Downtown Disney - Is there any reason to go?

[disneyworldluvr349]

I love Downtown Disney but we usually have 1 week when we go to Disney. We either go there on check-in day or for a middle of the week pool day/break from park day. Earl of Sandwich is amazing and so is Wolfgang Puck Express. If you don't like shopping then probably isn't much of a reason for you to go.

 

[KateDrake]

We usually go for dinner on our arrival night. We have quite a long flight and generally don't get in until later in the afternoon, and we're all pretty tired. We usually grab dinner at Raglan Road, do a quick perusal of the World of Disney, and head back to the hotel so we can get to bed early. We are rope droppers, so I like to try to get a good night's sleep in.

That said, I could totally spend a week in the parks and never take a break for DD. We feel like the reason we go is to spend time at the parks. There are swimming pools and mini golf just about anywhere you vacation, but only Disney parks have the attractions, characters and shows we love! So if there isn't a huge draw, I'd say skip it. We actually might do that this time and just do a resort meal on our arrival night instead!

 

[snorkelyn]

In 2011, there were musical bands outside at night. We saw the Cirque La Nouba show and had dinner at T-Rex. Fun night. But now, I hear there is a lot of construction. We don't want to shop. Disney Quest and Splittsville do not interest us. And I have no burning desire to return to T-Rex. We have Irish restaurants with entertainment at home. Did I just answer my own question about any reason to go to Downtown Disney? The only reason I'm thinking about it is because there are boats from our resort to there. Anything new there?

I felt a bit obligated to go, since we stayed at POR, and we'd never been to DTD before. Kids were bored. Boat ride was longer than I realized, and again, kids were bored. We made reservations at Raglan Road. Although we all enjoyed that, we all agreed that we would rather be at the parks. We won't be going to DTD again.

 

[The V Gang]

Is the construction spilling into the actual shopping areas in the marketplace? We avoid Saturday's in the parks and usually head to DTD for Earls and Goofys as well as visiting some stores. Im hopi g the majority of the interior marketplace is construction free. Anyone visit recently that can comment on the current condition?

 

[cristen72]

I agree. If you aren't interested in shopping or eating at a particular restaurant then skip it.

For us, we drive to Disney and check in around 5:00pm. It's too late for a park day so we go to DTD to choose our lanyards, 1 keepsake pin, and we eat at Wolfgang Pucks.

 

[DumboDash2006]

So is it you can't get a spot to park/takes forever or you have to park far away?

We're staying off site so no buses for us. But we've been looking forward to Ghiradelli's, the Lego store and maybe the Earl of Sandwich. We've only been to dtd once (dd never) and that was almost twenty years ago.....I don't remember much except we rented a little boat.

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

I won't plan to go back until the construction is done. The entire area is just bad now. The walls make the sidewalks even smaller, it's congested and not as much to do.

I went this January just to meet some friends who were also in town, but won't be back until it's much closer to finished.

And if you have to park there, good luck. You are practically at Typhoon Lagoon!

 

[ivanaernmore]

is it worth going on checkout day (i.e., a non park day) if you have a rental car? We're checking out on 5/7 from our 1st Disney trip so never have been to DTD. We don't have to be @ airport until 3:45 ish to turn in rental car before our 6:30 flight. Is there enough to see/shop to keep 7 yr old girl and almsnst 9 yr old boy happy? Both could spend hours in Lego store. We are using MDE for our luggage, so we'll be traveling light. The comments on this thread make it sound like too much construction. We're staying onsite & booked thru Disney so we'll have the mini golf & bowling vouchers, etc.

 

[nkereina]

IMO, Downtown Disney is far from something you can do at home (unless you live in Orlando!). We love going there on a nice night just to stroll around, maybe grab a sundae at Ghiradelli or a beer at Raglan Road, and stop in some of the unique stores that aren't in the parks. Sometimes, we'll browse the souvenirs in the parks throughout the week and use DTD as our "one stop shop" near the end of our trip. I think it's ideal for an evening, especially with the nice boat ride from your resort and maybe after a long day at DHS or AK, which usually close early. We stayed onsite and took the bus there back in November and the construction was in full swing then, but it didn't affect us since we weren't parking. All JMHO

 

[rustyfla]

The Christmas store is pretty cool.

 

[MiamiMere]

We went on March 22nd and it was a nightmare, but it was a Saturday night during spring break. Parking is AWFUL, way worse than it normally is. We had to park across the street in overflow parking and walk quite a distance. There are walls up and construction, so sidewalks are narrow and crowded.

The stores weren't too bad and I was able to shop some but I will not be going back during our May trip and we normally go several times during the week.

The line just to put your name in at TRex was ridiculous....