Is Downtown Disney worth checking out?

[Fintastic]

DH and I are definitely more homebodies than partiers, so the dance clubs wouldn't interest us. We'll have a four-year-old along and honestly I don't want to shell out the cash for a babysitter anyway. Is Downtown Disney something we could skip?

 

[We_Love_Disney]

I have never done the night time party time at DTD. However, DTD is well worth a visit, there is amazing shopping to be done there, EArl of Sandwich is a great eat, also a CS, and the Lego store with cool stuff there too.

 

[BluOrchid2]

The Marketplace side (East Side) of DTD is where we always go, never been to Pleasure Island and don't feel like I'm missing anything. Lots of cool shops there....Goofy's Candy Shop, World of Disney, the toy store (can't remember its official name), the Lego Store, the Christmas shop, the kitchen store....and great places to eat like Wolfgang Puck Express and Ghirardelli Chocolate. It's a nice place to go for a day off from the parks to just shop and eat.

This is a pic of what's outside the Lego shop, made entirely of Legos. There are other huge Lego masterpieces, too like a robot and an entire family walking with a dog.

 

[ggeorgiagirl]

OOHHH yes! I love Downtown Disney! The Christmas Shoppe is my FAV! The Rainforest Cafe is great, too! ENJOY YOUR TRIP!!!

 

[Ariel8676]

DTD is great lots of and restaurants and stores to look around in. They have a Lego store and a princess store (amongst others) with the Bippity Boppity Boutique, My favorite store is the Christmas shop!!!...You may be thinking of Pleasure Island, that is where the clubs are...it is in the same general area, but has a different entrance.
If you have some time and want to walk around.or need a little change of pace from the parks i would recommend checking it out!!!
Oh and Earl of sandwich is really good, and the prices are great!

 

[need_a_Disney_fix]

DTD is awesome! The partying part of DTD is Pleasure Island and we never go there. The shopping is wonderful at the Marketplace and West Side.

 

[the john]

Your 4 year old would like rainforest cafe at DTD

 

[cybrkitn]

We also have a DS4 and we are doing DTD our first day. Check out the top of the web site here and click on DIS Home (wdwinfo), then click on Theme Parks. Click on the link for DTD.

There are a few things there for kids like the Lego Store (and yes there is a play area). And there's also Disney Quest with 5 floors of fun, however, there is an admissions cost for this. There is a lot of information regarding DTD, so check it out.

 

[canron]

its worth ckeking it out if you were never there but not alot to do but eat and go to virgin mega store. its nice to sit and watch the crowds go by and relax.if you take the boat ride from port orleans its a nice 20 minit ride

 

[julsmom]

You have to check out World Of Disney and Once Upon A Toy Store. You will love it.

 

[chrisn]

It's definitely worth a trip. Fun! There are three sections to Downtown Disney. West Side, Pleasure Island and Marketplace which is my personal fave. West Side is where Cirque Du Soliel is held and also the home of Disney Quest, some shops and restaurants. Pleasure Island is located in the the center and is where all the clubs are located and Marketplace on the other end, is a veritable smorgesboard (sp?) of choice shops as well as some nice restaurants. World of Disney is a MUST! I highly recommend a visit!

 

[WillCAD]

DH and I are definitely more homebodies than partiers, so the dance clubs wouldn't interest us. We'll have a four-year-old along and honestly I don't want to shell out the cash for a babysitter anyway. Is Downtown Disney something we could skip?

I think you've confused Downtown Disney with Pleasure Island.

Downtown Disney is a shopping, dining, and entertainment complex that combines lots of stores (like a shopping plaza), a bunch of nice resttaurants, a movie theater, a theater for the Cirque de Soliel La Nouba show, , the DisneyQuest video arcade/virtual reality complex, and the Pleasure Island club district. Pleasure Island makes up about 1/4 of DTD and is only restricted to adults after 7pm; during the day there are family-friendly stores on the Island that are open to everybody.

Even if you skip Pleasure Island, definitely go to Downtown Disney and browse the stores. Maybe you could try one of the restaurants for lunch or dinner. And you could even catch a movie at the AMC Pleasure Island 24 movieplex (which is not really on PI despite it's name - it's just outside of PI on the West Side).

To get a better idea of what DTD is, have a look at the DTD map on my Maps page, which lists all of the stores, shops, and restaurants, as well as the various clubs on PI.
http://willcad.org/disney_maps.html#misc

 

[Fintastic]

Wow, now I want to see that Lego dragon in person. That's awesome! I didn't know there was all that other stuff in DTD. I thought it was mostly nightclubs and adult stuff. Thanks for setting me straight. I think we'll have to make a stop there after all!

 

[cobbler]

LOVE the Marketplace.

We always do our shopping there at the WOD store - get the 10% AP or Disney Visa discount and have our purchases shipped back tax exempt.

However the shipping rates went up as of October 1st.

I don't know the breakdown of the chart but mom and I spent $500 between the two of us and combined the order. Shipping for $500 + is $112

 

[schmitty]

Not really. Unless you are realy into shopping there is no reason to go there.

 

[nbodyhome]

I am local, and go to Downtown Disney often just to go to Earl of Sandwich - it is my very favorite CS on Disney property.

There are other worthwhile things there too. Cirque, Ghiardelli, Wolfgang Puck Express, Raglan Road, DisneyQuest, Virgin Megastore, etc.

 

[Enforcer]

On the day we get to Disney we go there. We get to the resort at about 10 or 11 am and check in then we go to downtown disney to shop eat and wait for our room to be ready. Its like a tradition to us. Oh dont forget to get chocolate and the latest T-Shirts.

 

[Zip-a-dee-doo-Dad]

IF you are going to be at DW for an extended amount of time, then I would say to check it out. Its pretty neat. Lots of stores at DD, and lots of things to do at PI. However if you are only going to be in the area for a few days, I would say skip it. Your child will have more fun at the parks as well. Hope this info helps out.

 

[DisneyBlonde]

Downtown Disney (actually I still call it "Disney Village Marketplace" ) is a first day must for us! We always go for a late lunch at either Rainforest Cafe or Planet Hollywood the day we fly in. Later we spend some time walking around the shops.

 

[buzz2400]

the marketplace has some good photo opportunities if you are into taking pictures. Also the big disney store in the marketplace now has Pirates of the Caribbean decorations. It is mostly shopping but we go on the day we arrive in orlando just to get into the spirit of disney. The other part of downtown disney where disneyquest is is really not worth it. It has a big record store, virgin, the circus show thing and disneyquest, there are other stores there, but we found them not to be that great. There is also a movie theatre there. In between this and the marketplace is pleasure island which I have never been to.