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3. Magic Masters

Image -- zoovroo, Flickr

In 1997, when the Disney Village and Pleasure Island were rebranded into Downtown Disney, the company built another large section on the opposite side of Pleasure Island from the Village. This became known as the West Side (and the Village became rebranded as the “Marketplace”).

One of the earliest stores to open on the West Side was a magic shop called Magic Masters. Well themed though it was, Magic Masters was pretty much your typical magic shop – a clever magician lures you into the store with awesome and mind-boggling tricks, then offers to sell the trick to you for a nominal fee. While other shops might be characterized by their creepy unkemptness, Magic Masters was a combination of glitz and class.

Ultimately, though, the shop itself wasn't quite as nostalgia-inducing as the mere concept of a magic shop on Disney property – something that calls to mind the great legacy of the Main Street Magic Shop at Disneyland in California. That shop, where comedian and musician Steve Martin famously worked, is a beloved part of the West Cost park's ethos; thus, there's just something that feels right about having a magic shop at Disney.

Unfortunately, the Downtown Disney spot closed its doors in 2011. 

4. The Adventurers Club

Image -- janeyhenning, Flickr

While Pleasure Island was mostly a cluster of nightclubs, Walt Disney Imagineering couldn't quite leave that area alone. Being the creative idealists that they are, they just had to inject something truly special into what was otherwise a relatively ordinary concept. They weren't happy to leave it simply a smattering of night clubs without something quintessentially Disney somehow joining the fray. 

Enter: The Adventurers Club. 

Part bar, part costume party, and part theatrical performance, the Adventurers Club was what you got when you asked Imagineers to create a nightclub they'd want to hang out at. And, considering Disney Imagineer, iconoclast, and guru Joe Rhode was heavily involved (along with the venue's visionary director, Roger Cox), it wound up being as intricately themed as you could imagine. 

The club was designed to look like a private club from the late 1930s that played host to a collection of idiosyncratic and larger-than-life explorers and world travelers. The walls were adorned with faux artifacts, art, and memorabilia from the expeditions the club members took part in, and guests would be welcome to come inside and explore all the many rooms of the club. Of course, there were performers all throughout the club portraying members of that jolly group of adventurers in multiple performances throughout the night – scenes ranging from silly monologues to goofy 1930s radio plays to vaudeville-style musical numbers.

The Adventurers Club created enough passion and joy among its fans to fill countless books with words about its unique and zany brand of entertainment. It should come as no surprise, then, to learn that when Disney announced the club would be closing in 2008, fans launched a campaign to try and save their beloved venue. Sadly, it was to no avail. 

But while the Adventurers Club is gone from Downtown Disney, the idea stuck with Imagineers so deeply that they've since used its story to connect the Disney parks and hotels around the world. Because, with locations in California, Florida, France, China, Japan and Hawaii, who else would be able to see all of them but a true Adventurer?

 
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Comments

soory but the original chef mickeys was the building down by the water not where rainforest is at.

We had so much fun at Pleasure Island in its day. Loved the different dance clubs and mid night celebration was always a BLAST. We so hope the next phase of this area will be & bring as much enjoyment.

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