Adventurers Club

**The Adventurers Club** is a fictional organization from Walt Disney World's *Pleasure Island* area of the defunct *Downtown Disney*.

## Description

The Adventurers Club is a club of eccentric globetrotters. They splintered off from the *Society of Explorers and Adventurers*, a centuries-old guild of aristocrats and western colonists. The Adventurers Club was built from disillusionment with the Society and unlike the S.E.A., it attempted to rehabilitate itself from its dark and amoral colonial origins. Up until 1944, their headquarters was the isle of Pleasure Island in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.

Group traditions include the greeting, "Kungaloosh!" which means both hello and goodbye. Every New Year's Eve, they held the *Balderdash Cup* to see who had the best adventuring story. Certain members would also run the pulp radio-show "Tales of the Adventurers Club" for funds. The club's headquarters on Pleasure Island held a variety of artifacts taken form around the world, many of which were of supernatural origin.

The club had it's own theme-song which was to be performed with special movements. The club's theme song lyrics went:

"*Marching Along We're Adventurers*

*Singing the Song of Adventure's*

*Up or Down, North, South East, or West*

*An Adventurer's Life is Best*".

## Members

* **Chilton Thompson**:
* **Colonel Critchlow Sunchbench**:
* **Dreamy Ka'imi**:
* **Emil Bleehall, Jr.**:
* **Hathaway Browne**:
* **Madame Vidalia Onionski Zarkov**:
* **Merriam Pleasure**:
* **Merriweather Adam Pleasure**:
* **Otis T. Wren**:
* **Pamelia Perkins**:
* **Samantha Sterling**:
* **Sutter Beswick**:
* **Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt**:
* **Weggie Wishmeyer**:

## History

### Background

#### Founding

The Adventurers Club was established by industrial tycoon Merriweather Adam Pleasure while separating from the Society of Explorers and Adventurers with the group having also been known to have descended from an amoral guild called the *Pillager's Brigade*. Alongside Merriweather Adam Pleasure, the oldest known member was Theodore Roosevelt though other members old enough to have been there during its founding include Colonel Critchlow Sunchbench and Madame Vidalia Onionski Zarkov. When the club was founded is unknown but it would have likely been before 1913, due to Roosevelt's membership.

In 1921, Merriweather Adam Pleasure hired architects Sir Edwin Luytens, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, and Eliel Saarinen to construct a headquarters for the Adventurers Club on his land *Pleasure Island* in Florida. Pleasure moved much of his personal connection of artifacts to the club's headquarters. The collection would come to be overseen by club-member and curator, Professor Fletcher Hodges. This year also had the first Balderdash Cup of which Merriweather Adam Pleasure was the victor.

#### 1930s

At some point, Pamelia Perkins was elected as president of the Adventurers Club, with Pamelia working to move past their colonial origins. Around the mid 1930s, the club assisted, "Trader Sam" in opening his Enchanted Tiki Bar in Polynesia, with various members of the club attending the establishment as Sam's patrons. Throughout the 1930s, Hathaway Browne consecutively won several Balderdash Cups until being defeated by newcomer Emil Bleehall, Jr. in 1937.

They held another open house gala in 1938 which they advertised over the *Global Broadcasting Service*. Various members of the club would go on an adventure together and leave various artifacts from their headquarters in the possession of Trader Sam to be kept at his Enchanted Tiki Bar.

#### Later history

In 1945, corrupt land developers claimed Pleasure Island only for the island settlement to be annihilated in a hurricane. Merriweather Adam Pleasure lead an evacuation but was never seen again. Various members of the club would remain active however, attending the airline hangar of SEA member Jock Lindsey in the sleepy town of Disney Springs, Florida after its construction in 1948. In 1955, various club members assisted Lindsey in turning the hangar into, "Jock Lindsey's Hangar Bar" and were photographed at the bar's ribbon-cutting and celebrations.

In 1989, the Walt Disney Company purchased Pleasure Island and rebuilt it alongside archaeologists. Various paranormal events surrounded the island, such as the Adventurers Club headquarters going through the Open House Gala of 1937 on a loop.

## Jungle Cruise appearances

### Jungle Cruise

A removed feature from Walt Disney World's Jungle Cruise featured luggage belonging to Pamelia Perkins and Emil Bleehall. Perkins' cargo was addressed to "Office of the Adventurers Club at *5189 Hill Street at Lake Buena Vista* in Florida". On a map of the Rivers of Adventure, Alberta Falls uses the expression Kungaloosh. In Alberta's office is a crate from Merriam Pleasure at the Adventurers Club. In the Magic Kingdom's Jungle Cruise is a crashed-plane with the words, "The Amazing Hathaway Browne" on it. Skipper Missy mentions collaborating with the Adventurers Club over the Global Broadcasting Service. She states that members of the club will join her on the air the next morning to answer questions about their upcoming open house gala, the event from the original Adventurers Club attraction. There is a skipper in the JNC named Kungaloosh Kate.

### Skipper Canteen

In the menu of this restaurant is a dish called, "Perkins Thai Noodles" with a menu description mentioning the Adventurers Club and Pamelia Perkins. In the library, there are books titled *Another New Year* and *Global Night Celebrations* by Merriweather Adam Pleasure, founder of the Adventurers Club. Pleasure's S.E.A. fez is also located within a cabinet in the secret meeting-room.

### Trader Sam's

There is a secret drink-item in these bars called *Kungaloosh!* which is taken from the Adventurers Club. Skip Dockmonkey uses the greeting Kungaloosh! in the menus introduction to the bars.

#### Trader Sam's Enchanted Tiki Bar

There are various references to the Adventurers Club within this bar. There are postcards and letters addressed to Trader Sam from Samantha Sterling, Prof. Fletcher Hodges and Hathaway Browne. Additionally, Zeus' fishing-rod from Adventurers Club headquarters and the propeller of Browne's plane the Gipsy Moth are on display. Along with these are a photograph of said headquarters and letter from Pamelia Perkins comes with a crate of objects from the club, asking for Sam to take care of them. In addition to this there are several photographs of Theodore Roosevelt, explaining his history with the club and with Sam.

#### Trader Sam's Grog Grotto

There is a post-card from Hathaway Browne in this bar.

### Tropical Hideaway

In this restaurant is an oar commemorating Merriweather Adam Pleasure's 1900 voyage on the Kissimmee River.

### Other connections

An unseen member of the club is named Allston Goff, a tribute to Jungle Cruise imagineer Harper Goff. There are letters to said member in Trader Sam's Enchanted Tiki Bar.

#### Haunted Halloween

The Adventurers Club was featured in the backstory of the Adventureland horror attraction *The Revenge of the Headless Horseman*. Here, a member of the club grave-robbed the head of the Headless Horseman of Sleepy Hollow to show off in a side-show. This angers the horseman who travels to the sideshow seeking revenge.

#### Indiana Jones

The Adventurers Club assisted Indiana Jones' aviator Jock Lindsey in opening his bar in Disney Springs, Florida. The head of Babylonia is located in said bar along with an ice machine from the, "Yakoose Ice Co.".

## Trivia

* The ID on Hathaway Browne's plane is, "AC5189" which is a reference to the Adventurers Club (AC) which 05/01/1989 is the date that the Adventurers Club opened in Walt Disney World.

## External links

* *The Adventurers Club* on the *Disney Wiki*.

## References

1. ↑ https://jungleskipper.com/sea/attractions/adventurers-club
2. ↑ https://www.micechat.com/295997-disneyland-update-youll-get-the-point-in-the-end/disneyland-jungle-cruise-queue-river-map/
3. ↑ https://www.laughingplace.com/w/news/2021/07/16/photos-new-jungle-cruise-characters-introduced-as-guests-enter-attraction-queue/
4. ↑ https://vegandisneyworld.com/2019/05/17/skipper-canteen-perkins-thai-noodles/
5. ↑ https://www.mousesteps.com/2008/09/26/ac60/