Probably should have voted for “What’s Disney Springs” in the poll if you’ve never been there
-
Welcome to the WDWMAGIC.COM Forums!
Please take a look around, and feel free to sign up and join the community.
Disney Springs - A must do or just another mall
- Thread starter GoofGoof
- Start date
It’s your vote, but if you usually hit the marketplace on an AK day (which I also usually do) then you probably fall into the must do or I might stop in or I might not categories. When I said Disney Springs I meant any of the areas, not just the Town Center Shopping mall area. I did walk around to see the new areas, but I don’t plan to return a whole lot to the shopping part. I did like the new Landing area even though it’s kinda sad to try to picture where all the PI clubs were.
Foreign guests are a big reason for building the shopping section. I think I read somewhere that about 20% of WDW visitors come from outside the U.S. so it’s not an insignificant demographic group. They are also targeting locals. The garages were pretty full when I was there and I’m sure it wasn’t all tourists staying off property and driving in.
graphite1326
Well-Known Member
Pleasure Island would have gotten my vote.
Actually I have read and researched Disney Springs-the shops the eating places etc-saw very little that appealed to me. Are you in the habit of dictating how people should vote? Pretentious isn't it? I would never dictate how you vote.Probably should have voted for “What’s Disney Springs” in the poll if you’ve never been there
nbdysreal
Well-Known Member
Jim, I said the same as I don't go to vacation to shop. Then I went around 2 different holidays, specifically at night and was suprised that we enjoyed it as much as we did. Obviously plenty of food there, but if you have a chance, check out the entertainment. Much better than I expected for being a free thing.
Nah, just a joke. That’s why I added the winky face. You can vote however you want.
They were pretty empty when we visited. Just goes to show.
I thought most tourists went to the outlet mall anyway?
disneylover97
Active Member
Almost every shopping area in America has majority third party chain stores. By this logic nobody should ever shop anywhere
Disney Springs is not unique like Pleasure Island was but that doesn’t mean it has no value at all either. If you are going in expecting it to be a 5th gate or a fully immersive unique experience you are going to be disappointed. It’s a free to visit shopping and dining area that has some entertainment options as well. It’s not a reason to visit WDW but it can be an enjoyable place to spend some time while there on vacation. There are also buses or boats to get directly from Disney hotels to the area so if people are visiting without a car it’s a lot more convenient than driving to another mall “down the road”.
i actually took a marketing and sales seminar while on my cp and the speaker said this exactly! i guess people were traveling offsite to local malls which is why they added third-party stores, made easy transportation from resorts, etc. It was super interesting to hear the corporate side of the transformation from downtown disney to springs.
Dang right i do.They were pretty empty when we visited. Just goes to show.
I thought most tourists went to the outlet mall anyway?
Raineman
Well-Known Member
Went to DS for the first time last month (my fourth WDW trip), and I thought it was good, but nothing spectacular. The only stores we visited were pretty much all of the Disney-themed stores. The food we had there was good (Polite Pig one day, and then lunch at Planet Hollywood 2 days later), the boat ride there and back from POR was nice, but other than that, to me, it was basically an Orlando premium outlet mall with more restaurants and with Disney theming.
I didn’t have a car with me, but when I was there a few weeks ago my father in law drove in and met us at Disney Springs. He had trouble finding a spot. This was a Friday night so that may have added to the congestion.They were pretty empty when we visited. Just goes to show.
I thought most tourists went to the outlet mall anyway?
I don’t know much about outlet malls. My idea of shopping is sitting on my couch ordering stuff from Amazon.
Wow, I think that’s the first time I’ve heard that. I’m not putting down your opinion at all, just pointing out that it’s rare. PI gets a lot of love around here.
While I personally really enjoyed PI for entertainment, I do agree with you that Disney Springs is far superior to its predecessors when it comes to dining choices. There’s a lot of really good options now.
SyracuseDisneyFan
Well-Known Member
I've gotten some good stuff at Disney Springs.
BigRedDad
Well-Known Member
It's a must-do for us, but for the Disney side. We want no part of the shopping district. Such a waste of space. Putting it all in and trying to Rodeo Drive it makes it ridiculous. The prices for those stores are insane to begin with. Now tack on the Disney premium and I have no clue how they stay open. I do like the vast array of dining there.
eliza61nyc
Well-Known Member
We do shop on holiday. we like to browse stores.
That being said, we always plan a couple of down days in our vacations and that's what we will do. If I only had a few days at the world I would skip it.
That being said, we always plan a couple of down days in our vacations and that's what we will do. If I only had a few days at the world I would skip it.
Amidala
Well-Known Member
I hardly ever went to Disney Springs until I lived in FL for my CP and had time to waste. On a week-long vacation, I don't usually set foot there unless I have a specific reason (a restaurant or shop I want to visit) or it's very late at night and the parks are closed.
I'm usually all for expanding and modernizing, but Disney Springs just...lacks something for me that Downtown Disney (as small as it was by comparison) had. With the exception of a few stores (World of Disney especially) it feels like you could take the 'Disney' out of Disney Springs pretty easily and not need to change much. And while Disney Springs is a few tiers above a mall IMO, there are plenty of comparable (or better) outdoor shopping centers in my area that make Disney Springs feel...kind of unremarkable. I would rather shop at Rockefeller than Disney Springs. It's something I can do at home, so why would I waste a day doing it at Disney World? It feels like a waste of valuable time that could be spent at the parks.
I don't mean to say every single restaurant needs to be Disney-themed, but I think Disney Springs does need some more experiences that are unique to Disney and, yes in some cases make use of the Disney brands or even dip into Disney Parks lore (maybe something along the lines of a Skipper Canteen?). Disney Quest was old and outdated and probably in need of replacement, but for me it was an attempt at making the area stand out. I'm glad they're introducing shows (like the drone show) but I think it needs more Disney-related shopping/dining/entertainment offerings to really draw people away from the parks.
I'm usually all for expanding and modernizing, but Disney Springs just...lacks something for me that Downtown Disney (as small as it was by comparison) had. With the exception of a few stores (World of Disney especially) it feels like you could take the 'Disney' out of Disney Springs pretty easily and not need to change much. And while Disney Springs is a few tiers above a mall IMO, there are plenty of comparable (or better) outdoor shopping centers in my area that make Disney Springs feel...kind of unremarkable. I would rather shop at Rockefeller than Disney Springs. It's something I can do at home, so why would I waste a day doing it at Disney World? It feels like a waste of valuable time that could be spent at the parks.
I don't mean to say every single restaurant needs to be Disney-themed, but I think Disney Springs does need some more experiences that are unique to Disney and, yes in some cases make use of the Disney brands or even dip into Disney Parks lore (maybe something along the lines of a Skipper Canteen?). Disney Quest was old and outdated and probably in need of replacement, but for me it was an attempt at making the area stand out. I'm glad they're introducing shows (like the drone show) but I think it needs more Disney-related shopping/dining/entertainment offerings to really draw people away from the parks.
Personally DS is a must do. Normally we plan our trips to arrive early and spend the first evening there. We always have dinner there and buy our souvenirs for the trip and whatever else. Normally I go into Columbia and Sperry and find good sales. This last trip Columbia had their shirts on sale 2 for $25. Go to any store that sales them and they are normally $30+ a shirt. I've also found the Sperry shoes I like to wear that are $99 online at the store in DS for $70. World of Disney, Goofys candy co and the Candy Cauldron are where we spend the majority of the time though. Can spend an hour just looking at all the things in world of disney