downtown was pretty bleak. Today over on Orlando Entertainment News we look back at downtown' "scene". The link is here. |
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| Let's cross this bridge one more time to beautiful Pleasure Island to check out our clubs! |
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| Adventurers Club is still here. Check! |
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| 8TRAX is still here. Check! |
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| And Mannequins is still here. Check! All-in-all, a great day at Pleasure Island. |
Super-busy weekend coming up!
THU 13JUL CELINE DJ Spag Heddy (NL)
THU 13JUL COOL KATS CLUB DJ Duke (USA) & DJ Derek Fereal (USA)
THU 13JUL GILT CONCERT VENUE DJ duo Dubdogz (BR)
FRI 14JUL VANGUARD DJ duo Bonnie x Clyde (USA)
FRI 14JUL BARBARELLA Memento Mori: DJ Lavidicus (USA)
FRI 14JUL IRON COW DJ Lee Coombs (GB/USA)
SAT 15JUL IRON COW DJ Jask (USA)
SAT 15JUL VANGUARD DJ Morgan Page (USA) & DJ Arty (RUS)
SAT 15JUL HIGH TIDE Freestyle Afterparty: DJ Jimmy Joslin (USA)
SAT 15JUL GRUMPYS DJ Spark-D (USA)
SAT 15JUL CABANA LIVE (Sanford) DJ AfrodisiaX (USA)
SUN 16JUL ELIXIR BAR DJ Natalia Roth (USA)
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| OK, it's now official. On the Sunday night of Labor Day weekend, at House of Blues in Disney Springs West Side, the return of the Labor Day Bash. Starring DJ Icey (USA) & DJ Magic Mike (USA) with guest stars DJ Jimmy Joslin (USA), Stanton Warriors (GB) and DJ Si-Dog (USA). Last year was absolutely packed and anyone who is anyone was there! This is a ticketed event which you can buy in person at the House of Blues box office (Daily except Mondays) or online.More details on Orlando Entertainment News here. Please, just don't call it SIN! |
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| Let's cross this bridge one more time to beautiful Pleasure Island.....10 years ago this month! |
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| A final view of Laffers Cantina and Comedy Warehouse shortly before they were razed. Not pictured but across the street from this view, BET Soundstage and Adventurers Club remained blocked but idle. |
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| A we stroll down Hill Street, construction walls are everywhere. Curl by Sammy Duval store would relocate to the West Side and this building would also get demolished. The attraction Superstar Studios had occupied the building prior to Curl. |
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| A quick look at 8TRAX. That front tan-colored section would get removed to make room for a strip of new retail stores. We're told the area immediately behind those new stores was never renovated and supposedly still looks like small section of 8TRAX caught in time. Further back, the rest of 8TRAX became part of the kitchen of Morimoto Asia. |
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| This building that once housed Changing Attitudes, Orlando Harley-Davidson and Apricot Lane remains. A number of retail outlets occupied the renovated corner but they came and went. Current tenant Gideon's Bakehouse is immensely popular though. |
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| Nearing the Hub, Fuego by Sosa Cigars remained operational in July. 2013. |
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| But peeking over that left wall would show us where Motion and Rock'N'Roll Beach Club once stood. There were the first two clubs to be demolished. |
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| He was really difficult to see in the fog they created as it blew across the stage. But at times the wind blew it away and we were able to glimpse Illenium (USA) up there. Sister website Orlando Entertainment News has the Saturday night pictures here. |
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| Last night was DisNite '23 at Atlantic Dance Hall and it was the largest crowd we've ever witnessed there. You've got to see all the pictures on Orlando Entertainment News here. |
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| We all remember Ridemakerz, the store for boys who wanted to make race cars. Well they've reappeared again, this time at the Florida Mall in the wing between Macy's and Build-A-Bear Workshop. |
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| You'll recall that after the PI clubs closed in September, 2008, Virgin Megastore in Downtown Disney West Side followed suit in May, 2009. Thus, there were two huge gaps of "nothing". The Virgin space was temporarily occupied by the short-lived Princess Diana Museum and then in 2010 by Ridemakerz. For those of you who have missed them, check them out at Florida Mall. |
A small but decent selection of shows this weekend!
FRI 07JUL CELINE DJ Lee Foss (USA)
FRI 07JUL IRON COW DJ Freeda Sol (USA)
SAT 08JUL ORLANDO FAIRGROUNDS DJ Illenium (USA)
SAT 08JUL HENAO CONTEMPORARY CNTR DJ Carlos Mendoza (USA)
SUN 09JUL ELIXIR BAR DJ Classmatic (BR) & DJ Tony Guerra (YV)
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| SIN is a 4-letter word around Disney Springs. It was a long-running Service Industry Night (SIN) in Downtown Disney at House of Blues and after the PI clubs closed, it was pretty much the only place where one could dance to electronic dance music. Long a thorn in Disney's side, it was finally shut down in late-2015. Since then there has been several one-off events, usually around holidays. And this coming Labor Day weekend, on Sunday night, there will be another one-off event.We'll post a flyer and details as soon as we get them. Please, just don't call it SIN. |
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| It's hard to believe it but Splitsville opened in 2012 which means it will be 11 years old later this year! |
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| Because some of the preopening signs on he building advertised "Dancing", we were all excited for the opening because that meant 4 years after the closure of the clubs, dancing would be returning. And when they did finally open, there was indeed a DJ stationed upstairs playing Top 40 music one could dance to! |
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| But a lack of advertising meant it fizzled out quickly. Eventually there was a small stage downstairs offering live bands but it never caught-on either and we have no idea what the current status of Splitsville is. It's a bowling alley with a restaurant and that's all we know. As a bowling alley, it seems to do well. |
