Conference koolit::disney

    This is from an AAA article dated March 2, 1989, and is reprinted
    without permission.
    
                        Pleasure Island
    
         Pleasure Island, a nightlife-centered entertaiment district
    inspired by the antics and achievements of a legendary entrepreneur,
    will open in May 1989 at Walt Disney World Village.
    
         The "abandoned waterfront district" renovation will house six
    nightclubs, a half dozen restaurants and snack facilities, 12 shops
    offering exciting merchandise from around the world, a 10 screen
    theater complex and streeside entertainment.  It will provide a
    brand new entertainment dimmension on the Walt Disney World property.
    
         Building their designs upon a made to discover history complete
    with a cast of characters and environments, Disney "Imagineers"
    have fashioned a unique neighborhood for contemporary nighttime
    entertainment from the "remmants" of a former industrial complex.
    
         The island entertainment includes something for everyone. 
    Comedy and magic, live country and westernand jazz music, '50's
    & '60's rock 'n' roll dance hits, high tech videos and a rockin'
    roller rink are all part of the Pleasure Island experience.

    
    I've been seeing different messages in this conference about the
    opening of Pleasure Island (completely open). And they include such
    comments as "early summer", "June", "May", "summer 89", and in a
    recent "Magic Key" quarterly issue now mentioned "fall 89". Does
    this mean it's been delayed ? Does anyone have a reliable
    source ?
    
    Knowing if it would be open (not just the theatres) would help me
    better plan a tentative schedule for my trip (107 days and counting)
    
    Mark

rep to <<< Note 6.2 by GENRAL::HIMES "Close Encounters of the Disk Kind" >>>

>-< <When is it really planned to open ?> >-
>    I've been seeing different messages in this conference about the
>    opening of Pleasure Island (completely open). And they include such
>    comments as "early summer", "June", "May", "summer 89", and in a
>    recent "Magic Key" quarterly issue now mentioned "fall 89". Does
>    this mean it's been delayed ? Does anyone have a reliable
>    source ?
>    
>    Knowing if it would be open (not just the theatres) would help me
>    better plan a tentative schedule for my trip (107 days and counting)
    
    Mark,
    
    Unfortunately Disney,  seems  to suffer the same type of slips that DEC
    Engineering  does on  new  products.    It  would  appear  that  Disney
    Attractions open when they open period, and if you just  happen  to  be
    visiting  at  the time so much the better.  (notice the  discussion  on
    Splash  Mountain,  everyone here thought it was already open due to the
    TV shots etc.)
    
    That's one of the reason I'm  not  plan  to  go  until Spring of '92, I
    figure by then all the current construction  will  be done (Star Tour's
    included I hope) and I won't feel like  I need to come back in 2 months
    so I can see such and such.
    
    CLaude

    re .2,.3
    
    Mark,
    
    From a '87  guide  to the MK I have from my trip, one of the back pages
    was for the Guess What's Next section for WDW and here is what it said,
    
    Pleasure Island, Opening Spring 1988 (Now Schedule for July '89?)
    Typhoon Lagoon, Opening Summer 1988 (Now Scheduled for June '89?)
    Grand FLoridian, Opening Summer 1988 (It opened in August of '88)
    Disney-MGM Studio Tour, Opening Spring 1989 (Actually May 1st '89)
    
    It would appear that maybe the Studio  Tour  was in jeopardy of opening
    late and they diverted all most of their  energies from Pleasure Island
    and Typhoon Lagoon to keep it on schedule, just guessing mind you.
    
    Claude    

    
    RE  .3, .4
    
    Thanks Claude !
    
    I'm keeping the fingers crossed.
    
    "recent trip returnee's" ......... keep us all updated  !!!!
    
    100 days and counting
    
    		...................sounds like a centenial announcement  8'0 
    
    Mark

    Just got off ther phone with the MKC Travel Center.  Currently there is
    no  schedule date  for  completion,  although  it  is  schedule  to  be
    completed by  end  of  summer.    Admision  will  not  be  part  of the
    multi-day/annual passports (not sure  of  the  Vacation  plans  at this
    time) and will be a  seperate admision price, they currently don't know
    if it'll be one price for everything in Pleasure Island or not.
    
    I hope most of it's open for August.
    
    Claude

    One of the WBZ dJ's interviewed the manager for one of the night
    clubs in pleasure island,  Manicans [not sure of the spelling].
    I believe he said it was due to open in June.  It is the largest
    of the nightclubs at 3 floors and 25K sq feet. He said disney went
    to all the famous nightclubs in the world to bring back all the
    best of ideaskO.  
    also a new term defined  "soft opening' thats when they open up
    a park  like mgm or this nightclub a week ahead of the official
    time in order to test out the attractions with a select group of
    people in order to fine tune it.
    
    ed
    

    
    That's "MANNEQUINS's and is said to have a "revolving dance floor"
    
    That's really good news if they open in June or even July.
    
    Mark (85 days)
    
    

    I sure hope they open before June 17th.  (fat chance, huh?)
    
    Does anyone know if MANNEQUINS's is going to be a 21+ type club,
    or can others go too?
    
    Steve O (who hates being 20)

    
    I believe most all the places at P.I. are family oriented to some
    extent. Granted, there may be ID checks to validate alcohol beverage
    drinking but then most of the places that sell alcohol in the other
    parks rarely ever checked (unless you look like you need checked).
    
    I don't have my book in front of me to specifically verify Mannequin's.
    I do remember there was another nightclub listed (Videopolis I believe)
    that was specifically tailored for teenagers and Birnbaums never
    mentioned anything about "restrictions" at any of the night spots.
    
    Markus
    
    

    
    Hi! 
      Just returned from WDW and Pleasure Island is open! There are
      lots of shops , a few places to eat and numerous clubs.   We
      didn't do the clubs but I think the deal is you pay one price
      and they either stamp your hand or something like that and you
      can go from club to club and someone just checks to make sure
      you have the proper stamp or whatever to get in.
    
      Special mention to the Portobello Yacht Club it is an Italian
      restaruant.  The food is great, we had lunch there on Sunday
      and there was no crowd at all.  Beware of the wine steward
      who will try to convince you to purchase the wine and fruit
      punch, which by the way was very good. It was like a sangria
      with lots of fruit chunks. Can be purchased by the glass or the
      pitcher and goes down real easy. And yes, we got the pitcher and
      finished it all. 
                                               
      Have a great time !!
    
      judy
    
    

    We ate at Portobello Yacht Club and loved it.  This is a must eat
    place when going to Pleasure Island.  From what I heard from the
    comments around me everyone was loving it.  In fact, the couple
    beside us went and told the manager how much they enjoyed it.

    So Pleasure Island is open in full??  I thought it was slated for
    August '89 along with Typhoon Lagoon.. (according to literature sent
    by WDW (resort guest info package)).
    
    George
    

    I was down in April and got invited to one of the night clubs, actually
    a comedy club at Pleasure Island. I can't for the life of me remember
    the name of it. Anyways we had a great time! That is going to be
    quite the hot spot once it opens fully. 

    
    RE.14
    
    I believe it's called "Comedy Warehouse " ?? !
    
    Mark
    
    

    That's it!!!  What a good time!!!!
    
    
    Dan

    Copied from a Magic Kingdom Club news bulletin.

               NEWS FROM WALT DISNEY'S MAGIC KINGDOM CLUB.

                 A Pleasurable Savings at Pleasure Island

    Mannequins dance, the "spirits speak and music and merriment rocks the
    night away at Pleasure Island, a new themed evening entertainment
    complex next to the Disney Village Marketplace.  And now Magic Kingdom
    Club members can enjoy it all at the specially reduced price of $13.50
    (plus tax) when they show their membership card at the time of
    purchase.  That's a $1.45 savings per person off the regular
    admission.  Magic Kingdom Club children (ages 4 to 17) are admitted to
    all clubs when accompanied by an adult for $7.00 (plus tax) for regular
    child admission.

    Six themed nightclubs, a dozen exciting shops, 10-screen AMC movie
    theater, and six innovative restaurants and food courts make up this
    new kind of nightlife experience inspired by the colorful antics of
    fabled sailmaking magnate, Merriweather Adam Pleasure.

    According to Disney legend, this adventurous entrepreneur moved to the
    island in the late 19th century, built a sailmaking empire and then
    disappeared at sea during a trip around the world.  Soon afterwards, the
    small community fell into disrepair until it was uncovered by the
    Disney Imagineers who fashioned a nighttime paradise from more than
    120,000 square feet of abandoned lofts, warehouse and factories.  The
    result: a fun-filled, themed entertainment park featuring comedy and
    magic, live dance bands, high-tech video entertainment and a rockin'
    roller rink.

    Guests can dance and roller skate into the future at XZFR Rockin'
    RollerDrome (pronounced "zephyr"), the Imagineers' answer to a
    rock'n'roll encounter of the futuristic kind.  Members of the club's
    live band, the "Time Pilots," take flight above the main dance floor in
    a Starpod vehicle that hovers beneath a giant "mothership."  Guests on
    roller skates orbit the dance floor on a second-level roller rink.

    At Mannequins Dance Palace, visitors take center stage atop a unique
    turntable dance floor side by side with mannequins both live and
    animated.  Transformed from the remains of Merriweather Pleasure's
    cavernous warehouse, the nightclub is surrounded by stage rigging,
    lights and catwalks that bring to life the drama and magic of the
    theater.

    Strange things can happen during an expedition into the unknown at the
    Adventures Club.  New surprises such as African masks that come alive
    and outspoken spirits of adventures past, await around every corner of
    this lavish, eccentric hideaway.  Meanwhile for the under-21 crowd
    there is Videopolis East, a pulsing, high-tech teen club featuring 170
    video screens and a wide array of non-alcoholic drinks.

    The flavor of the Southwest tempts visitors to the Neon Armadillo where
    long-necked beer and sizzling fajitas are served to the tune of country
    and western bands.  And what once was Pleasure's power plant is now the
    Comedy Warehouse where laughter is ignited by a troupe of off-the-wall,
    improvisational lunatics.

    Three footbridges connect Pleasure Island to the Disney Village
    Marketplace.  The island is open at no cost for shopping or dinner
    excursions, and shops and some food facilities are open during the day. 
    One admission price admits guests to all six nightclubs which operate
    from early evening until well past midnight, plus access to the "Baton
    Rouge Lounge" aboard the Empress Lilly Riverboat.

    Come and enjoy the newest Disney nighttime entertainment at a special
    Magic Kingdom Club savings.

    Maybe it's just me but does the name, Pleasure Island, ring a bell with
    any of you Disneyholics out there??  If it doesn't, turn in your ears.
    :-)
    
    Pleasure Island was the island in "Pinocchio" where all the boys went
    to do nothing but have a good time and rough house, but eventually it
    turned them all into jackasses.
    
    I remembered this when I first heard about Pleasure Island and thought
    that it was rather amusing that the Disney folks would use that name
    for their adult entertainment complex.  I hope none of the visitors to
    Pleasure Island suffer the same fate as those boys from "Pinocchio".
    
    - Skip

    
     Announcing Zeppy Hour!
    
     If you go to the club called X-fer's (pronounced Zepher's) between
    the hours of 5pm and 7pm, every day, and order 1 drink, you recieve
    a little red ticket.  On the way out, or while in the club, someone
    will ask to see the ticket, stamp your hand and tear the ticket in
    half.
    
     With this little stamp on your hand, you can now get into all of
    the club in Pleasure Island without having to buy a ticket!  All
    for the price of a beer (and they had some $1 bottles there!).
    
     Plus, during this time, they give little prices away and have free
    hors d'overs (my french is rusty).
    
     Oh, get there as early as possible as the bars get a little hectic
    as 7pm approches and people want that ticket before it's too late...
    
     So, whatever you do, don't spend you money on a ticket unless you
    have something much better to do with your time...
    
    
    Rich

    
    RE: Note 34.69 (trip report of PARITY::CARON); Concerning Pleasure
    Island:
    
>    Bought a 4-night club pass.
>    You could purchase 1-6 club passes.
    
    
    How does the price of a multi-night Pleasure Island pass compare to the
    cost of a single night pass?  I havn't seen these advertised before. 
    Does this pass qualify for a MKC discount?
    
    Also, do you know if a Pleasure Island upgrade could be added to annual
    passports.

    I have placed my reply here in the PI note for easier reference to
    others.
    
    /Jim Pappas
    
    
    BTW, note 96 is reserverd for Disney admission prices.  Feel free to
    respond there if more appropriate.

    I called Disney to see what they had going on for New Years and of the 
    handful of scattered parties I think we'll be taking in the Pleasure
    Island Street Party!...for $55 per person you get into all the clubs
    and they will be having a DJ in the center of ?town? to tie the whole
    party together...will be having free drinks and snacks all night long.
    With dancing and partying in the streets...sounds like my type of
    nigth!...Just booked our flight down...not to bad! 5 days hotel, air,
    rental car and free tickets to SeaWorld for only $316 per person! Thats
    flying out Newyears eve morning too...
    
    Looking for a warm Newyears Party!
    al

    re.19
    
    XFR's stopped the "buy a drink, get a ticket" discount.  Actually,
    they discontinued it one week before we got there, which was last
    week.
    
    They now have, if you arrive and buy a drink (I don't even think you
    need to buy the drink) between 5:00 and 7:00, you get you're hand
    stamped and can go in and out of XFR's for the rest of the night.
    
    The Neon Armadillo had this same policy, but has discontinued it.
    
    We went to XFR's due to your hint, and still thank you for it.  Too
    bad we missed it by a week!
    
                                         cj *->

    
    For the month of February, Thursday is Ladies' Night.  All members of
    the female persuasion get into all the clubs free.  I don't know if
    this policy will go beyond February, since the schedule only went to
    the end of February, but it might be worthwhile to check it out.  It
    saved us a lot of momey.
    
    --Jay
    
    

    can anyone give us insight as to whether or not kids get anything out
    of Pleasure Island. I'd hate to go there with my kids to find out that
    there's really nothing for them to enjoy there.
    
    Thanks,
    
    Mike

    It depends on your kids, but probably not.  While I doubt you'd find
    anything X-rated, PI is aimed at adults.  With perhaps the exception of
    the movie theater there is not much of interest to small kids.

    There is an under-21 dance club and a disco roller rink so teenagers
    might enjoy the chance to get away from their parents for a while.

    
    My kids, ages 8 and 5, enjoyed the Comedy Club and particularly the
    Adventurer's Club.  They also enjoyed the roller skating.  So you might
    want to consider going with your children.
    
    --Jay
    

    My sister, 17, just got back from the World.  She said pleasure island
    was pretty much a bore for anyone in her age group.
    
    Steve
    

    Thanks guys.
    
    I pretty much figured it wouldn't be worth it and frankly speaking,
    even as an adult Pleasure Island doesn't really appeal to me.
    
    Mike

    My chance to FLAME!!!
    
    PLEASURE ISLAND IS A RIP-OFF!!!  AND NOT UP TO DISNEY STANDARDS!!!!
    
    We were there Saturday night; it costs $6.36 just to walk into the
    roller-dome THEN $2.12 per HALF hour to skate and it's a TINY skating
    area!  (We got some very bad info in the afternoon from the gal who
    issues the rental skates so I was ALREADY aggravated!)
    
    The cost for an adult (non-skater) to go in is the same $6.36 plus
    the drinks are $5 EACH so I waited outside while my daughter skated.
    The time by now is about 11:30 PM and there were people STAGGERING 
    DRUNK wandering around.  I can see that in downtown Nashua; it's NOT
    what I want to expose my teen-age daughter too!!!
    
    FLame-off!!!
    
    Maryann Hodges
    

    What a difference in two people's prespective.  My outlook is in
    thetrip report.  You can avoid costs of admission by being there
    prior to 7pm.  I don't know about skate rental.  The rink appeared
    very large, perhaps there are two?  Its bigger than anything around
    here at least. Drinks were cheaper before 7pm.  I would not encourage
    taking chridren to any drinking places at later hours.
    and there is more to Pleasure island than Xfer's/
    
    ed
    

The afternoon until 7 (or 6?) is the "Skating time".  At this time WZFR's
skate rentals are for hours and music is by a DJ.  After that time, skating
is expensive (rental by � hr).  The theory is that skating is a novelty and
you will skate for a round or two (ie. �hr - 1hr) and then leave for either
some food (3rd level) or dancing (1st level).

The rink is not *huge* but is comfortable.  Remember this is not a dull,
ex-ice rink for hundreds of people to skate in.  This is a themed, high-tech,
stylish nightclub atmosphere.  The floor is non-wood but workable and the
size is, again, comfortable. [In my grand and glorius youth I was a 
freestylist and I liked the WZFR...went for two hours...big $$$ but I thought
it ws worth it].

Finally, I must agree with .-1, Pleasure Island is a Disney owned, NIGHTCLUB
CLUSTER...not a theme park.  The Disney style comes in with the cleanliness,
showiness, etc, but it is still a collection of bars giving what that normally
brings...big expenses and the occaisional person whos been there too long.  If
that is not what you want to have a family member potentially exposed to than
go early and leave by 9ish.

BTW, I highly recommend WZFR.  I went on my last trip with a resort-freebee
pass and stayed from 7-closing at this place.  The extreme lower and upper
levels give a place to sit and talk (albiet loudly), the music was (IMHO)
very VERY good (music was by versatile instrument rock band), the atmosphere
and decor was great, nice dance floor, and a good roller skating rink all
meshed together in an astectic way.  Thumbs up..

George

        My wife and I spent 4 nights at Pleasure Island during our
        vacation.  I guess this attests to the fact that we liked it
        there.  I spent a 5th night there with some of the people from
        work.  My wife and I purchased PI annual passport upgrades for
        $16 each.

        During our first week there, my mother-in-law was staying with
        us at our condo.  For three nights, she took care of the kids
        at night and my wife and I went to PI till the wee hours of
        the morning.  One night, we took our oldest daughter
        (Jennifer, age 8) along and used my M-I-L's 5 day super pass
        for free admission.

        You must be 18 to enter PI unless you are with a parent. If
        you are twenty one, they will put a colored hospital bracelet
        on your wrist when you enter the island which enables you to
        buy alcohol. They are very strict about checking ages; twice
        they asked my wife (mid-thirties, three kids...) for an ID,
        which made her day each time.

        We went to and enjoyed all of the clubs.  Mannequins was our
        favorite for dancing.  The Adventures Club was a lot of fun
        but our overall favorite was the Comedy Warehouse.  We went to
        three shows which were all similar in structure, but since it
        is improvisational comedy, they were still very different from
        each other.  The comedians were very good, but it must be
        difficult for them to do 4 shows a night.

        New Years Eve is celebrated every night.  It is held at
        midnight on Friday and Saturday, and at 11:00 Sunday through
        Thursday nights.  The fireworks display is brief and not very
        loud.  They must be trying to keep things reasonable for the
        people staying at the Disney Village Resort.  The rest of the
        celebration is loud and festive, with confetti blown all over
        the island, dancers, and an overall party atmosphere.  There
        is a stage with a live band which changes from time to time. 
        While we were there, they had an oldies rock and roll band, a
        Jamaican band, and a special show by Otis Day and the Nights
        (one show only).

        Pleasure Island was closed one night when they had a Dick
        Tracy cast party.  Another night, Cadence Inc. rented out 3
        clubs for a few hours (7:00 - 9:00) for a party in conjunction
        with the Design Automation Conference.  Another company rented
        the other 3 clubs that same night.

        /Jim Pappas
    

    Part of our "Master Plan"!!! for our visit in September is at least one
    evening visit to Pleasure Island. We are staying at the MIC Hotel just
    off International Drive. Now the problem is that we will be having a
    few drinks (hopefully) during the evening and don't want to drink and
    drive. The question is, will it be easy to get back to International
    Drive, are there taxis or is there a late night bus? Any help will be
    greatly appreciated.
    
    Chris

    This may sound dumb to you, but we walked back to our motel.  I'm not
    sure where your hotel is, but we stayed at the Comfort Inn in Lake
    Buena Vista.  It was a pretty nice walk, in spite of couple of rodents
    we saw!  ;-)
    
    Susan

    How's the dress code on PI?
    
    My wife and I are comfortable people not part of the "Beautiful
    People".
    
    Will we be frowned upon for wearing shorts or jeans in the clubs?
    
    Thanx
    
    John

    WE WERE THERE END OF JULY, WE WORE SHORTS AND CASUAL CLOTHES, SEEMED
    TO BE VARIED DRESS THROUGH OUT PI. MAKE SURE YOU GO TO THE ADVENTURERS
    CLUB ENJOY!

    For anyone who will be at DW during New Year's Eve, Paul Shaefer and
    The World's Most Dangerous Band (from Late Night with David Letterman,
    of course) will be the feature band on the main stage at Pleasure
    Island.
    
    Cheers,
    Ken
     

    Has any recent visitors per chance stopped by Superstar Studios? I'm
    curious if the "Beauty and the Beast" song (Celine and Peabo version)
    is offerred as a selection for making videos.
    
    Mike

    Sheena Easton, The Spinners, and The Fabulous Thunderbirds will be
    appearing at PI on New Year's Eve.
    
    This New Year's Celebration will cost you $75 if you are a FLorida
    resident and $85 for all others.
    
    Mike

    February 22 and 23 will find the Krews of Caesar parade appearing at
    PI.
    
    Plans are also to have lots of tasty Creole cuisine on tap those two
    nights.
    
    Mike

    
    Can anyone tell about how much it cost to get into pleasure Island.
    
    My husband and I are looking at everything in the way of all the
    different passes and this will determine wether or not we get the super
    5 day pass seeing as how we will on be there for 4 day.
    
    We are going in April
    
    Della

I don't know how many of you are actual members of The Adventurers Club at 
Pleasure Island (like myself), so I thought that I'd post the club president's 
greeting from the most recent Adventurers Almanac.  This was probably the most 
serious item in the recent Almanac....  The Almanac is sent out a few times a 
year to all members of the Club.  To become an Adventurer yourself (and get 
the Almanac mailed to you on a perpetual basis), you'll have to visit the Club 
yourself, and pay attention (as well as a few extra bucks) at the end of the 
initiation ceremony, which takes place twice a night.

Kungaloosh!,
Ken
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
From The Adventurers Almanac, Volume 55, Issue #12, Published by the 
Adventurers Club, Pleasure Island, Walt Disney World Resort:

Dear Friends and Fellow Adventurers,

A warm Holiday Season's greeting to all of you loyal Members out there.  We 
are certainly in a state of constant excitement as we prepare the Club for 
this most festive time of the year.  I must say, the atmosphere at the Club is 
positively infectious!  COnsidering that the last thing that was infectious in 
the Club was the result of Fletcher losing one of his rare tropical insect 
specimens, the holidays are welcome indeed, and far more attractive than the 
four foot nest the aforementioned insect constructed off the chandelier. 
Personally I much prefer holly and mistletoe; unfortunately so did the 
specimen and it completely consumed our first attempt at Yuletide decorations.  
I'm not one to lose my temper but I cannot tolerate anything that interrupts 
me when the holiday spirit is upon me.  Thanks to several well place thrusts 
of a broom stick, I managed to frighten the creature into leaving.  Watching 
that 12 legged, winged creature scurry out the front door, dragging a foot 
stool behind it (a snack, I suppose), made me very happy.  I don't care about 
Fletcher's research, if he hadn't been pumping it full of vitamins "Sparky" 
never would have gotten big enough to snap it's chain in the first place!  But 
enough about that silly little bug!  We'd like to encourage our 
Membership-at-Large to drop by for a visit this season as the Club will be 
positively a -buzz with sing-a-longs and merriment as we celebrate and welcome 
in the New Year.  If your travel itinerary includes our hemisphere, you simple 
must stop in to see us.  We'll be looking forward to seeing you!

Sincerely Yours,
Pamelia Perkins
Club President

    A Quick Note - I was down there this past weekend, and there are
    changes (positive!) afoot at Pleasure Island.
    
    	- The new Jazz Club is scheduled to open in "Spring 1993", and
    looks just about finished.
    
    	- XFERS has been renamed as "The Rock & Roll Beach Club"
    
    	- CAGE is gone, replaced by a new club called "8-TRAX", which is a
    70's rock club with videos (no live bands).  There are black-light
    posters, Grateful Dead posters, peace signs, bean-bag chairs, and the
    club advertising motto is that the club is meant to be "everything that
    you liked about the 70's and that your parents hated about about the
    70's".
    
    	- Jessica's is gone, replaced with a multi-style music paraphanalia
    store that caters to the styles of the PI clubs (Contemporary Rock,
    70's Rock, Country, etc.)
    
    	- The velcro jumping and Orbitron were very popular with the
    college break crowd....
    
    Cheers,
    Ken
    

    
    did anyone else see the sequence during the Disney 'Kickoff to Kids Day' 
    show last night with Arnold Scwarzenegger (sp?) and Sylvester Stallone?
    
    I could swear there was some indication from these two that a Planet 
    Hollywood restaurant would be put in at PI...I coulda misread what they
    were saying though.
    
    any ideas?
    
    --Bert

    Bert,
    
    From what I saw I got the impression that the restaurant just opened.
    
    Mike

    
    Hey Mike,
    
    I picked this up off the Disney news group....it answers the Planet
    Hollywood question toward the end, not to mention all the other
    info in this article:
    
    From: [email protected]
    Newsgroups: rec.arts.disney
    Subject: Disney-Resorts Planned -2-: Includes 3 All-Star Resorts
    Date: Tue, 23 Nov 1993 10:25:08 -0500
    Organization: Sponsored account, Systems Group 82, Carnegie Mellon,
    Pittsburgh, PA
    Lines: 23
    Message-ID: <[email protected]>
    NNTP-Posting-Host: po5.andrew.cmu.edu
    
      
    
      LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -DJ- Walt Disney World Resort, a unit of Walt
    Disney Co. (DIS), said that in addition to three resort projects
    already under construction, it is planning at least five resort hotel 
    projects for completion within five years.   
    
      In a press release, Disney said new resort facilities under
    construction or in active planning include the following: Blizzard Beach, 
    a Florida water adventure park opening in early 1995; All-Star Sports 
    Resort, opening in summer 1994; All-Star Music Resort, opening early 1995;
    another All-Star Resort, opening in 1998; Wilderness Lodge, opening June 
    1994; Wilderness Junction Resort, opening in the spring of 1997; Shades of
    Green on Walt Disney World Resort opening next February; Boardwalk Resort,
    opening in 1996; Coronado Springs Resort, opening spring 1996; and Planet
    Hollywood at the Walt Disney World Resort near Pleasure Island, opening 
    late next year.   
     
    	 The cost of the projects was not immediately available.   
    
      	(END) DOW JONES NEWS 11-23-93  
    
      	10:24 AM
    

    Nice job Bert.
    
    For those interested you may be able to look at a scale model of these
    expansion plans when you visit TMK.
    
    Visit the Disneyana Building (next to Tony's) and go into the back part
    of the building. There are usually scale model displays of future plans 
    for DL and WDW back there. EuroDisney plans are sometimes featured too.
    
    Mike

    For anyone planning to be at WDW during New Year's Eve, this month's AP
    flyer mentions that tickets are being sold now for the party at
    Pleasure Island, to include Eddie Money, Weird Al Yankovich (!), Three
    Dog Night, and Buster Poindexter (aka David Johannson).
    
    Cheers,
    Ken
    

Has anyone tried out Planet Hollywood for dinner yet?  What was it like?
Good food?  Good atmosphere?  I tried to make reservations for an 8:00 
dinner and found out that they don't take reservations.  Any guesses as to 
how long the wait would be?
					Tracy

    
    Me again, Tracy.  8^)
    
    Planet Hollywoods that I've been to are in Aspen, Co and Las Vegas, NV.
    I've read of the Orlando one in the newsgroups and it sounds like
    traffic patterns are the same there as Las Vegas.
    
    They open for lunch about 11-1130, and at that time seating is quite
    rapid....later the wait builds to greater than 2 hours as dinner
    hours arrive.  This is not necessarily a bad thing as you can get
    a drink and roam around to see al the COOL movie props and stuff.
    I didn't see two hours worth of stuff to look at though.
    
    Food was prepared well, but slightly overpriced....you are paying for
    the attraction, sort of.  For a party of four, eating hamburger plates,
    fajitas, an appetizer, and a round of speciality drinks (including two
    that were keep the Planet Hollywood types) we spent $100 including
    the tip.
    
    I would recommend getting there for an early lunch and then touring 
    all the displays after eating....it is certainly worth a visit if
    you've never been to one before.
    
    --Bert Grubbs
      

    
    	I ate at the LA Planet Hollywood last month:
    
    	  The place was interesting; the menu was not.
    	  The specialty shop was terrific; the food was not.
    	  The overall atmosphere was low-key and boring; likewise the food.
    	  The Hard Rock is better for meals; PH is better for movie buffs.
    
        I would not bother to eat at PH again.

    We ate at Planet Hollywood just outside Pleasure Island last week. Food
    was very good, although (as someone said before) a little more than you
    might expect ... you have to pay something for the atmosphere, I
    s'pose. 
    
    We arrived at about 5:00 and walked right into the restaurant, but had
    to wait in the bar for about 20 minutes for a table. When we left,
    there was a very long line just to get into the place that extended
    down the long flight of stairs and about 50 yards beyond that. Easily a
    2 hour wait, I'm sure. 
    
    If you want to eat there, I would do as someone else suggested and 'do
    lunch' a little late, or get there before 5:00 pm. Arnold was there the
    day we visited doing a promotional shot ... we just missed him.
    
    
    

    I at there last week too for a 'late lunch'.  We arrived to a line at
    the stairs, waited about 5-10 minutes to get inside and then had to
    wait 40 minutes to be seated.  I found the atmosphere to be nice, the
    food good and in comparison to other Disney places I thought the
    portions/cost was good.
    
    I'd rate it a must do, but go for an early 4:30-5:00 dinner...
    
    
    -Jay
    

Does all this mean that Planet Hollywood isn't doing the "we'll beep you when
your table is ready" thing?  I was hoping they were and that we could just
cruise around Pleasure Island while we waited.  We're planning on having
a late dinner (8:30 or so) there on Friday night, but I'm beginning to think
this might be a mistake.  I tried to make other back-up reservations just in
case, but neither the Fireworks Factory nor Portabello Yacht Club takes
reservations either. :-(
						Tracy

    Nope, they call you via intercom from the bar area....
    

Tracy,

Porto Bello has always been able to seat us without a wait if we arrive 
early -- before 7 is usually good enough... We like to have dinner around
6 and then go to Pleasure Island.


Bill A.