Better day or time to visit Disney Springs

[100acreHiker]

Leaving for a 5 day trip tomorrow night. We're interested in checking out Disney Springs for a couple of hours. Our options would either be early Friday (mid to late morning through lunch) or Saturday night. My guess is that Sat night will be more crowded, but I'm wondering if there's anything interesting that happens in the evening only? More entertainment or music? We only plan to do a bit of shopping (kids want to go the soccer store and I want to go to the Dress Shop/Marketplace) and have either lunch or dinner, depending on the day and time.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Shellyred8]

The afternoons are less crowded, but the entertainment doesn't come out as much until the evening. At least that was the case when we were there a couple of weeks ago. However, since a lot of the entertainment is somewhat random, it could just be that I missed some of the afternoon entertainment.

For example, I saw the roaming piano when we were there in the evening, but not when we were there during the afternoon. So, I'm not sure if it doesn't come out during the afternoon or if I just missed it.

If you really want to avoid the crowds, I would go during the afternoon. We were there on a Saturday night a couple of weeks ago and it was quite busy. They also have the place all decorated and lit up for Christmas now too. So, if you go during the afternoon, you might miss some of that. Perhaps look at going late afternoon/early evening, so you can catch some of the lights (if that's important to you)?

Have a great trip!!

 

[100acreHiker]

thanks! We likely wouldn't be there in the afternoon, but rather late morning and through lunch. Seeing the lights and some entertainment does sound good, but not if it's going to be a zoo, i suppose. I guess I'm wondering how great the evening entertainment and lights are--are they really special and worth making time for? We have park tickets every day, so it's not like we don't have other options, too.

 

[10MoreMinutes]

Definitely more entertainment on a Saturday night than a Friday morning/afternoon, but it will be much more crowded on a Saturday night. We were there on a Friday night earlier this month and it was already crowded by the time we got there at 3:30 or so...and that included inside the stores. We were in World of Disney around 5:00 or so and I actually had to step out because it was so crowded, I started to feel closed in. Also, I don't know if it matters to you, but the later it gets, the more adults there are, and the more drinking there is. We definitely noticed some rowdiness on the night we were there...nothing inappropriate that I saw, but some behavior that was on the edge for me.

The lights and decorations were nice, but nothing special imo, other than the Christmas Tree Trail, which was really cute but we were in and out before it got dark out, so I can't say whether or not it would have been better to see at night.

Given the choice between Friday morning/afternoon and Saturday night, I would definitely choose the morning.

 

[disneyvoice]

We love going to Disney Springs in the morning and then having lunch there. We don't make ADRs but instead take a seat at the bar - most places serve their full menu at the bar. But even if you don't want to sit at the bar, during the week you can often get a table as a walk up, especially if you plan for an early lunch right when the restaurant opens.

 

[ncc1701]

Another vote for Friday afternoon. Lot less people wandering around . We visited a couple of nights and afternoons on our last trip but stayed away from Saturday. In all cases dinner time was busier then lunch.

 

[ABZDisneyFan]

We have got back to the UK last Friday after 10 days at the Yacht Club & visited Disney Springs a few times.
Late morning through lunch & early afternoon was definitely our preferred time to be there, we had dinner reservations at Paddlefish on a Saturday evening & the whole place was a zoo & not nice in any way.
We also went late afternoon one day & it was crazy, I'm sure some of it was down to Thanksgiving crowds but it was not a pleasant experience.