can i walk from downtown disney to the closest ouytlet mall?

[Lewisc]

I'm not going to bother posting a poll but I suspect most people consider anything under a mile to be "walkable", maybe less if the person is going to be carrying stuff. I'll speculate the site that suggested outlets are walking distance of DTD meant the Crossings shopping center.

I would certainly say WDW isn't drivable from Michigan, in one day.

I'm sure there is some distance at which it no longer really "walkable." But I'd hate to think that distance is something that can be walked well under an hour. Believe it or not, tons of people get up early every day at Disney because they want to walk that far - they actually enjoy it. 2.5 miles is not some unreasonable barrier. Sure, lots of people don't want to walk that far, just as I would never want to take a multi-day cross country drive. But I'd never tell somebody that WDW isn't "driveable" from Michigan. Would you?

As you suggest, probably best just to tell somebody how far the walk is and let them decide if that is or isn't walkable.

I'm going to assume the original poster isn't an idiot, and understands that you sometimes end up with a lot of stuff when you go shopping. I think it safe to assume we don't have to point that out. The OP specifically asked about walking to the outlet center. I think it better to assume either (1) they are thinking of walking there and taking other transportation back or (2) they are looking to buy something small.

 

[NotUrsula]

Can you clarify what you mean by that? I don't see any 8-lane intersection. What I see is that you have to cross a 2-lane off ramp (at which the cars have a stop light) then another 2-land off ramp (again, at which cars will be stopped at a light), then cross a single lane on ramp without a light. Considering that the whole route is clearly marked for walking, including zebra-strip-crosslanes, it seems at least the transportation board doesn't think it unsafe.

I didn't say it was categorically unsafe, only that it was iffy. Apopka-Vineland is 8 lanes wide throughout the route.

Though the route is striped, it is only striped on one designated path. If you follow it exactly you will be relatively safe (assuming no driver runs a light, which is kind of a big assumption in that neighborhood), but if you don't follow it exactly you could end up dealing with crossing 8 lanes without a crosswalk. Not everyone knows that there is only one path, and if they are told to turn right at A-V, they may turn without crossing A-V at that point, which means that they will be attempting to cross A-V at the Vineland intersection, which is NOT striped. Of course, they won't know it's not striped until they get there, and your average person isn't going to backtrack 3/4 mile to find a missed crosswalk -- they will try to cross where they are. Crossing at that point would be quite dangerous, due to drivers gunning it across and to the left off the I-4 exit ramp.

I'm curious where you don't see sidewalks. I see them the whole route.

This I'll concede. I was a bit out of date; there used to be some gaps along Vineland, but it looks like they are filled in now.

 

[crashbb]

I know things can get dicey in the intersections around there. I had a conference at the Marriott World Center and was staying at the Fairfield in the Marriott Village. There was a shuttle between the two, but it was so close that I thought I'd just walk. Got to one intersection (Vineland and World Center Drive) and thought I'd be killed if I tried to cross, so had to walk back to the Fairfield. As in your example, it is possible that I would have been okay had I crossed Vineland earlier (though I feel there was a reason I didn't - maybe no sidewalk on the other side?). I did ask at both the Fairfield and the Marriott about walking and was told I couldn't.

The area just doesn't seem well set up for walkers (which is very annoying).

 

[P.I. Squirrel]

Add me to the 'it's most certainly NOT walkable' side. People zoom off the interstate through the crosswalks trying to make the left turn lane at Hotel Plaza Blvd. They certainly don't have pedestrians interests at heart. Muy dangerous!

Lastly, because of a fence around Orlando Premium Outlets, you must walk to the far side to gain access. Conservatively, 3.5-4.5 miles depending on what side od DTD you start. Including waiting for crosswalks, it would take a good half hour minimum.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Half hour? That'd be seven to nine miles an hour. I'm not doubting you, that just seems awfully fast. Heck, the speediest ECVs rented offsite only go nine MPH, max.

 

[NotUrsula]

I've found that route normally takes me 30-40 minutes when driving, because of the traffic. It actually might be a tad faster when walking, because other than the crosswalks, you keep moving while the cars wait in line.

I still don't recommend it, though -- too much carbon monoxide, and a lot of inattentive drivers trying hard to zoom into open spaces and doing wild lane changes.

 

[*NikkiBell*]

The premium outlets you're thinking of are pretty far away. I'd suggest getting a taxi. It is not safe nor smart to walk to it from DTD. Ask the cast member at your resort front desk for information on getting one. You can also get assistance at guest services in DTD.