Club Reports: Vixen, Vintage, Rok Room, Independent Bar

Downtown Orlando on a St. Patrick's Day evening. Big crowds out and Orange Avenue blocked off to traffic to handle all the pedestrians.  Let's start out by giving an update on the downtown club scene.  First of all, dueling piano bar Baby Grands has bit the dust.  Seemed like they were drawing good crowds but apparently not good enough. That just leaves Orlando with 3 dueling piano bars; Jellyrolls at Disney's Boardwalk Resort, Pat O'Brien's at Universal CityWalk and Howl at The Moon on I-Drive.

Another apparent casualty is Antigua.  The sign is still lit but the website has been down for weeks and no one around claimed any knowledge.  Maybe it's just being refurbished.

We have one name change to report.  New club Bar1 is now 1 South Nightclub. This change should really generate excitement and drive business!

Add a new Hip Hop club to the scene with the arrival of Liquid.  Prior carcasses at this location include Blue Room, Red Velvet, Voyage, Deja Vu Ultra Lounge and most recently, Zen Exotic Lounge.  I'll give this one a few months.

Can always count on EDM at sister clubs Vixen & Vintage.

At Vixen DJ Dustin Skiles was pumping out House music from the front perch. Skiles joins DJ's Keith Mackenzie, Chris B, Flurk and many more this coming Friday in Miami at club Met 1 as part of Winter Music Conference!

Vixen is a smaller venue but always seems to be crowded.

And the small dance floor up front beneath the booth always attracts some dancers!

Next door at Vintage it was DJ Dominick Morrison (Mannequins, EPCOT China NYE, Sky60) putting out a mostly House/Dance/Top 40 mix.

The place was surprisingly empty when I first came in and then suddenly just boomed!

Always plenty of nice scenery in Vintage!  A third V-club club will be joining the duo in June when a Latin-flavored club called Vanity opens upstairs!

Had not been over to Rok Room in awhile so needed to see how it was doing.  It's located behind and upstairs from Antigua.

No Rock music at Rok Room.  DJ Justin James (Roxy) was putting out the EDM!

Small venue but always very crowded!

The only people dancing were dancing in their spots but great music being played here now!

Finishing out the night at Independent Bar.

DJ Indie John playing the Saturday night 80's New Wave/Old Wave format.

Dance floor stayed jammed during my visit.

And there was plenty of green to be seen!

Club Report: Retro Room

Had not been by Retro Room since the 8TRAX Reunion last month so needed to check it out.

Live band Switch aka Nerd Ranger was in the house playing 80's hits!  They used to play monthly at 80's Night at The Groove but with that night at CityWalk cancelled, the best place to catch them will be at RR.

DJ Boston was in the booth playing 80's and 70's Disco between band sets.

People would get on the dance floor during the DJ sets but pretty much just dance in place during the band sets.

Starting to see more Disney CM's coming out to Retro Room.

Overall kind of a light crowd for a Friday night but hardly empty; Saturdays are better.  But if you liked 8TRAX at Pleasure Island, this is the only place in town that you can re-experience it!

Massive Downtown Disney Expansion Planned

Rumors have been going around for sometime that Downtown Disney is going to be expanded into a much larger shopping complex than it currently is.  Now a source has told the Blog that the expansion is going to be so huge that it's going to eat up part of the land currently used by Disney's Lake Buena Vista Golf Course! Supposedly as DTD is expanded to the west beyond Cirque, it will need land that is now the western most portions of the DTD parking lot and land that is the southern-most section of the LBV course.  It is unclear whether Village Lake would get lengthened too.

The Blog previously reported back in 2010 that a trolley system was to be installed at Downtown Disney.  A trolley or similar light rail system like the one shown above at Disney California Adventure is apparently still in the works.  It would run from the Old Key West Resort on the west, through and looping around DTD and then ending at Saratoga Springs Resort to the northeast.  The current road that runs beside DTD would remain in some form behind a decorative wall (for fire and emergency services) with the train track(s) running parallel. The current ferry boat service that runs on Village Lake between DTD points would be discontinued but ferry boat service to/from resorts up the Sassagoula River would continue to operate to Downtown Disney Marketplace.  Hmmm. Like any great downtown, it sure could use an adult entertainment district with maybe a dance club or two, a couple comedy clubs, you know!

PI Update: Island Jammed For Spring Break

Loyal Blog reader Brian was on beautiful Pleasure Island last night and reports that the place was really jammed!  He comments, "Just shows how much Disney is missing out on!"

True dat, Brian!  Some people do stop to watch the live band at Celebration Plaza outside Laffers Cantina but business is a tiny, tiny fraction of what it would be if any of the clubs were still open!  For the most part, people are just passing through the Island on the way to somewhere else.

Yesterday we published photos of the new neon lighting placed under the marquee outside Mannequins Dance Palace.  Brian provides additional photos today which not only give perspective to yesterday's photo but also show how the neon is constantly changing colors!  Here we have green.

Here we have red.  Brian also points out something quite interesting:  The lights are on upstairs on the 3rd Floor of the Mannequins building!  Wow, I don't think those were even lit during the club's final years.

Here we have the orange/purple mix published previously.  Pleasure Island continues to amaze! Thanks so much Brian for your report and photos!

This Weekend In Techno Town

THURSDAY, MARCH 15: The final 80's Night at The Groove takes place Thursday night at CityWalk. Begun just 4 months after the Pleasure Island clubs closed, the weekly event with DJ Doc (8TRAX) turned an otherwise dead-night at The Groove into an increasingly popular night. But apparently not popular enough. Kind of lost its momentum after Doc got fired. $7.


FRIDAY MARCH 16th: Package DJ Mondo (Amphitheatre-Tampa), DJ Tooltime (Vixen, Vain) and go-go girl Elektra aka Nikki Castro and you have a really interesting night of Progressive House music at Suite B Lounge! Free until 11pm, then $5.
At club Vain, DJ Mickey Fortune (USA) is the featured DJ. Free until midnight.




SATURDAY MARCH 17TH: Something for everyone on Saturday night. Over at Club V on the Victory Casino Cruises ship in Port Canaveral, local favorite DJ Jimmy Joslin (EDC-Orlando, Vixen, One80 Grey Goose Lounge) will headline a night that includes Sharaz, Shal and DJ Tooltime. Joslin always opens for Tiësto when he's playing Orlando! $10 includes dockside parking and boarding fee.
Meanwhile on the west coast DJ Baby Anne joins resident DJ Doco at Amphitheatre for her brand of dance music! It's her final appearance before Ultra. Revolving dance floor! Ladies are free and guys just $10.
Closer to home Vixen has free admission for everyone for DJ's Seth Vogt and Dustin Skiles. Finally, down on beautiful Pleasure Island, Raglan Road is celebrating St. Patrick's Day with a whole day of Irish dancing, Irish entertainment and a U2 cover band at 10pm! $10.

PI Update: Breaking News From Mannequins

We have a couple of pieces of news from beautiful Pleasure Island this morning.  First of all we have the above photo from Blog roving reporter William who was on the Island yesterday.  New neon lighting has been added to the marquee' in front of Mannequins!  This is the first visible change at Mannequins since they removed the Mannequins signs last August. This gives some hope that MDP remains a viable club location!

And that gives rise to the second piece of news.  Island sources are telling us that DTD management recently gave a tour of Mannequins and 8TRAX to a third-party club operator.  You may recall the rumor we posted last year that said Disney would allow third-parties to reopen clubs as clubs, as long as they were given new names and re-themed.  In the current case though, we're told that the operator allegedly didn't want to obey all of Disney's many rules so no deal was reached!  (Not from the source, but my speculation on a possible rule a third party club would not want to follow is a requirement to be open 7-nights per week; a sure money loser in the night club business.)  If more information becomes available we'll be sure to let you know.

Annual Meeting of Shareholders Today

Anyone attending the annual shareholder meeting today in Kansas City?  Sure would be nice if someone posed the question that everyone wants the answer to:  What about Pleasure Island?
POST MEETING UPDATE: Nothing to report.

Annual Meeting of Shareholders

The Board of Directors of The Walt Disney Company has set the date and location of the Company's 2012 annual meeting of shareholders. The meeting will be held on Tuesday, March 13, 2012 at the Westin Crown Center, One East Pershing Road, Kansas City, Missouri.

Q: What time will the meeting begin?

A: The meeting will begin promptly at 10 a.m.CDT; Information Desk will open at 8 a.m.

Q: What time will the doors to the Venue open?

A: The doors to the seating area will open at approximately 9:00 a.m.

The meeting will take place at The Westin Kansas City at Crown Plaza in the Century Ballroom.

Q: Will I need a ticket to enter the Meeting?

A: Yes. Shareholders as of the record date January 13, 2012, must request an admission ticket in advance.

Q: Will I need to bring identification?

A: Yes, each shareholder must provide valid photo identification such as a driver's license or passport that corresponds to the ticket (or brokerage statement) he or she is presenting for entry.

Q: Can I make advance reservations for a seat?

A: No. General seating in the venue will be distributed on the day of the event on a first-come, first-served basis. We suggest that shareholders arrive prior to the start of the meeting for a seat.

Q: Can I bring my camera and laptop computer into the theater?

A: No. Items such as cameras (including cell phones with photographic capabilities), portable recording devices, briefcases, backpacks, laptop computers, etc. are not permitted.

Q: Will parking be available at the Venue?

Complimentary three-hour self parking is available at Crown Center Shops, adjacent to The Westin Kansas City at Crown Plaza.

Q: How long will the meeting last?

A: Approximately two hours.

Q: Can I ask a question at the meeting?

A: There will be a question and answer session toward the end of the meeting during which shareholders may pose questions.

Pleasure Island Reunion Reminder

A reminder that the Pleasure Island Reunion is less than 2 weeks away, taking place on Saturday, March 24th at Atlantic Dance Hall.  Come out and see many of all your old PI friends!  Have a few drinks and the dance floor will at least seem to be spinning!  DJ Tony B (Motion, Rock'n'Roll Beach Club, PI Live, The Groove) promises dance music from all the closed clubs including Motion, Mannequins, BET Soundstage and 8TRAX.

Club Reports: Suite B Lounge, Wakeboarding Event, The Attic, Independent Bar

No new territory covered last night in Orlando as I decided to stick with the tried and true.  First stop Suite B Lounge where you can always count on finding EDM.

DJ Aramis Vega aka DJ AV3 (Love/Hate-Miami) was at the controls playing Progressive House and Latin House. The DJ that was on before AV3 played a Dubstep version of Baby Anne's 'Uplift Drift' song; I had never heard that!

There was a couple sets of people dancing but it was a light crowd during my early visit.

Over behind Wall Street Plaza they were holding some kind of wakeboard competition!

Participants were pulled across a pool.....

.....and across a platform into another pool, all while trying to remain standing on their board. OK, moving on!

I've watched The Attic transform itself over the past year or so from a mostly Hip Hop/Top 40 club into a House/Dance club!

Next to impossible to take pics in here because it is so dark and machines are constantly pumping out smoke!

DJ Bingoballs in the booth playing an all-House music format to the packed second-floor club!

Lots of people dancing out there......you just can't see them!

Saturday is 80's New Wave/ Old Wave night at Independent Bar!

Good to have resident DJ Indie John back at the controls!

I-Bar is also known for its perpetual Los Angeles-style haze but skies were fairly clear last night!  Another packed club on a Saturday night!