Went out to Universal Orlando Resort last night to check on Harry Potter but the park closed at 10pm so there was no more entry. Well I couldn't waste a trip out there so stopped by The Groove instead. TG didn't open until 11pm last night due to a private booking and it seemed that when the event ended most of the group stayed. The club was wall-to-wall when I entered shortly after 11. DJ AJ was on duty playing mostly Hip Hop mixed with Top 40. It should be just as packed if not more so tonight at Pitbull is playing at Universal as part of their summer concert series!
CLICK ON PHOTOS TO ENLARGE Friends had been telling me about the partying options up in Lake Mary/Heathrow but last night was the first chance I had to check it out. Just west of I-4 at the exit for CR 46A is an area built to look like a traditional American downtown area except nearly everything is either a bar or restaurant. I had been to Dexter's in Winter Park for happy hour before but I was not prepared for this far larger facility with Top 40 music blasting out the doors! I quickly learned that Thursday night is a huge pick-up night here with DJ Michael Knight leading the hits. It's a mix of Seminole County locals and business people staying at the numerous nearby upscale hotels. Knight actually brings in all the equipment including that light bridge. Although you could hardly move in the place, he said that it was only about half the crowd of a normal Thursday night because of the competing NBA final on television. Very impressive, but Thursdays only because Friday/Saturday they have a live band with nowhere near as many patrons. Nearby is a Florida branch of Carlos'nCharlies, the popular bar/restaurant that along with sister Mexican company Señor Frogs is spread around the Caribbean, usually at cruise ports . It was rather subdued last night but I'm told weekends are crazy in there with conga lines and straight from the bottle drink pours down your throat.....just like in Cozumel. DJ with dancing. Heading back to Orlando there was time for a visit to the veteran Why Not Lounge located in the Magnuson Grand Hotel (formerly Holiday Inn) in Altamonte Springs. It had already emptied out a bit but got to hear the final set of the band featuring this singer in awesome Lady Gaga boots who could really belt-out the Top 40 and Rock songs she was singing.
Are you home Friday night? Listen to great dance music on Radiodanz.com: 6PM EDT / 11PM GMT - Danz 20 with Maxwell House 9PM EDT / 2AM GMT - DJ Mickey Bono (Orlando) 10PM EDT / 3AM GMT - DJ Smooth (Orlando) 11PM EDT / 4 AM GMT - DJ Joel North (Canada)
Faithful Blog reader Ken is constantly scanning YouTube so that he can share new PleasureIsland videos with everyone. This one is fascinating. A very young Regis Philbin in 1987 reports on all the exciting new things coming to Walt Disney World.....including Pleasure Island. This is an awesome look at PI during construction. Thank you very much Ken!
CLICK ON FLYERS TO ENLARGE Well if you're a techno music fan, there is a HUGE assortment of music available to you this weekend in Orlando!
It all begins Thursday night with German DJ ATB performing at Roxy. He's the #11 ranked DJ in the world per DJMag.
Friday night I'm aware of two events: At Icon, DJ Überzone is performing with DJ Baby Anne opening! Around the corner in Suite B Lounge they are having a Breaks-fest of sorts with numerous DJ's performing including Justin Faze and DJ Matrix. Unrelated but I've got to mention: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter has its Grand Opening on Friday and on Friday night there will be all kinds of festivities outside Hogwarts including a grand fireworks show! There should be a lot of spillover into Citywalk that night!
Saturday night Wall Street Plaza is having an Outdoor Street Dance Party featuring DJ Digital and Carlos Melange. Prepare for a mix of Dance, House, Funk & Hip Hop. DJ George Acosta will be spinning over at Cameo, a facility I'm not familiar with. And of course my favorite Dance club in Orlando on Saturday night is over at Bliss Ultra Lounge featuring DJ Mickey Bono.
Sunday night DJ Kimball Collins is performing over in Tampa at The Kennedy but you don't have to drive over to see him! Because next Thursday night he's opening for the #9 DJ in the world, Gareth Emery at Roxy!!
CLICK ON PHOTOS TO ENLARGE Lots of internet chatter out there today about what may be going on at Pleasure Island. First of all a followup to my previous story about Motion. You'll recall that all the banquet tables and chairs had been removed and the famous Motion DJ booth returned to the stage. Well there were several events in there. There was a private rental that I have no details of and there was that annual Pirate-themed party. I'm told that the Orlando Magic basketball team also rented the place for a post-season party. So it does appear that Motion is available for private rentals again! I'm not sure what event led to the DJ booth being placed up there but clearly there was a DJ dance party of some sort! Anyway, as you can see, banquet facilities were again being moved back into Motion and the DJ booth moved away. It's nice to know they still have the booth though!
Next comes word that Pleasure Island created a new job position called "Production Coordinator". And the position was filled fast! I hear (I hope I have the name and/or spelling right.) that someone named Marina who used to work upstairs in the booth at Mannequins during its final year got the job. What I haven't heard is what the position is all about. I hear lots of speculation ranging from simply coordinating entertainment on the island to coordinating the reopening of (outsourced) clubs to coordinating the replacement of Celebrate Tonight. If anyone knows or if I have the name wrong, please let me know.
Finally, I saw on the internet where Disney California Adventure has a new nightly event called Glowfest. This shows the potential of what Disney can do if it wants to because the CM dancers and Electronic Dance Music draw in the public. Could something like this be on board to replace Celebrate Tonight assuming no demolitions are forthcoming? DCA of course is a paid admission theme park whereas PI is free. But that doesn't mean a version of it wouldn't work on the island. Ironically, isn't this the kind of activity that PI was famous for back-in-the-day?
This past Friday the website Screamscape mentioned the Save Pleasure IslandBlog twice. Screamscape reports on news and rumors pertaining to theme parks around the world. This past Friday Screamscape provided a link to the Blog's article about Celebrate Tonight ending as well as a link to the article about Stitch's Club 626 Dance Party at Magic Kingdom.
CLICK ON PHOTOS TO ENLARGE Downtown Orlando was also jammed with people last night. Tabu is always crowded on Saturday nights and last night was no exception as DJ Richie Rich mixes Top 40 with Hip Hop. RR is the DJ tonight at House of Blues Service Industry Night but unlike Tabu, it's all House/Dance music! But those looking for House/Dance music on Saturday nights don't need to go any farther than Bliss Ultra Lounge! DJ Mickey Bono weaves an incredible mix of music that has the relatively small dance floor jammed as you can see in these photos. It was great! You can also hear an awesome one hour Dance music set by Mickey Bono every Friday night at 9pm ET on Radiodanz.com And then there's Independent Bar where my Saturday nights have often ended lately. The Saturday night DJ actually is the owner of the club and he masterfully increases the frenzy later into the evening with early 80's New Wave/Old Wave. Even just standing and watching brings interesting sights in every direction. Courtney & Lawrence (lower right) are two of the many former Mannequins clubbers often spotted at I-BAR.
CLICK ON PHOTOS TO ENLARGE Wanted something different for dinner last night so what better place to find it than beautiful Pleasure Island. PI and Downtown Disney were crazy-packed last night. It was one of those nights like the good old days when you really had to hunt for a parking space and be grateful when you found one. Dinner at Paradiso37 was delicious and the wait for a table only about 20-minutes! People all over the place! It was great seeing PI so lively, even if most were just passing through. Over at Celebration Plaza that's DJ Talie (Motion, Atlantic Dance Hall, Club 626) waving from upstairs in the control tower while downstairs at Laffer's Cantina that's Amy (8TRAX) doing a brisk business! Celebrate Tonight ends in two weeks. We should all meet out there for the finale!
CLICK ON PHOTOS TO ENLARGE Friday night at Atlantic Dance Hall had kind of moderate-size crowd on hand. I was told there were more patrons on hand than the prior Friday night (when everyone was at The Groove) but it was a bit slower than my visit on Friday night three weeks prior. There was an assortment of former Mannequins, Motion & 8TRAX regulars in the mix but not as many as some Fridays. DJ Tony Z played the usual assortment of Top 40 and Hip Hop songs along with a handful of techno songs to keep me from bitching!
