It’s still hard for all us Adventurers Club fans to fathom that — just seven weeks from now (give or take a day or two) — that Pleasure Island will be no more. That on September 28th, WDW will permanently pull the plug on PI.
Having spent many pleasant nights at the Club, I just can’t imagine a Disney World vacation that doesn’t include a visit with Miss Zenobia. Who does such a great job of telling fortunes and spinning tales from the past. Or — better yet — grabbing a drink at the “Illusions Bar” and then watching with amazement as a ghostly apparition materialized in the seat right next to you.
What’s that you say? You’ve been to the Adventurers Club dozens of times and you’ve never met Miss Zenobia? And you know for a fact that this PI favorite doesn’t have anything like the “Illusions Bar”?
Oh, I’m sorry. I guess I’m confusing the Adventurers Club that we got with the Adventurers Club that was initially announced back in July of 1986. Which was a significantly different animal.
Of course, back then, the whole Pleasure Island project was far more ambitious. According to the Eyes & Ears article that officially announced PI, this “magical nighttime entertainment island” was going to be ” … a totally refreshing and innovative concept that we believe will set a new standard in contemporary entertainment.” Or so said then Disney-Chairman & CEO Michael Eisner.
Michael Eisner with a model of the original version of Pleasure Island. Copyright 1986 Disney. All Rights Reserved
In Disney speak, the Pleasure Island project was greenlit to answer ” … a recognized need for more evening activities catering to vacationers, conventioneers and Florida residents.” In simpler terms, Disney built PI because — at that time — far too many WDW visitors were going off-property at night to spend time (more importantly, their money) at Church Street Station.
The only problem with PI was … well, the Imagineers had never built a waterfront entertainment center before. And given that Pleasure Island was supposed to have this elaborate backstory, all of these newly constructed buildings had to be weathered & aged. So that they could then seem like the proper setting for the sail-making & ship-building empire of Merriweather Adam Pleasure, an adventurous Pittsburgh entrepreneur.
And detailing like that takes time and costs money. Which is why — even though Pleasure Island was originally supposed to open in the Spring of 1988 — by January of that same year, this project was the topic of some rather intense meetings at WDI. Where — according to a presentation that Marty Sklar gave on January 15, 1988 — ” … Pleasure Island is 102% over its original budget, 67% over its revised budget, eight months late and … creatively compromised.”
To get the PI project back on track, obviously some cuts had to be made. So the “Illusions Bar” at the Adventurers Club (which was to have made use of a Pepper’s Ghost effect to make you think that a ghost was sitting next to you sipping cocktails) disappeared. As did Miss Zenobia and her private room for fortune telling.
In fact, the entire Adventurers Club (as it was originally planned) was scaled back. The footprint of this elaborately themed nightclub was reduced by a fourth. Which explains why the AC — particularly when it’s full of tourists & conventioneers — sometimes seems pretty tight.
So — yes — it’s a real shame that the Adventurers Club (as the Imagineers originally planned it) never got built. That the version that we know & love today was ” … creatively compromised.”
Concept art for Madison’s Dive, a waterfront restaurant that was originally supposed to have been an opening day attraction at WDW’s Pleasure Island. Copyright 1986 Disney. All Rights Reserved
But at least the AC did actually get built. Thank goodness that this nightclub didn’t suffer the same fate as “Madison’s Dive.” This boisterous seaside saloon was originally supposed to have been one of PI’s signature restaurants with its sawdust-covered floor and its brown-paper covered tables. And as WDW guests dined on crab, Captain Spike was to have entertained the crowds by singing sea chanteys & telling tales of his lost love, Madison the mermaid from “Splash.”
In an effort to contain costs on Pleasure Island, “Madison’s Dive” wound up getting cut from the project’s opening assortment of restaurants, shops and attractions. The Imagineers had always hoped that — once PI proved to be a success — that they’d then get the chance to revive their plans for this waterfront eatery. Though that was not to be.
That said, one illusion that WDI created for “Madison’s Dive” still survives today. Have you ever seen the “Balderdash Cup” show in the Library at the Adventurers Club? Do you recall that moment when — as Professor Otis Wren is spinning out his the-one-that-got-way fish tale — where the ship-in-a-bottle that’s behind the bar suddenly breaks apart & sinks out of sight? That particular effect was originally supposed to have occurred as Captain Spike was telling one of his tales from the sea.
But come September 27th … That ship-in-a-bottle will sink one last time. And then it (along with all of the other props & masks that line the walls of the Adventurers Club) will be pulled down. And then …
Well, as to their ultimate fate … I’m told that Joe Rohde (Who helped design & concieve the Adventurers Club. In fact, some of the items on the walls in the AC are from Joe’s personal collection) will reclaim a few knickknacks. As for the rest of this comical collection … I’ve heard that a good portion of them will be shipped overseas, where these odd artifacts will then be used as props for Hong Kong Disneyland‘s soon-to-be-officially-announced version of the Haunted Mansion. Which (given that this attraction will be located in the Adventureland portion of that theme park) will borrow a page from Tokyo DisneySea’s Tower of Terror and feature a Great White Hunter who brings a cursed artifact home from the jungle.
Joe Rohde served as the model for the ill-fated adventurer who gets trapped insideof Tokyo Disney Sea’s Tower of Terror. Copyright 2006 Disney. All Rights Reserved
And while it’s nice to know that at least the props & masks that you now see in the Adventurers Club will live on at Hong Kong Disneyland … Me personally, I’d prefer it if the Club itself survived. Which is why I urge you to join Peter David in his quest to save the Adventurers Club.
For further information of David’s STAC map-mailing campaign, please check out Peter’s website by clicking on this link.