What a difference a year makes . . . Part One

There have been a lot of things going on lately that have me reflecting back to the last weekend in September of last year.

You see, the last weekend in September was a life-changing time for Scott and me. In some ways that were of our own devising, and in some ways that were not.

Let's start with the things over which we had no control.

A year ago today, the powers that be closed the clubs at Disney World's Pleasure Island. This was a particularly difficult blow to us, as one of those clubs, The Adventurers Club, had become very important to us. Scott and I met at Pleasure Island (at the retro-themed night club, 8-Traxx, to be specific) five years earlier during Gay Days of 2003. Our first date started at the Adventurers Club; and when we moved to Orlando a year later, we were drawn to this unique and wonderful attraction masquerading as a night club.

As theatre geeks, we were both thrilled with the interactive performance of the very talented cast of the AdvClub. The audience interaction, the rotation of actors through the roles from night to night, the semi-scripted nature of it, and the sheer joy of it captivated us.

As Disney geeks, we were agog at the intricate level of themed detail that brought a 1937 Explorers club to life each night. The decor, the special effects, the architecture . . . everything worked so harmoniously to create a magical world, where our hardy band of adventurers welcomed strangers into the "once a year, open house and membership drive of 1937" every single night. It was something that nobody but Disney could have even attempted, let alone pulled off so amazingly well.

As a new couple, both starting over in a new town, we discovered something even more magical than either excellent theatre or Disney excellence at the AdvClub. We found an amazing group of friends. Slowly, we got to know other people who frequented the club, the bar staff, and a couple of the performers. Among the frequent club goers, we found our family. Well, our "Florida Family" anyway. Our social life revolved around the Adventurers Club, no doubt about it. The Adventurers Club Creed includes the lines "If you come in here a stranger, you will exit as a friend." That's just what happened for us. Our best friends were there, we had only to go and meet them. Every time we'd walk into the club, it was like coming home from a trip, and having everyone be happy to see you. Being told that it was being taken away from us was . . . well, words aren't adequate to describe how angry, sad, lost, and betrayed we felt. And the circumstances of the closing weekend were even more painful to us, and I'll touch on that in part two.

So, our beloved club was shuttered. Our "Florida Family" has still managed to stay together, and we see each other with enough regularity that we remain close friends. But we miss seeing each other weekly, and we miss seeing everyone else from the club as well. We rarely get to see our other friends, the ones that were pleasant acquaintances, or bar staff, or performers, or wonderful people who we really liked but weren't able to make it to the club as much as some of the rest of us. And sadly, when we do get to see them these days, it's for a painfully brief amount of time.

A little piece of my inner child died that last night we spent at the club. And the world is a less magical place for the loss.

Sure, we've soldiered on, as any good adventurer is supposed to do, but we miss is still. As much as we did the first weekend night where we would normally have gone to Pleasure Island and were left with nowhere to go.

Life has gone on, to be sure. But this weekend, I can't help but be reminded of the last line of the Adventurers Club Theme Song:


"An Adventurers Life is Best . . . . . "