Disney Springs Updates

[Little Green Men]

Would they really close on a Saturday night with no notice though?

Maybe some staff tested positive with COVID

 

[SoFloMagic]

Maybe some staff tested positive with COVID

Yeah that's my guess. Certainly hope not and that everyone is ok

 

[EricsBiscuit]

I was thinking maybe compliance issues but I doubt it

 

[SoFloMagic]

I was thinking maybe compliance issues but I doubt it

Also possible there were concerns about lines and appearances of crowding, but it seems unlikely that would cause a short notice closure

 

[EricsBiscuit]

Also possible there were concerns about lines and appearances of crowding, but it seems unlikely that would cause a short notice closure

Agreed. Unfortunately, I think the most likely reason is some COVID or other medical emergency. Really weird to suddenly close after opening.

 

[techgeek]

Would they really close on a Saturday night with no notice though?

Gideon's is famous in Orlando for closing early if they are out of product. I don't know if it's bad forecasting, unpredictable demand, or an 'artificial scarcity' marketing model... but it's always been a role of the dice if you go later in the day. It seems to be a common sort of thing among independent bakeries here, I can think of a few others that are like that.

I'm sure their DS contract holds them to some level of consistency though, so likely this is just soft-opening related.

 

[DCBaker]

Here's the update -

 

[Dutch Inn '76]

We just spent a week at WDW. I've been going down there for decades now, and "Disney Springs" is the first thing I've ever seen them regress on. It's just a disappointment. A mall. A place you can find in most cities in America. What in the world??

I hadn't been able to visit it since it was completely finished until now, and boy, was I underwhelmed. And to think that The Adventurer's Club used to stand there!

I'm a Disney fan and I don't like to complain, but there's very little magic, whimsy, or fun at Disney Springs. Don't waste your time.

 

[DISR]

We just spent a week at WDW. I've been going down there for decades now, and "Disney Springs" is the first thing I've ever seen them regress on. It's just a disappointment. A mall. A place you can find in most cities in America. What in the world??

I hadn't been able to visit it since it was completely finished until now, and boy, was I underwhelmed. And to think that The Adventurer's Club used to stand there!

I'm a Disney fan and I don't like to complain, but there's very little magic, whimsy, or fun at Disney Springs. Don't waste your time.

Not much of an attraction for me right now either. It is kind of a mob scene of people. You have to wait in line to enter many stores due to COVID, and I never make the 6 month ADRs I would need for the restaurants I am interested in. I get plenty of counter service all day in the parks, so I am really looking for more of a sit-down experience in the evenings. That is hard to get at Disney Springs during busy weeks. We usually do an obligatory trip and get out of there as soon as possible. Last week we did not enter a single store.

 

[halltd]

We just spent a week at WDW. I've been going down there for decades now, and "Disney Springs" is the first thing I've ever seen them regress on. It's just a disappointment. A mall. A place you can find in most cities in America. What in the world??

I hadn't been able to visit it since it was completely finished until now, and boy, was I underwhelmed. And to think that The Adventurer's Club used to stand there!

I'm a Disney fan and I don't like to complain, but there's very little magic, whimsy, or fun at Disney Springs. Don't waste your time.

What makes Disney, Disney? Mickey Mouse heads on everything? Characters? Or highly themed areas that tell a story? I’d argue it’s the latter. Look at all the older things that make Disney, Disney that most people love like Contemporary, Wilderness Lodge, even Grand Floridian, Epcot, etc... None of those were based on films or even IP at the time. They were just highly themed venues that told great stories.

For a shopping center, Springs has an amazing story and themed details everywhere!! Literally in bricks and bolts, pavement, graphics, the neighborhoods, and especially the architecture. Most interiors of the shops are themed to the exterior and overall story as well. The Springs of today is arguably far superior to the Lake Buena Vista Village of the beginnings....or even anything after that.

I would argue people aren’t true Disney fans if they think Springs is just any old strip mall.

 

[Dutch Inn '76]

What makes Disney, Disney? Mickey Mouse heads on everything? Characters? Or highly themed areas that tell a story? I’d argue it’s the latter. Look at all the older things that make Disney, Disney that most people love like Contemporary, Wilderness Lodge, even Grand Floridian, Epcot, etc... None of those were based on films or even IP at the time. They were just highly themed venues that told great stories.

For a shopping center, Springs has an amazing story and themed details everywhere!! Literally in bricks and bolts, pavement, graphics, the neighborhoods, and especially the architecture. Most interiors of the shops are themed to the exterior and overall story as well. The Springs of today is arguably far superior to the Lake Buena Vista Village of the beginnings....or even anything after that.

I would argue people aren’t true Disney fans if they think Springs is just any old strip mall.

I get what you're saying, but I see no *magic* at DS. It's all just restaurants and shops; as you said, a shopping center.

The "mall" part is better, I guess, but Pleasure Island was vastly superior to today's Disney Springs.

 

[nicb88]

I get what you're saying, but I see no *magic* at DS. It's all just restaurants and shops; as you said, a shopping center.

The "mall" part is better, I guess, but Pleasure Island was vastly superior to today's Disney Springs.

I think the issue here is you’re comparing apples to oranges. Disney Springs replaces what was there (PI) but in no way have Disney tried to replicate it. It’s a different experience entirely. Pleasure Island and what it brought is gone.

A shame to some, a relief to others, and a legend to all those who never knew it!

 

[Horizons1]

I get what you're saying, but I see no *magic* at DS. It's all just restaurants and shops; as you said, a shopping center.

The "mall" part is better, I guess, but Pleasure Island was vastly superior to today's Disney Springs.

Why does there have to be “magic” as you say? Why can’t it just be a cool place? It’s got a lot of neat architecture, great views, and a wide variety of shops and restaurants.

Maybe it’s not your cup of tea, and it’s never going to be PI, sadly, but for what it is I think they did a good job. Would I love to see more clubs? Yea. Was that ever going to be the case after PI, and now COVID? NOPE.

 

[Bocabear]

The world looks to Disney for themed entertainment...It follows, a shopping venue at Disney's Flagship resort should be full of magic and jaw dropping architecture...It should be more than just a lifestyle shopping center, but something wholly unique and memorable... Clubs or not. The big expansion of Disney Springs has made it look like a giant outlet mall. I do like some of the restaurants, but the new buildings and shops for the most part look like any new Lifestyle Center USA... It is not even as interesting as The Grove in LA...and honestly it should be... "But I want a plain shopping mall that looks like the one at home" said no one ever....As a whole the entire project lacks imagination and Disney Magic...

 

[Jon81uk]

The world looks to Disney for themed entertainment...It follows, a shopping venue at Disney's Flagship resort should be full of magic and jaw dropping architecture...It should be more than just a lifestyle shopping center, but something wholly unique and memorable... Clubs or not. The big expansion of Disney Springs has made it look like a giant outlet mall. I do like some of the restaurants, but the new buildings and shops for the most part look like any new Lifestyle Center USA... It is not even as interesting as The Grove in LA...and honestly it should be... "But I want a plain shopping mall that looks like the one at home" said no one ever....As a whole the entire project lacks imagination and Disney Magic...

how do you make a shopping and restaurants area “magical” then?
There is definitely plenty of imagination with the building styles, they made planet Hollywood an observatory!
Did Downtown Disney have more magic because there were bars and nightclubs?
Marketplace and Buena Village shops didn’t have any more magic or imagination than they do now.

I think the loss of Adventurers Club and Comedy Warehouse is massive, the night entertainment outside of the theme parks is lacking now. But the exteriors of those spaces didn’t really add much to the hodge podge that was pleasure island. The new Springs adds more imagination and consistency of theme.

 

[Bocabear]

how do you make a shopping and restaurants area “magical” then?
There is definitely plenty of imagination with the building styles, they made planet Hollywood an observatory!
Did Downtown Disney have more magic because there were bars and nightclubs?
Marketplace and Buena Village shops didn’t have any more magic or imagination than they do now.

I think the loss of Adventurers Club and Comedy Warehouse is massive, the night entertainment outside of the theme parks is lacking now. But the exteriors of those spaces didn’t really add much to the hodge podge that was pleasure island. The new Springs adds more imagination and consistency of theme.

the "Observatory" is a name only...it is not an immersive imaginative space like the name suggests...It's music videos projected on the ceiling, and a refurbishment... , and yes there was a bit of magic to the old Disney Village...the shops were unique, the clubs were imaginative and fun...Pleasure Island was a unique concept that got watered down over the years... The defurbishment of the Empress Lilly/ Fulton's into Paddlefish removed charm and whimsy from the entire project. Sometimes "new" for the sake of "new" is simply not better...
In the new version, the "springs" are nice, some of the buildings are nice, but the general idea of shops that are in every major city in the US, is kind of dull... The main new thoroughfare looks like any lifestyle center in the country...but less interesting than places like The Grove in LA. And WHY is every new project that TDO touches named " something Springs"?

 

[DisneyDebRob]

I like the Springs. I think it’s a huge improvement over PI. I also loved Lake Buena Vista Shopping area from the 70’s and early 80’s. Although could be a nostalgia thing sine I was a teen at that time. Never enjoyed PI.. just to many drunks around when walking through. But I think a Comedy Warehouse could fit in still down there somewhere.
Some of the best restaurants on property are at the springs. Nothing like having a good meal and just walking around a bit whether you go into the stores or not. I do understand when some say it looks like a mall and not disneyfied, but there are some unique stores still there.

 

[djkidkaz]

I wish they still had the magic shop in DS but it was on the West Side which is a dead zone. They also should have had someone outside the shop performing magic every now and then to draw attention to it. Show the families a cool magic trick and get them to go inside and explore the shop. But it was always just two guys standing behind the counter talking about what they were going to have for lunch.

 

[WondersOfLife]

Why does there have to be “magic” as you say?

Because it's Disney World... Downtown Disney had Magic. That's the whole POINT of going to Disney. If you want "cool" instead of "magic" then you're supposed to go to Universal. That the rule.

 

[UNCgolf]

Disney Springs is fine overall. It's a great place to go get food, especially since even the best QS places there are better than the vast majority of table service restaurants elsewhere at WDW.

World of Disney is a disaster though. Outside of a handful of neat touches in the checkout area, it's just a generic department store that happens to sell only Disney merchandise.