I can't give you specifics but the theming will be on-par with The Grove in Los Angeles! Be prepared to be blown away.
I'm torn on this comparison. On one hand, I hate that DTD should be compared to an outdoor mall, regardless of whether that outdoor mall out-Disney's Disney. That said, Rick, the developer of The Grove and Americana, specifically hired Disney people to build his projects, which were widely deemed to be a huge waste of money that would never make back their investments. They have, in spades, and are some of the highest grossing shopping centers nationally. On the other hand, that's similar to DTD, which also commands some of the highest numbers for a shopping destination in the nation and is, in fact, an outdoor mall. The next phase is a transition to the current trend towards outdoor lifestyle center. The better comparison to make here is Americana, due to scale and entertainment offerings. If Disney puts in what the planning is leading towards, DTD should outdo Americana. If they do that, then it will be sufficiently unique. If they put in as good as and make it only on par with The Grove or Americana, then it's just another high-end lifestyle center.
Agreed. That's where CityWalk succeeds and Downtown Disney fails. Don't get me wrong, I like both, but CityWalk's location as sort of a "central hub" to both the parks and the three hotels, and serving as an entryway from the parking garage to the parks just makes it ideal. Downtown Disney is just sort of... Away from everything.
On purpose. The FL property is built with the luxury of space. The Village was built to serve a completely different purpose before MGM or PI were ever on the drawing boards. Universal and DL are simply using their limited land to the best purpose. MGM was built as a separate park, and the FL parks are designed as full day experiences. The boat transportation between MGM and Epcot was, like all waterway transportation, meant to give an exploration of the property and give a moment of downtime before putting you back in the parks. The Marketplace and DTD are meant as a sideline destination shopping/dining/entertainment experience away from the parks, not like DTD Anaheim where it's all part and parcel. Different purpose given with different land use. Also, The Village was put there to support the thousands of hotel rooms nearby, keeping them all on the property - originally because there was nothing else close. Boardwalk was originally put near Epcot to give a separate bit of nightlife for the Epcot Resorts, but it never really worked out the way it was planned.
