This Weekend In Techno Town

SATURDAY JUL 11
DJ Phin (USA)     Oasis On The River     Breaks

SUNDAY JUL 12
DJ Jerry "The Reverend" Johnson     Ace Cafe     Nautical Top 40

PI Update: 10 Years Ago!

July 2010.....10 years ago!
Let's cross this bridge one more time to beautiful Pleasure Island.

Celebrate Tonight had ended in June but the booth remained awhile longer.

It became the site of music concerts such as the Andre Caram Band.

Which usually drew larger crowds than CT did.

This would eventually evolve into the Pleasure Island Ultralounge concept in this location.

Great Places!

Great Faces!

Sometimes the music would take place across West End Plaza.

In front of the permanently closed BET Soundstage Club.

We kept an eye on Mannequins.

We kept an eye in Motion.

And a good time was had by all.

EDC Update: Is EDC Orlando Happening This Year?

Pictured Above: DJ Fisher (AUS) at EDC-Orlando in 2019.
The 10th Edition of Electric Daisy Carnival - Orlando is scheduled to take place on Friday/Saturday/Sunday, November 13-15.  Is it going to actually happen?  Of course, it's way too soon to know coronavirus conditions that far ahead.  EDC-Las Vegas is scheduled for October 2-4 so if they can make that happen, then EDC-Orlando is likely to take place over one month later. But if they have to cancel Las Vegas, it seems unlikely Orlando will happen either. 
One thing we know right now is that no one has figured out how to hold a concert, with everyone packed so close together, and do it safely. So unless coronavirus miraculously goes away, things don't look good for bars, clubs.....and concerts.

Downtown Update: Openings

We're still not sure if the new Taco Bell Cantina has opened yet. It's not been open late night during our passes by but the interior looks like it's ready so perhaps it's open during the day. It differs from a regular Taco Bell in that it has beer and wine on the menu. It's located at the corner of Orange Ave and Central Blvd.

In the same building that used to be home to 1South and Ono nightclubs, the first of a couple other tenants has opened for business. It's a branch for Jacksonville-based Vystar Credit Union, formerly
Jax Navy Federal Credit Union. As you can see, they have an ATM facing Orange Avenue.

Club Reports: International Drive

The Blog spent Friday night down on International Drive. The pictures and report are on our sister website Orlando Entertainment News here.

Friday Funny

Yes, we might get a little political as the 2020 election approaches.

PI Update: Some More Snap Shots

Big thanks to Blog reader Michael P. of Utica, NY who sent us a bunch of old snapshots from Pleasure Island. We're posting a few of them here today. This one was taken from the West Side looking towards the Island and the Jessica Rabbit / Pleasure Island Tonight lighted sign which was on top of the WC complex adjacent BET Soundstage.

A Pleasure Island parade back when the Funmeister was still the logo for the Island.

Up until a few years before the demise of Pleasure Island, live bands performed on the West End Stage and New Years Eve was celebrated nightly.

Awesome; thank you again!
Editors Note: Accidentally loaded this for 7PM instead of 7AM. Sorry! 

This Weekend In Techno Town

FRIDAY JUL 3
Toby Keith (USA) Tribute Show     Tin Roof     Country

SATURDAY JUL 4
DJ Amygurl (USA)     Oasis On The River     Breaks / Old Skool

DS Update: Cirque Files For Bankruptcy

The Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group has filed for receivership yesterday in the Superior Court of Quebec which is where Cirque is based. More details from the Las Vegas Review-Journal here. What impact this will have on a Cirque show reopening at Disney Springs West Side remains to be seen.

PI Update: 10 Years Ago!

Let's cross the No. 2 Bridge one more time and escape to Pleasure Island ten years ago this month!

So different than today; big crowds wandering the streets of our beloved Island.

Turning left at the Hub and heading up Hill Street in 2010.

We'll never forget the fiasco that was Celebrate Tonight up at West End Plaza (then renamed Celebration Plaza).

After about a year of trying, the final night of CT took place that month.
Spotted: DJ G Clef (USA) second from the far right, in blue.

Alternative entertainment brought-in included live statutes.

They would actually last around 5 years before finally disappearing for good.

Downtown Update: Wahlburgers Closing Permanently

Downtown Orlando's Wahlburgers restaurant is permanently closing, according to an article in the Orlando Sentinel here. This is yet another blow to Church Street, which is now mostly a vast wasteland of closed storefronts all the way from Orange Avenue to Interstate 4. The venue had been open approximately 4 years.

Club Reports: What’s Open & What’s Not?

Under the Governor's new order, bars and clubs can no longer serve alcohol effective yesterday. Restaurants with bars could still serve. So what was open and what was closed in downtown Orlando last night?  Check out our sister website Orlando Entertainment News here.

Friday Funny

We're always trying to help!

PI Update: Night VS Day

There just is no comparison between Pleasure Island of old and Pleasure Island of today. It's as different as night and day! (Big thanks to Blog reader Michael P. of Utica, NY for the night photo. We'll have a few more of his old shots next week!)

This Weekend In Techno Town

THURSDAY JUN 25
DJ Saymyname (USA)     Celine     Trap

 THURSDAY JUN 25
DJ duo Cocodrills (USA)     Elixir Bar     House
Cancelled/Postponed

THURSDAY JUN 25
DJ duo Black Caviar (USA)     Gilt Nightclub     EDM / House Anthems

FRIDAY JUN 26
DJ PLS&TY (USA)     Celine Rooftop     EDM

SATURDAY JUN 27
Iron Cow has reclosed indefinitely due to Coronavirus concerns.

SUNDAY JUN 28
Sundown Sundays at The Patio has reclosed indefinitely due to Coronavirus concerns.

DS Update: The Sunshine Rail Line

If you look real careful on the lower level of Pleasure Island, you can find a faded old mural advertising the Sunshine Rail Line. Long gone from the Florida travel scene, the steam locomotives of the former SRL brought northerners to the warm shores of Disney Springs.

Of course the Sunshine Rail Line predated Amtrak by many decades. There isn't a lot of written history about the line but if you wander about Disney Springs West Side, you can still find remnants of the system. The line was elevated as it entered the Disney Springs community from the west.

Several remaining trestles or "hi-lines" still remain standing.

Here another remaining trestle stands by what is now the AMC 24 Theaters. Back in those days it was probably called the AMC 1 Theater.

We're not really sure why the City of Disney Springs never removed them but if anything they are useful for creating shade.

One thing we never understood is why this last trestle on the extreme east end of the West Side curves? With that curve, tracks could never have lined-up with the bridge ahead. But we do have some recollection of the bridge having been repositioned at some point in time so the track must have indeed lined-up with the bridge prior to that!

One can't tell anymore that the bridge at one time carried a train track over it.

On Pleasure Island itself, the railroad yard has long-ago been pulled-up but there remains embedded track at West End Plaza adjacent STK Steakhouse. One can also make out an old turntable used to turn locomotives around for their outbound journeys.

The original Disney Springs train depot still stands.  It was long-disused and only recently was repurposed for Men and Ladies WC duty. If you use the facilities, you're sitting (or standing) in a historical building where thousands of happy travelers once congregated. Come check it out for yourself.