So What's Coming to the New Pleasure Island?

[OldsDr]

Originally Posted by BDL

I miss the beer carts all over the place.

And a Bucket or two

[KINGBOBOFTHENORTH]

Originally Posted by skeeter31

While I hold out hope that something will take the spot of PI...my thought is they are just going to have the PI sign removed and put in a DTD sign in its place, just to keep the theming of DTD similar.

Could be a very good guess. Nothing has happened with the sign yet and there have been no announcements.

Thursday on the Save Pleasure Island Blog I've got some pictures taken inside the Adventurers Club. You'll see how nearly every artifact has been removed. You may also be surprised by what still remains!

BobK/Orlando

[veritas]

I'm very out of date on this subject. Any real direction tot e PI revamp or is it just dead on the water?

[DCTooTall]

Originally Posted by veritas

I'm very out of date on this subject. Any real direction tot e PI revamp or is it just dead on the water?

It's almost at the point of having been dead on the water so long it's starting to really smell.... so being Disney, they've tried to mask the smell with the small bits of air freshener, such as a couple carts and some seating areas, but you can still tell the smell is there.

[lockedoutlogic]

Originally Posted by DCTooTall

It's almost at the point of having been dead on the water so long it's starting to really smell.... so being Disney, they've tried to mask the smell with the small bits of air freshener, such as a couple carts and some seating areas, but you can still tell the smell is there.

x2


disney was adamant to spin the area of pleasure island off on third party leases such as they had done on the west side and parts of PI/ the marketplace to make easy, low overhead fees and rent.

It was not a bad idea...however the west side and the rest of downtown was either constructed or significantly renovated during the "roaring 90's"...which rolled almost immediately into the "inexplicably roaring 2000's"

the problem is that those times are OVER. we don't seem to have anyway to start another economic boom/ unwarranted spending spree that disney needs to convince the kind of "high end" third party vendors to pay their ransom.
we seem to be out of magic tricks to convince people that the world's economy is growing...probably because some people are becoming "pesky" and looking at the facts and realizing they've been had as a society.

disney will have to wait for more tax cuts for "job creators"...i suppose...to open a lotus dealership were the wild horse saloon used to be...

[KINGBOBOFTHENORTH]

Originally Posted by veritas

I'm very out of date on this subject. Any real direction to the PI revamp or is it just dead on the water?

Well PI was supposed to be replaced with Hyperion Wharf but that was cancelled when Boardwalk vendors protested the HW concept as being way too close to what the Boardwalk already was. So back to the drawing board.

Plans are being worked on. From what I've read, there are some small plans and there are some huge plans. The latter, if they actually do it, are supposedly amazing. Think doubling or even tripling the size of DTD, parking garage structures, direct ramps off I-4, trolley system from one end to the other.

If and when, who knows!

BobK/Orlando

[doconeill]

Originally Posted by KINGBOBOFTHENORTH

Well PI was supposed to be replaced with Hyperion Wharf but that was cancelled when Boardwalk vendors protested the HW concept as being way too close to what the Boardwalk already was. So back to the drawing board.

Plans are being worked on. From what I've read, there are some small plans and there are some huge plans. The latter, if they actually do it, are supposedly amazing. Think doubling or even tripling the size of DTD, parking garage structures, direct ramps off I-4, trolley system from one end to the other.

If and when, who knows!

BobK/Orlando

If those "huge plans" happen, I wonder if Flamingo Crossings is dead-dead.

[mitros]

Originally Posted by KINGBOBOFTHENORTH

Well PI was supposed to be replaced with Hyperion Wharf but that was cancelled when Boardwalk vendors protested the HW concept as being way too close to what the Boardwalk already was. So back to the drawing board.

Plans are being worked on. From what I've read, there are some small plans and there are some huge plans. The latter, if they actually do it, are supposedly amazing. Think doubling or even tripling the size of DTD, parking garage structures, direct ramps off I-4, trolley system from one end to the other.

If and when, who knows!

BobK/Orlando

Wow, at that point, I guess it would be a noise problem in the rooms at the far end of the OKW resort.

[mitros]

Originally Posted by doconeill

If those "huge plans" happen, I wonder if Flamingo Crossings is dead-dead.

Wouldn't that be a shame after they put all of that infrastructure in over there at Flamingo Crossings!

[doconeill]

Originally Posted by mitros

Wouldn't that be a shame after they put all of that infrastructure in over there at Flamingo Crossings!

Did they actually do more than push the dirt around? I think there was some landscaping done...

[mitros]

Originally Posted by doconeill

Did they actually do more than push the dirt around? I think there was some landscaping done...

We go through that general area when we go the back way to WDW. Did it again last week. What is back there are completed roads, fire hydrants, street signs, what appear to be signage monuments, ready for some type of directional or entrance signs to who knows what. They were all ready to go with that area until the economy crapped out. I think there were going to be a lot of non-Disney stuff back there, resorts, restaurants, etc., But like the sponsorship at Epcot and WS, they couldn't get any one to "chip-in" as it were. God only knows what they will do back there. One thing for sure, if they build a new resort area back there that becomes real popular. our "easy back-door access" to WDW will be severely curtailed. Of course, with the economy apparentley not getting any better, that may not happen for some time. Unless perhaps Disney spends their own money and puts strictly "Disney" stuff back there.

[KINGBOBOFTHENORTH]

Originally Posted by doconeill

Did they actually do more than push the dirt around? I think there was some landscaping done...

I understand a Walgreens is going in at FC. Not sure if construction has begun yet but my Blog covered the story several months ago.

There is some activity happening (supposedly) at Mannequins. That was my story today at: http://savepleasureisland.blogspot.c...ving-into.html

As always, don't believe it until you see it!

BobK/Orlando

[*NikkiBell*]

Just thought I'd share the fact that the DIS Unplugged Podcast did a segment on the demise of PI and DTD. You can find it here:

http://www.wdwinfo.com/disney-podcast/

Also, there's some great conversations being had about what has happened to the areas here:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2952133

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2951994

[doconeill]

Originally Posted by KINGBOBOFTHENORTH

I understand a Walgreens is going in at FC. Not sure if construction has begun yet but my Blog covered the story several months ago.

What get's me is that it's not exactly convenient to anyone not already on property without going through a toll, unless you want to go the long way around to get to Western Way. Plonking a Walgreens there without some sort of critical mass of other things to draw people doesn't make any sense to me...or why they didn't at least put the toll north of Western Way.

[fannatic]

I don't know if any of you have read the Disney Gossip's report on the big plans for Downtown Disney. They're supposedly studying these. When they say double the size of DTD, that's where it gets interesting. They want to add a second level to the Pleasure Island area. This would be built over what they have now. The thing that really got me thinking was a long range plan. This would take the West End parking lot and turn it into a huge structure. It would have two levels for parking and on the top was only labled "entertainment". I was thinking about Disneyland's plans to turn 100 acres of parking lot into their third park based on Marvel. Could Disney be considering something like this for the area? It would certainly be a more green alternative than tearing down wild areas for a new park. This could be Disney's answer to future expansion problems. I just can't see them building this type of infrastructure for more shops and restaurants. They seem to be having a hard enough time finding third party restaurants. Marvel would fit well with such a structure, or maybe a new concept like DisneySky or DisneySpace.