Originally Posted By kennect Based on another thread below I have to ask what is the current status of PI...Haven't heard much about it lately....
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 PI is pretty much dead. The clubs are there. There's some new walkways and a new bridge. But it's been altered in such a way that it will never be PI again. I would expect the 'name' to be retired in the next year or two. The whole area will just be DD.
Originally Posted By Jim in Merced CA Is there still an admission to get in to that section? thought that was a lame idea back in the day...
Originally Posted By kennect I guess I should have thrown in is construction basically done? Last visit down I purposely stayed away from the area...Therefore I have no clue as to what is happening right now....
Originally Posted By NikkiLOVESMickey I took a walk over there last month. We didn't go into the clubs, so we didn't have to pay an admission price. The construction is complete.
Originally Posted By willthisbetheone It's alive and kicking for me. I never really saw it back in the old days, but I like what I'm seeing now. I mainly hang out in 8Trax and The Adventurers' Club and I always see a great turn-out at each place. Granted, I only go once a year, but every time I do, the places are jumping. I look forward to next year's trip, but that's common knowledge. Sincerely, John Kilduff
Originally Posted By crazyformickey I was just down there last week and there is not a admission price to walk through. The walkway seems smaller but easier to get through. Since I have small children I did not go into any of the clubs but I believe the price was $21.99 for all clubs and $9.99 for a single.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 No one goes to PI anymore except for AC/CW geeks (you know, the ones who have one drink and think they're part of the show), CMs and conventioneers on expense accounts. It is DEAD. If it weren't for opening the gates so that the stroller brigade could walk in amongst the servers with trays of jellos shots, the walkways wouldn't be half-full on most nights. There is no there anymore.
Originally Posted By Jim in Merced CA ^^^Wow. I was there when it opened, and it was really, really popular -- and fun, really. The club that had roller skating was a mind-blower. Took about 2 months before the lawyers said 'alcohol and roller skating don't mix.' 'Mannequins' with the spinning dance floor, and Solid Gold dancers doing a floor show every half-hour -- very cool. Of course, 'The Adventurer's Club' was fun. The comedy club had that scathing show about working at Disney World. 'Were Super-Conscientious, Friendly Disney World Employees' [sung to the tune of 'Supercalifragelisticexpialidocious'] -- brutal. Neon Cactus had some good country music and ambience. Fireworks Factory restaurant... Then a bit later came the New Year's Eve celebration every night, which was fun too. When did it finally jump the shark?
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 ^^It jumped the shark when Disney stopped caring and let the place go stale. I'd say it started in the late 90s when Fireworks Factory was replaced with Wildhorse and BET replaced Armadillo. By 2002-03, it was just a shell of its former self. It is a total waste (sorry, to the AC/CW geeks out there).
Originally Posted By mrichmondj << When did it finally jump the shark? >> I'm not sure it jumped the shark, it just didn't work out exactly as intended. The goal was to keep WDW guests on property instead of heading to after hours clubs at Church Street Station. They managed to achieve that goal, but also ended up with a large element of Orlando locals who were a lot more raucous and out of control than the demographic of WDW tourists. Disney pretty much toned down PI to more closely match its resort demographic and lost most of the local crowd in the process. You also had the growing trend throughout the 90s of nationally-branded themed restaurants, which pretty much describes how Downtown Disney has evolved. Whether it makes any sense or not, Joe and Jane Tourist will flock to the themed restaurant before they step foot in a nightclub or bar that has no name recognition at all -- which pretty much sums up all of PI offerings as it was first conceived. Now, they've succumbed to the branded restaurant and club experience that can be found in nearly any strip mall across the country.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 ^^Yep. And it's only going to get worse. Landry's has it's T-Rex Restaurant going up now ... and Disney is actively looking for third-party dining and shopping partners to come in and complete the DD transition to mall that started in the mid-90s. Oh, I'll also say that Universal hasn't had such a problem keeping CityWalk fresh and appealing to both locals and visitors ... but they also didn't ignore the place, like Disney did with PI for years.
Originally Posted By mrichmondj I don't see any difference between CityWalk and DtD. They're nothing more than nationally branded themed restaurant/shopping malls. I'd hardly hold CityWalk up as the gold standard.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 ^^The only difference is what I stated. CityWalk still attracts throngs of both locals and tourists and it doesn't feel stale. PI is the opposite. I never said CityWalk was special or the gold standard.
Originally Posted By mrichmondj CityWalk is also more central to the local population in Orlando and closer proximity to a large number of hotels that are off-property. I would expect that locals might pick the closer venue if they had a choice on any given night and the restaurant/venues were roughly the same. I'm not sure that it's a choice of what is stale or not stale. In my opinion, it's all stale.
