The audio sucks. I know it. You know it. But luckily, it gets better. Please don't let it turn you away, as every episode starting with Back to the Future should be better than this weird low-pitched whisper. Thank you all for watching regardless!
the Imagineers put so much backstory into rides and attractions that most people never know about. I've heard on *extremely* rare occasions, Constance Hatchaway will appear as a walk-around character outside Haunted Mansion near Halloween. I think Disney needs to realize how much diehard fans would appreciate getting to meet the members of the Society for Explorers and Adventurers
Disney: *builds an oasis for parents so they can get away from the kids for awhile* Universal: *has equal number of things for families and for adults* Disney: *destroys adult oasis, then notices more adults going to Universal*
@@vaderladyl When we lived there, there was no equal to Halloween Horror nights at Universal. It was like their time to really show what they could do to scare the pants off parents. "Hells Kitchen" was the best haunted house, ever.
I remember a Simpsons episode with the whole Pleasure Island thing and one of the clubs has "New years every hour" and Marge tells one of the waiters "isn't great you get to ring in the new year all the time " and the waiter lets out a weak "kill me"
I was actually working at Pleasure Island at the time that aired and lived with a few other folks who did as well. When we saw that we were absolutely crying laughing. We're almost certain that the Simpsons writers had been to the island, asked that question, and got that exact response. All in fun, of course. I loved that place :)
I had always assumed Pleasure Island was a reference to Pleasure Island from Pinocchio. It was super cool to learn about that entire backstory Disney created!
Dude same here and my parents said that place was for adults only so I never gave it another thought. No way in hell was I gonna get turned into a jackass. XP
Kooky Oliver I thought the same thing when I was little, and my crying and screaming prevented my parents from going there during the last couple of years it was open because I was afraid they would turn into donkey people.
When I was a kid I didn't care about turning into a donkey, I'd have still loved to go to Pleasure Island. All that smoking and breaking stained glass windows, you can't beat it. I've no doubt it was an intentional reference to the Pinocchio one, the backstory would have been created after the name.
I swear the title was based off Pinocchio! But it made it all the more intimating, especially with Jessica Rabbit up there lol, but dang, those old 90's night clubs look fun! :D
From my first experience at the Adventurer's Club, I was hooked. I revisited this club with every visit to Disney World. With each visit, the shows were different. The cast members told me that they often had to tame-down their jokes because so many families were bringing their young children--which was obviously not appropriate. Toward the end, the jokes were nearly gone altogether. It is my theory that spoiled children ruined Pleasure Island.
Probably wouldn't do good to ban everyone under the age of 18, but I think probably promoting the park as being more adult oriented after 8 p.m. would make sense.
Imo if they brought kids there they shouldn't have been upset about the inappropriate jokes. My mom took me to more "adult" outings all the time (what can you do as a single mom whose job is working with people I guess) and never belittled anyone for making a dirty jokes around me because it's her responsibility for taking me there. I don't know, maybe I was a genius kid or something but I knew what was inappropriate enough for me to not repeat so it wasn't a problem.
Agreed. Being born in 89, my parents never even brought me and my sister near the adult nightclubs. I can’t imagine why you would bring children inside which is essentially a bar.
The fact that there was a Jessica Rabbit themed shop makes me so sad. She’s one of my favorite characters and you can’t find any JR merch these days.....
Most you can get I find is the rare JR statuettes in the animation shops, and last I remember the ACME Warehouse selling actual merch in MGM Studios (Or whatever it's being called these days.)
@@dragontales1999 That's the entire point of her character though, her famous quote is: "I'm not bad, I'm just drawn that way." The fact that she looks mature and sexy makes everyone think that she couldn't possibly really love Roger Rabbit. To everyone else she seems suspicious and she is believed to be the culprit or a helper in the framing of Roger, but the movie emphasizes that the way she looks isn't a representative of who she is. She is sweet, caring, nice and loves Roger above all else. That's what makes her character so great and so loved, the fact that she despite her oversexualized drawn physique, is actually a good person who doesn't want to perceived in the way she is. Jessicas look featured a lot of the classic "mean girl" or "villain" features, but she was the exact opposite. And honestly teaching that lesson to kids isn't bad. She's basically a symbol of; "you can't judge a book by it's cover".
Way back in the early 90's i was a dancer at Mannequins. It was great! From what I remember during the week it was always dead except on castmember night and the weekends were busy but drunk tourist are worse than regular drunks at a local bar/club.
How mas the club overall? It looks like by far the club at Paradise Island that I'd spend my time at. From what I hear, it also had, at the time, the best sound system that money could buy (literally.)
I was actually very indifferent about Pleasure Island as a whole mainly because I just never cared about nightclubs but I do think it was a crime to axe the Adventurers club. They should've at least kept that even if it didn't really fit anymore
I think the concept of a more adult area of the park is an awesome idea that could have worked. It does look aspects of it were pretty tacky. The Adventure Club looked awesome though. They should have just kept that and brought in more experiential based clubs and some upscale themed restaurants. That way adults of all ages felt welcomed and not just teeny boppers. Im in my 20s and part of a generation that was very Disneycentric. We would eat something like this up. They closed up shop too soon.
@@ShannaFarley Agreed! Especially with Disney in Instagram culture... I'm also in my mid-twenties and I think that would sell. But they are bringing alcohol (crazy) to Disneyland supposedly soon? And they have a club and cabaret at Disney Springs now too...
My sister is a Disney cast member and was at Disney Springs for the last couple months. According to older cast members who were around back then, one of the leading reasons for Pleasure Island closing was that gangs were starting to crop up there and that it was a bad look for them.
That’s an often misrepresented statement. there have been plenty of issues after PI closed. They could have kept the island gated and made pathways around it but they chose not to. Literally everything they have done to create Disney Springs could have been done. They wanted to play landlord, they wanted out of the night club business, and they made purposely bad decisions to justify closing the clubs. The success of Raglan Road lead them to close RRBC and when they apparently had a quick bid for that location from a third party vendor that was the true nail in the coffin. Then they hid it all behind “guest feedback” What they didn’t count on was the economy crashing. They thought they would have all kinds of offers for tenants and that didn’t happen. Thus the clubs sat painfully empty for years.
It's pretty challenging to sell attractions nowadays though. With HD videos and the internet where you can download any Mickey Mouse content as much as you want, the novelty of the attractions diminished. Being that Disney lately invested so much on cinema, the next attraction they can introduce is probably something that will outdo Imax theaters. The idea of watching MCU and Star Wars on a big ass screen in Disneyland is quite attractive. But then again, I remember Disneyland used to have such a theater as well but they got rid of it because people thought it was boring and it was in the 90s. So I don't know.
@@myman7589 I'm not paying airfare plus the ticket prices they're charging to sit and watch a glorified imax... But hey if that's the new model they wanna go with it is what it is.
I'm glad someone brought this up - I thought I was going crazy. I could have sworn I remembered the sad, empty facade of the Adventurer's Club still being there on my last trip. Good to know I wasn't imagining it, LOL!
The architects they chose for the adventurers club backstory are all real. Edwin Luytens designed some of the grandest buildings in the UK and India in his time including the Rashtrapati Bhavan (India's Presidential Palace), Castle Drogo in Devon, London's Cenotaph Monument, And the Parliament Building of India. Rennie MacIntosh, had a somewhat severe abstract style and was a celebrated artist as much as an architect. The signage for his Willow Tea Rooms inspired the unsettling Willow ITC font used for the show American Horror Story. Saarinen did most of his major work in Helsinki, but the real story is his son Eero who would go on to design The Gateway Arch in St Louis, MO.
I remember my trip to Disneyworld as a kid in '97, I remember going to a place with a lot of music and dancing, and then I recently looked at the old footage from the trip and I realized I was that I actually went to pleasure island. It's cool to learn more about it. It was a cool place, I remember there was a tabasco sauce store there and that was the one thing that stuck out in my mind when I thought about it. There is footage of my grandpa dancing to country music at Pleasure Island too. Man such good memories. :)
Interesting! I went there in December '97 and remember that the map for Downtown Disney showed Pleasure Island as a "21+ only" area. But now that I'm seeing all the stuff in there, I think I actually did get into Pleasure Island: my dad & I went to watch the Alien Resurrection movie at the AMC theater! It also looks like something I would've enjoyed as an adult. But it's no longer there. :(
I was at pleasure island a couple of times as a kid, I remember all of these places. I had to go with them, where were they supposed to get a babysitter while out of town? My parents explained to me that this was something for them to do but I had fun too.
I remember going as a kid too! It was kind of surreal to watch the area transition into something completely different as I grew up. I remember walking alongside my sister's stroller past the nightclubs with my parents to go see a guy play the Spanish guitar near the bridge. Those are such great memories that I still cherish!
Always sad when things get scrapped for "family friendly" stuff. The entirety of Disney is family friendly, why can't people without kids have a place where they don't have to be annoyed?
DubVUChyea I don't think they're aiming for being family friendly. I think that's just a buzzword that they can use to turn the entire attraction into a commercial for their already overly advertised and heavily featured films.
Not to mention that a big part of the Disney Channel productions and all of their sitcoms are directly marketed towards tweens and teens so a place like Videopolis would still be viable today if they put in the effort.
Disney Springs is starting to somewhat embrace an adult side again in my opinion, recently The Edison opened with an Adult-Only Cabernet starting around 10pm.
To be fair, dance clubs have not been nearly as popular as they used to be. But I feel your sentiment, DubVUChyea. The Adventurers Club sounded neat. I'd loved to have visited that.
I enjoyed this two-part series. Having been a part of the team that built Pleasure Island, it holds a special place in my heart. I actually got to meet Michael Eisner one day during his visit to check on our progress. Thanks for posting.
I love videos of the Adventure Club. It truly was a unique place and still had the Disney touch. I hear some of the props are at The Jungle Cruse at Disney World. Thanks for a good report.
I think it's so bizarre that Disney thought to make a "get-away" island for adults... a place where Mom and Dad could sneak away to and have some groovy, adult drinkin' fun and take a break from all the goofy childishness that is Disney World... only to populate it with ultra corny, goofy childishness. But I guess I'm just a big stick in the mud.
Children could enter everything except Mannequin with their parents. Some of my fondest memories of WDW vacations from my childhood were at Pleasure Island. It wasn’t supposed to be a “get-away”. It was built so people wouldn’t get away!
@@tiffprendergast Indeed, the Edison is an excellent venue. But I still would like them to open a themed restaurant that has the same ambiance as the Adventure's Club.
Wow.... thanks for making this video. You have no idea the intense nostalgia I felt when watching this. Some of my most happiest and euphoric moments were spent at Plearsure Island during the early 2000s (expecially at Mannequins and during Devi8 Thursdays). I moved to the UK in 2008, so I had no idea that Pleasure Island closed down. I do honestly feel a sense of loss...and makes the old adage 'You can't go home again' even that much more salient and poignant!
I remember visiting a shop on the island, it was the first place I'd ever seen an "air plant" that doesn't need soil to grow, and treasured memory since I love bio/life science. But I also know for fact that I have been inside the Adventurer's Club, because the masks terrified me, but the animatronic "explorer guy" seen in your first frames of the club, cheered me up again, and I remember the club's creed, because I have several photos of it, and both my parents are in the photo, and in the blurry off center photo, my dad is holding a prize he won for me at a game nearby. There were rubber frogs that were sat on launchers, and you had to smack the launcher with a mallet to land the frog into a lily-pad bowl. The prize was a standard carnival plushie, bigger than I was, a purple frog. This game was somewhere near the shop we had gone into. Again, I was in 4th grade when we took this trip.
This might add to the child friendly issue but I thought Pleasure Island also closed due to violent drunk fights in the parking lot of Downtown Disney as well.
This was great, I never got to experience Pleasure Island but it looked like a fantastic experience and the storyline behind each of the clubs was heavily detailed
"The Cat Got Dead" is originally by Heywood Banks. He's still active in the Midwest. His best-known songs are probably "Yeah Toast" and "18 Wheels on a Big Rig." Both are hilarious.
Same. By the time I was old enough to drink, I was low on cash and still in college. By the time I was earning enough cash to pay for a trip to Orlando, Pleasure Island was closing. Crap.
With Disney Quest closing shortly after the opening of Disney Springs, it would seem only fitting to do a Defunctland episode on it, especially to shed some light on the aging technology and aesthetics of the facility. P L E A S E do an episode on it!!
Great video! I would add that the opening of the west side, 9/11 hurting their sales numbers, and subsequent opening of the island without gates even at night is what caused the downfall... The decision to open the island was June 2004 to appease the west side merchants was truly the beginning of the end followed by Iger coming in.
I just found your channel and would LOVE if you did a whole story on The Adventures Club. My parents used to take me there all the time as a kid, and I really wish I had visited them again as an Adult so I could really understand and enjoy them. Good job on all your finds and please keep up the excellent work!
I moved to FL on the tail-end of the Pleasure Island thing. My mum mentioned how she and my dad went to one of the clubs there when we first moved here or something and she was sad to see them go. I for one was glad it changed because very young me was always so of scared of the Pleasure Island side of Downtown Disney. Thinking about Pleasure Island does make me feel nostalgic and I wish they kept the Virgin store that was next to the AMC 24, because they had a bunch of manga in the upstairs floor and a small games section in the ground floor. It’s now a bowling alley. :/ Also something to point out is that some of the clubs like Adventurers Club when they closed down sort of just sat there, abandoned in a way, which probably fueled my fear of Pleasure Island and didn’t enjoy walking that area of the park at night as a kid lol.
Quite lovely video, although from your last video I was under the misconception that this one would be solely devoted to the Adventures' Club. I'd love to see one on it, as you teased in this video, because I can't think of a RUclips video on that club's history. I too would have loved to have seen it, alas the closest I got was listening to podcasts about and watching videos recorded by guests.
Knowing the actors still get together as these characters is kinda heartbreaking. The adventurer's club especially seemed like a wonderful show to be a part of.
I went to Paradise Island in 1998-1990. I get why they closed. It was very "out of character" for the whole Disney brand, and the nights we were there, not a lot of people, but I'm sure they had good days. The places themselves were totally fine, the usual "high quality" stuff from Disney, but I don't think they defined the clientele enough. You weren't sure if it was the 20-30somethings that should go there to party, or the parents looking for a night away from the kids. VERY different crowds, and it wasn't distinguished by the brands of the clubs. Great concept, too bad they couldn't figure things out on this one. LOVE Disney World, looking forward to taking my kid one day ;-)
Sublime. Very enjoyable memories of Pleasure Island. Thank you for bringing all that back. And, especially reading all the placards of the "history" of Pleasure Island and the Pleasure family. I believe the ball was dropped on this concept. It was a joy for all of us older Disney fans to come to this place. Closing it was tragic.
Playing catch-up on all your videos. Man, I loved Pleasure Island. Had an "annual pass," which got me in for free all year, and let me bring in a guest for free on Friday nights.
I can't thank you enough, Kevin. I grew up in Orlando in the 80s, and spent a lot of time at WDW and Pleasure Island. My best friend's girlfriend was a waitress at The Fireworks Factory restaurant on opening day. I really enjoy your videos. Please keep them coming. :)
It just came back to me that a knight state I've owned for years actually came from Disney Village shops. In returning to frequent DW visits with my daughter I'm shocked by how much has changed and the story behind it. You do good work sir.
My first trip to Disney was in 1996 with the folks. Was only 12 so unfortunately could not visit pleasure island although we walked in around it during the day. Now 33 and sad its to see its gone. But it is understandable time moves on and it lasted a hell of a long time.
Definitely, the Adventurers Club was amazing and deserves it own spot in Defunuctland...I still hold out hope it will come back in some form even though the realistic side of me knows that is shortsighted.
My grandparents have told me about all of the old/removed disney places, got me into this channel. I do want to show them it cuz they don’t know what happened to it, but experienced it in it’s fullest. They even hit up old universal and took a picture while on the jaws ride. Apparently now it gets too crowded for Disney to be fun, and I really wish that i could’ve experienced it. Went in 2012 and 2014, was a little less than 10 for both times tho.
The choir I’m in (Confederation Centre Youth Chorus, If you’re wondering- no, the name is not associated with racism, we’re Canadian and the word has a very different meaning here) sang at Disney Springs a couple times! Apparently the first time was terrible (someone loudly sang the lyrics wrong in a very recognizable song, ruining everything) but the second time- the one I was actually there for- went significantly better!!!
The Adventurers Club...I went in 2004. I was just a kid, but dad and I had so much. I couldn't wait to return years later to enjoy an alcoholic drink, but it was not to be. You think you're over something, only to have that loss return, piercing like just happened. Thank you for this video, it brought up so many memories I'd thought I'd forgotten. Going to WDW this year, I take solace in knowing some fragments of the Adventurers Club survive in the Skippers Canteen in Adventureland, in a dessert, kungaloosh!
I was an avid islander since I was 19, even meet my wife at The Beach Club. My theory of a big part of its demise, is when they removed the turnstiles and regular families with little ones could just come onto the island among the drunks stumbling out of the clubs. Man thanks for this brought back a ton of memories.
I found the extra terrorestrial alien animatronic on the Tokyo Disneysea journey to the center of the earth ride, it is now labeled as the lava monster
I think this was addressed in the Debunk land video here at Defunctland Channel. It probably wasn't the alien as disney sea opend at 2001 along woth the ride while extra terrestrial closed at 2003. I saw the monster at Disney sea. Awesome👍
I went to Disney for the first time when I was 16. That was back in 1990 and Pleasure Island was new and had huge amounts of Marketing all over the place. We stayed in a hotel off property but near enough that I could see it from my room and hear the music and fireworks. It seems like a happening place and I thought it was cool that Parents had a place to go that was not filled with the kid crap all over the rest of the parks. Fast Forward to this May. I returned to Orlando for the first time in 30 years for a conference. We went to Disney Springs for dinner and I began to see these buildings and places that I had looked at from that hotel balcony years before. I am not a Disney fan so had no idea they had remodeled PI. I realized this was the Island I had seen and it was now a big outdoor mall. Its very nice and the Restaurants and shops seemed busy, but it had no real life. It was just like the mall near my home. Kind of encapsulated Disney as far as I am concerned. Style over Substance with an enormous price tag.
So many good memories of having fun at Pleasure Island. We went there every night whenever we went to Disney. We loved being able to hop from one club to another all night.
I actually remember me and my mum walking through pleasure island when I was little. I always thought i was so "grown up" going near the adult clubs and bars 😅 They could have kept Adventurers Club intact and I honestly never knew about the rich backstory of the island. My mum thought the clubs were only for adults so sadly I never got to experience any of them but I just enjoyed the sights and music of it all.
I just remembered I was there on the last night on 2008, I had been coming there about once a year for almost two decades back when my parents took me to, didn’t realize it was nightand I vaguely remember this conversation with my older brother after the firework show: We have to leave? Yeah Pleasure Island is closed. We can come back tomorrow. No it’s closing for good. You mean this was the last night ever? Yeah.
Honestly, a place "kids free" is exactly what Disney Springs needs. I've only known that place as Disney Springs and I'm kinda disappointed that I didn't get to experience Pleasure Island. Now I'm 21, still love Disney World but wish that there was something more mature for the adults to experience. Man, Michel Eisner wasn't so bad after all...
He had great ideas, but they were just poorly executed and not thought out. He acted on spontaneous thoughts. That's why so much stuff he put into place failed immediately or had a slow burn before fizzling out.
Great video! I used to play the Pleasure Island Jazz Company four nights a week for many years. Those were the days! Great job on the history. You could have mentioned Universal’s City Walk as competition.
Void of Space and Time i rather have something like the adventurers club then another "amazing" rollercoaster trying to outspeed the previous ones or other adrenaline-rushing monsters
Yup. Agreed. I loved Universal Studios in the 1990's. I've been there a few times. My last time was in 2015 and it just wasn't the same (although I really did like the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.) All the rides have a "sameiness" to them...Shreck, Minions, Spiderman...they are all the same type of ride. I miss Back to the Future, the Alfred Hitchcock exhibit, Earthquake, etc. The past 2 decades have just sucked.
Your channel is amazing! Great reviews of past Disney memories. Pleasure Island holds a special place in my heart. I first went when I was on the Disney College Program. I think there was a lot of underage drinking going on. I was under 21 but could still go into the clubs that served alcohol. The over 21 crowd just wore wristbands. We could hear the fireworks going off every night at midnight from our CP apartments across the freeway. Once they took down the barrier for families to walk through the club area, it wasn't the same. Strollers kinda kill the nightclub vibe.
I was on Pleasure Island New Year's Eve 1992. This was part of our honeymoon so we'd planned it months in advance - the tickets were like something from Willy Wonka. On the shuttle bus to the entrance there was a guy going on about how excited he was to be there and couldn't believe he could just walk right in on the actual New Year's Eve. That's when everyone else started pulling out their oversized shiny tickets to show him. He looked around the bus, then finally settled on me, as I was the only person who hadn't reached in my purse. Finally I shrugged and produced my ticket. I thought the poor guy would cry right there. And no, he didn't get in. Because it was actually New Year's, they built two giant outdoor stages in addition to the clubs. The Fabulous Thunderbirds were on one of them, and I'm pretty sure Sheena Easton was on the other. It was FANTASTIC. My only complaint was that the entire island was literally shoulder to shoulder. They let WAY too many people in, so it was next to impossible to see everything. And because it was such an overwhelming party it was difficult to appreciate the theme of Merryweather Pleasure - it was all rendered into kaleidoscopic nonsense before too long. It's a small complaint - free champagne was flowing (when you could find some), and the overall attitude was one of "anything goes". I always meant to go back, but ... life, you know? I'm glad I saw it that one time! but I really wish I'd had a chance to see it under more "normal" circumstances.
I am so, so desperate for you to revisit this concept because I'm fascinated by Pleasure Island and I want so much more. But I will always love coming back to this video.
If you ever decide to update/expand you need to dive into one of the biggest reasons the nightclubs closed, the crowds were getting unruly and gangs started to show up to party. Not charging for attending like a theme park caught up with the island.
Damn. Now I'm having fond memories of when Erik Dennison did a stint of DJing at the Island. Man, he had the best music radio show ever - Sunday Night Vinyl. Your videos are making me have strong nostalgia of Orlando in the 90s. Thank you!
Michael Eisner had a variety of flaws but one thing he truly understood was how to appeal to all demographics, and give each of them their own space to truly let loose. With the revival of 80s culture and aesthetic today, I can only imagine how much revenue Disney could’ve received had they maintained a slice of true 80s history with the nightclubs. It’s a damn shame really.
Great video. I went once around 2000 with a bunch of friends who were all in town for the same event and found Orlando’s indigenous clubs sorely lacking. We had a great time. Much was drank. A few observations - 1. Because the whole area is private property you could drink anywhere and every where. They were selling shots from carts in the ‘street’. Which feels so wrong compared to the rest of the US where openly drinking alcohol in public is outlawed. 2. Because of the countdown thing, a lot of tourist families that had multi day passes came to Pleasure Island, as kids were allowed in the ‘street’ parts (not enter the clubs). But given #1 above, this was also weird. My friends drunk off their butts at 11:45 downing shots while families in tourist wear were walking by....
I went to Pleasure Island I think in 2006. It was downtown Disney then but I remember the Neon Armadillo. I remember Cage and 8 Traxx. We had drifted into each of the clubs when we were bar-hopping. On a weeknight in off-season it was packed with people spending money hand-over-fist. Compared to the rest of Downtown Disney it was where the money was being made. It was incredible. Basically they asked imagines who has never been clubbing what nightclubs should be like, so holographic light shows, costumed dancers, spinning dance floors, pyro, insane cocktails. It was also the most unDisney thing I had ever experienced. Nothing but beautiful 20-somethings in sexy clothing getting hammered, taking jello shots in the middle of the walkways, drinking games in the clubs and a Jessica Rabbit costumed MC. And honestly I think that wild atmosphere is why Disney killed it. Even being separated by a bridge didn't change how off-kilter the demeanor of Pleasure Island was.
With the (relatively) new sit-down restaurant at Jungle Cruise, Skipper Canteen, you can get the flavor of the Adventurer's Club, but the one loss I just cannot get over is the improv club! Why oh why oh why did Disney have to take that from me?!?!?!? I've tried the one in downtown Orlando, but it's just not the same. I had one of my best Disney nights EVER at Comedy Warehouse when they took one of the most embarrassing moments of my life involving attending church and having lunch with my future in laws, a tenacious and possibly possessed bumble bee, and my utter eternal mortification and turned it into pure comedy gold that had the whole club in an uproar. (Closing line of the song they made up: Dear Lord, thank you for answerin' my prayers and leavin' a nekkid woman on my stairs!) I know Chicago is supposed to be THE city for improv comedy and thus the twining of improv and tourism, but I've never found any shows that can consistently top the quality once offered by Comedy Warehouse at PI. Oh, the days...er, nights!
This is an interesting miniseries. I had no idea the clubs at Pleasure Island had such an elaborate and fabricated backstory. Going up in Florida I used to see commercials and advertisements for Pleasure Island all the time during its most popular years, but the only time I ever went there was in the daytime when I was already ready at what was then Downtown Disney. So I found this video interesting. And I didn't have any problems hearing the audio. If you fixed it, you did a good job.
I loved the pleasure island sign so much! I first went to Disney when I was 14 and Jessica rabbit has always been one of my favorites, I took multiple photos of it.
My wife used to love the Adventurers Club - I never got a chance to go myself, though last December she took me on a tour of Disney Springs where she showed me where everything used to be.
Wild to watch this video nowadays and hear Kevin say he hopes this "longer" video made the audience happy, especially after coming from one of his recent documentaries! I love that for him
Something weird happened in the early 2000s and people started to be more sedentary and not dance as much. For someone who has just recently discovered the pleasures of dancing, I'm having to do it with 60+-year-olds who still remember how much fun it was.
I really enjoyed the Adventures Club. We went several nights in a row just to try to catch the whole show. We would riff with the cast, telling jokes. After the second night, our drinks were comped. One of our crew was told to put in an application for a job. Now, alas, all a memory.
The Adventurers Club was one of the greatest places in all of Walt Disney World. The rest of pleasure island is lame and I was glad when it went (comedy warehouse was pretty funny too) but The Adventurers Club will always be remembered for greatness.
The audio sucks. I know it. You know it. But luckily, it gets better. Please don't let it turn you away, as every episode starting with Back to the Future should be better than this weird low-pitched whisper. Thank you all for watching regardless!
Defunctland not even that! What the hell is that music?
The music is an instrumental of Rozalla's Everybody's Free, the last song to be played on Pleasure Island.
Defunctland I like the cover by Aquagen ft Rozalla
It honestly sounded like a voice changer and thought my earbuds where broken
Binge watching these are weird. The video goes from Defunctland to Delocated pretty strongly at 6:00
Seriously though, on the night they closed it down, Merryweather Pleasure should've shown up with a long ass beard like "what happened to my island?"
That's the long game.
@@ctdaniels7049 that would of been beautiful.
the Imagineers put so much backstory into rides and attractions that most people never know about. I've heard on *extremely* rare occasions, Constance Hatchaway will appear as a walk-around character outside Haunted Mansion near Halloween. I think Disney needs to realize how much diehard fans would appreciate getting to meet the members of the Society for Explorers and Adventurers
Disney: *builds an oasis for parents so they can get away from the kids for awhile*
Universal: *has equal number of things for families and for adults*
Disney: *destroys adult oasis, then notices more adults going to Universal*
We in Florida actually refer to Universal as the more adult friendly of the two resorts.
@@vaderladyl When we lived there, there was no equal to Halloween Horror nights at Universal. It was like their time to really show what they could do to scare the pants off parents. "Hells Kitchen" was the best haunted house, ever.
@@christophersmith4897 Indeed. I remember the good old days of Horror Nights.
I remember a Simpsons episode with the whole Pleasure Island thing and one of the clubs has "New years every hour" and Marge tells one of the waiters "isn't great you get to ring in the new year all the time " and the waiter lets out a weak "kill me"
Came here to post this
Wow 300+ likes thanks :)
Then later security is alerted to “another jumper” on the roof. That and a lack of BORT license plates in the gift shop.
I was thinking about the Wolfman rock and roll and motorcycle club. Well, that dream is over...
I was actually working at Pleasure Island at the time that aired and lived with a few other folks who did as well. When we saw that we were absolutely crying laughing. We're almost certain that the Simpsons writers had been to the island, asked that question, and got that exact response.
All in fun, of course. I loved that place :)
I had always assumed Pleasure Island was a reference to Pleasure Island from Pinocchio. It was super cool to learn about that entire backstory Disney created!
Dude same here and my parents said that place was for adults only so I never gave it another thought. No way in hell was I gonna get turned into a jackass. XP
literally same, I was pissed scared to go there when I was a kid. Kinda sucks they closed it, it seems like my kinda place now that im older
Kooky Oliver I thought the same thing when I was little, and my crying and screaming prevented my parents from going there during the last couple of years it was open because I was afraid they would turn into donkey people.
When I was a kid I didn't care about turning into a donkey, I'd have still loved to go to Pleasure Island. All that smoking and breaking stained glass windows, you can't beat it. I've no doubt it was an intentional reference to the Pinocchio one, the backstory would have been created after the name.
I swear the title was based off Pinocchio! But it made it all the more intimating, especially with Jessica Rabbit up there lol, but dang, those old 90's night clubs look fun! :D
From my first experience at the Adventurer's Club, I was hooked. I revisited this club with every visit to Disney World. With each visit, the shows were different. The cast members told me that they often had to tame-down their jokes because so many families were bringing their young children--which was obviously not appropriate. Toward the end, the jokes were nearly gone altogether. It is my theory that spoiled children ruined Pleasure Island.
No doubt. No one under 18 should have ever been allowed.
There really should have been signs saying no one under the age of 18 is allowed in this venue/club.
Probably wouldn't do good to ban everyone under the age of 18, but I think probably promoting the park as being more adult oriented after 8 p.m. would make sense.
Imo if they brought kids there they shouldn't have been upset about the inappropriate jokes. My mom took me to more "adult" outings all the time (what can you do as a single mom whose job is working with people I guess) and never belittled anyone for making a dirty jokes around me because it's her responsibility for taking me there. I don't know, maybe I was a genius kid or something but I knew what was inappropriate enough for me to not repeat so it wasn't a problem.
Agreed. Being born in 89, my parents never even brought me and my sister near the adult nightclubs. I can’t imagine why you would bring children inside which is essentially a bar.
OMG I just realized that Parents Island from the Simpsons was a spoof of this!
TGI McScratchy's....
itchy and scratchy land is a spoof of Disney World
Jersey Mike's Rail Videos The Simpsons is a spoof of The Simpsons by this point
We have another jumper off the roof of TGI McScratchy's.
"Hey, that guy kind of looks like John Travolta"
"... Yeah. Looks like..."
The fact that there was a Jessica Rabbit themed shop makes me so sad. She’s one of my favorite characters and you can’t find any JR merch these days.....
Most you can get I find is the rare JR statuettes in the animation shops, and last I remember the ACME Warehouse selling actual merch in MGM Studios (Or whatever it's being called these days.)
You could commission an artist on Etsy or something to make you whatever you want, will probably be more pricey though
"oh it's not my fault; im just drawn that way...."
@@JacksonJinn Same! I love her, I really wish I had a chance to go to that store but I don't even live on that coast LOL
@@dragontales1999 That's the entire point of her character though, her famous quote is: "I'm not bad, I'm just drawn that way." The fact that she looks mature and sexy makes everyone think that she couldn't possibly really love Roger Rabbit. To everyone else she seems suspicious and she is believed to be the culprit or a helper in the framing of Roger, but the movie emphasizes that the way she looks isn't a representative of who she is. She is sweet, caring, nice and loves Roger above all else. That's what makes her character so great and so loved, the fact that she despite her oversexualized drawn physique, is actually a good person who doesn't want to perceived in the way she is. Jessicas look featured a lot of the classic "mean girl" or "villain" features, but she was the exact opposite. And honestly teaching that lesson to kids isn't bad. She's basically a symbol of; "you can't judge a book by it's cover".
Way back in the early 90's i was a dancer at Mannequins. It was great! From what I remember during the week it was always dead except on castmember night and the weekends were busy but drunk tourist are worse than regular drunks at a local bar/club.
Sounds like hell, but the fun kind.
I was there in 1996 we flew over from Ireland were you working then?? It was around August time.
How mas the club overall? It looks like by far the club at Paradise Island that I'd spend my time at. From what I hear, it also had, at the time, the best sound system that money could buy (literally.)
@@Bounty_Hunter84 I don't think you would be drunk because your Irish HAHAHHA KILL ME HAHAHA
Doing blow off of mouse ears then hitting the spinning dance floor was always fantastic lmao.
I was actually very indifferent about Pleasure Island as a whole mainly because I just never cared about nightclubs but I do think it was a crime to axe the Adventurers club. They should've at least kept that even if it didn't really fit anymore
I think the concept of a more adult area of the park is an awesome idea that could have worked. It does look aspects of it were pretty tacky. The Adventure Club looked awesome though. They should have just kept that and brought in more experiential based clubs and some upscale themed restaurants. That way adults of all ages felt welcomed and not just teeny boppers. Im in my 20s and part of a generation that was very Disneycentric. We would eat something like this up. They closed up shop too soon.
@@ShannaFarley Agreed! Especially with Disney in Instagram culture... I'm also in my mid-twenties and I think that would sell. But they are bringing alcohol (crazy) to Disneyland supposedly soon? And they have a club and cabaret at Disney Springs now too...
Brittnie P & boardwalk
The Adventurers Club and The cpmedy could have easily been made into themed eateries. They were both so !ugh fun!!
And just as important, I know this is late but it should never be too late for there to be a Disney villain cocktail bar!
My sister is a Disney cast member and was at Disney Springs for the last couple months. According to older cast members who were around back then, one of the leading reasons for Pleasure Island closing was that gangs were starting to crop up there and that it was a bad look for them.
They brought in a BET themed club - that's why
Gathering No Moss wtf does BET have to do with Disney though???
That’s an often misrepresented statement. there have been plenty of issues after PI closed.
They could have kept the island gated and made pathways around it but they chose not to. Literally everything they have done to create Disney Springs could have been done.
They wanted to play landlord, they wanted out of the night club business, and they made purposely bad decisions to justify closing the clubs. The success of Raglan Road lead them to close RRBC and when they apparently had a quick bid for that location from a third party vendor that was the true nail in the coffin.
Then they hid it all behind “guest feedback”
What they didn’t count on was the economy crashing. They thought they would have all kinds of offers for tenants and that didn’t happen. Thus the clubs sat painfully empty for years.
yep, heard that too. Shame, it was lots of fun when I used to go.
Maple lord black entertainment tv
My personal favorite, The Fireworks Factory, half price drinks for Disney Cast Members every Thursday. I worked there and Thursday was payday.
Keith Dean For real, the cat song was so cringey
Lets close something original because we all know Disney needs more character themed restaurants.
Actually the restaurants are themed by the same people that do Rainforest Cafe, each new restaurant is supposed to be pretty cool
Disney Springs isn't character themed.
It's pretty challenging to sell attractions nowadays though. With HD videos and the internet where you can download any Mickey Mouse content as much as you want, the novelty of the attractions diminished.
Being that Disney lately invested so much on cinema, the next attraction they can introduce is probably something that will outdo Imax theaters. The idea of watching MCU and Star Wars on a big ass screen in Disneyland is quite attractive.
But then again, I remember Disneyland used to have such a theater as well but they got rid of it because people thought it was boring and it was in the 90s. So I don't know.
They don’t have that there idiot
@@myman7589 I'm not paying airfare plus the ticket prices they're charging to sit and watch a glorified imax... But hey if that's the new model they wanna go with it is what it is.
Sadly, the clubs weren't torn down immediately, but sat to rot for...well, the Adventurers Club at least, until the middle of 2015.
I'm glad someone brought this up - I thought I was going crazy. I could have sworn I remembered the sad, empty facade of the Adventurer's Club still being there on my last trip. Good to know I wasn't imagining it, LOL!
Ghosts: it's free real estate
The architects they chose for the adventurers club backstory are all real. Edwin Luytens designed some of the grandest buildings in the UK and India in his time including the Rashtrapati Bhavan (India's Presidential Palace), Castle Drogo in Devon, London's Cenotaph Monument, And the Parliament Building of India. Rennie MacIntosh, had a somewhat severe abstract style and was a celebrated artist as much as an architect. The signage for his Willow Tea Rooms inspired the unsettling Willow ITC font used for the show American Horror Story. Saarinen did most of his major work in Helsinki, but the real story is his son Eero who would go on to design The Gateway Arch in St Louis, MO.
I remember my trip to Disneyworld as a kid in '97, I remember going to a place with a lot of music and dancing, and then I recently looked at the old footage from the trip and I realized I was that I actually went to pleasure island. It's cool to learn more about it. It was a cool place, I remember there was a tabasco sauce store there and that was the one thing that stuck out in my mind when I thought about it. There is footage of my grandpa dancing to country music at Pleasure Island too. Man such good memories. :)
Interesting! I went there in December '97 and remember that the map for Downtown Disney showed Pleasure Island as a "21+ only" area. But now that I'm seeing all the stuff in there, I think I actually did get into Pleasure Island: my dad & I went to watch the Alien Resurrection movie at the AMC theater!
It also looks like something I would've enjoyed as an adult. But it's no longer there. :(
Damn girl, you naughty
I was at pleasure island a couple of times as a kid, I remember all of these places. I had to go with them, where were they supposed to get a babysitter while out of town? My parents explained to me that this was something for them to do but I had fun too.
I remember going as a kid too! It was kind of surreal to watch the area transition into something completely different as I grew up. I remember walking alongside my sister's stroller past the nightclubs with my parents to go see a guy play the Spanish guitar near the bridge. Those are such great memories that I still cherish!
Always sad when things get scrapped for "family friendly" stuff. The entirety of Disney is family friendly, why can't people without kids have a place where they don't have to be annoyed?
DubVUChyea I don't think they're aiming for being family friendly. I think that's just a buzzword that they can use to turn the entire attraction into a commercial for their already overly advertised and heavily featured films.
Not to mention that a big part of the Disney Channel productions and all of their sitcoms are directly marketed towards tweens and teens so a place like Videopolis would still be viable today if they put in the effort.
disney springs has plenty of nightlife to be enjoyed without kids, even a night club at the house of blues.
Disney Springs is starting to somewhat embrace an adult side again in my opinion, recently The Edison opened with an Adult-Only Cabernet starting around 10pm.
To be fair, dance clubs have not been nearly as popular as they used to be. But I feel your sentiment, DubVUChyea. The Adventurers Club sounded neat. I'd loved to have visited that.
I enjoyed this two-part series. Having been a part of the team that built Pleasure Island, it holds a special place in my heart. I actually got to meet Michael Eisner one day during his visit to check on our progress. Thanks for posting.
I love videos of the Adventure Club. It truly was a unique place and still had the Disney touch. I hear some of the props are at The Jungle Cruse at Disney World. Thanks for a good report.
The new restauraunt near the Jungle Cruise ride looks extremely similar to the Adventurer's Club. No doubt they have taken a lot of the old props.
The adventurers club does look really fun, if I ever go to Disney I would've actually really liked to see it, too bad it was axed
I think it's so bizarre that Disney thought to make a "get-away" island for adults... a place where Mom and Dad could sneak away to and have some groovy, adult drinkin' fun and take a break from all the goofy childishness that is Disney World... only to populate it with ultra corny, goofy childishness. But I guess I'm just a big stick in the mud.
My thoughts exactly. I can only think that the type of people who enjoyed that are the same ones who go on murder mystery dinner cruises
hahaha, I think it was more for locals and couples, and singles at WDW and not parents but who knows? :p Funny comment though and so true.
Children could enter everything except Mannequin with their parents. Some of my fondest memories of WDW vacations from my childhood were at Pleasure Island. It wasn’t supposed to be a “get-away”. It was built so people wouldn’t get away!
Downtown Disney isn’t that, idiot
You're not. I love childish fun too but I wouldn't want to be at a theme park where it is just 24/7 that with no reprieve.
I always loved the atmosphere at the Adventure's Club. I think they should have used the large show room as a themed restaurant.
Patrick W it’s now the Edison
@@tiffprendergast Indeed, the Edison is an excellent venue. But I still would like them to open a themed restaurant that has the same ambiance as the Adventure's Club.
Wow.... thanks for making this video. You have no idea the intense nostalgia I felt when watching this. Some of my most happiest and euphoric moments were spent at Plearsure Island during the early 2000s (expecially at Mannequins and during Devi8 Thursdays). I moved to the UK in 2008, so I had no idea that Pleasure Island closed down. I do honestly feel a sense of loss...and makes the old adage 'You can't go home again' even that much more salient and poignant!
I remember visiting a shop on the island, it was the first place I'd ever seen an "air plant" that doesn't need soil to grow, and treasured memory since I love bio/life science. But I also know for fact that I have been inside the Adventurer's Club, because the masks terrified me, but the animatronic "explorer guy" seen in your first frames of the club, cheered me up again, and I remember the club's creed, because I have several photos of it, and both my parents are in the photo, and in the blurry off center photo, my dad is holding a prize he won for me at a game nearby.
There were rubber frogs that were sat on launchers, and you had to smack the launcher with a mallet to land the frog into a lily-pad bowl. The prize was a standard carnival plushie, bigger than I was, a purple frog. This game was somewhere near the shop we had gone into. Again, I was in 4th grade when we took this trip.
This might add to the child friendly issue but I thought Pleasure Island also closed due to violent drunk fights in the parking lot of Downtown Disney as well.
This was great, I never got to experience Pleasure Island but it looked like a fantastic experience and the storyline behind each of the clubs was heavily detailed
"The Cat Got Dead" is originally by Heywood Banks. He's still active in the Midwest. His best-known songs are probably "Yeah Toast" and "18 Wheels on a Big Rig." Both are hilarious.
That was the first thing I thought of when that song came up. Didn't expect it in a Disney video of all things.
I truly miss Adventurers Club! It was Such a creative, fun place to just get lost in for hours! Kungaloosh!!
I worked here in my college days. Best job ever. I still remember running up on a roof and blowing confetti onto people!
I always wanted to check Pleasure Island out but by the time I was old enough to drink it closed.
readordiefanatic same :/
Same. By the time I was old enough to drink, I was low on cash and still in college. By the time I was earning enough cash to pay for a trip to Orlando, Pleasure Island was closing. Crap.
Lol same
readordiefanatic same
You could have gone with an adult to experience the clubs. Just not get boozed up.
With Disney Quest closing shortly after the opening of Disney Springs, it would seem only fitting to do a Defunctland episode on it, especially to shed some light on the aging technology and aesthetics of the facility. P L E A S E do an episode on it!!
They already did that. ruclips.net/video/UZQGtnEL2xs/видео.htmlsi=8LDOoTvuatQDAtqh
The is an amazingly detailed recreation of the adventurers club in the form of a Garrys Mod map
Great video! I would add that the opening of the west side, 9/11 hurting their sales numbers, and subsequent opening of the island without gates even at night is what caused the downfall...
The decision to open the island was June 2004 to appease the west side merchants was truly the beginning of the end followed by Iger coming in.
Thommy Sandvick yup
I just found your channel and would LOVE if you did a whole story on The Adventures Club. My parents used to take me there all the time as a kid, and I really wish I had visited them again as an Adult so I could really understand and enjoy them. Good job on all your finds and please keep up the excellent work!
I moved to FL on the tail-end of the Pleasure Island thing. My mum mentioned how she and my dad went to one of the clubs there when we first moved here or something and she was sad to see them go. I for one was glad it changed because very young me was always so of scared of the Pleasure Island side of Downtown Disney. Thinking about Pleasure Island does make me feel nostalgic and I wish they kept the Virgin store that was next to the AMC 24, because they had a bunch of manga in the upstairs floor and a small games section in the ground floor. It’s now a bowling alley. :/
Also something to point out is that some of the clubs like Adventurers Club when they closed down sort of just sat there, abandoned in a way, which probably fueled my fear of Pleasure Island and didn’t enjoy walking that area of the park at night as a kid lol.
Quite lovely video, although from your last video I was under the misconception that this one would be solely devoted to the Adventures' Club. I'd love to see one on it, as you teased in this video, because I can't think of a RUclips video on that club's history.
I too would have loved to have seen it, alas the closest I got was listening to podcasts about and watching videos recorded by guests.
“And [the tickets] were sold out of re-purposed coaches”
Not helping with the Pinocchio comparisons, Disney
Knowing the actors still get together as these characters is kinda heartbreaking. The adventurer's club especially seemed like a wonderful show to be a part of.
Love this series! You deserve more recognition than you're getting.
You don't think 159 thousand subs is enough recognition? That's like a small city.
I went to Paradise Island in 1998-1990. I get why they closed. It was very "out of character" for the whole Disney brand, and the nights we were there, not a lot of people, but I'm sure they had good days. The places themselves were totally fine, the usual "high quality" stuff from Disney, but I don't think they defined the clientele enough. You weren't sure if it was the 20-30somethings that should go there to party, or the parents looking for a night away from the kids. VERY different crowds, and it wasn't distinguished by the brands of the clubs. Great concept, too bad they couldn't figure things out on this one. LOVE Disney World, looking forward to taking my kid one day ;-)
Corey Shelton you mean pleasure island
right, thanks ;-)
Sublime. Very enjoyable memories of Pleasure Island. Thank you for bringing all that back. And, especially reading all the placards of the "history" of Pleasure Island and the Pleasure family. I believe the ball was dropped on this concept. It was a joy for all of us older Disney fans to come to this place. Closing it was tragic.
Playing catch-up on all your videos. Man, I loved Pleasure Island. Had an "annual pass," which got me in for free all year, and let me bring in a guest for free on Friday nights.
I was so disappointed that they closed this club. It seems they tore everything down just to put more damn stores.
I can't thank you enough, Kevin. I grew up in Orlando in the 80s, and spent a lot of time at WDW and Pleasure Island. My best friend's girlfriend was a waitress at The Fireworks Factory restaurant on opening day. I really enjoy your videos. Please keep them coming. :)
I remember being a kid and thinking Pleasure Island was so cool. I couldn't wait to be an adult and go there. :/
lol, that dead cat song would never pass these days in Disney but is hilarious dark comedy.
Someone would probably sue because it reminded them of their cat that died last month or something stupid like that.
Jason's Star Traders not really that song is not bad at all. I think I can even sing in my high school if I wanted to
Jason's Star Traders No they wouldn’t, you’re just looking for a way to feel superior to the general populous.
It just came back to me that a knight state I've owned for years actually came from Disney Village shops. In returning to frequent DW visits with my daughter I'm shocked by how much has changed and the story behind it. You do good work sir.
This place looked so dope. I hope Disney brings back "grown up" attractions like Pleasure Island in the future. Adults deserve to have fun, too!
you should do a video about action park that place is legendary
Thomas K96 I concur.
Legendary if you want to spend a night in the hospital
Bacon Anotor that's what is legendary for
I live about 20 minutes from there, and have heard plenty from my dad about his injuries due to that place
He did it was lit 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
My first trip to Disney was in 1996 with the folks. Was only 12 so unfortunately could not visit pleasure island although we walked in around it during the day. Now 33 and sad its to see its gone. But it is understandable time moves on and it lasted a hell of a long time.
Itchy and Scratchy Land makes so much more sense now after watching both of these parts
I remember going here with fellow castmembers back in '92... This is taking me WAY back since it has changed so much...
Please do a full video of Adventurers Club
Definitely, the Adventurers Club was amazing and deserves it own spot in Defunuctland...I still hold out hope it will come back in some form even though the realistic side of me knows that is shortsighted.
My grandparents have told me about all of the old/removed disney places, got me into this channel. I do want to show them it cuz they don’t know what happened to it, but experienced it in it’s fullest. They even hit up old universal and took a picture while on the jaws ride. Apparently now it gets too crowded for Disney to be fun, and I really wish that i could’ve experienced it. Went in 2012 and 2014, was a little less than 10 for both times tho.
The choir I’m in (Confederation Centre Youth Chorus, If you’re wondering- no, the name is not associated with racism, we’re Canadian and the word has a very different meaning here) sang at Disney Springs a couple times! Apparently the first time was terrible (someone loudly sang the lyrics wrong in a very recognizable song, ruining everything) but the second time- the one I was actually there for- went significantly better!!!
The Adventurers Club...I went in 2004. I was just a kid, but dad and I had so much. I couldn't wait to return years later to enjoy an alcoholic drink, but it was not to be. You think you're over something, only to have that loss return, piercing like just happened. Thank you for this video, it brought up so many memories I'd thought I'd forgotten. Going to WDW this year, I take solace in knowing some fragments of the Adventurers Club survive in the Skippers Canteen in Adventureland, in a dessert, kungaloosh!
I was an avid islander since I was 19, even meet my wife at The Beach Club. My theory of a big part of its demise, is when they removed the turnstiles and regular families with little ones could just come onto the island among the drunks stumbling out of the clubs. Man thanks for this brought back a ton of memories.
1:57 when the club's lit
I found the extra terrorestrial alien animatronic on the Tokyo Disneysea journey to the center of the earth ride, it is now labeled as the lava monster
that's not the alien. it has a completely different face, as well as no wings, and not nearly as many limbs
dude, you're dumb. thats not the same alien,
it has a similar if not identical head
I wouldn't be surprised if they took most of the design of the alien and reused it for the lava monster.
I think this was addressed in the Debunk land video here at Defunctland Channel. It probably wasn't the alien as disney sea opend at 2001 along woth the ride while extra terrestrial closed at 2003. I saw the monster at Disney sea. Awesome👍
Okay, but like, could you imagine a permanent Disney Villains' themed bar? Like the special event they did at DHS? I would be there every night!
I went to Disney for the first time when I was 16. That was back in 1990 and Pleasure Island was new and had huge amounts of Marketing all over the place. We stayed in a hotel off property but near enough that I could see it from my room and hear the music and fireworks. It seems like a happening place and I thought it was cool that Parents had a place to go that was not filled with the kid crap all over the rest of the parks. Fast Forward to this May. I returned to Orlando for the first time in 30 years for a conference. We went to Disney Springs for dinner and I began to see these buildings and places that I had looked at from that hotel balcony years before. I am not a Disney fan so had no idea they had remodeled PI. I realized this was the Island I had seen and it was now a big outdoor mall. Its very nice and the Restaurants and shops seemed busy, but it had no real life. It was just like the mall near my home. Kind of encapsulated Disney as far as I am concerned. Style over Substance with an enormous price tag.
So many good memories of having fun at Pleasure Island. We went there every night whenever we went to Disney. We loved being able to hop from one club to another all night.
I actually remember me and my mum walking through pleasure island when I was little. I always thought i was so "grown up" going near the adult clubs and bars 😅 They could have kept Adventurers Club intact and I honestly never knew about the rich backstory of the island. My mum thought the clubs were only for adults so sadly I never got to experience any of them but I just enjoyed the sights and music of it all.
I just remembered I was there on the last night on 2008, I had been coming there about once a year for almost two decades back when my parents took me to, didn’t realize it was nightand I vaguely remember this conversation with my older brother after the firework show:
We have to leave?
Yeah Pleasure Island is closed.
We can come back tomorrow.
No it’s closing for good.
You mean this was the last night ever?
Yeah.
Honestly, a place "kids free" is exactly what Disney Springs needs. I've only known that place as Disney Springs and I'm kinda disappointed that I didn't get to experience Pleasure Island. Now I'm 21, still love Disney World but wish that there was something more mature for the adults to experience. Man, Michel Eisner wasn't so bad after all...
He had great ideas, but they were just poorly executed and not thought out. He acted on spontaneous thoughts. That's why so much stuff he put into place failed immediately or had a slow burn before fizzling out.
Great video! I used to play the Pleasure Island Jazz Company four nights a week for many years. Those were the days! Great job on the history. You could have mentioned Universal’s City Walk as competition.
I swear people made more of an effort in the 90s...
Theme parks no longer take risks. It's just a sad truth of today.
Void of Space and Time i rather have something like the adventurers club then another "amazing" rollercoaster trying to outspeed the previous ones or other adrenaline-rushing monsters
I don't mean speed. They're trying less in every aspect. For example, Universal. They've gone full digital. (Almost).
Yup. Agreed. I loved Universal Studios in the 1990's. I've been there a few times. My last time was in 2015 and it just wasn't the same (although I really did like the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.) All the rides have a "sameiness" to them...Shreck, Minions, Spiderman...they are all the same type of ride. I miss Back to the Future, the Alfred Hitchcock exhibit, Earthquake, etc. The past 2 decades have just sucked.
Cost vs risk/investment. You're right, everything is more threadbare and made to the minimum.
The videos and stories of the final nights always make me tear up and I don’t know why
Always had a blast at Mannequins and 8Trax....so much fun in the 90's.
Your channel is amazing! Great reviews of past Disney memories. Pleasure Island holds a special place in my heart. I first went when I was on the Disney College Program. I think there was a lot of underage drinking going on. I was under 21 but could still go into the clubs that served alcohol. The over 21 crowd just wore wristbands. We could hear the fireworks going off every night at midnight from our CP apartments across the freeway. Once they took down the barrier for families to walk through the club area, it wasn't the same. Strollers kinda kill the nightclub vibe.
I was on Pleasure Island New Year's Eve 1992. This was part of our honeymoon so we'd planned it months in advance - the tickets were like something from Willy Wonka. On the shuttle bus to the entrance there was a guy going on about how excited he was to be there and couldn't believe he could just walk right in on the actual New Year's Eve. That's when everyone else started pulling out their oversized shiny tickets to show him. He looked around the bus, then finally settled on me, as I was the only person who hadn't reached in my purse. Finally I shrugged and produced my ticket. I thought the poor guy would cry right there. And no, he didn't get in.
Because it was actually New Year's, they built two giant outdoor stages in addition to the clubs. The Fabulous Thunderbirds were on one of them, and I'm pretty sure Sheena Easton was on the other. It was FANTASTIC. My only complaint was that the entire island was literally shoulder to shoulder. They let WAY too many people in, so it was next to impossible to see everything. And because it was such an overwhelming party it was difficult to appreciate the theme of Merryweather Pleasure - it was all rendered into kaleidoscopic nonsense before too long. It's a small complaint - free champagne was flowing (when you could find some), and the overall attitude was one of "anything goes".
I always meant to go back, but ... life, you know? I'm glad I saw it that one time! but I really wish I'd had a chance to see it under more "normal" circumstances.
Very enjoyable video, thank you for the great upload. As always looking forward to more!
So many fond memories of great times spent at Pleasure Island. It really was such a great place to be in the early 2000s.
yes please do more about the 80s and 90s at Pleasure Island with those different clubs and places it sounds really interesting thank you
I've spent many nights there in my early 20's. Man the memories there
I am so, so desperate for you to revisit this concept because I'm fascinated by Pleasure Island and I want so much more. But I will always love coming back to this video.
If you ever decide to update/expand you need to dive into one of the biggest reasons the nightclubs closed, the crowds were getting unruly and gangs started to show up to party. Not charging for attending like a theme park caught up with the island.
Damn. Now I'm having fond memories of when Erik Dennison did a stint of DJing at the Island. Man, he had the best music radio show ever - Sunday Night Vinyl. Your videos are making me have strong nostalgia of Orlando in the 90s. Thank you!
I loved Pleasure Island when I lived in Orlando. I saw a great concert, made friends, and adored the Adventurers Club.
That thing at 1:57 looks like he's having a seizure, and I don't blame him
You should make a video on the Wonders of Life, by the way I love your channel.
Michael Eisner had a variety of flaws but one thing he truly understood was how to appeal to all demographics, and give each of them their own space to truly let loose. With the revival of 80s culture and aesthetic today, I can only imagine how much revenue Disney could’ve received had they maintained a slice of true 80s history with the nightclubs. It’s a damn shame really.
would be hard to keep the night clubs open while also virtue signalling that night clubs are grotesque and hookup culture is evil
Really loved the Adventurer's Club & the Comedy Warehouse...was so disappointed on a later Disney trip to see them and most of Pleasure Island gone.
Great video. I went once around 2000 with a bunch of friends who were all in town for the same event and found Orlando’s indigenous clubs sorely lacking. We had a great time. Much was drank.
A few observations -
1. Because the whole area is private property you could drink anywhere and every where. They were selling shots from carts in the ‘street’. Which feels so wrong compared to the rest of the US where openly drinking alcohol in public is outlawed.
2. Because of the countdown thing, a lot of tourist families that had multi day passes came to Pleasure Island, as kids were allowed in the ‘street’ parts (not enter the clubs). But given #1 above, this was also weird. My friends drunk off their butts at 11:45 downing shots while families in tourist wear were walking by....
Hey! I know the guy at 1:26! We both work at SAK Comedy Lab, which is now the only theater in Orlando that exclusively does improv shows!
I went to Pleasure Island I think in 2006. It was downtown Disney then but I remember the Neon Armadillo. I remember Cage and 8 Traxx. We had drifted into each of the clubs when we were bar-hopping. On a weeknight in off-season it was packed with people spending money hand-over-fist. Compared to the rest of Downtown Disney it was where the money was being made. It was incredible. Basically they asked imagines who has never been clubbing what nightclubs should be like, so holographic light shows, costumed dancers, spinning dance floors, pyro, insane cocktails. It was also the most unDisney thing I had ever experienced. Nothing but beautiful 20-somethings in sexy clothing getting hammered, taking jello shots in the middle of the walkways, drinking games in the clubs and a Jessica Rabbit costumed MC. And honestly I think that wild atmosphere is why Disney killed it. Even being separated by a bridge didn't change how off-kilter the demeanor of Pleasure Island was.
Thank you for doing this one! Brought back a lot of memories from my teen years, and my 2002 honeymoon!!
Watching these videos makes me feel like I'm playing Rollercoaster Tycoon or something!!
Amazing research behind all these too...
I like how you put the song "Everybody's Free" as that was the last song played the night it closed. Nice touch.
With the (relatively) new sit-down restaurant at Jungle Cruise, Skipper Canteen, you can get the flavor of the Adventurer's Club, but the one loss I just cannot get over is the improv club! Why oh why oh why did Disney have to take that from me?!?!?!? I've tried the one in downtown Orlando, but it's just not the same. I had one of my best Disney nights EVER at Comedy Warehouse when they took one of the most embarrassing moments of my life involving attending church and having lunch with my future in laws, a tenacious and possibly possessed bumble bee, and my utter eternal mortification and turned it into pure comedy gold that had the whole club in an uproar. (Closing line of the song they made up: Dear Lord, thank you for answerin' my prayers and leavin' a nekkid woman on my stairs!) I know Chicago is supposed to be THE city for improv comedy and thus the twining of improv and tourism, but I've never found any shows that can consistently top the quality once offered by Comedy Warehouse at PI. Oh, the days...er, nights!
This is an interesting miniseries. I had no idea the clubs at Pleasure Island had such an elaborate and fabricated backstory. Going up in Florida I used to see commercials and advertisements for Pleasure Island all the time during its most popular years, but the only time I ever went there was in the daytime when I was already ready at what was then Downtown Disney. So I found this video interesting. And I didn't have any problems hearing the audio. If you fixed it, you did a good job.
I loved the pleasure island sign so much! I first went to Disney when I was 14 and Jessica rabbit has always been one of my favorites, I took multiple photos of it.
In feel very fortunate that I had the opportunity to visit Pleasure Island and the Adventurers Club, once in its heyday.
love that background music towards the end there
Adventurer's Club looked actually really fun LOL Seems like the kinda place you always have to go every time you visit, I love places like that.
It would be fun to go and visit these places back in time
My wife used to love the Adventurers Club - I never got a chance to go myself, though last December she took me on a tour of Disney Springs where she showed me where everything used to be.
Wild to watch this video nowadays and hear Kevin say he hopes this "longer" video made the audience happy, especially after coming from one of his recent documentaries! I love that for him
Something weird happened in the early 2000s and people started to be more sedentary and not dance as much. For someone who has just recently discovered the pleasures of dancing, I'm having to do it with 60+-year-olds who still remember how much fun it was.
I really enjoyed the Adventures Club. We went several nights in a row just to try to catch the whole show. We would riff with the cast, telling jokes. After the second night, our drinks were comped. One of our crew was told to put in an application for a job.
Now, alas, all a memory.
The Adventurers Club was one of the greatest places in all of Walt Disney World. The rest of pleasure island is lame and I was glad when it went (comedy warehouse was pretty funny too) but The Adventurers Club will always be remembered for greatness.