Thursday, September 7, 2017

WDWCP: If It Is Thursday, I'm At Pleasure Island


Sarah, Jamie, David, Ronda
Since it is Thursday, this post is dedicated to a Thursday tradition for many of us College Program kids. No, this isn't about paychecks, which did happen on Thursday. Wait, did we get paid on Thursday so we could spend it that night?? Hmm..

Thursday night to my friends and I meant one thing.... PLEASURE ISLAND!


This is the night of the week we got in free to our favorite spot! Can we pause for a moment of silence to remember that land that ceases to exist?

Okay, thank you. 

So let's discuss what Pleasure Island was, since I know not everyone reading this was lucky enough to be able to experience it. First off, you did NOT need a boat to get there, like a young Ronda figured you did since it has ISLAND in the title.  Yeah, you just walked over a little bridge and if you didn't pay attention you wouldn't even notice you crossed water. Once on the Island you had your choice of nightclubs based on your musical taste. At the far end and in the center area were stages with music videos and dancers. Every night at midnight was a New Year's Eve countdown, complete with fireworks! That was fun, but we only watched those things just before midnight. Our time was spent in one club for the most part. Let's check out the clubs now!

Mannequins was only for those 21+, whereas the rest of the clubs only required you to be 18 years old. So I never made it to Mannequins until after college when I resumed Cast Member life. You entered via an elevator and the main dance floor was a big turntable!  8 Trax was 70's music, but they had 80's music on Thursday nights. The lights and dance floor were fun there I thought. The Neon Armadillo was country music. I did visit a couple of times with Jamie, mostly people watching while she danced. There was the Jazz Company. We never even considered going there. It looked boring to us girls. People apparently like the Adventurer's Club. I never had a single desire to go in there. I stand by my decision. Not my thing. I don't want to participate. I like to observe. The Comedy Warehouse was a popular one for people to line up for, but apartment 3101 wasn't into waiting for improv comedy, we wanted to dance!


4/6 of our apartment, Sarah's final night :(
Where did we do all of our dancing and singing? The Rock'n'Roll Beach Club! That was our PI home away from home. Panama was the cover band. At first we thought they were completely dorky and made fun of them. By the end, Danielle and I were total groupies and loved their performances! The DJ was also pretty cool, equipped with a giant Mickey Mouse glove and a hard, plastic Barbie wig for props... Aquaman's Barbie Girl anyone?


Favorite song back in the day.... Men in Black. We loved dancing to that!! And I always danced with "Morocco" to This is How We Do It. Yeah, I never could figure out his name with his accent and all, so every Thursday we greeted each other with a happy "Morocco!" "Oregon!"  I've always had a special thing with those Moroccan boys, but that can be saved for another blog series.


Ryan, Dan, Eric, Eric--this next section is for you!
Since we are discussing music I have to give the honorary shout out to one song in particular. This is THE song of our entire College Program experience and I think it is pretty undisputed.... Chumbawamba's Tubthumping! Come on, sing along!

Sarah, doing the David dance.
Don't ask.
We'll be singing
When we're winning
We'll be singing

[Chorus]
I get knocked down, but I get up again
You're never gonna keep me down
I get knocked down, but I get up again
You're never gonna keep me down
I get knocked down, but I get up again
You're never gonna keep me down
I get knocked down, but I get up again
You're never gonna keep me down

(Pissing the night away, pissing the night away)
He drinks a Whiskey drink, he drinks a Vodka drink
He drinks a Lager drink, he drinks a Cider drink
He sings the songs that remind him of the good times
He sings the songs that remind him of the better times
(Oh Danny Boy, Danny Boy, Danny Boy)

Miss Jamie at the Neon Armadillo

Panama. The dorkiest cool band!
Ah, that was fun!  So yes, Rock'n'Roll Beach Club occupied almost all of our Pleasure Island time. We went the very first night we moved into Vista Way, and I made it a goal to never miss a single week, even if I just popped in alone for a few minutes. A tradition never broken!  When I went back on my 2nd college program it just wasn't the same. Some clubs had changed and my friends weren't my Fall 1997 friends. They just didn't have the same appreciation or desire to sing and dance all night. Party poopers!!!

I don't know that I have any single stories about our nights worth sharing. It is the overall importance of PI in general. It seemed like no matter what drama we had in our apartment (and trust me, we had DRAMA!!), all things were washed away on the dance floor!

Rain or Shine, we go to PI!
OMG I do have one story! Danielle, Marcy and I were there together and some tall guy was talking to Danielle. Who am I kidding, every guy was tall next to her! We were upstairs where it wasn't as crowded and Marcy told me she had to go to the bathroom. I totally missed the cue that this was fake and a way to ditch the guy. I knew she wanted me to join her, so I said, "Oh, hey you two wait right here, we will be right back!" And then at that point the look Danielle gave me told me I totally messed up. So then she was stuck with him even longer. Some how she did ditch him, but I sure did hear about that after the fact. Oops! I was trying to be nice!

The Pecos Bill Cafe crew
I think Danielle touched one of the band members of Panama one night. That was pretty cool to us dorky girls!

At the end of the night it was a mad dash to the far side of the parking lot so all of us CPs could catch the vans back to Vista Way. This is when those fancy motor coaches would have been helpful! David and I had a fight on the bus once. He pinched my side and called me fat! Sorry, David, some things I will always remember!!! But he did send me a dozen roses to apologize!

So there you go, Thursday at Pleasure Island. Now let me leave you with this!
How did I spend Christmas night? Pleasure Island!
I couldn't find Men in Black, dang it! Oh man, if you watch to the end you see just how corny they really were!



And for my fellow CP's, I dedicate this to YOU!



See ya real soon! °o°


No comments:

Post a Comment

Thanks for reading my little blog, your comments rock my compression socks!! ºoº