First of, Nick T. writes in to say:
Dear Jim,
I really enjoyed the stories that you did earlier this week about about NYC’s “World of Disney” store . (I wish you’d given your Tri-State readers a heads-up that you were coming into the City this past weekend. I know that if I’d had some advance notice that you were coming, I’d have made a special trip into town just to meet you, Cory & Jeff. Maybe grab a bite to eat together so that we could all schmooze about the Mouse).
Speaking of eating, I was wondering if you could tell me something about one of my favorite dining spots in the city, the Jekyll and Hyde Club on Seventh Avenue. For years now, I’ve heard that this horror themed restaurant has had some sort of tie to the Walt Disney Company. But none of the staff at the club will ever talk about this whenever I ask them.
Which is why I turn to you, Mr. Hill. Do you know anything about NYC’s Jekyll & Hyde Club (which certainly looks like it belongs in a Disney theme park) and how this restaurant is tied to the Mouse?
Thanks in advance for your help, Jim. ( And seriously, the next time you’re headed into the City, let me know, okay? I’d be happy to buy you lunch at the Carnegie Deli sometime.)
Nick T.
Dear Nick,
Thanks for the kind offer of lunch at the Carnegie Deli. Which I may actually take you up on someday. (That’s one of the problems of living way-the-hell out here in the woods. Sure, you get to see some pretty amazing wildlife. Like the 11 turkeys that strolled up our driveway yesterday afternoon. But — that said — it’s still quite a schlep whenever you’re jonesing for kosher pickles & chicken liver.)
Anyway … You asked about NYC’s Jekyll & Hyde Club. Which I have to admit is a pretty fun place to eat. Yeah, this horror themed restaurant should seem familiar to Disney theme park fans. After all, much of the theming for this Manhattan eatry was “borrowed” directly from two WDW icons: The Adventurers Club at Pleasure Island and the Haunted Mansion at the Magic Kingdom.
Don’t believe me? Then take a look at this photo of the Grand Salon at the Jekyll & Hyde Club.
PHOTO BY JEFF LANGE
Please notice the large semi-nude statue of Zeus at the center of the room. Well, how many of you remember the statue that strikes a similar pose at the center of the main salon at WDW’s Adventurers Club?
Or — better yet — how about this picture of Fang the Gargoyle.
PHOTO BY JEFF LANGE
Who periodically comes to life and hassles the patrons at the restaurant. In much the same way that Colonel Critchlow Suchbench will suddenly awake from his nap and harass WDW visitors as they tour the Adventurers Club.
As for the atmosphere of the Jekyll & Hyde Club, that seems to have come straight from WDW’s Haunted Mansion. For example, the wall of its library are lined with portraits that make use of that old Rolly Crump gag (I.E. Their eyes seem follow your every move). And — every so often — an animatronic band of ghouls suddenly come to life, playing oddily appropriate songs like Warren Zevon’s “Werewolves of London” and Right Said Fred’s “I’m Too Sexy.”
PHOTO BY JEFF LANGE
Okay, I know. I can hear the more kind-hearted of you JHM readers out there saying stuff like: “Oh, Jim. It’s just a co-incidence that NYC’s Jekyll & Hyde Club has all of these Disney-esque elements. I mean, it’s not like the Mouse actually has a copyright on portraits with moving eyes and/or animatronics.”
Well, what if I were to tell you that the guy who helped create NYC’s Jekyll & Hyde Club was a former WDW cast member? More importantly, that this gentleman (who wrote many of the sketches that are performed at the restaurant) actually once worked at the Adventurers Club? As a member of the opening cast of that Pleasure Island nightclub no less?
So is it really a co-incidence that this Manhattan eatry features many of the same show elements as the Adventurers Club? That its design seems to be heavily influenced by that Disney theme park favorite, the Haunted Mansion? I’ll let you be the judge of that.
PHOTO BY JEFF LANGE
Anyway … If you’re looking for an unusual place to dine the next time you’re in Manhattan, you might want to go check out the Jekyll & Hyde Club. A little slice of Orlando just down the street from Central Park.
If you’d like further information on the Jekyll & Hyde Club (And/or if you’d like to see additional photos that will give you a real sense of just how much this horror themed restaurant “borrows” from Disney’s Haunted Mansion attraction as well as WDW’s Adventurers Club), we suggest that you follow this link to the official Jekyll & Hyde Club website. Which will give you the restaurant’s operating hours, tell you how to book birthday parties in advance, etc.
And — speaking of Disney attractions — LanaLovesLois writes in to ask:
Jim:
About 10 years ago, I remember hearing that Epcot’s World Showcase was supposed to get a Russian pavilion. Whatever happened to that plan?
Dear LanaLovesLois:
Yeah, the Imagineers had a really great plan already to go. I mean, take a look at this killer concept painting:
CONCEPT PHOTO COURTESY OF DISNEY WORLD PUBLICITY
Originally envisioned as one of the signature pieces of the Disney Decade (You know? That ambitious expansion plan that Michael Eisner announced in the late 1980s which detailed all of the cool stuff that the Mouse was going to add to its theme parks during the 1990s? Only to have just a handful of these projects actually ever make it off the drawing board? Anyway … ), this elaborate Epcot addition would have been impressive, to say the least. Its St. Basil’s inspired central building was to have housed “Let the Bells of Freedom Ring,” a Soviet history show which — just like “The American Adventure” — was to have featured a clever mix of film & audio animatronics. This proposed World Showcase pavilion was also to have housed a kid-friendly dark ride, where Epcot visitors would have boarded brightly colored sleds & slid past scenes from Russian folklore.
Sounds like a pretty snazzy addition to that theme park, doesn’t it? So why didn’t Epcot ever get its Russian pavilion? To be honest, it was mostly because a suitable Soviet sponsor never came forward to pick up the projected construction & operational costs of this proposed World Showcase addition.
CONCEPT PHOTO COURTESY OF DISNEY WORLD PUBLICITY
This situation (as I understand it) was very similiar to the dilemma that Walt Disney Productions faced in the mid-to-late 1980s. When the Imagineers had an African pavilion all designed & ready to go. Only to find that the only companies who were willing to come forward and underwrite the construction of this proposed World Showcase addition were corporations that were based in South Africa. Which — thanks to that country’s apartheid policy — Disney didn’t view any South African companies as suitable partners for any Epcot projects. Which is why World Showcase’s African pavilion never came into being.
As for Epcot’s soviet pavilion … I’m told that the companies (in the late 1980s / early 1990s, anyway) who approached the Mouse about underwiting the cost of constructing this proposed World Showcase addition all had ties to the Russian mob. Which understandably made Mickey reluctant to accept their money.
Of course, one can always hope that some African company that DOESN’T have ties to controversial policies will eventually come forward and say: “I’d like to underwrite the cost of building Epcot’s Africa pavilion” and/or some enterprising & honest Soviet entrepeneur will whip out his checkbook and say: “How much would you need to build Epcot’s Russia pavilion?” But given current socio-economic conditions in these corners of the globe … Well, I wouldn’t hold my breath.
And — speaking of far-flung corners of the map — UglyPugDog writes in to ask:
Wasn’t Disney supposed to build another couple of hotels down along Seven Seas Lagoon? I remember reading somewhere that — back in the late 1960s — that the Walt Disney Company had all these plans for additional monorail hotels at Disney World. If I’m remembering correctly, one was supposed to be Persian-themed. While another (which I think was supposed to be built where the Grand Flo is now) would have been Thai-themed. While still another was supposed to have been Venetian-themed. Or was that Mediterranean-themed?
Whatever became of all these plans, Jim?
UglyPugDog:
Well, at least in the case of WDW’s proposed Venetian-themed hotel, the problem wasn’t that the Mouse had lost all enthusiasm for the project. In fact, for years now, Disney has desperately wanted to build a new resort along that weird piece of waterfront property that stretches from the TTC all the way to the Contemporary Resort. They know that tourists would pay top dollar for a room that would offer that sort of view of Seven Seas Lagoon.
The only problem is this piece of Disney World property is ridiculously swampy. “How swampy?,” you ask. So swampy that — on three separate occassions, when Disney’s engineers drove concrete pilings into the ground, to see if this area along Seven Seas Lagoon would be a stable enough spot to support a new resort — these test footings disappeared. Sinking straight down into the ground, never to be seen again.
Which is why the Mouse abandoned its plans to build a Venetian-themed hotel (Which was to have been a super-sized resort, something similar in size & weight to the Contemporary) and opted to go with something smaller: the Mediterranean resort hotel.
CONCEPT PHOTO COURTESY OF DISNEY WORLD PUBLICITY
As you can see by this photograph of a model of WDW’s proposed Mediterranean hotel, this would have been a much smaller project which would have occupied a much smaller footprint. Which Disney’s engineers hoped would make the safe construction of this resort along Seven Seas Lagoon possible. But when the test footings for this proposed WDW addition also disappeared into the mud, never to be seen again, Mickey finally had to admit defeat.
Which is why this stretch of Disney World’s waterfront — with its primo view of the Magic Kingdom — remains hotel-free. Mind you, the Imagineers remain hopefully that maybe someday a construction technique will be invented that will allow the Mouse to built a massive new resort on this soggy piece of property. But until that day comes, this corner of Seven Seas Lagoon remains hotel-free.
And — speaking of building new things: Remember how I told you folks that I’d give you a heads-up when former JHM columnist Chuck Oberleitner returned to the Web? Well, I’m pleased to report that Chuck has finally resurfaced. And that — rather than write for someone else on the Internet — Mr. Oberleitner has decided to start up his very website: www.o-meon.com
If you follow the above link, you’ll get to check out what is basically the beta version of Chuck’s site. O-meon.com’s official unveiling isn’t supposed to happen ’til Tuesday, November 9th. But — if you drop by the site right now — you’ll see that Mr. Oberleitner has put together a story that talks about the 50th anniversary of Disney’s weekly TV series. Which (not-so-co-incidentally) was actually this past Wednesday.
So — if you want a really good read — we suggest that you regularly drop by www.o-mean.com and see what Chuck is up to. I’m sure that Mr. Oberleitner will have plenty of stories to interest Disneyana fans in the weeks & months ahead.
Anywho … That’s it for this week, folks. Here’s hoping that you all have a safe & happy Halloween. Please remember to set your clocks back on Saturday night … And I guess we’ll talk again come Monday, okay?
j