Well, it’s been almost three years now since the doors to the Adventurers Club revolved for the last time. But there is certainly no lack of Adventurers Club news and rumors. If you had asked me a few weeks ago if I thought the Club would ever re-open, my answer would have been a bit reserved. Yes, I would say, but not as we remember it.
I would have thought they would have taken the Club’s interactive theatre aspect that everyone loved so much, and applied it to a whole new venture, most likely a restaurant. A restaurant/bar would mean more money for Disney, and the Jekyll and Hyde clubs in New York City (much-rumored to be modelled after the Adventurers Club, and containing some eerie similarities) prove that the interactive nature of the Club can indeed be successful in a restaurant atmosphere. In addition, a restaurant would be a much better fit in the newly designed Hyperion Wharf area of Downtown Disney. The Club as a stand-alone bar worked marvelously in the context of Pleasure Island, but would sadly be sorely out-of-place in a family friendly shopping-and-dining district.
I would not, however, have guessed that Disney would use the same theming for club, but would rather use the opportunity to theme the restaurant in a different, unique way, better pertaining to the Hyperion Wharf story (whatever that may end up being). I was pretty certain that while Disney would scavenge certain parts of the experience, the Adventurers Club as we all knew and loved it was dead. Kungaloosh in peace, old sport.
…But then, some interesting things began happening, and it gets the ol’ wheels in Stevie’s head a-turning.
Back in May, a new lounge opened up at the Disneyland Hotel in California. “Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar” serves up light fare and pun-named drinks like the “Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Rum,” the “Hippopotamai-tai,” and the “Schweitzer Falls,” (Dr. Albert Falls’ favorite drink, served “over-the-rocks,” of course). Trader Sam, you may remember, is the head-shrinking salesman from the Jungle Cruise attraction. And apparently, the tie-ins to other Disney attractions don’t stop at the Jungle Cruise or Tiki Room. Sharp-eyed patrons can reportedly spot such relics on the walls as a letter from Adventurers Club curator Fletcher Hodges, who was apparently an old associate of Sam’s.
Disney giving a shout out to past, defunct attractions is certainly nothing new. Mr. Toad and pals from his Wild Ride can still be seen inside the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and outside of the Haunted Mansion. And Epcot’s Mission: Space includes many tributes not only to it’s predecesor, Horizons, but also to the Magic Kingdom’s Mission to Mars attraction.
But read on: Disney will be opening up a stand-alone resort-of-epic-proportions, Aulani, in Hawaii next month. In a recent exclusive interview from DIS-Unplugged podcast team members John and Kevin, a high-level Imagineer revealed some hidden secrets in the resort. Including the backstory behind Aunty’s Beach Club, the on-site kid’s club. The story is that Aunty and Uncle were world travellers, and brought back many treasures from their travels. In fact, she revealed somewhat hesitantly, Uncle was a member of the Adventurers Club. That’s all she would say, but photos of the club reveal several recognizable Adventurers Club artifacts, including the large group portrait of explorers in the jungle that hung askew behind the stage in the library (it was revealed after the club’s closure that the picture was in fact a two-way mirror, behind which the keyboard player performing as “Fingers,” the ghostly organist, could see what was happening on stage).
Not-so-coincidentally, Imagineer and earpiece-fashion-trendsetter Joe Rohde is the head designer of Aulani. Rohde’s other credits include Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Hong Kong Disney’s Mystic Point (home to a new Adventurers Club-style establishment), Tokyo DisneySea (where he is the model for Harrison Hightower, owner of the Tower of Terror), and yes, the Adventurers Club. His caricature can even be seen in the above-mentioned group portrait. So it’s no surprise that he would reuse props from the Adventurers Club (many of which are reportedly from his own collection). But for Disney to take the Adventurers Club story further than it already went, incorporating new characters and storylines, makes me take pause.
Lastly, Disney recently announced through the Disney Parks Blog that the whole Hyperion Wharf project has been placed on hold while Disney re-evaluates their plans for the area. Not many changes have happened over at the old Pleasure Island, aside from some of the old clubs being demolished. But Disney also said that all of the buildings planned on being demolished have already been so. And the uniquly-theme facade of the Adventurers Club, though now just an empty, treasure-less shell, remains standing.
Adding to the mystery, an unconfirmed report states that one of the two Colonel Critchlow Suchbench puppets (the other one having been shipped to Hong Kong) was put up by Disney on an online auction site, only to be removed suddenly, without notice.
All of these put together, capped with the sudden hiatus on the Hyperion Wharf development, leads me to believe that perhaps Disney is finally realizing that, even three years later, fans and supporters of the Adventurers Club are not going away. They may be starting to understand what a proverbial cash cow they’re sitting on with the characters, theme and story of the Club. As it is now, any official Disney Parks Blog about Downtown Disney is inundated with comments imploring Disney to bring the Club back. Websites, fan clubs, even an Orlando-based non-profit organization have sprung up to rally for the cause, and the masses aren’t getting any quieter.
So here it is, folks: My official prediction for the fate of Adventurers Club. Bear in mind this is based entirely on rumors and speculation, but for the first time since the closure of Pleasure Island was announced in June 2008, I believe that we may see the return of the Club. Yes, probably as a restaurant to go along with the bar, and probably in a much bigger space, and probably with many updated changes to format, script, etc., but I think Meriwether Pleasure’s universe will live on. I think that the likes of Pamelia Perkins, Hathaway Brown, and Otis T. Wren may once again be entertaining guests in Downtown Disney. Only time will tell, of course, but one can only imagine the reaction such an announcement would bring from the fan community. The Club, I would imagine, would be nearly impossible to get into without reservations for quite some time, and would undoubtedly become an instant success with tourists and locals alike.
Of course, as Meriwether Pleasure was often heard saying, “Sometimes you eat the bear, other times the bear eats you. But always dress for the hunt!” So I’m dressed in my riding boots and pith helmet. Here’s hoping!
