Adventurers Club

When I was researching the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse at Disney World for Thursday's post, I found the photograph at the top and wanted to be in that room! That would have been possible, as it turns out, until Sept. 27, 2008, when the Adventurers Club at the Walt Disney World Resort was shuttered in favor of shopping and dining establishments on Pleasure Island. The 1930s-style nightclub featured animatronics and a live cast of characters. The layout featured the Main Salon (with bar and stage), the Zebra Mezzanine (with circular balcony), the Mask Room, the Treasure Room, and the Library. Disney "imagineers" expressed their dismay on their blog: The walls and antechambers of the Adventurers Club are adorned with an almost infinite number of period photographs, artifacts and mementos from fellow adventurers around the world. This amazing attention to (and investment in) the details sets the Adventurers Club apart as one of the finest themed environments ever created by Walt Disney Imagineering....It's a fully realized environment that has to endure intimate and repeat inspection by guests who spend several hours poring over its walls. Remarkably, the club's interior not only endures, it envelops, as only a classic Disney attraction can....What's being destroyed is so unique, and works so very, very well." A petition 5,000 signatures strong did not reverse the decision, so a huge crowd of fans gave it a sentimental send-off. The photographs of the Adventurers Club make me eager to unpack my own treasures, which have been boxed up since March. I look forward to living in my relocated "museum!"