Disney Springs openings on May 15th

[rteetz]

I'm going there later as well, mostly to get a cupcake from the ATM machine

Sprinkles was the first thing previewed by media today.

 

[rteetz]

Does anyone know if any of these new venues will be included as QS or snack credits on the DDP when they open this next week?

Nothing has been announced yet. Usually they aren't added to DDP when they first open it takes a while.

 

[yulilin3]

New Disney Springs Map, I'm sure someone will come with a better quality one

 

[yulilin3]

I planned to park in the all new lime parking garage, instead was met with the garage not open and a picket line of about 30 people, I believe they're from Reddy Creek but not 100% sure, signs said "unfair pay" "stop dictatorship" ...
Edit to add: it's the reedy creek fire department

 

[yulilin3]

A Quik review.
I spent the entire day yesterday, from opening to 9pm
The area is beautifully done, Spanish architecture with places to sit, benches, planters, fountains along the way. It's not s straight line of store line at the outlet malls it's more of a couple of paths. Once inside Town Center it is easy to forget you are at Disney Springs, it feels more like the outlet malls or Mall at Millenia. We went inside every store and all of the workers were pleasant, super excited, I hope it stays this way.
Positives: lots of restroom facilities all around, this was needed at Disney Springs
Guest Relations building (Welcome Center) is big, there are a lot of seating inside and outside (rocking chairs) and best of all a lot of places to plug your devices. Complementary water inside as well. This is the only GR at DS the one inside Co Op and the Disney Quest one will not serve as GR anymore
Had lunch at D Luxe Burgers, the hamburgers were great, real big so don't be scared of the price. Inside, again, a lot of places to charge the phones
Negatives: It doesn't feel like Disney, I don't really take this as a full on negative but it just feels like a high end mall.
D-Luxe Burgers only has 2 registers to order food and the lines were consistently long all day, word of caution, the burgers are made medium, so if you want them well done you have to order them that way

The place looks beautiful at night, the living statutes came out in the evening between World of Disney store and the Amorette's Pattiserie
The lanterns floating on the Springs do light up at night, it's really lovely
As for food, as I mentioned we had D Luxe for lunch and then had Sprinkles cupcake and Ice Cream (it was good but not amazing I think it's more if a hype sort of thing, still good cupcake) and Amorette's Pattiserie, this was amazing, the desserts here are sooo good. And they have the masters decorating their creations so you can watch them.
D Luxe Burgers is 1 credit on the dinning plans I didn't pay close attention but I saw that the french fries, the dessert and I believe the milkshakes are a snack point...(I'm sorry I never get the dinning plan so not sure exactly how it works)
I also believe that BBWolf takes the dinning plan as well, not sure about Amorette's Patisserie

EDIT TO ADD: The Lime parking garage did open later in the day. Bus loop was still closed but I did see buses going through it, I'm sure they will training

 

[tlmadden73]

Negatives: It doesn't feel like Disney, I don't really take this as a full on negative but it just feels like a high end mall.

Not being there and just watching the videos, I feel this way too.

I guess I'll be okay as long as the Marketplace isn't totally redesigned, because that end "feels" like Disney with T-Rex, RainForest Cafe, The Disney Store, the pin Traders, the toy store, etc.

Are the plans to incorporate the East and West sides into this theme or was this just a new theme for the middle portion since Paradise Island lost its way ages ago?

It's amazing how much is jammed in there though! And I thought there was a lot at Downtown Disney before!

 

[yulilin3]

Not being there and just watching the videos, I feel this way too.

I guess I'll be okay as long as the Marketplace isn't totally redesigned, because that end "feels" like Disney with T-Rex, RainForest Cafe, The Disney Store, the pin Traders, the toy store, etc.

Are the plans to incorporate the East and West sides into this theme or was this just a new theme for the middle portion since Paradise Island lost its way ages ago?

It's amazing how much is jammed in there though! And I thought there was a lot at Downtown Disney before!

You basically forget you're at Disney Springs until you see World of Disney in the distance.
There are no plans to change West Side or Marketplace and yes, Town Center basically took over the entire area that was once Pleasure Island, plus the parking behind it.
The transition is seamless, especially because the bridges over the "Springs", kinda when you go from one land to the next at MK.
And even though it's packed with stores it doesn't feel jammed, very well planned out, everyone kept commenting how huge the place had become

 

[joelkfla]

Are the plans to incorporate the East and West sides into this theme or was this just a new theme for the middle portion since Paradise Island lost its way ages ago?

The backstory is that Town Center and The Landing (which together cover the real estate of PI) are the old part of town.

The Marketplace is the commercial district that developed later, so it's basically unchanged in theme.

The West Side is the newest urban part of the community, hence the addition of the truncated "High Line" shade structures, which are supposed to be abandoned segments of an elevated rail line. There were originally supposed to be seating areas atop the High Line inspired by the real High Line, an elevated park in NYC, but they were deleted, reportedly due to safety concerns.

 

[yulilin3]

The backstory is that Town Center and The Landing (which together cover the real estate of PI) are the old part of town.

The Marketplace is the commercial district that developed later, so it's basically unchanged in theme.

The West Side is the newest urban part of the community, hence the addition of the truncated "High Line" shade structures, which are supposed to be abandoned segments of an elevated rail line. There were originally supposed to be seating areas atop the High Line inspired by the real High Line, an elevated park in NYC, but they were deleted, reportedly due to safety concerns.

I should've got a picture, inside Guest Relations there's some art work and it shows the West Side with the elevated platforms used for a monorail and then it says World"s Fair, forgot the year, I thought that was really cool how they incorporated the theme in the artwork.

 

[joelkfla]

I should've got a picture, inside Guest Relations there's some art work and it shows the West Side with the elevated platforms used for a monorail and then it says World"s Fair, forgot the year, I thought that was really cool how they incorporated the theme in the artwork.

Cool! That's the first I've heard of a World's Fair backstory; it helps justify the eccentric architecture in the area.

 

[serenitynow]

B.B. Wolf's Sausage Company is such a great name!

And so subtle. My DH, a sausage aficionado, stated that he had never heard of BB Wolf Sausage, took him a couple of minutes to figure it out after a further exam of the menu.

 

[maggiew]

How does the Sprinkles ATM work?

Maggie

 

[hiroMYhero]

How does the Sprinkles ATM work?

Maggie

The ATM dispenses boxed cupcakes. You do need to use a credit card for payment. Here's a video of the ATM in Beverly Hills: