Is Pleasure Island a "dead concept"?

When is the "new and improved" pleasure island set to open?

It looks like they're not setting an overall date....and don't even really have all of the plans in place for the changes. I just read a blog on AllEars interviewing a Cast Member about what's next at Downtown disney. It seems like lots is still up in the air for the re-vamp. Here's an excerpt:

"as Imagineers are looking at transportation and a whole host of other related issues, it's been a challenge to develop and lock onto a finalized plan. But, she adds, there will be a succession of smaller announcements over the next 18 months to two years, as Disney reaches agreements with other partners who will open locations in the Downtown Disney area.

"As you can imagine, tough economic times like these tend to slow things down," she notes. "But you can expect an announcement at least of the overall vision for Downtown Disney early this summer."

Yeah, I'm very anxious to see that T-Shirt Shop!

Here's a few pictures from the Orlando Sentinel of the new Characters in Flight balloon. It think this looks cool, but I'm not sure the price of $16 for under 10 minutes works for me... (I think that's the price...correct me if I'm wrong)

Characters in Flight article

I may just be having sour-grapes because of my distaste for killing the Adventurer's Club for a balloon ride, but I'm really unenthusiastic about it.

Just wanted to check back in on this thread after having visited downtown disney on my recent trip. The place is pretty deserted -- Paradiso 37 is there now, but other than that, things look dead. I'm really intrigued as to how Disney will revive Pleasure Island...it's been a year since it closed and I'm not seeing too much difference.