Mouseketeer Alison's
Walt Dated World
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Pleasure Island and West Side at Walt Disney World
Pleasure Island and West Side
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Pleasure Island opened on May 1, 1989. The Island has a backstory about how Merriweather Adam Pleasure "the wise fool, the mad visionary, the scoundrel, the scalawag and the seeker of enjoyment" lived here in the early 20th Century and created several industries before getting lost at sea sometime around 1941. Pleasure Island was known for many years as the place where every night was celebrated as New Year's Eve and the moon mascot was named Funmeister. This practice was discontinued in 2005. Most of the clubs on the island closed in 2008 and in November of 2010, Disney announced the area would be themed as "Hyperion Wharf". For admission prices through the years, go to the Transportation and Ticket Center.
Clubs
Adventurers Club: One of the original Opening Day clubs that featured curios from Merriweather Adam Pleasure's world travels. It closed on September 27, 2008 and was replaced by The Edison in 2018.
BET Soundstage Club: Formerly the Neon Armadillo, this club opened on June 10, 1998 and was named after the Black Entertainment Television network. It featured R&B, hip-hop and rap music and served drinks and Caribbean-style food. It closed on September 27, 2008. Maria & Enzo's Ristorante later took over the space in 2018.
Cage: Formerly Videopolis East, this club opened April 7, 1990 and played music videos on 170 monitors. It closed in December of 1992 and was replaced by 8TRAX.
Comedy Warehouse: An original Opening Day comedy club that closed September 27, 2008. STK Orlando was later built on this site.
8TRAX: Formerly Cage, this 70s (and some 80s) themed dance club opened December 31, 1992 and closed September 27, 2008.
Mannequins: An Opening Day club that featured mannequins arranged around the club and a dance floor on a turntable. It closed September 27, 2008 and was replaced by the Morimoto Asia restaurant.
Motion: Formerly the Wildhorse Saloon, this dance club operated from May 12, 2001 to September 27, 2008.
Pleasure Island Jazz Company: Replaced Merriweather's Market on August 27, 1993 and then closed January 5, 2005 to become part of the Raglan Road Irish Pub.
Videopolis East: Videopolis was one of the original Pleasure Island clubs. It was originally The Artificial Intelligence Lab and was used by Merriweather's son Henry, "the mad genius of Lake Buena Vista". Henry had been working on a project called The Pleasure Cellular Automaton. When the building was rediscovered, the automaton was found alive. The club featured new wave and alternative music with video screens. It was originally conceived as an East Coast cousin to Disneyland's Videopolis and was for guests under the age of 21. On April 7, 1990, it became Cage but the decor was basically the same.
XZFR Rockin' Rollerdrome: Island lore said that this building was where Mr. Pleasure indulged his passion in UFOs. He built a wind tunnel and developed a flying machine called the "X-Thing" that operated on wind power and only flew once on September 1, 1940. The ground floor was a dance floor and club goers could skate around on the second level and listen to a DJ suspended from the ceiling in a booth or be served by Cast Members on skates. Disney lawyers must've had fits over all of the liability issues that could happen when tourists strap on skates! The club was later reincarnated as the Rock N Roll Beach Club, which featured mostly cover bands before closing February 3, 2008. Paradiso 37 was later built on the site.
Shops
Dick Tracy: This shop was a tie-in with the film of the same name and was open during part of 1990. It was located in the former Island Depot location.
Doodles: A t-shirt and retro accessory store in Rock N Roll Beach club. It was an Opening Day shop and closed July 31, 1996. It later became a Tabasco shop and then a new location of Island Depot in 1997.
DTV: Named after the music video show on the Disney Channel, this shop opened in the former location of YesterEars in September of 1993. It featured character items and closed March 19, 2006.
Front Page: You could have your picture taken and put on the front of a magazine. It lasted until April 9, 1995.
Hammer and Fire: Titanium jewelry, stoneware, and wall hangings were available here. Live models sometimes posed with the mannequins. The store was later replaced by Reel Finds in 1994.
The Island Depot: An Opening Day shop, it later became the Dick Tracy shop and after that Jessica's of Hollywood. It later returned and became Music Legends in 1993 and then a new location of Island Depot opened in the former site of Doodles.
Mouse House: This character shop stocked the usual Walt Disney World souvenirs. It closed on February 3, 1991 and became Pleasure Island Jazz Company. There was later a Mouse House in the former Avigators location that opened on February 9, 2000. It lasted until February 15, 2005.
Music Legends: Opening in 1993, this shop sold music memorabilia and was located in the former location of Island Depot/Jessica's of Hollywood space. In closed in 1999 and became Fuego by Sosa Cigars.
Propeller Heads: This arcade was open daily from 11 A.M. to 2 A.M.
Reel Finds: Replacing Hammer and Fire, this shop sold collectibles. It opened in 1994 and closed on April 1, 2006.
Superstar Studios: You could make your own music video at this location. It closed March 3, 2006.
Suspended Animation: This shop sold animation cels and closed in April of 2004.
(Brochure courtesy of Johnny Casella.)
Restaurants
D-Zertz: This candy and coffee shopp lasted until January 1, 2005
Empress Lilly (Once Pleasure Island was constructed, this former Disney Village restaurant was included with Pleasure Island.)
Hill Street Diner: Formerly Maxwell's Diner, it offered alfresco dining.
Maxwell's Diner: Later became Hill Street Diner.
Merriweather's Market: This place was a food court. It closed in 1993 and later became the Pleasure Island Jazz Company.
Portobello Yacht Club: A Levy Restaurant that served regional Italian cuisine. It was later known as Portobello Country Italian Trattoria starting October 12, 2008. It renovated during the fall of 2017 into Terralina Crafted Italian.
Sweet Surrender: This soft serve ice cream and yogurt place was next to Avigators Supply.
Wildhorse Saloon: This barbeque restaurant and country dance club opened in May 31, 1998 in the former Fireworks Factory location and closed in February 25, 2001. It was replaced by Motion.
West Side
Bongos Cuban Cafe: This West Side eatery was associated with Gloria and Emilio Estefan. It opened September 15, 1997 and closed August 18, 2019. It later became Summer House on the Lake.
Cirque du Soleil La Nouba: Meaning "to live it up", this show premiered December 23, 1998 and ran until December 21, 2017. It was replaced by a new show called Drawn to Life.
Disney Quest: A game center that opened June 19, 1998 and lasted until July 3, 2017. It closed July 3, 2017 and was replaced by the NBA Experience. A second Disney Quest was located in Chicago from 1999-2001.
NBA Experience: Located in the former Disney Quest, this basketball-themed interactive area lasted from August 12, 2019 to March 16, 2020.
NBA Store: This shop was next to the NBA Experience and opened on July 8, 2019. It closed on March 16, 2020.
Ridemakerz: Located in the former Virgin Megastore building, it later became Splitsville Luxury Lanes.
Virgin Megastore: West Side music and book store that was later Ridemakerz and then Splitsville Luxury Lanes.
This is an unofficial fan site that is not affiliated with the Walt Disney Company or Disney theme parks. All copyrights acknowledged. Please respect the work I put into compiling both existing and my own information on this site by not linking to any text or pictures without crediting that they were located on this site.
See ya real soon!