Downtown Disney – What to do

[Alby]

DH and I will arrive in Anaheim on 4/29 driving from Las Vegas. I don’t know how long this will take (any idea?), but I presume that around 5 or 6 pm we’ll check in at Park Vue Inn.
I was thinking we could spend our first night ever at a Disney Resort having a look at Downtown Disney; nothing long, as we’d like to be in bed early to gather energy for the parks.

But what could we do there to best enjoy DD? Dinner, of course, but where? We’d like something making us feel we are in Disneyland.
What about shopping? We are a couple w/o children; we have actually a baby but she won’t be with us, maybe we could buy some clothes for her… or anything a baby could appreciate. She’s too young for real toys.
I’d like to visit a few fun and “different” shops… what won’t be difficult as I’m from Italy. We have Disney stores here, but no Build-a-Bear or anything like that. Any suggestion?
Thank you!

 

[Alby]

Anyone?

 

[Disnee]

You might want to consider dinner at Napa Rose, in the GCH - not technically DTD, but close! The food is amazing, the view is of Grizzly Peak, and to me, it's one restaurant that is perfect for a meal without the kids. With the view, there's no mistaking you're in DL - it would be a really special meal.

If you want to stick with places in DTD, Rainforest Cafe is fun - the food isn't the greatest, but the atmosphere is really fun and very Disney-esque. For a nicer meal, I'd opt for Catal - no animatronic animals or fake thunderstorms, but good food and a good vibe!

Build-A-Bear would be a great idea for your daughter!! We went when our son was a baby, and purchased a bear for him. We opted to pay a couple dollars more for a "custom" sound chip in the bear, that let us record our own message to him that plays when he squeezes the bear's paw - it's a very sweet reminder of the trip, and our son loves it to this day.

There are so many neat shops to check out in DTD - Department 56 is fun to browse. For Disney stuff, you have the World of Disney - everything Disney in a huge store. There's a candle store, a store specializing in silver, Sephora has all the cosmetics you could ever hope for. Even the Lego store is fun - they have some great Lego "art", including an incredible giraffe. The vibe in DTD is great, with live music, lights in the trees, and a very festive atmosphere.

For snacks, we like to hit up Wetzel's Pretzels and Jamba Juice (sort of diagonally across from each other near the GCH entrance to DTD).

Edited to add: the Anne Geddes store in DTD has some really cute baby stuff!!!

 

[21yankees]

With today being Thanksgiving I don't know if many people are on right now. I'm sure people will respond soon. I'd answer but I don't have a lot of experience at Downtown Disney.

steph

 

[Emmo]

To make you feel like you are in Disneyland I recommend the Rainforest Cafe as the atmosphere and setting there is great and the food is too! As there is only two of you it shouldn't be too long a wait for a table, and if they offer you the patio it has heaters so you will be fine!

You can spend a lot of time in the World of Disney shop, as well as just walking around and enjoying the atmosphere! The open air Uva bar is also a good place for a drink, along with the bar inside the Grand Californian!

Have a great time!!

 

[Alby]

With today being Thanksgiving I don't know if many people are on right now. I'm sure people will respond soon. I'd answer but I don't have a lot of experience at Downtown Disney.

steph

Sure, I realized only after having posted that maybe today isn't the best day for this post!
Anyway, Disnee and Emmo, you gave me some great advice! I'm really thinking about Build-a-bear (if i can bring DH inside, that is) and like both Napa Rose and Rainforest Cafe very much. I could'm't have chosen less similar places, I realize it ... well, I have time to think it over!

By the way, what is Department 56?

 

[Disnee]

http://www.department56.com/

They sell tons of detailed pieces - Christmas villages, Halloween towns, really fun stuff!! The displays are incredible, and it's fun to spend time checking them all out.

DH always wants to buy out the store - thankfully, we're limited in what we can travel with!

 

[kiwitravel]

I would spend a bit of time in the world of Disney store, shop for souveniers here rather than lose precious time in DL itself. As others have said dine at the rainforest cafe maybe build a bear for your daughter....

Pickup park guides on your way out (you can get them from the gate without actually entering DL) If you need to change vouchers for DL tickets or need to buy them then do this on your way to DTD at the ticket windows, they may be shut when you come back.

 

[JenDisneylandlver]

Shopping at the World of Disney store is always a must! I love that store. We usually have dinner at the Rainforest Cafe in DTD. We like the food and it has a really fun and unique atmosphere.

 

[DLR29]

For dinner:

Rainforest Cafe- great atmosphere, average food.
Naples Ristourantte and Pizzeria- good large gourmet pizzas
Jazz Kitchen- yumminess!

 

[ballarinamom]

If you want to feel like you're at Disney, why not have dinner at Goofy's kitchen at the Disneyland Hotel? There are lots of characters and the food is really good. If you have AAA, you'll get a discount. It isn't very far from DTD and it would be alot more fun and "Disney" than Rainforest and it's not much further than Rainforest

 

[Alby]

Thank you all!

Pickup park guides on your way out (you can get them from the gate without actually entering DL).

Picking up park guides the day before is a great idea, this way I can check my plans... maybe while in queue the next morning!

I hadn't thought about Goofy's kitchen because I had automatically labelled it as kid stuff... but actually why not, I'll have a look at the menus. Good idea as well!

 

[garate55]

If you want to shop for your daughter you could go to the Vault there in Downtown Disney.
I believe my wife told me that this is the only store of it's kind and it sells Disney licensed clothing, kind of high end, but they do have smaller sizes if you want something original.

 

[disneyfansmandl]

With little ones, I think a stop in the Lego store is cool. You can walk under a huge Giraffe that is made of Lego and sit at the bench in front with the old man made of Lego. He snores usually. Dept. 56 has a lot of Christmas Village type crafts. We buy one each year to add to our village. We usually don't eat in DD but have had good dinners at Catal, Rainforest, ESPN and House of Blues.

Enjoy you time.

 

[ctamama]

DTD has a little bit of everything. They have a Fossil watch shop, Illuminations candle shop, the awesome World of Disney Store, Build-a-Bear, Lego Store, Basin (a neat bath & body store)...those were a few shops we really liked. During the day, they had the most heavenly scent wafting throught DTD, it was a fantastic Caramel kettle corn. Yum....why do all my posts come back to food I like at DL??????

 

[ballarinamom]

DH loves Goofy's Kitchen for dinner because he can have a beer (one of the few Disney places where you can ) and the prime rib is out of this world.

 

[jillfelice]

We live in Las Vegas too, (Green Valley, actually) and it takes us between 4 and 6 hours to get there, depending upon time of day and how many times we need to stop.

There is a Rainforest Cafe in the MGM on the strip, so I would go for something more Disney-ish, like anything in the hotels. My favorite places in DTD are the bookstore (compass?) and World of Disney.
Have a great time!

 

[fairycat]

Vault 28 is fun to look at but be prepared their prices are umm INSANE!! I think almost $30 for a simple pair of panties. And a $500 Hello Kitty Plastic and Rhinestone Tiara.

For food I have to agree with

Goofy's Kitchen-- I did this with Teens and adults and had a great time, charecters good food and nice time

Napa Rose- I love this place!! Its romantic, you can see the into DCA and even walk out to the patio with a fire pit and look right in on DCA.

Jazz Kitchen- I love being able to sit out on the balcony and have a great view to people watch you can see the fireworks and just have a very tasty nice adult dinner. I go here very regularly and enjoy it!

Rainforest Cafe- I will say, that having this place in several of the malls I go to and in Vegas, I am not all that impressed by the place. I found the food very mediocre, the service eh and the enviroment cute but kidsey. With Kids I can see it as a must do but wouldnt be my top choice.

You can do lots of shopping and looking at DTD its a lot of fun!

 

[Alby]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts, I'm deciding between Goofy's and Rainforest Cafe.

We live in Las Vegas too, (Green Valley, actually) and it takes us between 4 and 6 hours to get there, depending upon time of day and how many times we need to stop.
There is a Rainforest Cafe in the MGM on the strip, so I would go for something more Disney-ish, like anything in the hotels. My favorite places in DTD are the bookstore (compass?) and World of Disney.
Have a great time!

Jill, we'll spend only one and a half day in Las Vegas, so we won't have time for Rainforest cafe there! But thank you for your opinion on driving time, hopefully it won't take longer!