Pooh67_68
<font color=teal>My head looked like a brillo pad<
- Joined
- Aug 8, 2003
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Pleasure Island may get makeover
Published December 21, 2005
Don't be surprised if the new year brings some changes to Disney's Pleasure Island.
I'm hearing Mouse officials are reviewing the nighttime entertainment complex with the idea of some updates. Given the competition from places like Universal's CityWalk, that's understandable.
Among the things under consideration, I'm told, is opening a bowling alley and dropping the every-night-is-New-Year's-Eve theme, which has been around since 1990.
And, for certain, the West End stage on the Island, where a deejay is often found, is going away to make entering the island easier.
Earlier this year, Disney got rid of the admission charge to the Island, replacing the $20.50 gate charge with individual covers at the clubs.
DUCKS . . . NEARLY IN A ROW. Peabody GM Alan Villaverde tells me that -- assuming the budget works out -- construction of his hotel's long-awaited expansion could start in mid-2006.
The project is much as it was when first proposed four years ago. He expects a 750-room tower, 150,000 square feet of meeting space and a 15,000-square-foot spa.
Still, Villaverde cautioned that the money is a big deal, and there's still a $30 million gulf between what he wants to spend -- about $300 million -- and the way the postponed project is currently priced.
For a little perspective, the Peabody cost $150 million back in 1986. Those dollars, today, would be more like $273 million. A lot of the higher expense for the addition is the result of inflation and, more recently, the soaring price of construction materials.
Assuming the Peabody project proceeds, it'll be part of about $1 billion in hotel and condo construction along I-Drive, when you include projects by Harris Rosen and developer Marc Watson.
Villaverde says the Peabody will add at least 400 employees when the new space opens. The current hotel has 891 rooms and 750 employees.
Not surprisingly, folks at the Orange County Convention Center are thrilled that there will be more accommodations near their sprawling complex.
GIVE THE GIFT OF . . . Well, it's not at the top of my list, but the American Association for Nude Recreation tells me it has gifts available just in time for the holidays.
The Kissimmee group does about a quarter of its merchandise sales in November and December, which says something -- though I'm not sure exactly what -- about holiday spirit.
Among the must-haves: Memberships, pendants and -- no joke -- T-shirts and cover-ups.
"We may be nudists," the group's Carolyn Hawkins tells me, "but we still like clothes."
BOTTOM LINE. A.G. Edwards' recent "nest egg index" ranks Orlando 172nd in the country in terms of savings. Not a good showing for a metro area that's the country's 29th largest. . . . Did you catch the recent story about former Enron chief Ken Lay giving a speech at a business event -- and, invoking Winston Churchill? I wonder if prosecutors, who'll be trying Lay next year, responded with their own Churchill-esque quote: "We shall convict him on the beaches . . ." . . . Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association chief Carol Dover tells me she hopes to fill Lea Crusberg's PR job by the time the Legislature convenes in March. If not? She'll hire out for some services.
Published December 21, 2005
Don't be surprised if the new year brings some changes to Disney's Pleasure Island.
I'm hearing Mouse officials are reviewing the nighttime entertainment complex with the idea of some updates. Given the competition from places like Universal's CityWalk, that's understandable.
Among the things under consideration, I'm told, is opening a bowling alley and dropping the every-night-is-New-Year's-Eve theme, which has been around since 1990.
And, for certain, the West End stage on the Island, where a deejay is often found, is going away to make entering the island easier.
Earlier this year, Disney got rid of the admission charge to the Island, replacing the $20.50 gate charge with individual covers at the clubs.
DUCKS . . . NEARLY IN A ROW. Peabody GM Alan Villaverde tells me that -- assuming the budget works out -- construction of his hotel's long-awaited expansion could start in mid-2006.
The project is much as it was when first proposed four years ago. He expects a 750-room tower, 150,000 square feet of meeting space and a 15,000-square-foot spa.
Still, Villaverde cautioned that the money is a big deal, and there's still a $30 million gulf between what he wants to spend -- about $300 million -- and the way the postponed project is currently priced.
For a little perspective, the Peabody cost $150 million back in 1986. Those dollars, today, would be more like $273 million. A lot of the higher expense for the addition is the result of inflation and, more recently, the soaring price of construction materials.
Assuming the Peabody project proceeds, it'll be part of about $1 billion in hotel and condo construction along I-Drive, when you include projects by Harris Rosen and developer Marc Watson.
Villaverde says the Peabody will add at least 400 employees when the new space opens. The current hotel has 891 rooms and 750 employees.
Not surprisingly, folks at the Orange County Convention Center are thrilled that there will be more accommodations near their sprawling complex.
GIVE THE GIFT OF . . . Well, it's not at the top of my list, but the American Association for Nude Recreation tells me it has gifts available just in time for the holidays.
The Kissimmee group does about a quarter of its merchandise sales in November and December, which says something -- though I'm not sure exactly what -- about holiday spirit.
Among the must-haves: Memberships, pendants and -- no joke -- T-shirts and cover-ups.
"We may be nudists," the group's Carolyn Hawkins tells me, "but we still like clothes."
BOTTOM LINE. A.G. Edwards' recent "nest egg index" ranks Orlando 172nd in the country in terms of savings. Not a good showing for a metro area that's the country's 29th largest. . . . Did you catch the recent story about former Enron chief Ken Lay giving a speech at a business event -- and, invoking Winston Churchill? I wonder if prosecutors, who'll be trying Lay next year, responded with their own Churchill-esque quote: "We shall convict him on the beaches . . ." . . . Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association chief Carol Dover tells me she hopes to fill Lea Crusberg's PR job by the time the Legislature convenes in March. If not? She'll hire out for some services.
