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'Disney Springs' - Downtown Disney expansion officially announced
- Thread starter wdwmagic
- Start date
jt04
Well-Known Member
Good points.
DCLcruiser
Well-Known Member
Too many pages, but the West Side sounds like it will have nightlife/clubs/bars. I hope so, because City Walk was pretty decent.
jt04
Well-Known Member
Likely in the evenings. But they will probably need to close DQ or create an entrance on the south side instead.
Obviously it will have nightlife sans the pitfalls created by the failed PI experiment.
SirLink
Well-Known Member
Actually I would kind of expect both parking structures to be completed before they do any work on the town center and landing. I'm just hoping they can build those quickly...
Two parking garages
Free parking
2016 completion
Will more than double the amount of restaurants/shopping/entertainment - 75 to 150+, but not a single tennant of those spaces has been named...
jt04
Well-Known Member
Potter has not been "named" for Universal Studios yet either. And the sky is falling.
G00fyDad
Well-Known Member
Not sure why there would be a lot of negativity about the new area. Did anyone think that they were going to make the WDW retail/restaurant/entertainment district that is over-crowded anything but a BIGGER WDW retail/restaurant/entertainment district? They abandoned the "club" concept like, 7 years ago, so why the surprise/griping about no clubs coming back? I could see the Adventurer's club fitting into the West side of this area if they ever decide to bring it back, so I suppose we could all "keep hope alive" on that one.
The question I am asking is, "Did they address most of the stuff that people (including myself) have been complaining about?" Let's see. . .inadequate Parking, CHECK. . . Mingling Bus/Car traffic, CHECK. . . Cohesive "story" and theme to link the different areas, CHECK. . .Traffic for "thru" drivers. . . CHECK. . . More inviting space and less bottlenecks for pedestrian traffic, CHECK. . . More unique retail/food options, MAYBE (they would claim CHECK). . .more space for unique entertainment, CHECK.
Unless you were hoping that they were going to build a new mini-theme park, there's probably more to be happy about with this plan than to grouse about. Unless, of course, you are just plain cynical about everything that Disney does.
I get that maybe the theme and design is not uber-exciting to some people, but that, along with personal taste, goes with the retail territory. I'm no expert, but my guess is that with retail areas, you need to design it to be special enough to be a destination, but inviting and familiar enough to not alienate people. You also don't want to compete with the stores' own concepts and merchandise, but you need to provide them with a "worthy" place to locate and to have their merchandise on display. As a result, any retail area, unless its going for a very exclusive niche (Rodeo Drive, for instance), is going to be somewhat homogenized. Granted, WDW is a destination unto itself, so there is a little more room for creativity. I think they HAVE been more creative and immersive than a normal retail space from what I've seen. It's a vast improvement to the current place, that's for sure.
The question I am asking is, "Did they address most of the stuff that people (including myself) have been complaining about?" Let's see. . .inadequate Parking, CHECK. . . Mingling Bus/Car traffic, CHECK. . . Cohesive "story" and theme to link the different areas, CHECK. . .Traffic for "thru" drivers. . . CHECK. . . More inviting space and less bottlenecks for pedestrian traffic, CHECK. . . More unique retail/food options, MAYBE (they would claim CHECK). . .more space for unique entertainment, CHECK.
Unless you were hoping that they were going to build a new mini-theme park, there's probably more to be happy about with this plan than to grouse about. Unless, of course, you are just plain cynical about everything that Disney does.
I get that maybe the theme and design is not uber-exciting to some people, but that, along with personal taste, goes with the retail territory. I'm no expert, but my guess is that with retail areas, you need to design it to be special enough to be a destination, but inviting and familiar enough to not alienate people. You also don't want to compete with the stores' own concepts and merchandise, but you need to provide them with a "worthy" place to locate and to have their merchandise on display. As a result, any retail area, unless its going for a very exclusive niche (Rodeo Drive, for instance), is going to be somewhat homogenized. Granted, WDW is a destination unto itself, so there is a little more room for creativity. I think they HAVE been more creative and immersive than a normal retail space from what I've seen. It's a vast improvement to the current place, that's for sure.
BryceM
Well-Known Member
Does it need to be? Point is, it's being built... Fast.
jt04
Well-Known Member
They have their reasons and the mouse has his reasons. It will all be good for us ultimately. I prefer slow cooked meals over fast food any day.
BryceM
Well-Known Member
I'm sure that the reason for the hold on the announcement is because Transformers just got announced, and then probably Springfield. Announcing everything at once wouldn't be too smart, haha.
And it's quality fast food. Universal isn't going to create a McDonald's Happy Meal... We're getting Chick Fil A instead.
Could be. I'd just be concerned that the lot in the West Side (in front of AMC) will be needed when the Marketplace lot to goes away (for construction of the Marketplace garage). The added demand is going to fall squarely on the PI lot (if they keep it open, which I'm sure they'll do) and that centermost West Side lot.
That's a lot of spots to lose at one time. Nevermind the fact that they're also the two most popular parking lots.
With the plethora of spaces around Cirque, they could close the West Side lot at any time, after the Marketplace garage is built, and it wouldn't have much of an affect.
I believe the plan is to put the more adult establishments back in the old PI area (now called The Landing). There isn't much they can add to the West Side unless they build behind Cirque (which I don't believe is in these plans).
One of the big drawbacks of PI was that people had to walk through it to get from the West Side to the Marketplace. With the new Town Center area, that is no longer an issue.
jt04
Well-Known Member
I am extremely pleased with what Uni and Sea World and KSC and LEGOLAND are doing. Heck, even Gatorland is getting in on the fun with a new Florida panther attraction.
I like the Chick-Fil-A analogy. Well played.
Remember though how long DCA 2.0 took from start to finish line (a little Carsland reference). That is because they had to work around operational facilities. DTD faces the same sort of issues so it will take extra time.
Understood. If it's any consolation, we have a mall being built near where I live and the tenants refuse to be named until closer to opening. They developers accidentally posted the site plan with the logos on the buildings on their website for about a week before pulling it off.
If there wasn't demand, they would have stuck with the Hyperion Wharf plan.
flynnibus
Premium Member
I'm not too bothered by it.. it could just be stage hogging too. If you are a big vendor.. do you want to play second fiddle to Disney stroking themselves? Or have to share your limited time with other vendors?
Remember.. before anything else.. this will still be DISNEY's shopping district and vendors are just playing by their game.
I would suppose the list of icons circulated before was a snapshot of vendors they were courting or vendors they think would be a good fit.
Given Disney doesn't seem to do anything without having someone lined up to pay the bill.. I doubt we would have an aggressive start to construction if Disney wasn't ready with plans on how to fill the spots.
jt04
Well-Known Member
Brilliant point. It makes sense that HW might have gotten too much interest hence the need to rework with parking garages etc.
Steve has made it clear that many businesses in DTD are the best performing for those individual companies. And there is a consistent built in audience. So perhaps there is high demand for space. I can't imagine there not being and Steve has confirmed the vendors are already signed.
StarWarsGirl
Well-Known Member
Dear Disney,
We like the expansion plans overall. We will be happy to see them in place and hope you won't back down on the plans. They are needed.
But please: Don't give it such a stupid name as Disney springs. You are one of the most creative forces on the planet. You can do better.
Signed,
StarWarsGirl95, aka Missy, as well as anyone who likes this post.
We like the expansion plans overall. We will be happy to see them in place and hope you won't back down on the plans. They are needed.
But please: Don't give it such a stupid name as Disney springs. You are one of the most creative forces on the planet. You can do better.
Signed,
StarWarsGirl95, aka Missy, as well as anyone who likes this post.