Pleasure Island: Dispelling the Myths

I must preface this article by stating the below information is based solely upon what I’ve been able to piece together since the closing of Pleasure Island.  Some of the information is based on fact or statements put out by Disney, while other information is based on discussions with cast members, guests, and well known insiders on discussion forums.  What follows is my observation of the big picture, which lead to the closing of the clubs at Pleasure Island.

The closing of Pleasure Island was a hotly debated topic within Disney and the fan community.  On the surface, reports of gangs, violence, declining revenue, families mingling with heavily intoxicated guests, and “guest demand” seemed to be the reason for the demise of the once wildly popular adult entertainment district.  I argue the true reason actually goes back to the lack of planning for the West Side. Continue after the break to find out why.

Pleasure Island operated exactly as intended with wild success.  Unfortunately, the West Side was built as a quick reaction to Universal’s CityWalk. They were in such a hurry to build it that they didn’t give much thought to the design of parking or lack of viable transportation options around Pleasure Island.  As attendance grew at Downtown Disney, these problems became more evident.

A series of management changes took place and in 2004, leading to a different philosophy for the island.  The first change was the removal of the turnstiles, allowing all guests to walk through at their leisure in an effort to increase foot traffic to the West Side. 2004 also saw the first permanent closing and repurposing of an existing club as the Pleasure Island Jazz Company was closed to make way for Raglan Road.  This was significant for 2 reasons: it was the first attempt at letting a 3rd party operate on the island and it assured the island would never be gated again.

2005-2007 saw a series of changes.  The nightly New Year’s Eve show was removed, the fireworks cut, the West End Stage torn down, advertising slashed, and the signature spotlights removed.  If there is a recipe for strangling the golden goose, that’s a pretty good start.

In summer 2007 Downtown Disney also had some negative press regarding teens/gangs hanging out and causing problems and there was even a pipe bomb found on a Monday morning. To be very clear, the teens were not on Pleasure Island, they were largely hanging out by the AMC theater.  Orange County Sheriff’s Department had been cracking down on gangs on 192 and feared they might have moved on to the theme park areas to congregate.  Disney immediately stepped up their enforcement and anyone spotted loitering was asked to leave.  Additionally, there was a pipe bomb bomb explosion in the parking lot shortly after midnight on a Sunday night several months after the gang crackdown.  It was not on Pleasure Island and hardly the result of people dancing and having a good time in clubs.

The next common reason for close stems from Disney’s “guest demand” statement.  They claim surveys were done and guests want more dining and shopping experiences.  If this were true, surveys can be easily turned to your advantage. However, I have it on good authority that these surveys never took place.

And finally, we come down to what matters most: revenue.  Was Pleasure Island’s revenue declining?  We’ll never know for sure, but most observers would agree the answer is yes. Was Pleasure Island still profitable? According to Kevin Lansberry, VP of Downtown Disney at the time, the answer was yes!  So why close a profitable venue?  To make MORE profit another way! Remember the opening of Raglan Road?  Disney took a club they operated, turned it into a 3rd party location where they could collect rent, and therefore increased profit.  After seeing the success of Raglan Road, they closed Rock N Roll Beach Club with presumably the same idea. Rumor has it a tenant snatched it up very quickly, leading management to come up with the idea(or be able to justify it to Burbank) to close all the clubs and lease the space out to 3rd parties.  That tenant reportedly dropped out after they closed the clubs since the clubs created the foot traffic that made it a good location.

So there you have it!  The West Side created a traffic flow problem, which lead to them un-gating the island, creating a successful 3rd party venue on the island, cutting the fireworks, slashing advertising, cutting entertainment, closing 1 club only to see the plot quickly snatched up, justifying closing to Burbank and just like that, the clubs are closed.

So what IS coming to PI? As discussed in the July 4th Downtown Disney segment of the DIS Unplugged podcast, we were promised a bold new vision of shopping and restaurants within 2 years, but after nearly 4, we have 2 demolished clubs replaced with grass and 3 empty buildings containing 5 closed clubs. Announcements such as Hyperion Wharf have fallen through and all we have is the hope that eventually something exciting will be done with the former club locations.

So what were your best memories of Pleasure Island? Do you miss it? Sound off below!


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6 responses to “Pleasure Island: Dispelling the Myths”

  1. OKW Lover Avatar
    OKW Lover

    Overall a very good description of how not to manage.

  2. FG Avatar
    FG

    I found this article while searching around for the reasons PI was shut down,, if this article is correct nothing could have saved PI once Eisner left in 2005.. The last paragraph in the article sums it up
    http://rickbassman.com/disneys-dark-side-with-michael-eisner-and-a-mean-mickey-mouse/
    Finally, I call Art. He asks me if I remember all of the conversations we’ve had, about both the generalities and specifics of what is wrong with Pleasure Island. And the ideas I’ve had to “fix” it? Well, of course I do. “Okay then,” Art says, “ready for your job description?” With eager anticipation, I answer “Yes!” “Alright,” Art replies, “go fuck this place up.” There is lots more in book, “Been There, Done That” on what “fuck this place up” means and how exactly I did that..

  3. Br Avatar
    Br

    Loved the place and need to open back up

  4. Ben Murk Avatar

    Make it a electronica themed, ecstasy popping drunken whore a thon like Miami Beach with the likes of Calvin Harris and the Deadmau5 dropping by have Electric Daisy Carnival move from the flea infested Orange Bowl into that area and you’ll see billions of dollars pour from the heavens as gold spurts from the ground. Just a thought 😛

  5. Chrissie Avatar
    Chrissie

    I miss the clubs, especially Adventurers Club. I mostly miss a place to go in Disney property to get away from kids for awhile, ya know? Keeping Mim and Dad happy is important too. A week of just kids everywhere gets to the hardiest soul. An adult break is nice. Now the cigar bar too? Hey Disney, you need adults to take all those kids to Your parks, give us a little reprieve so we can enjoy vacation too. I can’t understand why you alienate adults.

  6. James K Avatar
    James K

    I agree with Chrissie. The Adventurers Club was a truly unique place. Being from New York City, I am completely spoiled. We have everything! But we have nothing like the Adventurers Club. Never before, never after it was gone. I only visited Disney World twice (in modern times, my visit in 1981 doesn’t count) in 2003 and 2007 and I made it a point to leave some night time to hit the Adventurers Club. I’m glad I had the experience.
    Does anybody know of any entertainment experiences of a similar nature to the AC? I would enjoy trying to recapture that fun. Congaloosh!

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