City Walk vs. Downtown Disney

[ToyStorygirl]

Uni vs Disney has been discussed I know and although (other than for money reasons) I don't understand why you would be exclusively Disney I wonder what the general consensus is on the two night life places.

I mean there's no reason not to spend the day at Disney then drive or cab it to City Walk in the evening. I know we have and vice versa.

I'm in two minds which I prefer and seem to flit between the two. I think City has a better cinema than Downtown. I prefer Hard Rock over Planet Hollywood and of course City also has Bubba Gumps which is fun as well as the Blue Man Group. Then again Downtown has many good restaurants too and Cirque De Soleli.

I think shops wise Downtown does have the definite edge as City has gone down in shops numbers considerably in the last few years and has hardly any at all.

Oh I dunno, I like both - what does everyone else think?

 

[LostPrincessKarleigh]

I haven't been to City since high school, almost 6 years ago. Based solely on that experience, I prefer DD. Cleaner, friendlier staff, and more wide spread entertainment.
We will be making a trip to Orlando later this year where we plan to go to Uni (DBF wants to go) so I reserve the right to update my preference.

 

[draybook]

We have limited experience at CW, since we don't really shop there or do any of the clubs/theater. However, we REALLY enjoyed eating outside at Pastamore and Pat O'Briens.

 

[jimbo mack]

At this time I still prefer DD although with the rate that Universal improve and expand this could change. Hopefully DS will prove me wrong.

 

[Sassagoula-Rvr]

I like downtown disney...although it's not a must other than dining...And Universal I hated...except for Margaritaville...any place that has a Margaritavile is ok with me.

 

[cw1982]

Just from what I've seen online and my memories of CW as a teen (whose parents seldom took her to either place after long days at the parks while on family trips), it seems like CW has more of an active night life atmosphere, while DTD is good for shopping and more touristy evening activities... but that's just my take on it. We probably won't make it to CW on this trip, but I'm thinking if we go to Orlando again in the next few years we may be more likely to do Sea World and Uni and spend less time at WDW, since that is the main focus of our trip this year. Nothing against it; just don't have room in our plans.

 

[BigTxEars]

For families DTD is the best bet IMO.

If it's adults then CW is best.

I have done both, a number of times. Had great time at both but if I had to pick it would be DTD as it is more family based IMO.

Shopping is way better at DTD IMO.

Although Margaritaville is always a great choice!

 

[cw1982]

Also, IMO it depends on your budget. I just looked at taxi rates to get from my hotel to Uni, and good grief! $43.95 each way including tax and tip! Parking would be better, but even then, at $17 and losing the flexibility that comes with not having to worry about driving, I'm not so sure that this would be worth it to me when I can get to DTD for free from my Disney hotel and not have to worry about taxi fares or driving.

Of course, that's all part of Disney's design, but in my case, it'll definitely work as planned on their part lol.

 

[ToyStorygirl]

Also, IMO it depends on your budget. I just looked at taxi rates to get from my hotel to Uni, and good grief! $43.95 each way including tax and tip! Parking would be better, but even then, at $17 and losing the flexibility that comes with not having to worry about driving, I'm not so sure that this would be worth it to me when I can get to DTD for free from my Disney hotel and not have to worry about taxi fares or driving.

Of course, that's all part of Disney's design, but in my case, it'll definitely work as planned on their part lol.

Yeah I mean I have friends who stay Universal end and feel the same about trekking to DTD. I stay Disney end just simply because there's more parks there so makes sense to be where I can get the most out of free buses.

I still go to Uni and a couple of times and CW maybe more. I guess if the fare is split I don't see it as being that expensive (plus Dollars don't look like real money to me so I tend to forget how much I'm actually spending. I feel like I'm playing with Monopoly money each trip you can certainly get carried away in a foreign country)

 

[ToyStorygirl]

For families DTD is the best bet IMO.

If it's adults then CW is best.

I have done both, a number of times. Had great time at both but if I had to pick it would be DTD as it is more family based IMO.

Shopping is way better at DTD IMO.

Although Margaritaville is always a great choice!

Yeah I can see that DTD probably has more for kids

 

[cw1982]

Yeah I mean I have friends who stay Universal end and feel the same about trekking to DTD. I stay Disney end just simply because there's more parks there so makes sense to be where I can get the most out of free buses.

I still go to Uni and a couple of times and CW maybe more. I guess if the fare is split I don't see it as being that expensive (plus Dollars don't look like real money to me so I tend to forget how much I'm actually spending. I feel like I'm playing with Monopoly money each trip you can certainly get carried away in a foreign country)

Yeah, if it was more people than just DH and I going, I could see splitting cab fare being more manageable. But when you're talking about cab fare round trip costing as much as the entire evening's worth of food and drinks for two people, and hence pretty much doubling the cost of the evening, it becomes less favorable of an idea lol.
Now, we DO have friends who are local to Orlando... so there's no telling. We may decide to have them pick us up and drive us to CW and enjoy an evening with them, since they get free parking after 6 pm as Florida residents.

 

[mergatroid]

Got to admit we've never done CW at night. Our place is in the opposite direction of Disney so it's a longer drive going to CW at night than DTD. We did the Blue Man Group the other year but were too tired to stay on after to sample the nightlife there. It does look good as we walk down CW to the parks and we always stop in the shops on our way out so Mrs M can waste some money. Also you don't have to pay to park at DTD so it's a place we often visit to spend a few hours at enjoying the shops and eateries, or seeing a movie at the DTD AMC theatre.

 

[NemoRocks78]

I like them both. DTD is better for shopping, CW is better for dining (IMO). CW has a great nightlife scene, I love Hollywood Drive-In Golf, and their AMC is much better, but I also enjoy relaxing at DTD in the evening. Hitting up shops, having a meal, drinks at Raglan Road - that's super nice too.

And like @BigTxEars said, Margaritaville is always a great choice.

 

[BigTxEars]

I like them both. DTD is better for shopping, CW is better for dining (IMO). CW has a great nightlife scene, I love Hollywood Drive-In Golf, and their AMC is much better, but I also enjoy relaxing at DTD in the evening. Hitting up shops, having a meal, drinks at Raglan Road - that's super nice too.

And like @BigTxEars said, Margaritaville is always a great choice.

I love the fish tacos at Margaritaville And I can always find "something" to wash them down as well

 

[mergatroid]

Actually thinking about it for a bit, we really do miss the Virgin megastore at DTD. When we used to go to the cinema we didn't have to really time it properly as we could happily kill time at Virgin till the film started. We'd just turn up without knowing any film start times and just pick one and then head over to Virgin to book shop. Now we tend to check online first and time our arrival more.

 

[mateomouse]

I think that overall, DTD is better than CW. I do like CW, and all of Universal for that matter, because you can walk to everything. Parks, hotels, restaurants. On Saturday we went to IOA, walked to CityWalk for lunch, walked to USF, then walked back to IOA for another round of Hulk. I do think DTD is cleaner though, and has more options for shopping and dining.

 

[TubaGeek]

DTD: Ghiradelli, free parking, Disney Magic (yes, even I still experience it), and EARL OF SANDWICH!!!
CW: Best theme park minigolf, P!Q, Cinnabon, Cold Stone, Panda Express.
As a young, poor guy who doesn't care about "night life", I'd normally say DTD wins, for me at least. However, I park free at CW, and don't wanna deal with DTD parking. Until this DTD expansion is done, CW will be my go-to.

 

[Mouse Trap]

CW and DD are pretty hard to compare. Im not sure anyone in history has ever planned a day to go to CW, unless its for nightlife. After their putt-putt venture turned out to be a major flop, the new additions are much needed to give people a reason to actually spend some time in CW.

I was there a few weeks ago and the nightlife brings a bad crowd. The 10 police officers on duty could be seen dealing with situation after situation from the Red Coconut Club balcony.

 

[TubaGeek]

After their putt-putt venture turned out to be a major flop, the new additions are much needed to give people a reason to actually spend some time in CW.

I didn't know it wasn't doing well. All three times I've gone, I've been impressed with the design and maintenance. Has the quality I've experienced not provided good fiscal numbers?

I was there a few weeks ago and the nightlife brings a bad crowd. The 10 police officers on duty could be seen dealing with situation after situation from the Red Coconut Club balcony.

It's far from ideal, but I think Uni is more than ready to deal with the repercussions of being more "adult night life" than DTD. I mean, that is a large part (or so I have been led to understand) of why PI was shut down. Though I certainly do have to wonder why the heck I see people pushing strollers into CW at 10 at night... That just seems like bad parenting to me.

 

[Disneydreamer23]

City walk I enjoy to have a cocktail listen to music , Down town Disney I enjoy to shop . I enjoy each of them for different reasons.