Disney Springs?

[kreckl]

We've been once a couple of years ago and I'm wondering if it's worth planning some time here during our August trip. Two adults, 2 thirteen year old boys. We aren't big shoppers. It looks like we could easily find some great places for meals and snacks- what else?
We won't have $ in the budget for Cirque. Bowl and see movies at home.
What would you recommend? Or should we skip it?

 

[loves to dive]

I haven't been since they changed it to DS, went when it was Downtown Disney a couple of times but have no interest in going again. From what I've seen in the videos the Dis has put out, it's more of an upscale mall type place now with restaurants. I'm thinking 2 thirteen year old boys aren't going to be interested.

 

[100AcreWood]

The only reason we go is World of Disney. My kid also enjoy the T-Rex Restaurant. Then we leave.

 

[Jedimom]

The only reason we go is World of Disney. My kid also enjoy the T-Rex Restaurant. Then we leave.

Add The Lego Store in there and that is us to a T. We go for T-Rex, The Lego Store, and World of Disney. And then we're outta there. Couple hours tops.

 

[DWDan]

We went in May when they were in the process of opening some of the new places and it's an outdoor mall with restaurants. I enjoy shopping, but even I'm not going to DW to spend money at mall stores (I can do that at home) I did like the World at Disney, but unless you're looking to kill a couple of hours walking around and get some food (some posters have said it's a good place to go if you don't have park tix for the first / last day of your trip) then it's probably not worth the time. There's really not much to do there outside of shopping and eating (thee is a movie theater and upscale bowling alley, but again I don't think anyone is going to DW to go to DS to go bowling / see a movie. It looks nice though.

 

[JaxDad]

IF it is relatively convenient and IF you have a specific place you would like to eat, I would say it is worth it. We did Cirque and Raglan Road, then just walked around for a while. There are various street performers, some interesting shops that are fun just to browse, people-watching, etc. We used Uber, if that would work for you and make it more convenient.

 

[aleksandr]

Add The Lego Store in there and that is us to a T. We go for T-Rex, The Lego Store, and World of Disney. And then we're outta there. Couple hours tops.

Couldn't agree more! We have dinner at T-Rex, spend a little time at the Lego store, browse World of Disney, walk through the Toy store, and that's about it.

It's been disappointing the past few years that all of the Marketplace parking has been gone for construction. The new garage that just opened a couple months ago helps greatly though! I certainly miss being able to park and walk right into the World of Disney. I guess that's just me and my dislike of change though.

The only time we go to the West Side is to go to Disney Quest, but with that finally closing this year, there is probably very little reason to do so in the future.

 

[kbelle8995]

If you are not a shopper then I probably wouldn't recommend it to you. However, there are some nice restaurants over there. I love Earl of Sandwich. Also I go for the Co-op Marketplace which has some wonderful items.

 

[100AcreWood]

Good point about the parking deck. My husband really liked those lights above the spaces that indicated when a spot was open. We had never seen that before and thought that was really helpful.

 

[bearzabout]

We love to watch the aquacars launch from next to the Boathouse. Walk through the restaurant and check out the amazing collection of rare boats in back of the restaurant. They have nice seating areas by the boats and the aquacars motor right next to their docks.

We pop in Ghiradelli for free chocolate samples and get great tasting sandwiches at Earl of Sandwich. Sometimes we take a bus from in back of Earl of Sandwich to the Polynesian for Dole Whip floats at the Pineapple Lanai.

 

[writerguyfl]

We pop in Ghiradelli for free chocolate samples and get great tasting sandwiches at Earl of Sandwich. Sometimes we take a bus from in back of Earl of Sandwich to the Polynesian for Dole Whip floats at the Pineapple Lanai.

FYI: The Disney buses no longer located in the Marketplace area. They have been relocated to an area near Planet Hollywood.

 

[Praying Colonel]

I really like the new garages and entries into DS proper. The construction also appears to have been done well. But personally, I don't like the trend toward non-Disney related stores (Francesca's, Johnston & Murphy, Sephora, etc.). So many of these are stores we have in our malls here at home. It's beginning to feel a lot less like Disney and a lot more like any other shopping area in any other city.

 

[kreckl]

That what it seems to me, too.....

 

[Accident]

It's really well made and pretty with all the construction that happened but it's mostly shopping, food and some entertainment options...

If your not gonig to be shopping or doing the entertainment stuff for budget reasons. heading over for a few hours in the evening has a lot of free singers and musicians that play on the streets. a bunch of the new food is more like quick service stands so you can find some disney reasonable priced food (and some weird combos). d-lux that just opened is a really good burger and somethign disney has been missing.. I've used it for long trips when we were having some down time and did a family night at the movies..

Other than that if your not spending money shopping, it's not much there..

 

[ruby33]

Fun place to people watch. We always get a sundae at Ghiradelli! Go behind the Boathouse restaurant, they have some old wooden boats to checkout. Seating along the lake back there too. Raglan Road - have had dinner there numerous times. Street musicians in the evening have all been excellent. Parking is so much easier now too. You really don't need to spend a lot of $$ to go there. We usually go once or twice every time we visit.

 

[spiceycat]

I have not been in a long time - since they started construction. and only went when I needed something in the World of Disney store.
Guess it is time for a revisit.

 

[Judyat]

We were there in December. Love the new parking garages. It's fun to walk around at night. We enjoy the free entertainment. Lots of great music. It is a busy place. Love the Earl of Sandwich and Starbucks there. New places keep opening. We like the ones that you don't see everywhere else.

 

[rg35]

The Marketplace co-op has some great Disney merch.

Boathouse is great if you're looking for a nice sit down meal.

The town center "mall" is pretty separate from the marketplace, so I think you get the best of both worlds. We were able to do our "Disney shopping" in the marketplace, and I was able to buy two UV blocking rash guards at the Volcom store in the town center because I'm tired of sunblock and sunburn when spending hours in the pool with the kids.