Downtown Disney - How long?

[Disney8704]

DH and I are plan on going to DTD for the 1st time this Dec and was wondering how much time should we allow ourselves to walk around and walk through the stores. We arent gonna be doing any clubs and MAYBE do disneyquest. OK who am I kiding, we will probably do disneyquest. Plus have dinner at RFC. We are gonna be finishing up AK and if needed MGM that morning and head down to DTD and probably be there around 2 or 3pm, the latest. TIA!

 

[Nimbus]

It really depends on what youre interested in. We don't spend more than an hour there because we really aren't into pins and really expensibe candy and apparel. If you're going to shop around then you probably wanna allow yourself at least a couple hours. But if you're like me, you'll need an hour...tops

 

[scrapperjill]

From what I read you should leave yourself a good deal of time for DQ if your doing it. After all you have to pay a good sized admission fee to get in. If it were me I'd be planning on staying there long enought to make it worth the $. Other than that I think you could spend hours in DTD....looking around, browsing the shops and watching people. I've only been one time and it was just a couple hours...IMO it was WAY to short. I didn't have near enough time to really look at much. Also to me it's not so much about 'shopping' but looking around and taking in the sites and atmoshpere. Oh...also if your eating at RFC I'd allow another hour (min... probably more like 2 hours...but that really depends on what sort of wait there is for a table and how fast the server is). In all...DQ, shopping/looking and dinner at RFC I'd say 4-5 hours (or more).

 

[hayanyujah847]

When we went in Dec. '05 we spent about 5 hours there. We went in every single store, browsed, took our time, bought (my favorite is the cheap store where nothing was over $10! I got a bunch of items 4/$10 and had them sent to my room!), looked at all of the cool lego things, and we ate at Wolfgang Express. We did NOT go to Disney Quest though.

We didn't venture into the club side...but saved that for a Friday night where we arrived at about 10pm and stayed until 3am club hopping (our most expensive night at WDW!!! Drinks get expensive!!!)

 

[Disney8704]

Maybe we will do DTD one evening just to look around and window shop. We might buy stuff, may not and then the day we finish up AK and go to RFC maybe we can just do DQ. Both DH and I LOVE video games, so yeah we could very easily spend hours in there. 2 questions about DQ. Do they give military or AAA discount and 2-if we were to buy a ticket, can we go in and leave and go back to DQ on the same ticket, same day. Just wondering if we decide to leave for a lil bit to take a break from there and maybe get something to eat if we didnt wanna eat at DQ.

 

[bradisgoofy]

If you are video gamers you should set aside a whole day to DQ ! My sons get there at opening and don't come out until it closes. You can get discount tickets at ticketmania.com or undercovertourist.com and you can exit and return on the same day. You can easily do DTD in an evening. We usually go just as it is getting dark, so it's a little cooler. The stores are open until 11pm, so you have lots of time.

 

[Dcanoli]

Well...I'll have to say--I agree w/the above poster.

We NEVER miss DTD. It is the highlight of any trip to Central FL, even if we are not doing the Parks. We absolutely love it.

It IS a little bit more expensive, but it's definitely about the atmosphere and just being "in" Disney. We love to stroll throught it--mostly the Marketplace side, not so much PI and the West Side.

My husband is a Ghiradhelli (sp?) fanatic, so we NEVER miss that one, and my kids have to get "spit" on by Stitch each trip.

It is, I'll agree, much better to hit it in the late afternoon and into the night. Much cooler, a little less crowded, and everything is lit up.

As for DQ, we went for the first time this past April. We got in line at opening, and we left at CLOSING! It was hard to believe we spent 12 hours in there, but we did!

You CAN come and go as much as you want, but be aware that if they reach capacity, which they did when we were there, you may not be able to get back in, and we, too, left w/plans to hit RFC.

However, what we found was that the food INSIDE was priced about the same as OUTSIDE (at the different restaurants). We walked all the way to RFC only to be told it was going to be an 1.5 hour wait. Then, we walked back to Fulton's and decided to eat there. Well, it was a long wait there too, and the experience turned out to be absolutely HORRIBLE (but that's another story in itself).

When we got back inside DQ, I checked the prices for burgers, which we at at Fulton's, and they were the same as Fulton's! We could have saved ourselves a lot of time had I known that!

So...ALL THAT SAID--depending on what time of year you go and what you want to eat, you may want to stay inside DQ. But, yes--give yourself an entire day alone for DQ, and at least 5-6 hours for DTD.

BUT DON'T MISS EITHER ONE! (Rumor has it DQ is closing in December and ESPN SportsZone is replacing it.)

 

[Disney8704]

Do you know when DQ will be closing in december? Our trip isnt until Dec 6th.

 

[Disneyof3]

We did DTD for the first time in March and we loved it. The shops are so cool and the atmosphere is cool. We took 1/2 day to see everything and we stopped at Earl of Sandwiches for lunch . If you have the chance these sandwiches are soooo great. The kids went to the store and made light sabers and the x-mas store is so neat and fun to see. Next March we are definately going to go again to just relax and look around at the neat stores. We stay at POR so we also want to take the boat there.

 

[Detailor]

DQ's closing is nothing more than an unsubstantiated rumor that starting over a year ago. Disney has not made an announcement regarding expectations to close the attraction.

In you go to Rainforest Cafe, you should spend the few dollars (10?) to join the Safari Club. That will get you past the long lines of people waiting, give you discounts on your meals there and they send you a gift certificate for later use. There's usually a safari club table set up to the left of the hostess stand (the big elephant head).

Dick Taylor

 

[Dcanoli]

Yes, that's true--DQ's closing is still in the rumor stage, though it was recently highlighted on several of the bigger Disney websites.

You could probably do a search on these boards and find something. If I run across the info again, I'll post the link.

I, for one, hope it was just that--a nasty rumor. I'd hate for our FIRST time to be our LAST time!

 

[Dcanoli]

Here's one link I found on these boards, and yes-it appears to be only a rumor....

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1405454&referrerid=&highlight=disneyquest+closing

 

[Dcanoli]

http://jimhillmedia.com/blogs/jim_hill/archive/2006/04/25/2051.aspx

May be the rumor mill, but here's the article that started it all.....

 

[RllngRckBrw]

DTD in my oppinion can take as long or as short as you want it to. You can walk trhough it and just see what is around in less than an hour, or you could take 5 hours shopping, taking breaks, snacks etc. It is up to what you are intrested in.