Carol
07-24-2011, 08:58 AM
By Jason Garcia, Orlando Sentinel
7:00 p.m. EDT, July 23, 2011
At the end of summer in 2008, Walt Disney World shut down the nightclubs that once made Pleasure Island an after-dark destination for more than a million people a year, saying it wanted to transform the adult-oriented district into a new venue more suitable for families with children.
Three years later, Disney has yet to realize that vision.
Five Pleasure Island clubs are still standing, but they are sealed up and dark, little more than elaborately themed, empty storefronts. Two others have been demolished, replaced only by a grass field walled off from pedestrians. Just one new restaurant has been added, though Disney says a clothing boutique will open later this summer.
Disney announced earlier this month that the new concept planned for the area — which would have converted Pleasure Island into an early-1900s-themed seaport dubbed "Hyperion Wharf" — has been postponed indefinitely. The concept appears unlikely to be revived.
The slow-moving makeover is the result, at least in part, of what many former Disney officials say has been a long-running debate within the company about how best to position Pleasure Island and whether adult-only entertainment fits with Disney's family-entertainment brand.
Disney acknowledges Pleasure Island's transformation has progressed more slowly than planned. But it notes it has been making many changes elsewhere in Downtown Disney, the broader retail area that includes Pleasure Island, from opening the dinosaur-themed T-Rex Cafe to adding tabletop dining to an existing AMC movie theater. The resort this month announced that Splitsville, a 50,000-square-foot "upscale entertainment center" with bowling, billiards, dancing and drinking, will begin construction in the fall.
The giant resort also says the club closings have not harmed Downtown Disney, saying guest ratings for the area remain "as high as ever" and that it "continues to experience financial growth." In addition to Pleasure Island, the 120-acre Downtown Disney complex includes Marketplace, a shopping area anchored by the World of Disney store, and West Side, headlined by Cirque du Soleil and DisneyQuest.
"As with any project of this size and scope, our plans have continued to grow and evolve over time as part of our creative process, and it has simply taken longer than we anticipated," Disney World spokeswoman Zoraya Suarez said. "We are committed to creating absolutely the best experience possible at Downtown Disney and are taking the time to look holistically at the entire property."
Long before it turned out the lights in the nightclubs, Disney knew it had to do something about Pleasure Island. Attendance at the venue, which opened in 1989, had been steadily declining for years. It lost business to competing nightspots, such as Universal Orlando's CityWalk and International Drive's Pointe Orlando, as well as to Disney's own theme parks as they extended their operating hours later into the night.
Already a low-margin business because of costs such as live bands and comedians, some of Pleasure Island's clubs began losing money.
The financial struggles added to what both current and former Disney officials say were long-held concerns among some top Disney executives that dancing- and drinking-fueled nightclubs undermined the company's reputation for wholesome family entertainment. One former Downtown Disney manager recalls being told by a supervisor: "You're always going to have to justify the existence of Pleasure Island."
Disney tried replacing poorly performing clubs with new venues one at a time, hoping that closing some of the clubs would make the remaining ones profitable. One of the biggest money losers, Pleasure Island Jazz Co., was converted to an Irish pub in 2005. But progress was slow, and resort executives opted to shutter all of the remaining nightclubs in September 2008.
"Given that closing the clubs would not have a material impact on our business, we saw no advantage to delaying the closures even as we were still planning for future experiences," Disney's Suarez said.
Disney has evaluated a host of proposals for the area in recent years, according to one former company official, from Yard House, a chain of sports grills, to a club aimed at young teenagers featuring Disney Channel franchises. The company initially had hoped Splitsville would be built on Pleasure Island.
The global credit crunch has likely hampered progress. Financing dried up for restaurant operators, who can spend as much as $8 million to $10 million to build at Downtown Disney.
At the same time, Marketplace and West Side have continued to perform well, easing pressure for an immediate Pleasure Island overhaul.
Analysts say there are risks to leaving Pleasure Island unfinished. Empty buildings are a waste of valuable real estate. And a lack of things to do on Pleasure Island could discourage some visitors from wandering through it to move between Marketplace and West Side — a half-mile walk, twice as long as the distance between anchors in a typical regional mall.
"It's a perception thing. You don't want to walk a couple of city blocks if there's nothing there," said David Marks, a real-estate consultant specializing in commercial development.
Disney has taken steps to maintain some energy on Pleasure Island and encourage foot traffic. The resort says it now stages as many as 63 outdoor acts a week throughout Downtown Disney, from singers to guitarists to people posing as statues, up significantly from before the clubs closed.
Representatives for vendors that remain on Pleasure Island — the Irish pub, a surf-wear shop, a cigar bar and a 2-year-old Central American-cuisine restaurant — all would not comment or did not respond to requests for comment. But Disney says the vendors recovered quickly from the initial shock of the nightclub closings and are growing again.
The loss of the Pleasure Island clubs — and the lack of replacements — has frustrated some of Disney World's biggest fans. They say the changes have robbed the resort of one of its only options for visitors looking for something to do after dark.
"There are a lot of families that manage to go out at night. There are a lot of singles that go to Disney, boyfriends and girlfriends, husbands and wives without children. There are a massive number of conventioneers," said Bob Kraus, founder of a blog dubbed "Save Pleasure Island." "And there are very few options currently available for someone looking for nightlife."
7:00 p.m. EDT, July 23, 2011
At the end of summer in 2008, Walt Disney World shut down the nightclubs that once made Pleasure Island an after-dark destination for more than a million people a year, saying it wanted to transform the adult-oriented district into a new venue more suitable for families with children.
Three years later, Disney has yet to realize that vision.
Five Pleasure Island clubs are still standing, but they are sealed up and dark, little more than elaborately themed, empty storefronts. Two others have been demolished, replaced only by a grass field walled off from pedestrians. Just one new restaurant has been added, though Disney says a clothing boutique will open later this summer.
Disney announced earlier this month that the new concept planned for the area — which would have converted Pleasure Island into an early-1900s-themed seaport dubbed "Hyperion Wharf" — has been postponed indefinitely. The concept appears unlikely to be revived.
The slow-moving makeover is the result, at least in part, of what many former Disney officials say has been a long-running debate within the company about how best to position Pleasure Island and whether adult-only entertainment fits with Disney's family-entertainment brand.
Disney acknowledges Pleasure Island's transformation has progressed more slowly than planned. But it notes it has been making many changes elsewhere in Downtown Disney, the broader retail area that includes Pleasure Island, from opening the dinosaur-themed T-Rex Cafe to adding tabletop dining to an existing AMC movie theater. The resort this month announced that Splitsville, a 50,000-square-foot "upscale entertainment center" with bowling, billiards, dancing and drinking, will begin construction in the fall.
The giant resort also says the club closings have not harmed Downtown Disney, saying guest ratings for the area remain "as high as ever" and that it "continues to experience financial growth." In addition to Pleasure Island, the 120-acre Downtown Disney complex includes Marketplace, a shopping area anchored by the World of Disney store, and West Side, headlined by Cirque du Soleil and DisneyQuest.
"As with any project of this size and scope, our plans have continued to grow and evolve over time as part of our creative process, and it has simply taken longer than we anticipated," Disney World spokeswoman Zoraya Suarez said. "We are committed to creating absolutely the best experience possible at Downtown Disney and are taking the time to look holistically at the entire property."
Long before it turned out the lights in the nightclubs, Disney knew it had to do something about Pleasure Island. Attendance at the venue, which opened in 1989, had been steadily declining for years. It lost business to competing nightspots, such as Universal Orlando's CityWalk and International Drive's Pointe Orlando, as well as to Disney's own theme parks as they extended their operating hours later into the night.
Already a low-margin business because of costs such as live bands and comedians, some of Pleasure Island's clubs began losing money.
The financial struggles added to what both current and former Disney officials say were long-held concerns among some top Disney executives that dancing- and drinking-fueled nightclubs undermined the company's reputation for wholesome family entertainment. One former Downtown Disney manager recalls being told by a supervisor: "You're always going to have to justify the existence of Pleasure Island."
Disney tried replacing poorly performing clubs with new venues one at a time, hoping that closing some of the clubs would make the remaining ones profitable. One of the biggest money losers, Pleasure Island Jazz Co., was converted to an Irish pub in 2005. But progress was slow, and resort executives opted to shutter all of the remaining nightclubs in September 2008.
"Given that closing the clubs would not have a material impact on our business, we saw no advantage to delaying the closures even as we were still planning for future experiences," Disney's Suarez said.
Disney has evaluated a host of proposals for the area in recent years, according to one former company official, from Yard House, a chain of sports grills, to a club aimed at young teenagers featuring Disney Channel franchises. The company initially had hoped Splitsville would be built on Pleasure Island.
The global credit crunch has likely hampered progress. Financing dried up for restaurant operators, who can spend as much as $8 million to $10 million to build at Downtown Disney.
At the same time, Marketplace and West Side have continued to perform well, easing pressure for an immediate Pleasure Island overhaul.
Analysts say there are risks to leaving Pleasure Island unfinished. Empty buildings are a waste of valuable real estate. And a lack of things to do on Pleasure Island could discourage some visitors from wandering through it to move between Marketplace and West Side — a half-mile walk, twice as long as the distance between anchors in a typical regional mall.
"It's a perception thing. You don't want to walk a couple of city blocks if there's nothing there," said David Marks, a real-estate consultant specializing in commercial development.
Disney has taken steps to maintain some energy on Pleasure Island and encourage foot traffic. The resort says it now stages as many as 63 outdoor acts a week throughout Downtown Disney, from singers to guitarists to people posing as statues, up significantly from before the clubs closed.
Representatives for vendors that remain on Pleasure Island — the Irish pub, a surf-wear shop, a cigar bar and a 2-year-old Central American-cuisine restaurant — all would not comment or did not respond to requests for comment. But Disney says the vendors recovered quickly from the initial shock of the nightclub closings and are growing again.
The loss of the Pleasure Island clubs — and the lack of replacements — has frustrated some of Disney World's biggest fans. They say the changes have robbed the resort of one of its only options for visitors looking for something to do after dark.
"There are a lot of families that manage to go out at night. There are a lot of singles that go to Disney, boyfriends and girlfriends, husbands and wives without children. There are a massive number of conventioneers," said Bob Kraus, founder of a blog dubbed "Save Pleasure Island." "And there are very few options currently available for someone looking for nightlife."