Is Disney Springs on a weekend a good replacement for a park day?

[100acreHiker]

In our 5-6 trips to WDW, we've never made it to Disney Springs. We tried to last trip, but got outvoted by the extended family accompanying us. Went to a park instead, and it was so crowded that Saturday (in early December) that we left early and just went back to the resort to swim. This upcoming trip, we'll be at WDW 4-5 days, and I'm wondering if skipping the parks on Saturday and getting a park pass for one less day is a good idea, and using that Saturday to go to DS instead. Is DS really crowded on weekends (early December)? Is there much to do besides shop and eat? I don't think we'd spring for La Nouba tickets since that's more expensive than an added day on our park tickets.

 

[Orangeballer]

We did DS on Sunday morning this last weekend. We were there early to see Beauty and the Beast at 10 AM and were there until about 2:45. It was more spread out then I was prepared for and it's mostly shopping and food though.

 

[Shellyb84]

In our 5-6 trips to WDW, we've never made it to Disney Springs. We tried to last trip, but got outvoted by the extended family accompanying us. Went to a park instead, and it was so crowded that Saturday (in early December) that we left early and just went back to the resort to swim. This upcoming trip, we'll be at WDW 4-5 days, and I'm wondering if skipping the parks on Saturday and getting a park pass for one less day is a good idea, and using that Saturday to go to DS instead. Is DS really crowded on weekends (early December)? Is there much to do besides shop and eat? I don't think we'd spring for La Nouba tickets since that's more expensive than an added day on our park tickets.

There's bowling, movies, lot's of things that I can do at home, so there's really not enough there for me to want to spend an entire day there. A few hours is enough for us.

 

[mom2rtk]

We only go to do things we can't do at home. So that means World of Disney and Earl of Sandwich.

Definitely not a replacement for a park day for us.

 

[brockash]

In our 5-6 trips to WDW, we've never made it to Disney Springs. We tried to last trip, but got outvoted by the extended family accompanying us. Went to a park instead, and it was so crowded that Saturday (in early December) that we left early and just went back to the resort to swim. This upcoming trip, we'll be at WDW 4-5 days, and I'm wondering if skipping the parks on Saturday and getting a park pass for one less day is a good idea, and using that Saturday to go to DS instead. Is DS really crowded on weekends (early December)? Is there much to do besides shop and eat? I don't think we'd spring for La Nouba tickets since that's more expensive than an added day on our park tickets.

We'll usually have a down day (almost always Sat.) where we'll sleep in, swim at the pool and then go to DS later in the afternoon for dinner, shopping etc. I don't think I would ever want to spend a whole day there, but we always go at least once a trip.

 

[lifepaused]

on my trip in September we are have a day away from parks at Disney Springs. This is on a Sunday so stay away from the parks on a weekend. What we are going to do is look around, take some disney boats around the area and look around, do the balloon ride, then head to Cape May for dinner before we watch the Water light parade to finish of the day. As we only have a 7 day park pass and we will be there for 10 days, first and last check in/check out, leaving one day spare to do a rest.

 

[Skywise]

It's an outdoor shopping mall.

It's a very NICE outdoor shopping mall with some good restaurants and some cool things to do but... it's a shopping mall. Not to dissuade you, I've spent a day there myself but part of that was to see DisneyQuest which is closing shortly. It can definitely be fun so long as you're not expecting anything super "magical".

As you're going in December they might be doing the drone Christmas show at night again too.

 

[Allison]

I'm not a shopper so it is not a full-day thing for me.

 

[DebbieB]

If we go in the fall, I like doing it the day of the Halloween or Christmas party. So do that in the morning/afternoon, go back to the hotel to relax a little and then go to the party.

 

[Mickey's Best Girl]

We hit DS on short park days.

I wouldn't plan a day there but if you find you're at a park and its too crowded or you've done everything you want to get done, that (IMO) is when you hit DS for dinner and a little shopping. And as others have stated, we also avoid doing things we can do at home such as movies, bowling, the outdoor shopping mall area. We stick to the Marketplace.

And three more little words:
Earl of Sandwich


Oh, and a Saturday in early December- I'm willing to bet it will be busy with Christmas shoppers, locals, folks who have just arrived and aren't planning a park day that day etc.

 

[4Hawks]

My kids quite enjoyed DS last time we were in Orlando. We spent a long time at the LEGO store, rode the train, had lunch at T-Rex cafe and played in the sand pit, then went bowling that evening.

 

[alex9179]

I have 5 non-park days, including arrival/departure, on our upcoming 10 day trip. 1-2 will be looking around The Springs and dining there, but not spending the whole day. We'll arrive around lunchtime and visit some lounge/QS options for some snacking and shop with the kids before checking in at the resort. Another day we'll sleep in, swim, then go to DS for dinner, which may work well for you as a break in the middle of your stay.

 

[TwoMisfits]

In our 5-6 trips to WDW, we've never made it to Disney Springs. We tried to last trip, but got outvoted by the extended family accompanying us. Went to a park instead, and it was so crowded that Saturday (in early December) that we left early and just went back to the resort to swim. This upcoming trip, we'll be at WDW 4-5 days, and I'm wondering if skipping the parks on Saturday and getting a park pass for one less day is a good idea, and using that Saturday to go to DS instead. Is DS really crowded on weekends (early December)? Is there much to do besides shop and eat? I don't think we'd spring for La Nouba tickets since that's more expensive than an added day on our park tickets.

If you don't mind leaving the bubble, why not check Groupon for a cheap, fun "outside of Disney, but only in Florida" activity and use Uber to get there (if you have no car)?

 

[IrishNYC]

To me, no.

 

[hooch11bear]

DS also has some great entertainment at night. Different musicians will be out throughout the area. I don't think we would spend an entire day there, but we do go there a few different times during our stay. We usually stay at Port Orleans Riverside and love taking the boat down.

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

We quite like watching something at the cinema there in the hot aftetmoon. Arrive around 11 . Shop. Earl of Sandwich. Cinema. Back to pool. We enjoy it. It's a nice break from the park. Resort hopping is also fun.

 

[patrickpiteo]

Definitely not a park replacement

 

[Buzzsgramma]

We are usually at WDW 2-3 times a year....so we try to avoid DS on the week end...wall to wall people....in and out of the stores....that being said we / I do like to visit over there.....We have eaten at the Boathouse, Jock's Hangar Bar , Earl of Sandwich & some others recently....
If we go on a wk end we get there by 9am or so and leave by lunch....

 

[Klayfish]

A full replacement? No

A great way to end a day that may have started in the parks? Absolutely. We'll do maybe 9am to 2pm in the parks. Return to our rental to relax, grab a shower, etc...then head to DS for a couple of hours to take a slow stroll and window shop.

 

[ArwenMarie]

It's a mall to me. We've gone there on our departure day and it just depresses us more and we always saw we should have just gone to Epcot for a few hours or whatever.

I would spring for the extra day of park tickets depending on the budget or do something different. I agree about looking for a Groupon for something else!