You wanna make a WDW exec happy this week ? Then don’t ask about Pleasure Island.
To be specific: Don’t ask them about the huge crowds that have been pouring onto the Island for the past two months, or the long lines that can now be found nightly outside of each & every one of PI’s clubs (When’s the last time you saw anyone lining up to get into “8Trax” ?). And — for God’s sake — don’t ask these suits about any of the additional expenses that have been incurred by the Resort because Disney has been forced to deal with this unexpectedly heavy turnout. The extra Security shifts that have had to be scheduled, not to mention all of those new surveillance cameras that were recently installed around WDW’s nighttime entertainment district.
Alright. I know. Most of the WDW visitors who have been coming by PI for these past few weeks are doing so strictly for nostalgic reasons. They just want to get in one last visit to Pleasure Island before this place officially closes on September 28th. But that said … The Mouse still didn’t expect anything near the response that they’ve gotten so far from Disney World fans. Which is why they’re really kind of dreading the next six days. When they anticipate that the large number of people who will be coming out to visit PI will start to get really crazy.
Which is why these suits are just now struggling to come up with some sort of workable plan that will then allow them to deal with the huge crowds that they fear will turn out for PI’s last official night of operation. So if you really want to be on the Island on September 28th, all I can tell you now is: You’d better plan on coming out early. Very early. Like possibly the night before.
… which features a select of specialty drinks that are named after now-defunct PI clubs, shops and shows …
Don’t believe me? Well, let’s remember how the Disneyland Resort handled the thousands of fans who wanted to attend DCA‘s grand opening celebration on February 8, 2001. Or — for that matter — the tens of thousands of people who came out to Anaheim on July 16, 2005 just so that they could then be certain that they’d be inside of Disneyland on July 17th when that theme park officially celebrated its 50th anniversary.
Okay. I know. That’s West Coast and this is East Coast. But there is a WDW precedent. Let’s remember that the Mouse has previously allowed Super Soap Weekend attendees to camp out overnight in Hollywood Studios’ parking lot so that they could then be the very first person in line to get their favorite ABC Daytime performer’s autograph the following morning. So it’s not like Mickey hasn’t allowed WDW Guests to do something like this before.
… like “Rage in the Cage,” which was inspired by the Island’s long-closed dance club, Cage …
And then when you factor in that Pleasure Island has significantly smaller capacity than any of the theme parks & water parks on property … You can expect that the truly diehard PI fans, those who are absolutely determined to be on the Island for that one final night of fun, will be lining up as early as possible to get in.
Which brings us back to WDW’s Pleasure Island crowd control contingency plan. Which — depending on how large the crowds are on the Island tonight & tomorrow — could be announced as early as Wednesday.
But — again — that’s really not something that Disney World officials want to talk about as of this moment. When it comes to PI, what these folks would much prefer to chat about is the version of Downtown Disney that they hope to have up & running by the Fall of 2011. Where WDW visitors will be able to move with ease from the Village Marketplace side of this shopping, dining & entertainment district all the way over to the West Side. Which — once it has that observation balloon in place to serve as its new “weenie” — will hopefully persuade a considerably larger portion of Disney World Guests to come sample its now-woefully-under-attended selection of shops & restaurants.
Again, all of those changes are supposed to be in place & operational by the Fall of 2011. The far-easier-to-navigate version of Pleasure Island (Which will now only feature retail & dining. No more nightclubs) as well as a much-more-tempting version of Downtown Disney’s West Side. Just in time for the kick-off of Walt Disney World’s 40th anniversary celebration.
… and Frankie’s Westsider, which pays tribute to the West Side Stage, Pleasure Island’s outdoor performance venue. Photos by Jeff Lange
Speaking of Pleasure Island and the West Side … By 2011, you can pretty much anticipate that those names will disappear completely from Disney World’s vernacular. Not to mention the Resort’s maps. Going forward, the Mouse’s marketing team will be looking to promote Downtown Disney not as the sum of its parts (i.e. The Village Marketplace section is where you’ll find the World of Disney, Raglan Road is located on Pleasure Island and La Nouba is presented in the Cirque du Soleil theater, which located on the westernmost portion of the West Side). But — rather — as one large-and-seamless dining, shopping and entertainment experience.
So look for WDW Cast Members to soon be coached to stop referring to the old zones that Downtown Disney used to broken up into (In much the same way as they were recently instructed to stop calling WDW’s studio theme park “MGM” and go with that park’s newer moniker: Disney’s Hollywood Studios).
So what about you folks? Are any of you planning on being on the Island this coming Sunday night for one last night of fun? Or did my above description of the crowds that are now anticipated make you decide to dog it?
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And speaking of dogs … If you’d like to win a copy of “101 Dalmatians II: Patch’s London Adventure,” then you should definitely check out the canine-based contest that Nathan M. Rose is currently holding over at MagicalMountain.net.