Mouse Extra

Everyone here at Mouse Extra wish all of our readers a wonderful holiday season!

I have to admit I was not one of those people who got terribly upset that Dinsey closed Pleasure Island. I was hopeful that whatever they put there would be fun. I am not the type of guy who enjoys dance clubs. Still, Pleasure Island was an enjoyable experience. I, of course, loved that pure Disney invention- the Adventurers’ Club. But then, who didn’t? When you see people lamenting the loss of PI on the internet it invariably leads to the mourning of the Club.

One other thing I enjoyed about Pleasure Island was the Comedy Warehouse. I always liked improv comedy and would watch “Whose line is it anyway?” all the time. Well, now, from December 35 to New Year’s Eve, the troupe from the old club will playing shows at the ABC Sound Studio at Hollywood Studios. And I like this idea. I suppose this does mean that Sounds Dangerous is officially dead. If a “seasonal” attraction is not open Christmas week, then it ain’t seasonal anymore.

I encourage anyone braving the parks during that week to check this show out. If its anything like the old show at PI, it will be great. And maybe this could become more of a staple to the park. as well.

In recent weeks, there have been 2 announcements on the issue of the Disney Vacation Club. The first was the cancellation of the project at the National Harbor in Washington D.C. In theory, this resort was the next in the “off property” line of the DVC joining Hilton Head, Vero Beach, and the most recent Hawaii resort. But Aulani has experienced numerous problems including sales and that lead to new management at DVC. It also may have killed any further attempts at stand alone resorts.

Then Disney finally announced one of thier worst kept secrets: a DVC expansion to the Grand Floridian. Although everyone and thier mother knew about the construction thanks to the internet, the expansion wasn’t officially announced until the December 9th.

Concept art for the DVC wing

The question now is what next? Where does Disney take the DVC? Will we ever see another stand alone resort? I hope so. I am looking forward to taking the Disney experience to Hawaii. I think Disney can find some potential in these types of facilities. How about a Wilderness Lodge near Yellowstone or Yosemite? I’d go. How about a ski resort? I don’t ski, but I would think this could do well with families.

Disney

But where does Disney go “in parks”? I suppose they could add to existing resorts but I would think they are starting to run out of hotels to add to. I am not sure if they could add a house or two to the Polynesian. Buzz is there is no real room, but that would be an enormous success in my opinion. Where else could they go? The Yacht Club or maybe one of the moderates? And these resorts are starting to take longer to sell out, a sure sign of over saturation, at least in Flroida. It sure will be interesting.