Disney Springs worth the time?

[wgeo]

We used to go for the Lego Store - and now mainly go to pass the time and get Earl of Sandwich, we all love that place.

My biggest issue is how horrid the parking is, and even with the new garages it's still not great. If I knew it would be easy to park I would go more often to just wander around.

 

[PollyannaMom]

Never been able to catch the tethered hot air balloon open.

Oh, I forgot about that, because we've had the same problem. Just bad luck with windy days, I guess. But someday, we'll hit it right!

 

[mamamelody2]

I am not hugely into shopping so it's not a must-do for me. If we go, we pretty much do World of Disney and Uniqlo. I do enjoy Uniqlo a lot. DH and I each got a Disney sweatshirt, and I got 2 tees and it was $70 plus tax. 2 sweatshirts plus 2 tees in the park would be closer to $150.

This year, we're taking our 15 and 12 year old boys to WDW and I was going to skip DS, but we will be going for the Star Wars VR experience. Since we're there, I'll probably hit up Uniqlo.

 

[MirandaB]

We were at Raglan Road for St. Patty's day in 2014 - it was awesome! Get a reservation if you can, or you'll be waiting. But that wasn't a problem either. There's so much to do around there. I can't believe how much DS has changed since then!

 

[Gehrig1B]

As you will be very near I would definitely go to take advantage of the bars and restaurants. We really enjoy Boathouse and Art Smith's. It looks as if the Edison is pretty special as well and we have had a great time at Raglan Road. Plenty of street performers as well. We visit once or twice every trip.

 

[heather913]

We thought it was a huge waste of time. It was a lot of travel time from BLT and the stores and walkways were absolutely packed. We ate at planet Hollywood and the food was really good, but overall we won’t go again on any future trips. It was like an overcrowded, over priced mall.

 

[Gentry2004]

We used to go for the Lego Store - and now mainly go to pass the time and get Earl of Sandwich, we all love that place.

My biggest issue is how horrid the parking is, and even with the new garages it's still not great. If I knew it would be easy to park I would go more often to just wander around.

Agree. The parking situation deters me. We mostly go there to eat so instead I just pick a resort restaurant or something offsite if we are not eating in a park.

 

[arcticdisneylovers]

We always spend half a day! Shopping and eating.

 

[Newsies]

Something to note about Disney Springs is that they've been really good recently with hosting special events and Springs-wide offers. For example-- they celebrated Minnie's birthday with the "rock the dots" event back in January where they had a cute DJ dance party and Minnie was out, as well as some (possibly event-exclusive?) Minnie-themed merch and snacks. Christmas is fun at Disney Springs because they have the tree trail and you can meet Santa. I'm sure there are more events I'm forgetting. I would snoop around on Disney Parks related news blogs before your trip and see what kind of special events or offers are happening when you'll be there.

(Update: Just reread your post and saw you'll be there around St. Patrick's Day! I'm sure they'll have a few cute St. Patrick's Day related things to do at DS that they'll announce closer to March.)

(Second update: it IS March, St. Patrick's Day is this Saturday, and I'm an idiot. Sorry.)

Personally, I love Disney Springs regardless of ongoing special events. They have some really great restaurants and I think World of Disney is worth the trip alone. I'm probably in the minority here, but I think Disney Springs is at least 70% more interesting than Disney's Hollywood Studios in it's current state.

 

[Imamom2]

It's fun if you like shopping and eating. We really have a great time shopping and love the restaurant choices. Everything is expensive but we always find great gifts and it's a nice alternative to parks and resorts. Walking around with adult beverages is fun, too! For us it's a great afternoon or evening once each trip if we can fit it in.

 

[Elle :)]

DH and I are big lovers of Disney Springs. We make it a point to stop there a few times each trip. Mostly for the food tbh as we prefer it to the park restaurants. We usually go mid day and the restaurants are never too busy at that time. Raglan Road always has a great show for the dinner hours and we make it a point to go there each trip. DH has a particular fondness for their beer flights. I love going to the AMC dine in theater. We don't have one like this at home so it's a special treat. Who wants to go to the movies while they're in Disney World? Me! It's hot, dang it! A mid day movie in the AC is just what this over-cooked lady needs. My DH also insists we have Blaze pizza each trip too. Their spicy red sauce is delicious (and it's a pretty inexpensive meal by Disney standards). You can see how time at Disney Springs can easily add up.

Disney Springs has a really nice ambiance. I actually really love the new shopping aspects (a Disney Sephora is kind of a dream come true). There's more than just shopping here. We love to take pics of the lego structures (so cool), and pop in the glass making shop, and even watch the aqua boats outside The Boathouse. I also make it a point to stop by Basin on our first day so I can pick up bath bombs for some relaxing hotel room soaks.

This year we have a dinner ADR for The Edison and I'm pretty excited to try it out.

 

[soccermom54]

We enjoy grabbing a drink and listening to the live music on the House of Blues porch. Also, what once was Team Mickey is now divided into several small stores that have interesting items that I have not seen in the parks. Disney seems to have entertainment most nights in the open air concert area across from The Disney Store. We often stop to enjoy it and people watch. As others have said, catch a movie, enjoy a special dinner, get ice cream and enjoy it at the tables by the water, go bowling, balloon ride, stroll through all the stores (I am always on the hunt for a special birthday or holiday gift for family), and the margarita bar usually has live music to enjoy, also. We think a visit to Disney Springs is a nice, relaxing evening away from the parks. It is especially nice if you are staying at POR and take the boat ride over and back.

 

[AnnaS]

We try to go at least one evening - "sometimes" two. Not a shopper here but love to browse, have a meal, ice cream. There is various entertainment all evening along the "strip".

 

[magicwdw]

We still try to hit Disney Springs at least once per weekly visit. As my kids have gotten older it seems to have lost some of the magic for us a little each year. Parking is better than a few years ago but still not that good. TRex and Rainforest Café are not must do's for us like they used to be. We seem to be spending less and less time there each year. World of Disney shopping, Ghirardelli's chocolate samples, and some unique stores are still worth going to, especially if you've never been there.