Pleasure Island- Right Idea, Wrong Demographic or Wrong All Around?

(originally published February 19th, 2008)

I remember going to high school in Altamonte Springs, Florida...a mere 30 minutes from 'The Mouse'. All though high school I was waiting until I turned 18 so I could enter the gates of Pleasure Island and have access to the 'wonders' I imagined were waiting within.

Opening in 1989, Pleasure Island's ecclectic mix of shops, clubs, eateries and nightspots seemed like the logical addition to the various Disney 'theme parks', yet it never really took off. Thus begging the question...why?While I can't say for certain, I have a few theories on the matter.

Wrong place, wrong demographic: The 'night clubs' and 18+ orientation of Pleasure Island seems inconsistent with the view of Walt Disney World Resort (WDW) as a 'family vacation destination'. What did Disney expect parents to do, leave the kids sleeping at the Contemporary while they snuck off to Pleasure Island? There are probably some lucky parents who had the grandparents along on the trip, and were able to pawn the kids off on them for a bit of 'kid-free fun', but somehow I think not enough to make PI a success.

Right theme, wrong demographic: The odd mix of restaurants, shops and nightclubs automatically brings to mind young 20-30 somethings, without kids and with plenty of disposable income. So why didn't they take to the place? They did...sort of.

The original clubs included a mix that was supposed to cater to every whim -- country, rock'n'roll, comedy, etc.... Over the years Disney has changed the club line-up. The current line up is: 8Trax (70s & 80s), Adventurer's Club (interactive, audience participation comedy club), BET Soundstage (DJ driven, R&B), Mannequins Dance Palace (techno-trance mix with a revolving dance floor), Mods (top 40s mix), and the Comedy Warehouse.

However, let's face it, even 20-30 somethings have to eat which means they have to WORK. They are not going to be staying up until all hours at PI during the week. Which means that Disney needed their vacationers staying on site and in nearby resorts to buy into PI mania...which didn't happen (see point one: wrong place, wrong demographic).

So the question is...what can be done to save it...or more importantly, SHOULD it be saved?

On the surface, trying to appeal to a broad range of people makes sense, but lets face it, not even Disney can do 'everything' well when they try to do too much. Is PI just a waste of space? Yes and no.

Disney seems to have come back to the conclusion that something obviously needs to change. Rumors abound that they are closing down all of the clubs or most of the clubs and replacing them with more shops, attempting to make another shopping district. This rumor (if true) seems like more money grubbing from Disney corporate. Tourists spend money, therefore offering them more places to spend their money makes sense. Mind you I didn't say it was RIGHT, just that in a fiscal sense...it makes 'cents'.

Personally, I think making yet another poorly themed shopping district in an area already glutted with shops would be a bad move.

My Plan for Pleasure Island: (Disney if you are listening and use this, I expect to be compensated...the gift of a lifetime DVC membership at AKV or WLV would be sufficient!)
I believe PI should be gutted, have at most 4 clubs:

• The Adventurer's Club (why change the ONE thing that seems to keep people coming back to PI? KUNGALOOSH!!!),
• 8Trax (as that is probably your biggest demographic, people who were in highschool in the 70s & 80s),
• a top 40 club and
• reopen the Atlantic Dance Hall at PI (offer different styles on different nights, ranging from country-western to salsa and even swing).

In addition to clubs, build at least two wooden look roller coasters (if anyone can take metal and make it look like wood, it is Disney!). One like a big dipper and one like a mini-twister mouse (similar to Primeval Whirl at Animal Kingdom) would be great. Some of the rides similar to those found at Luna Park (Sydney, Australia) would be appropriate as well.

Games...people like to play games, so a carnival type game alley is a good idea. Busch Gardens does this very successfully (yes, I know that seems sacreligious, but it is true).

Restaurants... PI needs a nice mix of quick food (traditional carnival fare would be fabulous -- corn dogs, elephant ears, etc...) as well as a couple of table service restaurants.

DITCH the 'new years every night' concept. It is like a bad version of 'Groundhog Day'! But keep the open air stages, pull out some of your great acts from other parks and use them at PI. (I would LOVE to see 'Mulch, Sweat & Shears' on the stage at PI...those guys ROCK!! My hubby votes for 'Off Kilter').

And, to help the vacationing parents at WDW escape from the kids so they can actually GO to PI and put yet more money into 'The Mouse's' pockets, do a deal on babysitting for visitors staying on site. It would create more jobs, which helps the economy while at the same time encouraging people to spend more money which also...helps the economy (at least to hear economists and politicians tell it, that is how things work).

So now I'll sit back and wait for Disney to mail me the deed to my DVC property! *tongue firmly in cheek*

Revenge is a dish best served cold -- just not when related to the DDP

Ah...the Disney Dining Plan (or DDP as it is known in Disneyphile circles). Seems people either love it or hate it, although lately the 'hate' camp seems to be growing by leaps and bounds. The downside is that it seems people are taking their revenge out on the serving staff, which is only hurting some of the most poorly paid Disney employees!Initially the DDP was an add-on to the accomodation/ticket packages, consisting of:

• 1 snack (drinks, popcorn, icecream bars, that sort of thing).
• 1 counter service meal (think Disney fastfood, included a combo meal, drink and desert).
• 1 table service meal (1 appetizer, 1 main, 1 desert and a non-alcoholic beverage)**
  **(per person, per night of the package)
  

When my DH and I honeymooned at Disney in 2006, we had the DDP and loved it -- primarily because we didn't have to think about how much our meals cost. We ate like a king and queen, for about half of what it would have cost us if we had paid standard rates for what we ordered!We ate what we wanted, added extra tip if we felt it was warranted and essentially enjoyed ourselves completely.

At that stage in the game, it seemed the biggest complaint about the DDP was either the fact that kids were limited to kids meals or that there was too much food or the fact that gratuity was included regardless of the service.

Yes, it was alot of food, but people had ingenius ways of dealing with that -- my favourite solution was to order one of the appetizers and deserts for your table, then give the extras to another table nearby -- essentially sharing the 'pixie dust' with others. A lovely solution in my opinion! Limited kids meals...well, parents traded with the kids or paid the difference. Included gratuity, well...no way around that really, but in the end I (at least) didn't see it as a huge problem. Would I have purchased the DDP again, you bet!

Alas...things have changed and the DDP has morphed in what is really a small way, although to hear some people talk, it is as if the sky has fallen on the DDP program.
The changes: Appetizers have been removed from the table service meal AND gratuity is no longer included...and the price has gone up slightly.

Oh heaven forbid! THAT is a tragedy!! *insert a heavy dose of sarcasm here*

First people complain that there is too much food, especially at the table service meals. Fine, the appetizer is removed.

The price increase is easily understood in light of the current economy and the fact that when the DDP took off (partly due to Disney's 'Free DDP' promotions in August and September) table service restaurants in the parks became harder to get into as they were always booke

Then people complained about the included gratuity even if the server was terrible. Okay, that too is history. Yet now people are raising hell over the gratuity issue.

At the moment people are taking their anger out on THE SERVERS by stiffing them on tips. Now really, what is that going to accomplish other than penalizing some of the poorer paid Disney employees for a decision made by Disney corporate? If you dislike the decision to remove gratuity from the price of the dining plan, take it up with the manager, Guest Relations/Services, and even Disney Parks corporate -- don't take it out on the servers who have absolutely no control over things.

Aside from this, when gratuity was included, people thought it was unfair because service dropped. Possible reasons for this drop in the quality of service are (1) the sheer number of people dining at the parks and resorts thanks to the DDP (so servers were run off their feet with really too many tables to handle), and (2) gratuity was already included so it didn't really matter if the customer was unhappy. I concede those two things as I wasn't happy about point 2 either. HOWEVER, that raises the question as to why all the anger now that it has been removed.

The answer most often coming back from the irate people is "Disney didn't inform us".
Hmmm... when booking a Disney vacation package, regardless of whether it is booked through Disney or a travel agent, customers are given a whole slew of information ranging from park maps to brochures relating to...the DDP. On page one of the current DDP brochure it clearly states:

Gratuities are not included unless otherwise indicated.
An 18% gratuity will be addedautomatically for parties of 6 or more. A gratuity
may also be added automatically forordered items that are not included in the
Disney Dining Plan (e.g. alcoholic beverages).

Seems pretty clear cut to me, which suggests that the people who are claiming that they weren't told, were in fact, too lazy to read the information they were given and should place blame where it is due -- with themselves! So stop blaming the servers already and give them what is due to them, a fair tip for the service provided.

Say it ain't so! "Mary Poppins" as a Horror Movie?!

(Orignally published February 17th, 2008)

There are days that I'm glad Walt is no longer with us, as what I've seen today whould probably KILL HIM if he were still alive!I'm talking today about the 'enterprising' (?) soul who has used video editing software to re-cut the classic Disney film "Mary Poppins" in a horror movie trailer.




Okay, the video is somewhat funny (Julie Andrews is not someone I usually think of as scary), however the new media educator in me is horrified (no pun intended)!

The 'C-generation' (conversely the 'Content' or 'Creation' generation) takes what they want, modifies it and then throws it back out on the 'net, without proper attribution and at times (like this) totally perverting the original content. While I love the flexibility inherent in the medium (the 'net that is), I abhor the blatant copyright infringement.As the Disneyphile I am I'd like to hang the offender up by their grubby toenails from the topmost spire of Cinderella's castle, and use his rear oriface as the prop for setting off a huge roman candle. Hmmm...too drastic? Perhaps, but this sort of copyright violation is obscene and offensive.

Personally, I think Disney should take legal action against the offender -- and YouTube for publishing it.But it gets worse. On further inspection YouTube has NUMEROUS horror genre 'recuts' as they are called, of various Disney films. Some of the worst offenders even include the Disney castle logo at the start, just like legitimate Disney films do, which could be construed to suggest that the film clip is from Disney! *pokes the Disney legal teams with a long, SHARP, pokey stick*

There are a number of "Incredibles" recuts. Another plagiarizes both "The Omen" and Disney's "Hunchback of Notre Dame" (complete with the "Disney presents" logo at the start!).

Putting my desire for painful justice aside for a moment, these videos will likely find a way into my lectures this week as I discuss the ethical issues relating to 'borrowing' and modifying the work of others. I think what horrifies me most is that a number of these are noted as being created for various UNIVERSITY CLASSES! ThunderStormz states the following regarding their "Incredibles" recut:

"This is a trailer I had to make for Digital Editing class "

While I am cranky with the person who created this AND the professor who assigned it, I am also horrified that they chose to repost their 'creation' on the web. Universities have rules and regulations regarding music piracy on campus, surely they have rules about this sort of copyright infringement! I've checked my university's policies and both the lecturer AND the student would be liable for any legal action as a result of such blatant copyright violation.

I am saddened that our current technological advancement has led us to such a state. It is one thing to have the freedom and flexibility to publish our own thoughts and ideas, it is completely unethical to take the work of others and pervert their ideas/thoughts.

Sadly, these videos are over a year old and still on YouTube...makes me wonder what the Disney legal teams are doing. They prosecute people for putting a Mickey logo on a website, yet ignore videos that totally distort the plot of Disney movies.To quote The Disney Blog on this atrocity..."Quick, someone get Bob Iger on the phone."

The same old song and dance - Disney style

(Originally published February 16th)

While looking for a Disney oriented blogger/blogspot template today I ran across an interesting tidbit about the 'Disney ride template'. On a site purportedly written by various Imagineers for Disney (I am a cynic when it comes to people really being who/what they say they are on the 'net), one of the 'Imagineers' was talking about an 80s Eisner decree that new rides had to have a 'story'.What this means is essentially that non-story oriented rides like "It's a Small World" and "Mad Tea Party Teacups", "Jungle Cruise" and even (for that matter) "Space Mountain" are apparently not 'Disney enough'. Rather Eisner wanted the rides to have a 'hook' and an ending.

Fair enough, but as the writer of the post at 'Re-Imagineering' states:
"While certainly WDI saw some unbridled successes under Eisner’s ‘What’s the story?’ ordinance, it seems Imagineers had little more than one ‘story’ up their sleeve. And they shamelessly told it again and again and again."

Truer words were never spoken! Seems like most of the new rides unveiled since the mid-80s do indeed have a story and it is the same story told time and time again.

• Splash Mountain: Brer'Rabbit runs away from home (gets lost) and we (the riders) go to find him.
• Dinosaur (once called "Countdown to Extinction"): A baby dino gets lost and we...help find it.
• Tower of Terror: Guests in a creepy hotel go missing and...yup...you guessed it...WE go find them!

Now, these aren't the only examples of this particular 'genre' of ride. Others include: Alien Encounter, Stitch's Escape, Pirates of the Caribbean (revamp with Jack Sparrow), the Gran Fiesta Tour in Mexico, the Seas with Nemo and Friends, the Great Movie Ride, Muppet-Vision 4-D, and Mickey's Philharmagic (to name a few more).

To be fair, I had noticed this trend prior to coming across the blogpost, but hadn't considered how prevalent it was. Even newer thrill rides like Expedition Everest and Aerosmith's Rockin'RollerCoaster have a similar story. In EE it's about verifying (or not) the existence of the Yeti (gotta find it again), with RRC, it's the band being late (and we have to find our way to the arena). But in both, we are still going along for the ride. For that matter, Buzz LightYear Space Ranger Spin still has the riders trying to find/collect 'power cells'.

Of course, there are some rides for which this formula doesn't hold true (Alladin's Flying Carpets, Goofy's Barnstormer, etc...). However rides for which this genre doesn't hold are few and far between.

Does the recurring theme detract from our (okay my...) enjoyment of the rides...no. Let's face it, for those of us that turn into a kid once we hit the WDW interstate turn-off, minor genre redundancy isn't even thought of while we are there.

I do however find it a bit sad that this theme is used so often when much more interesting ideas are all around.

• The Seas with Nemo and Friends: Enough with Nemo already...why not have something happen to Dory. With her 2 second memory THAT would be a plot element you could play with!
• Muppet-Vision 3-D: Bean is a peripheral character that most people aren't familiar with unless they are die-hard Muppets fans (alas...like me). So he runs away? Big deal! Most people by that point in the film are stilly trying to figure out who the heck he IS! Forget the whole "someone runs away" nonsense, why not make Muppet Labs the heart of the story?

For that matter, so much could be done with the actual story from some of the Disney animated movies that don't yet have a ride/attraction associated with them -- Hercules, Home on the Range, even Ratatoulle.

On a side note...the whole Alien Encounter to Stitch's Escape fiasco does rub me the wrong way. How stupid did Disney think we were? They are the same exact story, alien in tube, breaks free and goes missing. The only difference is one wants to eat us, the other is just annoying and confirms the conspiracy theorist's view that Elvis was an alien ... to quote Tommy Lee Jones in "MIB" --"Elvis isn't dead....he just went home".

The Rumor Mill: New 5th WDW Park "Night Kingdom"

(Originally published Feb. 14th, 2008)

Okay...read this morning a 'blog' from a Disney rumor-monger who has a reputation amongst other Disneyphiles as being wrong as often as he is right.Rumor-has-it: Disney is going to build an adjunct park to Animal Kingdom "Night Kingdom" (rumored name) that is only going to be open at night, and will offer:

1. 
   up close and personal 'adventures' with the animals,
2. a fancy dinner,
3. limited capacity (rumor states 2000 max. guests, with 4000 staff...you got it...a 2:1 ratio),
4. no thrill rides/standard rides,
5. open from roughly 5pm until midnight, and
6. a HEFTY price tag ($250-300 PER PERSON).

As much as I adore (most) things Disney, and would love to see another park built, if this rumor is true, then it reeks of money-grubbing to me! Walt originally envisaged Disney as someplace that families could bring their kids to have fun and enjoy being a family. The hefty price tag for this 'Night Kingdom' means that a family of four would cost $1000 or MORE for a few hours of fun. Heck! $1000 is enough for some families to go, get tickets AND stay on site in one of the Disney resorts!! Walt must be spinning in his grave (or where-ever it is that he was placed, as rumors on THAT score are many and varied!).

Some people discussing it on the various Disney discussion boards I haunt point out that it would be an attempt by Disney to compete with Discovery Cove (or whatever it is) at SeaWorld which is around $269 for lots of up close and personal experiences with the marine life there. Yes, I can see that...but it is still exclusionary at best and quite frankly, doesn't sound to me like it would be worth the cost for a few hours with animals. Hell, if I want that I'll go to Busch Gardens (I know...that sounds soooooo sacreligious for a DisneyPhile to say).

That said, yes, I concede that there will be families out there who would gladly pay $250 or more for their 5 year old to don night-vision goggles and watch a few lions munching half a zebra (or whatever Disney feeds the non-biped carnivores in their parks...I know the bipeds dine on such lovely fare as chicken tenders and burgers). Mind you, I can see it now...5 year old cries because he isn't having fun since there are no rides, and papa (or mama...I'm not sexist) spanks said child saying... "I didn't pay $250 for you to look at animals only to sit here and cry! Now smile and have fun dammit!! This is the happiest place on earth!!!"

Now before you laugh or flame me...I have heard parents say just that sort of thing to kids while in the Magic Kingdom surrounded by rides and shows and characters galore. The only difference in that scenario was that the child was crying because they were hot, tired and wanted to go to the resort and swim (well it WAS July, stinking hot and crowded as hell in the parks....I wanted to go back to the hotel and swim too!!).

Of course, there has been a rumored 5th park in the works for a few years now, with many hoping and praying for a thrill ride oriented park to compete with Islands of Adventure. Personally, despite the fact that my persistant high blood pressure will one day ruin my ability to ride thrill rides, I would still rather see that park come to fruition than this 'Night Kingdom' atrocity.

Yes...*wistful sigh and far-away look* a theme park based on the 'Pleasure Island' from 'Pinocchio'...full of rides and games (just maybe not the booze and cigars). Imagine a roller coaster on which you soar through the sky as if on Pegasus's back (from 'Hercules' for those of you not as up on Disney movies as I am). Or how about a mine car ride based on the wild and wacky mine car chase in "Home on the Range"? Or a 3-D, simulation ride based on "The Incredibles"?Oh...I could list several dozen roller coaster ideas that would be better themed that watching a lion eat (I can spend 1/8th the amount proposed for 'Night Kingdom' and just go to a ZOO for THAT!).

Hmmm...all these ideas and no place to give them to the people that matter. There are days when I long to finish my PhD, then turn around and get a degree in engineering so I can go get a job as an Imagineer. But somehow, that would be a bad idea...math and I...we don't get along so well...and you really don't need ME designing a rollercoaster that involves MATH!But that is a musing for another day!