Downtown Disney rumor

menamechris

Well-Known Member
While its good to hear they are doing something....somewhere...anywhere....on property to enhance the guest experience, I have been emotionally detached from Downtown Disney for awhile now. This leaves me with the "meh" feeling - and wishing they would actually dump the money and resources into the areas which I am paying an admission fee for - and which sorely need upgrades and additions. I have a feeling that if this is indeed coming, it will be another project Disney can point to and justify not putting proper TLC into the parks.
 

PhotoDave219

Well-Known Member
CityWalk may have no appeal to pixie dust--addicted fanbois, but it clearly has appeal to TDO because everything they've done to DTD in the past 8 years has been an attempt to copy it.

Because clearly it works! Can't you tell by the throngs of crowds and locals that go there every night? ;)

/sarcasm. HEAVY SARCASM.
 

John

Well-Known Member
Buster & Daves? I thought it was Dave & Buster's, unless they changed the name or something(?)

Ok...my mistake.....Dave and Busters....Buster and Daves......Lee and 74.....74 and Lee....Does it really matter? I guess it would to Dave and Buster:)
 

Mouse Detective

Well-Known Member
Oh, the Club building is labeled in the plans as a "Lounge/Cafeteria Concept"...whatever that means. And yeah...looks like a train parked outside.

Lee, I can't find the plans on the SFWMD website. Is that where you're viewing that kind of detail. If so, can you provide an actual link? Thanks.


CityWalk may have no appeal to pixie dust--addicted fanbois, but it clearly has appeal to TDO because everything they've done to DTD in the past 8 years has been an attempt to copy it.

Well, except for the part about night clubs.
 

Did Knee

Active Member
I'm still completely at a lack of understanding as to how The Adventurer's Club couldn't work as restaurant/bar. With the rumored plans, it seems like it would be a perfect fit. And wow, what a draw it would be! Rainforest and T-Rex would be in for some serious competition (if it were done right).
You may have hit on a major reason NOT to re-open the AC.
 

AndyMagic

Well-Known Member
From the start, the location of Pleasure Island and the eventual "Downtown Disney" was ill-conceived. The concept works so well at Universal and Disneyland because it acts as a gateway to the two parks. A "downtown" is meant to be the heart and artery of a city but since WDW's parks are so ridiculously spread out, DTD looks and feels like a strip-mall off the highway. It was acceptable when there were unique nightlife experiences with some retail but now its nothing more than a suburban sprawl development you could find in New Jersey. Given the timing of construction, I'm still baffled that Pleasure Island wasn't constructed as a link between Epcot and MGM. It would have allowed guests to experience two parks AND all the "retailtainment" Disney could throw at them without having to sit on a bus.
 

articos

Well-Known Member
Apologies, should have more clearly said I meant the West Side.

Agreed CityWalk copied (and in some ways improved upon) PI--but the West Side was a carbon copy of the new things CityWalk had done (Latin restaruant? check. Restaurant/music venue? check. No entrance gates? check.) The problem is they tried to copy the content without understanding the style--"what" it was but not "why" it worked.

Now DTD is building an unncessary parking garage. There is a MK-sized parking lot behind Cirque that sits empty almost every night of the year--and even had hundreds of open spaces on NYE. A parking garage won't make West Side more enticing, and won't stop guests from parking at DTD to avoid the $15 parking fees. But CityWalk has one, so we need to build one.
PI copied Church Street Station, and was a solution to helping keep guests on the property at night. It was ultimately in line with Eisner's plans for the FL property. In Hollywood, CityWalk was already being discussed as a way to fill space on the hilltop, filling a need to complement the Cineplex Odeon at Universal Hollywood and giving people a reason to stick around longer - the Cineplex wasn't walking distance to anything of note, so this allowed people to do dinner and a movie captively on Universal's property. CityWalk Hollywood was built with very little regard to what was going on in FL.

CityWalk FL was planned in FL as one part of the overall property expansion into Universal Orlando. UIOA and CityWalk Orlando were planned concurrently by different teams. CW Orlando planning started in the mid-90s, and was based more off of CityWalk Hollywood and where outdoor shopping was thought to be going than anything Disney was doing. When the DTD West Side was opened in 97, it was thought that they had some great anchors in Virgin, HoB, Cirque, DisneyQuest and the restaurants, and those would lead to more coming. They didn't have as much to spend on theming or the environment, and it shows. It was also expected there would be live entertainment out on the West Side that would liven things up, and that never really materialized. Unfortunately, it didn't work out as planned, where they thought future expansion would allow plussing as more funding was put in, and the area just never reached its potential. DisneyQuest was then shelved as a brand, and the location stagnated, Virgin died...you get the point. Also, the West Side opened in 97, then CW Orlando in 99. Both projects watched each other, but I wouldn't say they copied. These venues are always evolving. Sometimes the mix is going to be more nightclub, others, more shopping and family friendly. It's just the way of these zones. Right now, the new trend is outdoor lifestyle center, and that's what the planning of Disney Springs (or whatever it ends up being called) reflects.

RE: the parking garages,it is absolutely necessary. During peak nights, DTD parking is impossible. The lot behind Cirque is rarely used because it's so far off the beaten path and people just are averse to parking there. It does fill up, though, when people are directed to it. With additional capacity, the garage is needed. Also, as you know, the overflow lots are spread out quite a ways - a garage will lead to less guest complaints about having to walk forever to get to the car, not to mention in FL's frequent rain. I do agree that Orlando has a weird thing about garages, but that can helped over time.
 

djkidkaz

Well-Known Member
I'm curious what each area will be themed like? When I think of the area called the Springs I think of bubbling geysers and such. The town center reminds of a Main Street styled area. Any thoughts or info on what to expect theming wise from each section?
 

AndyMagic

Well-Known Member
I'm curious what each area will be themed like? When I think of the area called the Springs I think of bubbling geysers and such. The town center reminds of a Main Street styled area. Any thoughts or info on what to expect theming wise from each section?

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.
 

Lee

Adventurer
I'm curious what each area will be themed like? When I think of the area called the Springs I think of bubbling geysers and such. The town center reminds of a Main Street styled area. Any thoughts or info on what to expect theming wise from each section?
Yeah, I'll try to post descriptions of the areas soon.
 

c-one

Well-Known Member
You may have hit on a major reason NOT to re-open the AC.
I'm a little perplexed at that claim actually. T-Rex and Rainforest seem to compete with one another, but Adventurers Club seems wholly different. The first two are themed restaurant environments for families, the latter an entertainment/nightlife option for adults...no?
 

BryceM

Well-Known Member
From the start, the location of Pleasure Island and the eventual "Downtown Disney" was ill-conceived. The concept works so well at Universal and Disneyland because it acts as a gateway to the two parks. A "downtown" is meant to be the heart and artery of a city but since WDW's parks are so ridiculously spread out, DTD looks and feels like a strip-mall off the highway. It was acceptable when there were unique nightlife experiences with some retail but now its nothing more than a suburban sprawl development you could find in New Jersey. Given the timing of construction, I'm still baffled that Pleasure Island wasn't constructed as a link between Epcot and MGM. It would have allowed guests to experience two parks AND all the "retailtainment" Disney could throw at them without having to sit on a bus.
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.
 

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