DTD - avoid it!

[DOOM1001]

DTD needed parking= parking garages
DTD needed a makeover=the place has construction everywhere with ugly walls which will eventually be removed and we'll have some new places to shop and eat

No way around it,the place was getting old and stale and on busy periods you could be driving around for 30 minutes looking for parking.The only issue I might have is that most things coming in are not original Disney stores or restaurants but outside companies but I don't have that big an issue with it.Did anyone see the Pleasure Island sign has been removed and they replaced it with one that says Springs Bottling Co.

 

[JaimeK]

I wasn't planning to go during our trip but we did to get some shopping done. We took the resort bus, ate at WPE, did our shopping and headed back. No issues and the resort bus drops you off right where we would have picked so it worked out really nicely for us.

 

[HizMinnie2015]

I'm from Detroit. We know what blight is here. It's not a parking garage.

Pretty much how I feel... Its a parking garage. Its not going to be "pretty". And I'm sure a lot of us who love Disney can tolerate the mess Disney is making in order to help aleviate the parking crisis in DTD.

That being said, I'm from Chicago... there's a child dying here every evening... homeless living on every corner. My family went to Panera and bought an extra meal to feed someone who was outside in 8 degree weather.

Trust me, a parking garage is not a blight...

 

[kbelle8995]

At this point the fact is that DTD needs parking desparately. I am just happy that this is done and open. Hopefully they will finish the other parking garage much quicker than they did this one.

 

[alvernon90]

It's a ugly mess. And the garage is absolutely ugly. When I say ugly, I don't just mean unattractive. It's a horrible cluster you-know-what and an awful blight/eyesore. I do not have the words to express how awful it is and how horrible DTD is right now.

This sentiment is indisputably true, because I have no idea what you are trying to say. You think it is ugly, I get that. I don't know how beautiful you expect a parking garage to be, but I'll just assume you are angry that it is not as beautiful and well-themed as the surface parking lot that it will be replacing.

But what are you saying when you say "horrible cluster you-know-what?" Please be specific for future planners. If you are only complaining about looks, people can discount that. Is it difficult to enter? Difficult to leave? Spaces too close together? What has you so very upset?

 

[DOOM1001]

And I like parking at the Universal parking garage,your car is out of the sun,the moving sidewalks get you to Citywalk relatively fast and even with thousands of people exiting at the same time you rarely have traffic getting out since theres so many exits.

 

[btowndude]

I haven't been down there in quite awhile. I have a question, I used to go and make a right into the parking lot ( Marketplace ) and then make the first left and park near World of Disney. Sometimes I parked in the lot further to the right over on the side by Earl of Sandwich, etc. Is this no longer an option? Is it closed for construction or anything ?

As far as the garage, don't know how anyone can complain about it. It's certainly needed.

I flew into Orlando around 4 pm on Tuesday and drove over to DTD before checking into my condo. The street outside DTD is dug up; the sidewalk and curb have disappeared; the street is reduced to 1-2 lanes in sections. The only way to enter is in the center driveway by the Hess gas station. But you can turn right once, you are into the parking lot. The parking CMs will direct you to go left, but they will allow you to veer right. I found plenty of parking outside the new CO-OP store near the Earl of Sandwich.

 

[DVCkidsMOM]

This sentiment is indisputably true, because I have no idea what you are trying to say. You think it is ugly, I get that. I don't know how beautiful you expect a parking garage to be, but I'll just assume you are angry that it is not as beautiful and well-themed as the surface parking lot that it will be replacing.

But what are you saying when you say "horrible cluster you-know-what?" Please be specific for future planners. If you are only complaining about looks, people can discount that. Is it difficult to enter? Difficult to leave? Spaces too close together? What has you so very upset?

Yes, please more information. I want to go to DTD and I know the construction will be a pain and ugly. I am disappointed that I can't have the old DTD with PI back, but crowds require what is happening. I must move on. But I need to know if I'm going to move on while using my own car at DTD, riding a bus to DTD, taking a boat to DTD or sneaking into SSR and walking in the back way...

 

[Farps]

We were there at the end of August, and though there was quite a bit of construction going on we still had a great meal and also enjoyed ourselves shopping. We will definitely be back next year also.
I know that with all of the work going on there right now that it is not the most beautiful place in WDW, but it still has great food and shopping. To me it would be much worse if they let the place get run down and outdated. So we will just deal with it for now and in the end I am sure it will be an incredible place with even more to do.

 

[mommyrosa2]

It is true that the parking garage is ugly and I think an eyesore BUT we went twice last month (cab one way, bus back to our resort) and we were fine.

Still like going down there to shop and for the food and I still think it's worth the trip. I just won't be driving down there any time soon and will go the public transportation route .

 

[btowndude]

Hopefully, Team Orlando will take some design cues from WDC's Burbank Studios. The garage resembles the other buildings on the Burbank campus. There is lattice work over the openings to resemble window. There is a beautiful stained glass with Disney characters over the stairway and the stairway/elevator lobbies have heat and air conditioning!

http://www.parkitects.com/zorro.html

 

[KimBean]

It's a parking garage but nicer than most if you look at the pictures. Taller, lighter, and supposed to have signs pointing you to open spots or something. Like electronic arrows??

I'll be there in 3 weeks to find out. I have a Raglan Road and a Fulton's ressie. I'll report back how it went.

First night

Plan A - Drive and park
Plan B - Drive and valet park

Second night

Plan A or B if that worked, if not Plan c is to take a taxi from CSR.

 

[Bluegrrl]

Ok - clarification.

Right now, there is construction everywhere. When I drove past it, the garage was up. It was concrete, grey and ugly. Now, I know that DTD needed parking badly, I hated going there when I simply could not find any parking at all and just drove around in frustration. So I get that. But right now, there is so much construction that it just doesn't seem worth it. Cars everywhere, poor signage, walls everywhere - it just looks like - well, I don't know how Disney is going to be able to make this look anywhere near as attractive and presentable as it used to be. Yeah, a garage is a garage - but it doesn't HAVE to be. It's just as easy to make something lovely as to make it ugly. As Frank Lloyd Wright said once: "The good building is not one that hurts the landscape, but one which makes the landscape more beautiful than it was before the building was built."

Now, my husband and his family are from Detroit (Warren to be exact) and I'm from Chicago originally. I know exactly what blight looks like - Cabrini Greens, the UIC campus, inner city Chicago and the interstates. Especially since Chicago has two seasons - construction and winter. And that's exactly what this looks like to me. Hopefully this will all resolve itself, but for the interim, I say avoid it for now and go somewhere else for your upcoming visits.

 

[erin1715]

I'm not sure if this has been said yet as I haven't read all of the replies, but I saw people comparing it to Universal's parking garage and I have to say that I think Universal's garage is themed BETTER. In this DTD garage, all I see are the boring color coded parking areas. Universal's are at least labeled with fun characters (Spiderman, etc) AND they have the themed music on each level to match with the character. It's pretty fun.

I expect more from Disney. The details have always been what makes Disney stand out.

 

[alvernon90]

Ok - clarification.

Right now, there is construction everywhere. When I drove past it, the garage was up. It was concrete, grey and ugly. Now, I know that DTD needed parking badly, I hated going there when I simply could not find any parking at all and just drove around in frustration. So I get that. But right now, there is so much construction that it just doesn't seem worth it. Cars everywhere, poor signage, walls everywhere - it just looks like - well, I don't know how Disney is going to be able to make this look anywhere near as attractive and presentable as it used to be. Yeah, a garage is a garage - but it doesn't HAVE to be. It's just as easy to make something lovely as to make it ugly. As Frank Lloyd Wright said once: "The good building is not one that hurts the landscape, but one which makes the landscape more beautiful than it was before the building was built."

Now, my husband and his family are from Detroit (Warren to be exact) and I'm from Chicago originally. I know exactly what blight looks like - Cabrini Greens, the UIC campus, inner city Chicago and the interstates. Especially since Chicago has two seasons - construction and winter. And that's exactly what this looks like to me. Hopefully this will all resolve itself, but for the interim, I say avoid it for now and go somewhere else for your upcoming visits.

Thank you for this clarification. It seemed from the original post that you were saying that everyone should avoid DTD forever because the parking garage is ugly, which seemed a little extreme. But you are actually saying that, while the garage is ugly, it is the temporary construction that makes the trip not worthwhile.

Hopefully when the construction is done "Disney Springs" will be a place worth visiting.

 

[I loveStitchnippyjon]

Thank you for this clarification. It seemed from the original post that you were saying that everyone should avoid DTD forever because the parking garage is ugly, which seemed a little extreme. But you are actually saying that, while the garage is ugly, it is the temporary construction that makes the trip not worthwhile.

Hopefully when the construction is done "Disney Springs" will be a place worth visiting.

Yes, thanks for clearing that up. So....I don't need to avoid DTD because the garage is ugly, right?

 

[kittyab]

I don't get the issue, they need more parking in a area with limited space....

You dont like it, dont use it.

 

[Priory]

It's a parking garage what did people expect?

I was hoping for an Avatar-themed garage that offered fastpass + for parking spots.

 

[ORMom2Four]

I drove by yesterday heading E on Buena Vista and snapped 2 photos. Here is what things look like right now. Lots of construction going on! I am thrilled that there will be more parking.

 

[bumbershoot]

Otherwise, there is NO reason to go there right now.

I dunno. Raglan Road refuses to come to me, so I sort of have to go to it.

We took the boat from SSR in, took the bus out. I think we drove by the parking garage once, and sure, it's a parking garage. And there are construction walls that make getting around a little confusing for shorties like me and the friend who was with me. They'll be gone soon enough. Checking out the running store, doing a quick whirl through WOD, and having a fabulous brunch at Raglan made it all worth it.

It's just as easy to make something lovely as to make it ugly. As Frank Lloyd Wright said once: "The good building is not one that hurts the landscape, but one which makes the landscape more beautiful than it was before the building was built."

That's so easy to say when you're building a single family house on a huge amount of land....

And they aren't done. Let them finish.