Mouse Extra

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.

So what exactly is happening to Pleasure Island?  Well, this morning we get an official sneak peek into the plans over at the Disney Parks Blog.

Pleasure Island is transforming into the wonderfully named Hyperion Wharf.  It looks like Disney finally is making good use of the waterfront real estate, the same kind of use that made the old Disney Village, now Marketplace, so appealing.  The article is typically short on detail, but with enough info to make it mouthwatering…

The district will come to life with a nostalgic yet modern take on an early 20th century port city and amusement pier. By day, stylish boutiques and innovative restaurants will draw you in and by night, thousands of lights will transform the area into an electric wonderland.

Taking its name from Hyperion, the Greek god of light, as well as the street on which Walt Disney built his first major animation studio, the wharf district will also feature a relaxing lakeside park and enhanced pedestrian walkways. And its diverse eateries will expand dining availability at Downtown Disney by more than 25 percent.

To be totally honest, this plan is much better than I was expecting.  I guess I had a fear of something like an expansion of the West Side-style for Pleasure Island, myself not being much of a fan of the West Side.  This looks to have some serious potential.

I wanted to make you aware of Tuesday’s updates to the Orlando Sentinel’s Theme Park Rangers blog.  There are a couple of stories that deserve mention.

First is this story about Disney World’s most glaring recent screw-up, the limited show times for Fantasmic!  and the new way we must all view the accompanying dinner package.

Previously (years ago), we had walked in a separate entrance, and we only needed to be there a half hour early. One of the reasons we had done the dinner package was to cut down our wait time; we were with two small children who by that time of night can’t keep up their good spirits with an hourlong wait. So that was disappointing. However, we heard others on the way out saying they had gotten there 90 minutes early, so we did cut some wait time. Still, it’s good to know that even if you buy the dinner package, there will be a fairly substantial wait involved.

We talked about this on Mouse Extra a couple of months ago, and quite frankly the author here has gone easy on Disney for this awful decision.  I want to join Matt Hochberg of Studios Central in calling for everyone to write in or better yet if you are at the parks stop into Guest Services and express your anger and disappointment with Disney officials for limiting Fantasmic!  This is one of Walt Disney World’s most popular shows and they have turned it into a logistical disaster for paying customers who deserve better.

As for the other story, we get a look at the new Characters in Flight hot air balloon taking to the skies over at Downtown Disney.  While I am not at all a big fan of the name they chose, I do think the graphics on the balloon are rather nice.

It really was only a matter of time before the down economy had an effect on one of Disney’s third-party retailers.  According to the Orlando Sentinel, Virgin Megastores will be closing all of its location by the summer of this year, including the one found at Downtown Disney’s Westside. 

Disney spokeswoman Zoraya Suarez said Virgin’s last day of operations at Downtown Disney will be May31.

The store “enjoyed strong sales,” she said, and Disney is in talks with several other retailers about filling the space.

This can not come at a good time for Disney, not that there is a good time for such news.  But with all the empty buildings littering the Pleasure Island landscape having another big fat empty elephant in the middle of the room is going to go a long way towards turning this once vibrant area into a proverbial ghost town. 

But, of course, we here at Mouse Extra are Disney World addicts.  The only thing we care about now is what is going into that huge space.  The longest running rumor has been that a giant flagship ESPNZone would go into that building.  At first, the rumor was Disney Quest would make way for the new sports-themed mega-restaurant.  But just over a year ago, we reported a Jim Hill Media rumor that indeed the Virgin location would be the one to go.

The problem here for Disney is the shear enormity of the building.  There are only a few things that could handle such a size without completely tearing the building down and starting fresh, which may very well be what happens.  Needless to say, this is going to put a major dent in the already struggling appeal of the non-Marketplace Downtown Disney area in the short term.