Feeling pretty smug (or – at the very least – hung over) because you spent last night at some hoity toity New Year’s Eve party? Well, take a gander at these shots. Which were taken on the very last night that members of the general public were allowed into WDW’s Adventurers Club.
Photo by Jeff Lange
Just for the record, these photos were not taken on September 27, 2008 (which is the day that Pleasure Island officially closed its doors) or on September 25, 2009 (which was when Congaloosh 2009 rented out the Club for an Adventurers Club fan event).
No, these images were taken at Jaime & Max Schilling’s post-wedding shindig. Which was held at the Adventurers Club on September 26, 2009.
Photo by Jeff Lange
Nancy and I were lucky enough to snag an invite to this très exclusive Disney-related
shindig because Max is JHM’s webmaster. So we were among the 50 or so folks to have the run of the place that night.
Photo by Jeff Lange
And given that there were so few people in the Adventurers Club for this private party, we kind of had unprecedented access to the props …
Photo by Jeff Lange
… and sets at the Club.
Photo by Jeff Lange
Which allowed you to notice little things, in-jokes that you may not have seen before. Like how the sheet music on the organ actually paid tribute to Fingers Zambezi, the Club’s ghostly accompanist.
Photo by Jeff Lange
We were also given the opportunity to peek behind-the-scenes at where the cast stashed their costumes & props for the Library shows.
Photo by Jeff Lange
As well as the cramped little space where the Adventurers Club’s stage manager worked his magic for all those years.
Photo by Jeff Lange
To be honest, the best part of that evening was watching longtime members of the Adventurers Club cut up for one last time. Be it Pamelia Perkins climbing up to give the Colonel a good-bye kiss.
Photo by Jeff Lange
Or Otis Wren talking about the night that he actually saw a Guest tasered inside the Club by Disney Security. (To be fair, this gentleman was drunk & extremely belligerent at the time. And the Mouseka-Police only zapped him after he threatened to beat up several members of the Cast. But even so …)
Photo by Jeff Lange
And what made this night particularly special was … Unlike what happened the night before (Where the folks who attended Congaloosh 2009 had been to the Club dozens – if not hundreds – of time. So they knew every gag, every line, every routine by heart), most of the people who attended Max & Jaime’s post-wedding party had never ever been in the
Adventurers Club before. So this setting & the characters were completely new to them. Which is why they roared at every joke, and then goggled when the Yakoose suddenly came to life.
And the Cast Members that were there that night … They really fed off of the energy of this crowd.
Photo by Jeff Lange
In fact, the Cast made a point of coming back onstage after they’d finished for the evening to thank us all for coming.
Photo by Jeff Lange
Saying — in essence — that this is how we’d prefer to go out. Performing in front of an audience who behaved just as Guests did back in May of 1989 when Pleasure Island first opened.
So after posing for a few parting shots with Max and Jaime …
Photo by Jeff Lange
… Otis carried Pamelia offstage.
Photo by Jeff Lange
And me … I lingered a little while longer in the library, reflecting on all the great times that I’d had at the Adventurers Club over the past 20 years.
Photo by Jeff Lange
But all good things must come to an end. And after the last of their Guests had departed, Max and Jaime had one last drink at the bar …
Photo by Jeff Lange
… and then headed off to start their honeymoon.
So – just for the record – let me state here that Max Schilling was the very last member of the public to exit the Adventurers Club. I’m told that WDW Cast members had their own private function a few days later to say goodbye to this much beloved Pleasure Island venue.
But as is evidenced by the photo below …
Photo by Jeff Lange
With a hearty “Kungaloosh,” Capt. Jack Schilling staggered through the front door just after 11 p.m. on September 26, 2009. Which officially makes Max the very last Guest to experience the magic & the wonder that was WDW’s Adventurers Club. Which are pretty big bragging rights in Disneyana circles, don’t you think?
Your thoughts?