Anyone remember The Fireworks Factory?

[DisFlan]

We loved the FF, too. I remember first being there in about 1992, but I don't remember how long it had been open. Loved the food and the atmosphere was a hoot.

DisFlan

 

[Wendybird55]

I LOVED the FF - Always went there every trip. The pulled pork was great! My favorite was the chocolate chip cookie sundae for dessert. They came out with an 8" cast iron skillet with a hot and gooey chocolate chip cookie in it covered with vanilla ice cream, hot fudge whipped cream, nuts, cherry on top and a sparkler! There were many times I wanted to skip dinner and just have that dessert!
Yummy!

 

[OKW Lover]

Our family LOVED this place, the food, the atmosphere, the rest rooms

The men's room was indeed unique!

 

[BriarRosie]

I do remember going there in 1992.

I got the BBQ ribs. I remember this mostly because of a family joke about "having ribs and spaghetti and going to Disney World". I think I did have spaghetti somewhere during that trip, too.

 

[Mr. Pig]

My husband still has a T shirt from the FireWorks Factory! It was his FAV!!!

Ruby

I still have a T shirt also. Unfortunately it doesn't fit as loosely as it used to.

 

[WishesQueen]

Ok!! This is from www.allears.com I remembered reading it and there it was!!!

Sandra writes:

Hi Anita. I'm a big fan of your column. It's the only thing that tides me over until the next WDW trip.

I was rummaging through my old keepsakes, and found a pin (button style) that says "Fireworks Factory." I completely forgot about that place. They had awesome food, and a great atmosphere. What happened to the restaurant? I remember it being over by Pleasure Island. Thank you very much!

Hi Sandra!

You remember correctly! The Fireworks Factory was one of the original Pleasure Island businesses. It was owned by Levy Restaurants, and operated from 1989 until 1997, when Levy reopened it as a Wildhorse Saloon location. In 2001, Levy closed the Wildhorse and it reverted back to Disney, who remodeled it into the dance club, Motion.

Once upon a time (late '80s, '90s) Pleasure Island had a complicated backstory, and the Fireworks Factory played a part in that backstory. The legend says that Merriweather Pleasure, a turn of the century (the last one, not this one!) adventurer and entrepreneur, founded a town on the island, which was named for him. Many erroneously think the island was named after the one in the Pinocchio story, which truth be told, it is starting to resemble more and more, but I digress.

Pleasure owned and operated many businesses including a fireworks factory, which legend also says he accidentally blew up one day. That explains the charred walls and missing bricks in the original decor. I'll skip the rest of Pleasure's story, and fast forward to the 1980s when Disney Imagineers found the abandoned island and decided to make its buildings into an entertainment district. Pleasure's fireworks factory gained a new life as a barbecue restaurant. His home became the Portobello Yacht Club, and his other businesses became various night clubs.

These days, there is very little left on Pleasure Island that connects it to the clever and imaginative original backstory, which captivated me on my first trip there. Now it's just a haphazard collection of buildings housing clubs and restaurants, but sharp-eyed guests can still spot a few of the original details tying it to the story if they look closely.

A.A.

 

[Micca]

I'm remembering some mediocre ribs.

 

[disneywith4boys]

I had a wonderful chicken carbonara. I always wanted to go back and have it again.

 

[Lucky'sMom]

My DH and I were just talking about that place the other day! He remembers our waiter kept giving him free beers because he didn't want us to leave and seat new guests at our table.