10 o’clock in the morning is very early. Particularly when you’ve just spent the previous night attending the Adventurers Club’s next-to-last night of operation. Where many of the performers broke into tears during Friday night’s Hoopla. Or — at the very least — broke character. I mean, It was genuinely hard not to mist up when that evening’s Emil — just before he launched into “Bessie the Heifer” — choked up as he said: “I can’t believe that this is the very last time I’m going to sing this song.”
But I was determined to be a part of PI history, be among the handful of guests who actually got inside and experienced what the Adventurers Club was like during the last night that it was open to the public. But when I arrived at the top of Hill Street, I found that 50 or so fans had actually gotten there ahead of me and were already camped out in front of the Club. With some seated under umbrellas in an effort to beat the 85 degree heat.
Photo by Max Schilling
As morning gave way to afternoon, the line behind me got larger & larger. As did the fretful bunch of Disney suits, PI managers and Security officers who were keeping tabs on this crew. Who were clearly concerned about how they were going to handle the crowds once the Club opened around 6 p.m.
Now where this gets interesting is — throughout the afternoon — past & present Adventurers Club cast members kept showing up. Not because they were there to get ready for that night’s shows. But — rather — because they wanted to see for themselves the hundreds of people who were standing there in line. And then realize that what they did clearly meant an awful lot to an awful lot of people.
An off-duty Emil & Otis pose for pictures as they survey the crowd on Saturday afternoon. Photo by Max Schilling
In the end, it was probably a good thing that I got to PI as early as I did. For the doors to the Adventurers Club opened at 5:45 p.m. And just 25 minutes later — after every guest had been personally greeted by Pamelia Perkins & Samantha Sterling as they entered the Club — this PI nightclub reached capacity and was then forced to close its doors. And I’m told that those who were stuck outside at 6:15 p.m. then weren’t able to enter the Club ’til 12:30 a.m.
As for what went on inside of the Adventurers Club that night … Well, it was a truly historic occasion. With Otis Wren — after 19 years of dreaming & scheming — finally winning the Balderdash Cup.
Photo by Max Schilling
Not to mention long-MIA AC staffers like Marcel the gorilla / butler and oft-mentioned-but-never-before-seen Adventurers Club members like Sutter Bestwick making an appearance.
Sutter Bestwick is the one on the left. Photo by Max Schilling
Even behind-the-scenes personnel got the chance to stand in the spotlight Saturday night. Below you’ll see Sheila Ward & Tim Goodwin — the two WDW cast members who’ve spent the most years performing at the Adventurers Club — paying tribute to Jim Roberts, the hugely-talented-though-long-unseen piano player who’s portrayed “Fingers” Zambese at the Club for the past 13 years.
Sheila Ward (L) and Tim Goodwin (R) hold up Jim Roberts’ fingers. (Get it?) Photo by Max Schilling
And as for the final show of the night … There were so many moments in the Hoopla that first made you laugh and then kind of broke your heart. Like Emil Beelhall’s acoustical guitar version of Jonathan Coulton‘s “When You Go.” Which starts off with this far-too-appropriate lyric:
Only a moment ago we had nothing but time
Everything lasted forever and you were all mine
Only a dream I know
Thinking you’d never go
Tearing off pieces of myself
Just for the time it buys me
Photo by Max Schilling
After that, the entire cast (Which was super-sized for this one evening. With four French maids, Emil Bleehall Junior & Senior, not to mention Madam Zarkov) gathered onstage for one final photo op.
Photo by Max Schilling
And then — to the strains of “When the Saints Go Marching In” — these much-beloved cast of characters all marched off into the night. With Pamelia Perkins simultaneously tearing up and blowing kisses as she left the stage.
Photo by Max Schilling
Here’s hoping that the storyline that was floated on Saturday night actually turns out to be true. That the Adventurers aren’t going to be gone forever. That they’re just heading off on a year-long safari (Which is being paid for by Marcel. Who — thanks to smart investments — is now a filthy-stinkin’-rich ape). Eventually to return to Walt Disney World with all sorts of all-new stories to share.
In short, being on hand for the Adventurers Club’s grand send-off was a hugely entertaining if often bittersweet occasion.
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