Downtown Disney Questions

[jeleann]

WHEN WE LEAVE THE SHIP OUR FLIGHT ISN'T UNTIL 7 THAT NIGHT. WE HAVE A RENTAL CAR. CAN ANYONE TELL US ABOUT DOWNTOWN DISNEY? READ A POST ABOUT SOMEONE WAS GOING TO GO THERE TO KILL TIME.
WHERE IS IT?
WHAT IS THERE TO DO? (SHOPPING, RIDES, CHARACTERS)

I MAY BE SHOWING MY IGORANCE, BUT I HAVE NEVER BEEN TO ANYTHING DISNEY. THIS WILL BE OUR FIRST.

 

[Pugdog007]

No rides or characters, but a lot of neat shopping & restaurants. The lego store is really neat for kids, and there's huge lego people/animals built outside and in the lagoon. There are huge motion fountains that the kids would also enjoy.

There's also Disneyquest, an indoor arcade type thing with lots for kids to do. It's kind of expensive though and my daughter wasn't very impressed with it.

A meal at Rainforest Cafe is great for the kids too, just be prepared for about a 1 1/2 hr wait so go early then shop around.

 

[ruvidu]

One of the Biggest Disney Stores you have ever seen. They also have an ESPN store anda Disney Christmas Store. If Disney owned a Mall this is what it would look like. We will be eating at the Rain Forrest Cafe on Thursday night, Good Lord Willing.
While all of the parks will be closed at 8:30 at the latest, DTD will be open until 11 some of the clubs later than that.

Russ

 

[jeleann]

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR REPLIES IT IS DIFFFENTLY A HELP.

IS IT AT WDW?

 

[Werner Weiss]

Visit http://www.downtowndisney.com/ and click on Orlando.

I agree that Downtown Disney could be a good place to spend the afternoon after the cruise and before the flight home. Shops, restaurants, movie theaters, boat rentals -- and just a nice place to stroll around.

 

[indymom1]

is one of my absolute favorite places at DW. The shops are great and our DS 6 loves it because of the large Disney store and the Lego store, Lego characters, places to eat etc. Can't go wrong going here. Our only problem is we never seem to have enough time to shop when we go there

 

[cindy_k]

Downtown Disney is on Disney Property but does not require any admission to go to.
My son insists on visiting the Lego Store every trip down. They have just opened a new Toy Store there, and Trading Pin Shop.

Here's a link to a map of the area... Its basically 3 areas connected together, Disney Westside, Pleasure Island and Downtown Disney Marketplace.

http://www.disneytravelonline.com/Downtown Disney Map.htm

Here's a Disney World overview map: http://www.disneytravelonline.com/wdw resort map.htm
You can see Downtown Disney in the lower Right hand corner.

Hope this helps!!
Cindy

 

[Bob Noble]

OMG, You have never done anything Disney????!!!!

OK asuming you have been held hostage for your entire life on a remote island then I guess that it's OK.

Other ideas,...

You could easily do the majority of Animal Kingdom Park at Disney.

You could enjoy one of Disneys water parks if it is a nice warm day. Blizzard Beach or Typhoon Lagoon, each has there own unique reasons for going.

Or you could spend the day touring Disney resorts using their free transportation, ( monorail, boat launches, buses etc) so that WHEN you plan you NEXT vacation you will be that much more ahead of the game as to where you want to stay.

The possibilities are endless,
All the Best,
Bob

 

[outahere]

It's not Downtown Disney (which is a great place to hang out) but........

When we returned from our cruise last week, we had a late flight out and got a day room at the airport Hyatt. It was a great way to relax, go to the pool, people watch, etc. We got our lunch in the airport and brought it back to the room to eat..... peace and quiet, no stress...... the cost was $60, plus tax, but we thought it was worth every penny, and would definitely do it again.

 

[Dancind]

Don't know what day this will be for you, but Sundays can get very busy at DTD. I guess lots of folks arrive that day, and rather than using up a day of their Park Hopper ticket, they go to DTD! Last time we were there on a Sunday, it was actually difficult to walk! Anyway, there's also a nice movie theatre on the West Side. It's stadium style, and they have a digital theatre or two. Good option if you want to get out of the crowds. We happen to hate the Rainforest Cafe, but Wolfgang Puck Express has yummy oven fired pizzas. Diana

 

[Dancind]

Just a few more suggestions when you have a "partial" day to kill. There's an outlet mall very close to WDW that's VERY nice, and they have a food court and Disney store. I think it's called Orlando Premium Outlets, on International Drive near Lake Buena Vista. We tried Ripley's Museum once, took about 2 1/2 hours and was enjoyable. One of these days, we're going to Gatorland, it's supposed to be a very unique Florida day! Diana

 

[jeleann]

THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR YOUR HELP.

WE WOULD BE GOING ON SEPT 26, WHICH IS A THURSDAY. ANYONE THINK IT WOULD BE TOO CROWDED THEN? I WOULDN'T THINK SO BUT YOU NEVER KNOW.

 

[gdulaney]

One great thing about the Orlando Premium Outlets is the Disney Outlet Store. You can get discount coupon booklets from the property mgmt co. But I'd go ahead and do that now...it can take a while to get the coupon (snail mail)...you then present the coupon for a coupon book. It's good for various discounts.

http://www.premiumoutlets.com/

 

[imgoingtodisney]

Great idea - Gatorland!!
DS10.5 would love to go here. We dont fly home till 7pm and will have the Avis rental car.

 

[TinkerBellPixie4GOAL]

Okay, um...for one thing, it's called the Factory Outlet Mall. They do have lots of nice stuff. We go there all the time. The Florida Mall ain't that far away either. They are also building a new mall, opening in about a week or so. It's called teh Millenium Mall. That place will be REALLY expensive. They have Macy's, Nordstroms, and a whole bunch of other expensive stores. But it is a nice place. The West Oaks Mall is about 40 minutes away from Disney. It's a small mall and they have a REALLY nice Disney store. They also have a movie theater.

Gatorland really ain't that great. It's okay if you're really into that stuff, but it really ain't THAT great.

Downtown Disney is an excellent idea. They just opened a new toy store that is MAJOR cool. They have every toy that Disney has made and you can play with them too. It's a great store. Rainforest Cafe is nice too. Disney Quest isn't really worth the money, but it is fun to go to if you have a premium annual pass. Virgin Megastore is a great entertainment for teens and house of blues is nice too.

Going to the airport would be the best idea. They have plenty of shops there and they have a food court and a nice hotel. Also you don't have to worry about the hustle and bustle of rushing to the airport.

Well, those are my thoughts, the thoughts of a local. Take em or leave em.

 

[DISNEYGATOR]

It won't be packed... WDW is a ghost town right now. I say, walk around Downtown disney some, and then head to the Animal Kingdom lodge.. you could see some animals on the Savanah, its a beautiful resort, and it has the largest collection of African art in the US. You could just take the bus from Downtown to the Lodge, and then take the bus back, that way you don't have to worry about finding it, or parking, etc...

Just a thought.