Disney Springs Impressions

[tlmadden73]

To me Downtown Disney/Disney Springs is all about the Marketplace .. always has. Heck .. I've gone on visits there where I haven't gone past T-Rex.

The look of this is nice, but yes, reminds me of any "outdoor" mall I've seen in every major suburb I've been in. My little town has one and I think building another one. You know the ones .. the ones that "feel" like a city center without really being in a city?

I don't think my family is the demographic either. While I don't have a large high-end mall in my city (closest would be 2+ hours away), I wouldn't shop there .. ESPECIALLY while on vacation. A lot of those stores I wouldn't walk into no matter where I was. I know a lot of people like to shop (for non-souvenirs) on vacation, but I am not one of them .. I'd rather spend my time doing and seeing things I cannot do back home.

I'll go there for the food though!

 

[ellie05]

You can find a few of the stores in a mall..but majority of these stores you cant

Except for the Disney stores you can find every single store in a mall. Anthropology, Sephora, Mac, Kate spade, sperry, etc.

 

[CAS239]

Except for the Disney stores you can find every single store in a mall. Anthropology, Sephora, Mac, Kate spade, sperry, etc.

I'm talking about Disney Springs as a whole..so majority of the stores and food spots at Disney Springs, you won't in a regular mall

 

[JimmyV]

Except for the Disney stores you can find every single store in a mall. Anthropology, Sephora, Mac, Kate spade, sperry, etc.

First, to the extent that this is true, the companies that are represented at DS don't care that you can find everything at home in your mall. You think they don't know that? Frankly, they don't care if you buy at DS or not. What they do care about is state-dependent impressions. You are at WDW. You are having a great time. You are carefree and loving life. You see a cute pair of shoes in the window of a store. You don't buy the shoes. You go home and see the same shoes in your mall and your memory carries you back to your trip to WDW and how happy you were and how much you loved those shoes. So you buy them. Had it not been for the fact that you first saw them at WDW, maybe you wouldn't have. But your joyful memories influenced your decision to buy. When you associate a positive feeling with the shoes, you are experiencing a state-dependent impression. For the same reason that Earl of Sandwich tastes better at WDW and a Mickey Bar tastes like something more than it is, which is an ice cream novelty that you can buy at any supermarket. The shops at DS are largely designed (from the tourists' perspective) as giant window shopping opportunities to get you to visit their stores and buy things once you get home. Corporate HQ doesn't care if you buy in Lake Buena Vista or Lake Charles. They just want to grab your attention. And more specifically, they want to grab your attention at a time when you are at your euphoric high. It's a huge game of psychology and it works.

I'm talking about Disney Springs as a whole..so majority of the stores and food spots at Disney Springs, you won't in a regular mall

Secondly, I am more in this camp. It is a gross overstatement to think that all of the stores at DS are within the easy reach of WDW's complete demographic. Sort of like saying: No one should eat at Via Napoli because you can get great pizza at home. Well, I've travelled throughout most of this country, and I can tell you that most of this country does not have good pizza within a 50 mile drive. There are plenty of places where Papa John's, Domino's and Pizza Hut are the standard bearers.

 

[lampshadehead]

Well at least there is somewhere to go if I forget to pack eyeliner.

 

[hiroMYhero]

Well at least there is somewhere to go if I forget to pack eyeliner.

The Sephora staff at DTD Anaheim are exceptionally nice. I think they all receive some type of Disney "basic" training. I would think Sephora in DS will be just as nice!

 

[ravenclawtrekkie]

Personally I wish they'd put a Lush at Disney Springs so I wouldn't have to drive to the Florida Mall at all anymore.

I just had lunch at Morimoto street food and then stopped at Amorette's for dessert. No complaints except that I spent more money than I should have, but that's my own fault.

 

[yulilin3]

The Sephora staff at DTD Anaheim are exceptionally nice. I think they all receive some type of Disney "basic" training. I would think Sephora in DS will be just as nice!

I thought that everyone was super nice, in every store. They all seemed super excited and eager to help but without being over bearing, apart from a gentleman at the Hawaiian jewelry store (forgot the name of the store) he followed me around the entire store while I looked...
There was a particularly over excited girl at Sephora, I got her on video while I was live streaming, I'm sure she popped up in every blogger video, short, dark hair, big red flower in her hair.
The people at Franchesca's were very nice, that's the only store we bought something

 

[yulilin3]

Personally I wish they'd put a Lush at Disney Springs so I wouldn't have to drive to the Florida Mall at all anymore.

I just had lunch at Morimoto street food and then stopped at Amorette's for dessert. No complaints except that I spent more money than I should have, but that's my own fault.

a Hot Topic at Disney Springs would not want us to go to the Fla Mall anymore

 

[hiroMYhero]

I thought that everyone was super nice, in every store. They all seemed super excited and eager to help but without being over bearing, apart from a gentleman at the Hawaiian jewelry store (forgot the name of the store) he followed me around the entire store while I looked...
There was a particularly over excited girl at Sephora, I got her on video while I was live streaming, I'm sure she popped up in every blogger video, short, dark hair, big red flower in her hair.
The people at Franchesca's were very nice, that's the only store we bought something

I believe the red-flower lady even upstaged Minnie at the ribbon-cutting! I knew who you were describing before I read the "red flower!!"

 

[yulilin3]

And I also believe that CM get discounts in some of the stores, I asked about AP discount at Franchesca's and she said only CM discount, so if you are a CM make sure to ask

 

[J.C.&ALI'SMOM]

Not everyone in the US has a mall close to them. We have some third rate malls about an hour to an hour and a half away. To get to a mall that has a true Sephora (not in a JC Penney), Tommy Bahama, Anthropology, etc we would have to drive 3+ hours away. So it is not something that many people have ready access to.

 

[PlutoTheDog89]

Yeah, it looks like an outlet mall, but I'm not going there to visit Disney Springs. Disney Springs is an added attraction for a "down" day.

We plan on stopping by once, MAYBE twice. The main benefit, for us, is the clothing stores. No, we won't be shopping during our trip; but as a family that vacations during December (when the weather could be hot, freezing or in between) it's nice to know that we can run to Under Armour and grab a light shirt or heavy hoodie if the weather doesn't cooperate.

All in all, Disney didn't build this for tourists and guests, they built it to bring the locals in. With prices becoming so steep, not as many locals (speculative) will be going to Magic Kingdom for a day or purchasing APs. So how do you keep business booming? You open a mall where locals will bring dates on the weekend or go shopping for a little while. They get the "Disney feel" without going to the parks.

 

[butterfly71076]

We, most likely, will not be walking down past TRex anymore. Last trip, DS wanted to go in Super Hero Headquaters, we went, he bought a toy, and we left. We like hanging out at the Marketplace, Christmas Store, OUAT, WOD, and Goofy's Candy Co. We have 3 higher end malls within 45 minutes of us, so it's not a big deal to us. But, I hope everyone who is excited about it has a great time!

 

[JimmyV]

You open a mall where locals will bring dates on the weekend or go shopping for a little while. They get the "Disney feel" without going to the parks.

Yay!!! Somebody gets it!!

 

[tlmadden73]

Not everyone in the US has a mall close to them. We have some third rate malls about an hour to an hour and a half away. To get to a mall that has a true Sephora (not in a JC Penney), Tommy Bahama, Anthropology, etc we would have to drive 3+ hours away. So it is not something that many people have ready access to.

This ..
People coming to Disney NOT from a big city may find these stores exotic and appealing. When you are on vacation the purse strings are sometimes a bit loosened and these stores are betting on that.

Not to mention the locals ... Disney Springs is probably a HUGE draw to the locals .. dining, movies, bowling, and some high-end shops ... and a huge Disney store.

 

[powellrj]

We always shop the outlet malls when were are in Orlando because if I want to shop at these places, I have to do so on-line. We were at Disney Springs last October and look forward to visiting again this year.

 

[jason10mm]

I think it looks pretty good. The one thing I think it is missing, though, is entertainment. I imagine Disney knows their target demographic pretty well, but other than the Edison there doesn't seem like there is that much to do at night besides the restaurants and bars. I think a supper club with live entertainment would be a good addition.

Whoa, I read this quickly and my mind went into a REALLY different direction

 

[BudgieMama]

I watched BigFatPanda's video and I think the area looks very pretty but I was never a DTD person and don't really plan to go to DS. I spend so much money on my resort and theme park tickets, I'm not ever looking to spend more time or money on shopping or dining outside of the theme parks or resorts.

This sums us up perfectly. When we stayed at SSR on our first trip, people told us how convenient it is for DS... we spent about 2 hours there and spent very little. We're not people who go shopping for fun, and DS just felt like a shopping centre. Great if you love that, but even planning a two week trip this year, if we didn't HAVE to go to DS to collect our free gift card, we probably wouldn't go at all!

 

[BillyBuff]

Sorry for the shaky footage....but here's a brief look at the Town Center