There’s one episode of “The Simpsons” that Disneyana fans dearly love. You know the one that I’m talking about: “Itchy and Scratchy Land.” That’s the episode where the Simpsons vacation at a theme park that’s obviously patterned after Disneyland. And — of course — much Mouse-based satire ensues.
Mind you, this particular “Simpsons” episode doesn’t just take pokes at the Anaheim park. It also gleefully goes after Disney’s Orlando operation. Take — for example — this not-so-affectionate jab at Pleasure Island, WDW’s night-time entertainment district.
Photo by Jeff Lange
In order to get away from Bart, Lisa and Maggie, Marge & Homer head over to Itchy & Scratchy Land’s adults-only section, “Parents’ Island.” Here, they eventually wander into a nightclub that’s called “T.G.I. McScratchy’s Goodtime Foodrinkery.” Inside, there’s a live band playing as well as a dance floor that’s loaded with happy, kid-free parents.
As the music stops, the band leader turns to the crowd and says:
Bandleader: Welcome to T. G. I. McScratchy’s, where it’s constantly New Year’s Eve. Here we go again! Three, two, one!
Everyone in nightclub: Happy New Year!
As “Auld Lang Syne” starts playing again, a waiter carrying a tray of champagne glasses walks past Marge & Homer.
Marge: (To waiter) It must be wonderful to ring in the New Year over and over and over.
Waiter: Please kill me.
Of course, this particular joke used to be a whole lot funnier when WDW’s PI actually did celebrate New Year’s Eve every night of the year. But that practice was recently discontinued. Appropriately enough on New Year’s Eve 2005.
Which — as we now enter the second month of 2006 — has pretty much left Pleasure Island in the lurch. Without all that “You have to stay ’til midnight in order to see our nightly New Year’s Eve fireworks display” hype, the crowds now thin out pretty fast most nights at PI.
Photo by Jeff Lange
Add to this Pleasure Island’s new “open gate” policy (Which allows folks shopping at Downtown Disney‘s Marketplace area to stroll straight on through the island as they make their way over to the West Side … And visa versa) and it now seems that PI has lost a lot of its allure & appeal lately.
Which — to hear some WDW insiders tell this story — means that everything is going exactly to plan.
To explain: According to the rumor that’s currently rolling around property, several high powered Disney World execs have allegedly decided that Pleasure Island is well past its prime. Which is why they reportedly plan to replace this once-popular nightclub complex with a much more guest-friendly mix of retail & dining establishments.
Photo by Jeff Lange
“What do you mean by ‘a much more guest-friendly mix’ ?,” you ask. Well, first & foremost, this reconfigured Pleasure Island would finally allow for continuous guest flow from Downtown Disney’s Marketplace area over to the West Side and back. Which would then (in theory) give WDW visitors many more opportunities to open their wallets and hand their money over to Mickey.
If you’d like a sneak peek at what Pleasure Island’s future may look like, then I suggest that you take a close look at Raglan Road. The way I hear it, this Irish pub & restaurant is now considered to be the prototype for what may happen next with this particular piece of WDW property.
Photo by Jeff Lange
Given how attractive the finished version of Raglan Road turned out to be (More importantly, given how popular this newly opened joint has already proven to be with both tourists and Orlando-area locals), I guess it’s easy to understand why Disney execs might be pointing to this pub/restaurant as an example of what could be done next with PI.
Though — truth be told — it’s not Raglan Road’s attractive design and/or those lines going out the door that makes Mouse House managers’ hearts go pitter-pat. But — rather — the fact that Raglan Road is owned and operated by Great Irish Pubs Florida, Inc. That’s the same Irish-owned corporation that previously built the insanely popular “Nine Fine Irishmen” pub & restaurant over at the New York-New York Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.
You see, the Great Irish Pubs Florida folks actually paid for the construction of Raglan Road. They also pay & train all of the pub/restaurant’s staff. So — in exchange for Disney agreeing to allow Raglan Road to be built on WDW property — the Mouse gets a heathly percentage of that establishment’s daily sales. In short, Mickey gets all of the money that he usually makes off of a club on PI but then doesn’t get stuck with any of the typical operational headaches.
Photo by Jeff Lange
This supposedly is what Disney wants to do next with Pleasure Island. Basically gut the place and then bring in a number of deep-pocketed leasees. Who’d then be willing to spend big bucks in order to build new showplace restaurants and shops that would be located right at the heart of Downtown Disney. From which Disney would then extract a sizable percentage of their on-property sales.
As to what this plan might mean to that old PI favorite, the Adventurers Club … I really don’t know what to tell you folks.
I mean, I know that the Adventurers Club is regularly booked for private functions (I.E. Major corporations looking to someplace special on property where they can then stage after-hour events for conventions, seminars, etc.). So that aspect of the AC might be enough to keep this part of Pleasure Island off the chopping block.
Photo by Jeff Lange
“But just how imminent is that makeover, Jim?,” you query. Well, based on what tech people who actually work at PI have been telling me, this change is supposedly coming sooner rather than later.
By that I mean: Many people who work in support positions on the island have reportedly already been told by senior staffers that they should probably start looking for other outside gigs. Which means that the decision to totally redo Pleasure Island could be coming down very, very soon.
Of course, this was the story that I was hearing before John Lasseter came on board as WDI’s new Principal Creative Advisor. So now … As to what impact Mr. Lasseter’s arrival at Walt Disney Imagineering might possibly have on this project … I really don’t want to speculate. Other than to hope that John is an Adventurers Club fan and that he uses his new-found clout to keep this PI favorite off of the soon-to-be-flattened list.
Anyway, that’s the scuttlebutt that’s been coming up from Central Florida lately about Pleasure Island’s fate. Here’s hoping that this PI sign is correct and that …
Photo by Jeff Lange
Your thoughts?
Did you like all of the images that were featured in today’s column? Well, if so, they were taken by JHM’s own photographer/archivist, Jeff Lange.
Speaking of Mr. Lange … Jeff has just released another title in his on-going series of Disney theme parks. This new disc is entitled “Jeff Lange Remembers … Fantasyland Classics” and features great footage from WDW favorites like “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” and “Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride.”
For further information on this disc as well as all of the other titles that Jeff has created, I suggest that you follow this link.
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