Friday Funny

 

PI Update: Gay Days 2024 Includes PI Themed Event

Gay Days 2024 begins this weekend and you can get a look at all the events here. But we did want to mention tonight's annual PI@GD event ft. DJ Scott Robert (USA). They always do a good job replicating the fun had on Thursday nights at Mannequins Dance Palace. More info and ticket purchases available in that link.

This Weekend In Techno Town

The final weekend of May, the first weekend of June!

THU   30MAY     Doubletree @ Sea World     PI @ GD ft. DJ Scott Robert (USA)

FRI     31MAY     KIA Center     Earth, Wind & Fire ft. Lionel Richie (USA)

FRI     31MAY     Celine     DJ Dillon Nathaniel (USA)

SAT    01JUN      Atlantic Dance Hall     DJ Mynd (USA)

SAT    01JUN      Grumpys     DJ Jimi the Genius (USA)

SAT    01JUN      Arena Art Bar     Singer Mon-a-Q (USA) with DJ Loops (USA)

SAT    01JUN     Elixir Bar     DJ Damelo (CO/USA)

SAT    01JUN     Morse Code     DJ Knightlife (USA)

SUN   02JUN     Elixir Bar     DJ Sam Wolfe (USA)

MON  03JUN     Camping World Stadium     The Rolling Stones (GB)

 

DS Update: NBA Experience FAIL

What a debacle the NBA Experience was at Disney Springs West Side. It opened in August, 2019 and then was shuttered due to the covid-19 closures in early 2020. It never reopened after that. But you can't blame this big FAIL on covid. No, you can blame it on $34+tax admission prices to shoot some hoops. You can blame it on international visitors who don't care much about the NBA. You can blame it on very little interaction with actual NBA players.

Four years after closing, NBA Experience branding has finally been removed.

This is what it previously looked like during it's brief run.

The adjacent City Works bar & restaurant remains in business but the ticker tape display above it that often displayed sports scores is gone.

What that used to look like. You have to wonder why after NBA City at Universal CityWalk closed, Disney thought it could do better. We now know.....they couldn't.

DS Update: What's New At Disney Springs?

Vineyard Vines has opened a new store in the spot vacated by Lululemon. This shop once housed The Trophy Room athletic apparel store operated by Michael Jordan's son.

Lululemon hasn't left Disney Springs. They moved over to this double spot inside and adjacent to the covered Exchange Building where the UGG store used to operate.

There are few empty parcels in Disney Springs. One of them is this spot along Hill Street that formerly was occupied by Art of Shaving. That's been gone for awhile now.

The only other empty parcel we spotted was previously home to Melissa Shoes. This area likely has the lowest pedestrian count in the entire complex.

Everything But Water swimwear store has a new location not far from that former Melissa spot. Not sure why they moved from where they were.

Where they were was in the high foot traffic Exchange Building. Their former spot is now occupied by Rothy's handbag store. So much happening in Disney Springs but we're keeping up so you don't have to!

Club Reports: Bloodhound Brew, Arena Art Bar, Monkey Bar, Barbarella

Saturday night began with DJ Gruvgirl (USA). See all the pictures on sister website Orlando Entertainment News here.

 

Trip Report: Indianapolis

Took a trip Friday/Saturday to visit my college town of Champaign-Urbana. We'll have a separate article about that place. We used Indianapolis International Airport as our gateway as the fares there can be quite low. Of course this being Memorial Day weekend, this is 500 Weekend in Indianapolis and they had this car on display in the airport terminal. It's a real "Indy Car".

Or it was at one time. I was intrigued by this Enco sticker on the car, a gasoline brand not used in decades. Use of the Standard Oil name was partitioned by an anti-trust court to many different companies and many different states. The Standard Oil Company of New Jersey got to use the Standard name in many northeast states and internationally and they chose Esso to signify it. (S.O. is pronounced Esso.) But some of the other Standard companies objected to use of the name Esso in their territories. In mid-America, Standard Oil of Indiana got to use the Standard name so Standard Oil of New Jersey used the Enco name in those states including Florida. It was cool to see it though.

 

Friday Funny

DJ's these days.

 

DS Update: The Springs Of Disney Springs

A reminder that the town of Disney Springs was named for these beautiful natural springs that occur in a wide swath across the area.

 

Memorial Day Weekend In Techno Town

Holiday weekend and lots of stuff going on!

FRI     24MAY     BEACHAM     Lady Gaga (USA) Dance Party

FRI     24MAY     DISNEY SPRINGS   Free Drone Show Nightly through 9/2/24

FRI     24MAY     VANGUARD     DJ duo Cat Dealers (BR)

FRI     24MAY     CELINE     DJ Technasia (HK/NL)

FRI     24MAY     BARBARELLA     Indie Night: DJ Smilin' Dan (USA)

FRI     24MAY     SKY ROOFTOP BAR (Daytona) DJ Lance (USA)

SAT    25MAY     ALTIRA ROOFTOP     DJ Flashdrive (USA)   12n-6p

SAT    25MAY     ARENA ART BAR     DJ Gruvgirl (USA)

SAT    25MAY     ELIXIR BAR     DJ FIIN (D)

SAT    25MAY     WALL STREET PLAZA     DJ Vintage Culture (BR)

SUN   26MAY     FIXTION     DJ AYYBO (USA)  

SUN   26MAY     BARBARELLA     Memento Mori:  DJ Lavidicus (USA)

SUN   26MAY     IRON COW     Gemini Party: DJ Monk (USA)   CANCELLED

PI Update: Reminders Of MDP & AC

Yesterday we posted a few pictures that just screamed "8TRAX" even though the name is long gone. Today we post this picture of Morimoto Asia. It just screams, MANNEQUINS".

And this side view of Morimoto also screams 'MANNEQUINS" to anyone that knew the place.

The entrance to The Edison Orlando also screams out "Adventurers Club". It just does.

PI Update: Reminders Of 8TRAX

 Let's cross this bridge one more time to beautiful Pleasure Island. Today we are looking for reminders of our beloved club 8TRAX.

From Hill Street, you can see part of 8TRAX behind the Sanuk shoe store.

 

If you look carefully, that roof is pretty distinct.

 

If you come around back to Pleasure Island's lower level, you can see a lot more of it including the round section that once housed the circular staircase from the back of 8TRAX to up near the DJ booth. There are still stairs in there but they're not circular and they are for kitchen employees of Morimoto. This just screams out 8TRAX to anyone that knew the place.

Hopefully you'll be coming to the 8TRAX Reunion taking place on Saturday, June 29th at the Hammered Lamb in the Lake Ivanhoe district of Orlando. The event is FREE and will feature former 8TRAX DJ's Talie, Doc Wells and other surprises! Note: Event is for fans of 8TRAX but is not in any way affiliated with the Walt Disney Company.

Club Reports: Morse Code, Elixir Bar, Iron Cow

Our Saturday night began with seeing DJ Angela Villin (USA) and concluded with seeing DJ LTJ Bukem (GB). All the pictures can be seen on sister website Orlando Entertainment News here.

Club Reports: Euphoria, McQueens, Pretty Please, The Robinson, Iron Cow

Our sister website Orlando Entertainment News made numerous stops last night and the last stop was at Iron Cow to see DJ Dave Seaman (GB). Friday night pics can be found here.

 

Friday Funny

Money shot. Remembering mid-May, 2020. That's when the Covid-19 closures began to wane and nightclubs in Florida, particularly Orlando, began to reopen. Meanwhile, clubs in LA, Vegas, Chicago, New York City and even Miami remained shuttered and for about 6 months that year, Orlando became the clubbing capital of the USA.

 

DS Update: Johnny Is

Every time we visit Disney Springs we make a point of checking to see if this store is still in business. It's been there since Disney Springs Town Center first opened. If it ever went out of business, we could say "Johnny Was". But as of this week, they are still there so we will simply say "Johnny Is".

This Weekend In Techno Town

EDC-Las Vegas this weekend has most of the DJ talent playing out there.

THU   16MAY     McQUEENS     DJ Protaxia (USA)

FRI     17MAY     CELINE     EARLY SHOW: The Polish Ambassador (USA)

FRI     17MAY     CELINE     LATE SHOW: Bresh (I)

FRI     17MAY     VANGUARD     DJ Orma (USA)

FRI     17MAY     IRON COW     DJ Dave Seaman (GB)

FRI     17MAY     HOUSE OF BLUES     Ariana Grande Night (USA)

SAT    18MAY     IRON COW     DJ LTJ Bukem (GB) with DJ AK1200 (USA)

SAT    18MAY     ELIXIR BAR     DJ Oscar G (USA) 

PI Update: Pollo Campero Is Back In The Orlando Market

Guatemala City-based fast food chicken chain Pollo Campero is back in the Orlando market with a store on Orange Avenue not far from the ORMC medical campus.

You may recall they used to have a restaurant in Downtown Disney Marketplace. They had taken over and renovated the former McDonald's location in 2010 before closing in early 2014. We tried it out last week and their fried chicken (pictured) is soooo good! (The corn tortilla though still tastes like vulcanized rubber.)

PI Update: Signs Of The Times

Ten years ago this month, the Pleasure Island sign still remained in numerous locations even though the clubs had been closed for 5.5 years.

Club Reports: Proper, Fixtion, Monkey Bar, Aero Bar, Elixir Bar, Vanguard

Our post-cruise hunt for House music in downtown Orlando continued last night and we found some wherever we went. One of the highlights was seeing DJ ALMISTIC (CO/USA) at Elixir Bar. Saturday night pics are on Orlando Entertainment News here.

Club Reports: The Patio, The Beacham, The Corner, Schmankerl Stub’n, Grumpys Underground, Barbarella

DJ Rincon (USA) used to be a resident DJ at House of Blues in Downtown Disney West Side. Last night we ran into him at The Corner in downtown Orlando. It was just one of numerous stops Orlando Entertainment News made last night. The pics are here.

 

Friday Funny

Trip Report: Random Tags

Planned to visit beautiful Pleasure Island yesterday but Baskin-Robbins unexpectedly had our favorite flavor of ice cream in stock so it was necessary to head straight home with a couple quarts. So we're posting this filler article of the tags of the four states and provinces visited during our most-recent cruise. CALIFORNIA

BAJA CALIFORNIA

OREGON

BRITISH COLUMBIA

This Weekend In Techno Town

Seems like we have more postponements this weekend than events!

THU   09MAY    THE BEACHAM     EMO Night

FRI     10MAY    CELINE     DJ Blackchild (I)

FRI     10MAY    BARBARELLA     Memento Mori: DJ Lavidicus (USA) 

SAT    11MAY    VANGUARD     DJ duo Bonnie X Clyde (USA) ppd to 9/27

SAT    11MAY    LOT 54 AT THE VANGUARD    DJ Dom Dolla (AUS) ppd to 9/7

 

UO Update: Universal Also To Premier New Drone Show

Hot on the heels of Disney's announcement of a new free drone show at Disney Springs, Universal Orlando Resort has announced their own drone & fountains extravaganza to take place in and above the lagoon inside Universal Studios. Over 200 fountains and 600 drones will participate. Since this takes place inside the theme park, this won't be a free event. Begins Friday, June 14th. We'll post additional details once we receive them.

 

DS Update: Free Drone Show To Premier Soon

Disney Springs will premier a new drone show beginning on Friday, May 24th (Memorial Day Weekend) and running through Monday, September 2nd (Labor Day). The free after dark event will take place nightly over Village Lake.The event will be called "Disney Dreams That Soar" and should be pretty amazing. Start times may vary as darkness occurs later until the summer solstice and then slowly the days grow shorter again. We'll post more details as we get them.

Trip Report: The Ride Home

Our trip came to a conclusion Saturday morning in downtown Vancouver when our cruise ship Discovery Princess docked at Canada Place.

Coming out of the cruise terminal, it was a short walk to the nearest SkyTrain station. SkyTrain has three lines and it's the Canada Line that goes direct to Vancouver International Airport (YVR). The fares is only about C$3.00.

 

Most people know of the major Canadian airline Air Canada but their largest competitor is WestJet. WestJet does serve Orlando and on Saturdays they fly nonstop to MCO.

That flight is operated with a Boeing MAX8.

A few scenes from above. Flying over the Rockies above Montana.

Badlands National Park in South Dakota. At this point it was "nappy nappy time" so I missed the relatively boring Great Plains.

But awoke for this. Running left to right, north to south, the Mississippi River between St. Louis and Memphis.

It's great to be home and a good time was had by all.