PI Update: The Climb Up Hill Street

During the conversion of Downtown Disney to Disney Springs, initial heavy construction and demolition took place the most on Pleasure Island including this section of Hill Street. And this was the first place where new shops opened in the entire complex. Let's take a look at the current state of affairs down there.

Beginning at the Hub and then heading uphill, this corner was the former home of PI Live Bar. It got its name from its location across from the elevated PI Live DJ booth.

The first shop to take over this location after PI Live Bar was demolished was Erwin Pearl Jewelry. We never saw more than one or two customers in there and often none so we had predicted this would be the first new shop in Disney Springs to close. It wasn't but it did eventually shutter.

It was replaced by Gideon's Bakehouse which has been a total success. We always witness long lines during our Disney Springs' visits.

Heading uphill, the next new shop was Apex by Sunglass Hut. It didn't differ much from what you find in every shopping mall everywhere except for the Apex name.

It was replaced by an Oakley store. Both Sunglass Hut and Oakley are brands owned by Luxottica so there was no ownership change, just a rebrand to a more-trendy name.

The actual first store to close in Disney Springs was Sound Lion, a shop selling phone supplies. We often see similar stores in airports so it seemed like a good idea since there are so many tourists here. But nope, it closed in April, 2017.

It was replaced by Savannah Bee Company which had been located in a kiosk in Riverboat Square. We really don't know what they sell in there but it's been there since 2017 so someone must be buying their products.

Climbing higher we come to The Ganachery. It was the last storefront to be occupied along Hill Street, not arriving until December, 2015. They apparently sell ganach and apparently a lot of it to pay the rent.

The next shop was Sanuk and it was an original in this spot where the front of 8TRAX had been carved off to fit this place. They sold odd-looking flip-flops. It opened in February, 2015 and seemed to be doing well..

Until they abruptly shuttered last month!

Finally up near the top of the hill, Art of Shaving was an original shop along Hill Street. It sold shaving supplies and you could actually get a shave and a haircut in there. It surpassed our expectations because who needed relatively-expensive shaving supplies while they were on holiday? Art of Shaving was located roughly where surf shop Curl by Sammy Duval was once located which in itself was where Superstar Studios once stood.

But it closed in early 2024 and has remained unoccupied for more than 6 months. So now we have two shops side-by-side which are idle. We've always speculated that views of these shops are blocked by planters with trees just high enough to block the views of passersby. If they want these places to be successful, they should make them more visible.