Disney Springs... How much time will we need?

[Amelia :)]

Hey I am just in the middle of planning our first family trip to wdw (coming from the UK). So far according to my plan we will only spending one evening at Disney springs, is this enough time to enjoy it all? We will be doing a table service meal, probably Trex (I know I know, my daughters choice).

 

[Hammill9508]

It all depends. We have spent half days there, we have spent full days there. You will be eating up ( no pun intended) a lot of your time at T-Rex. Disney Springs does stretch on for a bit and there is a lot to see. To answer your question can you enjoy it all in a half day, absolutely not.

 

[Alesia]

It's basically a glorified outdoor shopping center. How much time you spend there depends on what you want to do. Generally, though, I think one evening is sufficient. How much time would you spend at a somewhat large shopping mall?

 

[OKW Lover]

Agree with @Alesia that it really depends on what you want to do. There are lots of dining and shopping opportunities there. You could spend a lot of time just hitting all the stores. You could also spend an hour or two having a nice meal. Or you could just skip the shopping and have a bite to eat at one of the food trucks.

 

[Amelia :)]

It's basically a glorified outdoor shopping center. How much time you spend there depends on what you want to do. Generally, though, I think one evening is sufficient. How much time would you spend at a somewhat large shopping mall?

I know what you mean, I think I would prefer to buy my souvenirs at the parks themselves because then they have more memories attached if you see what I mean?

 

[bigbabyblues]

It really depends on your group and what everyone likes. My boys could spend several hours in the Lego store alone. This year, our trip is short (only 6 nights), and we will probably only get there one afternoon/evening.

 

[lubob]

I would say a good 4 hours , to walk around and see the sights .

 

[aretha30]

As others have said DS is large and has a lot of shopping and things to see. We are going multiple times on our upcoming trip (in August) because we want to try the balloon flight and eat at some new places. We will go on our arrival day and on our water park days. This way we aren't taking away from park time and we know we aren't spending 10 hours at a water park!

 

[anniemae]

We usually go twice and spend a few hours each time. There are a few restaurants we enjoy, and we like Ghiradelli. We also LOVE the huge wold of disney store. I just love wandering around that store. We also like the christmas store and it is a tradition for us to get an ornament there. Its a fun place to walk around.

 

[IrishNYC]

It's basically a glorified outdoor shopping center. How much time you spend there depends on what you want to do. Generally, though, I think one evening is sufficient. How much time would you spend at a somewhat large shopping mall?

Ditto this. We won't bother with DS on any future trips because there isn't much there we can't see here in NYC, and none of the food options are good enough to us to waste our time there.

 

[sunsetbeachgal]

I think we were there for around 3-4 hours on our recent trip. We ate a fairly fast dinner at Wolfgang Pucks in the Marketplace area then walked to the far end by the Cirque de Soleil and back, stopping here and there for the music and to look at the stores. It is part of our routine at WDW to go there, although we rarely buy anything other than dinner and sometimes an ice cream at Ghirardelli.

Hope you are staying on property and can utilize the resort bus to go to Disney Springs. We always drive, but last year had an unpleasant experience with the crowds and traffic at the new garage, so this year took the bus from Pop and it was great! Drops you off in front, and service on the bus was quick and efficient. There is still a lot of construction in the parking area so the bus is the way to go!

 

[North of Mouse]

Hey I am just in the middle of planning our first family trip to wdw (coming from the UK). So far according to my plan we will only spending one evening at Disney springs, is this enough time to enjoy it all? We will be doing a table service meal, probably Trex (I know I know, my daughters choice).

Will depend entirely on what you do, or if you have been there before.
We're just back from Disney and we went twice in 8 days, ate at Earl of Sandwich, walked around, visited a few shops, just basically enjoyed the ambiance - were there 1 1/2 - 2 hours each time

But, if you 'do' any of the things available, it can take quite longer - your choice.

 

[snowybelle]

We spent about 90 min there walking around on our January trip. Wanted to see what was new, etc. Didn't have dinner, didn't do any activities. It's not really my thing, to be honest. It's just a big, crowded outdoor mall. I cannot imagine myself returning anytime soon. I'd rather spend my time in the parks and the resorts.

 

[JohnDaleswife]

Since we will be staying at POFQ, with the boat transport, we will liking be there numerous times during our next trip.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

I usually spend about 4 hours wandering and shopping - if I'm eating in a TS restaurant or visiting a bar, that takes another hour.

 

[caroline1851]

ds13 and I spent maybe 4 hours there this past June. We didn't go in many stores because we didn't want anything. We're not big souvenir shoppers...I mean how much Disney crap does one person need? we spend about 45 min at Disney Quest, ate at Earl of Sandwich, ate at Gihardelli and walked from one end to the other and back.

 

[Optimouse Prime]

I think that should be plenty of time, as my wife and I split a day between Hollywood Studio and DS during our last trip and felt it was plenty, and we spent a pretty fair amount of time in DisneyQuest, which might not even still be open when you get there. If you kids like Legos, you might find yourself spending more time at the Lego Store than you'd expect. And if you find yourself running out of time, just do what we did and say it's an excuse to plan another trip to take in the rest of it.

 

[SplashMo]

We spend zero hours there each trip. I would rather be in the parks. However if you do not have Park Hoppers you could go there after AK as you will have time. ALso if you are at POR it is a nice boat ride.

 

[Baptist]

Honestly, I think Disney Springs is a waste of time! The restaurants are not that good. Plus, it's crowded with people. Hopefully, the construction is gone before you get there.

I do like the ample parking and fancy Starbucks. The other shops and restaurants leave something to desire. The food trucks are a decent option.

 

[bryanb]

As a tourist, I don't usually plan time specifically at Disney Springs -- especially not if the parks are open late -- but I do end up there at least once or twice per trip.

As far as shopping malls go, it's a really nice one. I can't imagine spending many hours, but it was useful when I needed a new pair of flip flops and found the Sanuk store. Or grabbing a dessert at the Ghirardelli shop. There are some fun restaurants around for late dining after the parks close (depending on the time of year you're there). The Irish pub, Raglan Road, has a great band at night, a nice selection of beers, and excellent fish and chips. And I'm looking forward to trying out the crab cake at the Boathouse someday. It looks incredible. To be honest, if I lived in Orlando or if I really enjoyed shopping, I would probably be more excited about Disney Springs. Your mileage will vary.