Adventurers Club

[Disney Vacation Planner]

The Adventurers Club (AC) is one of the clubs at Pleasure Island (PI), Walt Disney World's night-time entertainment complex. Although PI is generally thought of as a music venue--all but two of the clubs do, in fact, feature music--there are some other types of entertainment as well, and the AC is without a doubt the most unusual. In fact, you will not find anything quite like it anywhere else. The AC presents an interactive entertainment experience in a setting reminiscent of the fictional 1930's gentleman adventurer clubs, as depicted in Hollywood films of that era.

The AC presents themed interactive entertainment. Think of the AC as a theater that is presenting a play. In ordinary theaters, the audience is seated while the action continuously unfolds on the stage in front of them over a fixed, limited period of time. The AC, however, is a bit like going to a theater at no special time, sitting right on the stage--one that encompasses the entire theater--and having the action sporadically occur all around you, even to the extent of your functioning as an extra in the play. At the AC you are a visitor to the Adventurers Club, circa 1935, and are treated as such by the resident cast of characters. You will be invited to become initiated as a member of the Club and participate in the various club activities that are being held that evening.

The AC is perhaps a little like the Enchanted Tiki Birds at the Magic Kingdom in this respect: You'll either love it or dislike it--not much middle ground here. Because of its unusual nature, it is hard to predict which camp a specific individual will fall within. It is fair to say, though, that many of those who--at least initially--dislike the AC have never really experienced what its all about. Using the theater analogy, a brief visit to the AC is like arriving at the theater a half-hour before the show starts and leaving after only 15 minutes because nothing has happened yet. This does happen to many people due to the way the AC is physically laid out as well as the way the action unfolds. Just as entry to the Magic Kingdom was designed to be a gradual process (to allow you to put the "real" world well behind you before you walk down Main Street), you are drawn into the world of the AC slowly.

As you enter the AC, you pass into a moderately large, somewhat darkened room known as the Zebra Mezzanine. The center of this room is completely open to the floor below (protected by a railing all around). There is a small maitre d's podium to the left of the doorway, but there is usually no one there. As you walk around to the back, you notice numerous old captioned photos hanging on the walls--photos that document the lives and travels of the fictional AC members. Along the way, you may come across Graves the Butler (one of the resident characters), all decked-out in formal attire.

Peering downstairs over the railing, you notice people milling about in the Main Salon on the lower level. It is a circular room centered about a life-size bronze statue of a mythical god that is completely encircled with comfortable seating. On one side is a small bar, and doorways into the other rooms can be seen at various points around the outer periphery. Antique-looking chairs are scattered about. There are all manner of artifacts mounted on the walls and even hanging from the ceiling--the combined treasures and momentos of the Club's most daring and adventurous members!

As you reach the back of the Zebra Mezzanine, you take the staircase that leads you down to the Main Salon. You enter, locate suitable seating, settle in and relax, perhaps ordering a drink. Before long, one or another of the club members may pass through. Perhaps it will be the frumpy Pamelia Perkins, the Club President, or the Club Maid (whose uniform the gentlemen are sure to notice).

Every ten to twenty minutes or so an announcement is made in the Main Salon that the next club activity is about to commence. You will then be directed to the correct location. Some activities, such as the Club initiation, occur right in the Main Salon. Others occur in the Mask Room, the Treasure Room or the Library, all of which are just off the Main Salon. Each of these four rooms have their own special Disney magic. From walls that come alive in the Mask Room to Fingers, the haunted organ, in the Library, myriad strange occurrences punctuate the coming and goings of the slightly daffy Club members.

The AC's doors open at 7PM. (Occasionally, the opening may be delayed a little due to a private party.) The first activity is usually scheduled for 7:20 and last starts about 12:50. You can arrive at any time and stay for as long as you like, but experienced AC visitors will stay most of the evening, perhaps ducking out to take in a Comedy Warehouse show or the New Years celebration, both of which are just outside the AC's front door. Although it can get a bit crowded inside at times, you should have no trouble getting in to the AC, even during the peak seasons.

Upon arrival, simply proceed to the Main Salon and wait for the next activity to begin. After each event, return to the Main Salon and wait for next one to be announced. After Library events, guests exit through a back door which opens onto a corridor and a door that exits outside. When the AC is busy, the staff will open the exterior door. Most guests assume that the show is all over and take the hint, thinking that they have to leave (ala the Comedy Warehouse next door). This is not the case--simple turn left into the corridor upon exiting the Library and return to the Main Salon.

A printed schedule of activities and locations is usually available. Check the podium by the entrance. If there are none there, ask one of the cocktail waitresses in the Main Salon for one.

There a number of "permanent" members that seem to show up each night at the AC to mingle with other Club members and visitors, as well as to participate in Club events:

• Pamelia Perkins - The fastidious Miss P., Club President, is usually available to greet visitors, to initiate new Club members and to try to keep things at the Club under control.
• Otis T. Wren - Club Treasurer and ichthyologist of sorts, Otis is perhaps not really the adventurer he would like us to believe he is.
• Graves - Loyal Club Butler, the formally attired Graves is ususally around and about tending to the needs of the members.
• The Maid - She often passes through the Main Salon with her feather duster, ready to keep all those old artifacts clean as a whistle.
• Hathaway Browne - The aviator of the Club and unabashed ladies man, Hathaway cuts a striking figure as he dashes hither and yon.
• Fletcher Hodges - The slightly off-center Club Curator, Fletcher is the voice of authority regarding the Clubs eclectic artifact collection.
• Samantha Sterling - This daring adventuress seems to have just returned from safari, judging by her attire, and is always willing to share her stories of adventure with other Club members.
• Madame Zarkov - The newest permanent member of the AC often puts on a gypsy show in the library on the nights that she visits.

There are also two characters to be found in the Main Salon who are permanent club fixtures as it were--Babylonia and the Colonel. If you linger in the Main Salon for a while, one or the other is bound to animate the proceedings before very long.

Major Club events occur in the Library throughout the evening at intervals of approximately 45 minutes. Seating is primarily at small tables with comfortable padded chairs. There is additional seating at the bar at the back of the room, as well as on stools that have been placed along the two-story high bookcase side walls. The action occurs on the small stage at the front of the library. The stage is dominated by the now-haunted pipe organ console, known as Fingers, that has fallen through the second story balcony above.

If you want to be right in the thick of things, there is a bench on each side of the stage that seats three to four people. Many people do not know that they can sit here, so you may be able to get them even if you are not first in line when entering. The row of tables just in front of the stage offers an excellent view, but beware--this is interactive entertainment and much of the interacting is with the front row dwellers!

Although the specific events and scheduled times may vary, the following list will give you a feel for the kinds of things to expect:

• Serial Radio Thriller Broadcast - The AC is the site of this regular radio broadcast put on by various Club members.
• Balderdash Cup Competition - This competition is for the Club member with the best adventure story of the year, which, as we all know is just balderdash.
• Curator's New Discovery - The bespectacled curator of the AC announces a curious discovery.
• Second Annual Radiothon Talent Show - The AC has to pay the rent and this annual tradition is designed to raise money by showcasing the inimitable talents of the Club members.
• Adventurers Cabaret - Some Club members actually can sing up a storm, most notably Samantha Sterling, daring adventuress.
• Maid's Sing-A-Long - Join in with the Club Maid for a song-fest.
• Bon Voyage Party - The night is nearly over and this is a fitting send-off for adventurers 'till next time.

The Mask Room is a cozy alcove just off the Main Salon which serves as the repository for the Club's extensive collection of rare and unusual native masks collected from around the world. And, in the best Disney tradition, these masks have an attitude! At four different times throughout the evening, you will be invited in to mingle with the masks.

A second alcove off the Main Salon houses the Treasure Room, which displays many of the Club's rarest and most interesting artifacts. At four different times throughout the evening, you will be invited into the Treasure Room. Keep an eye on the back wall and you will soon encounter the Club's resident disembodied spirit.

The AC serves the standard range of mixed drinks and bottled beer, as well as several special Adventurers Club mixed drinks which are available with or without alcohol. Soft drinks and munchies can also be purchased. Recently, more substantial food items have been offered.

Children are most welcome and should enjoy much of the AC entertainment. Teenagers and, to some extent, young adults are perhaps the groups least likely to fully appreciate the AC. Be advised that the entertainment at the AC is often spontaneous and therefore can sometimes be rather adult in nature, or PG-14 in movie terms. (As a general note, children under the age of 18 are required to be accompanied by an adult at all times when at PI after 7:00 PM. The only place in PI that does not permit children at all is the Mannequins Dance Palace, which has a minimum age requirement of 21.)

The AC is located at Pleasure Island, just to the right of the Neon Armadillo and right across the West End Stage plaza from the Comedy Warehouse.

The Adventurers Club is one of the two non-smoking clubs at Pleasure Island (the other being the Comedy Club).

• Many of the photos and artifacts displayed at the AC have been contributed by Disney employees who have collected them from around world.
• The stools at the Main Salon bar can be made to slowly rise or fall at the whim of the bartender.
• The illuminated ship-in-the-bottle that is displayed on the wall behind the Library bar doesn't always just sit there looking pretty. Keep an eye on it after the storm.
• If you just can't get enough of the AC in one night and decide to return a few nights later, don't be surprised if Otis T. Wren has become Fletcher Hodges, or the Maid has become Samantha Sterling: Cast members sometimes take different roles on different nights. Also, there are at least two different cast members available to take on each role.
• Private parties can be booked into the AC during the day or early evening. These sometimes delay the opening of the club to the general public.