Disney is proudly family-friendly. It doesn't do, "Adult," all that much. However, there was a period of time from 1989 through 2008 when one could visit, "Pleasure Island," in Florida. Despite the name, it wasn't particularly explicit in its pleasure. It was simply geared towards grown-ups with nice restaurants, dance clubs, a comedy club, a cigar bar, and the like. I visited Pleasure Island two nights, back in July of 2007 when I was a young rapscallion all of 19. I'd concluded my Freshman year of college, and I had gone to Florida with my mother, who was down there for a convention relating to audiology/speechpathology or such. It was on the Disney property, and family of attendees could visit the park while everyone else did convention sessions. She was at that much of the day and spent time with her family who lived in Florida in the evenings. I tagged along so that during my day I could visit all the parks, ride a bunch of rides, get autographs from the various mascots for kicks (it is humorous watching a gigantic Winnie the Pooh hand try to scrawl in a little autograph book), and on the Friday and Saturday nights we stayed at Disney, I took the bus from the hotel (The Pop Century one was cool!) to Pleasure Island. I know people say nostalgia gives us rose-tinted glasses and some things people think were great actually sucked. That said, ya'll, Pleasure Island was an awesome place.
Again, I know when we see those thinkpieces/memes/whatever by Boomers (and some GenX) about how great it was to flip through a phonebook or deal with a VCR eating a VHS tape and making a mess, we roll our eyes at how they can't appreciate the cool new stuff of today. Pleasure Island has been gone nearly 18 years, having shut down the aspects that made it, "Pleasure Island," on September 27th of 2008 (it is now The Landing and host to various all-ages-friendly shopping and food establishments). It is a bummer, as this was a really cool place in the past! Picture a city block or so worth of land, with people moving between various themed businesses, all having a fun time. Thanks to how this was still a Disney property, anyone rude/beligerent was escorted off the, "Island," and that didn't even seem to be much of an issue with most folks there being on vacation; the vibe was like one big party.
As I was merely 19, certain clubs generally only allowed those 18-20 in on certain days. Yes, the comedy club and cigar bar were always available (I enjoyed a comedy show, but I've never been a fan of any kind of tobacco), but sometimes you want to dance! That said, on Saturday, I was admitted into the BET Soundstage club even though, that night, it was advertised for those 21 or older. I honestly think the doorman was so impressed with our five-minute or so conversation about the Wu Tang Clan and how Ol' Dirty Bastard was underrated as a lyricist that he figured I couldn't be too young. So there I was, in a two-story club with massive dancefloors for an hour or so before the club closed. It was so fun to dance, take in the atmosphere, and just marvel at how cool Pleasure Island was, with the snazzy places within it. You may agree this sounds exciting or be shrugging in disinterest; either way, you just had to be there.
I never made it to any of the other Disney Clubs, even though I would have loved to visit 8TRAX and its 70's and 80's vibe. I suppose I could've planned to return and check all the places out with ease any night I wanted once I turned 21. That said, when I turned 21 in 2009...well, Pleasure Island was no more. That isn't to say my 21st birthday lacked fun, however. I went bar-hopping with friends around Cortland and only had the slightest hangover the next day thanks to being in my youth (and nowadays I have a drink maybe every two years). Pleasure Island was a happening place back when I was able to check it out, though. Pieces of what it once was remain at, "The Landing," but much was retooled or simply demolished. As a Millennial, I was barely old enough to enjoy Pleasure Island. Now, in 2026, there are plenty of people in their 20s who can go to a club, but back then were still in diapers! Woe be to my Gen Z friends who don't realize what fun they missed!
The kids these days will never know how cool Pleasure Island was! That's a mini-tragedy almost equal to how only Millennials will ever understand the secret methods used to, "Burn," a CD. I mean, would Gen Z think Paradise Island is, "Outdated?" Younger people in their 20s are drinking a lot less, and back then, the reason many went to a club was to have a drink (or socialize/dance, but a chunk of people were mostly after some liquor). If I could magically teleport some 24-year-olds back to those Friday and Saturday nights in July of 2007, would they be into the scene or declare it, "Cringe," within moments? It's hard to know for sure, but I only went to Pleasure Island a couple of times and thought it was great, so I imagine there are plenty of others with a great fondness for it as well! Does it make sense or is it cringe? I don't know, but as, "Futurama," put it once, "Time makes fools of us all." Still, we burned CDs, ya'll; that was wild!
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