Let’s Re-Imagineer Downtown Disney

[Miru]

As we know, Downtown Disney at Disneyland has gone through a fair bit of changes recently, not necessarily for the better. Mainly in light of the cancelled fourth hotel. In fact...

I wonder if the suits have ever considered something unthinkable, like, I dunno, maybe filling Downtown Disney with shops and restaurants related to.... Disney? Gaston's Tavern? Monsters Inc. Plush Factory? Tiana's Place with performances by Louis the Alligator? Tony's Restaurant and Casey's Corner from WDW? Gusteau's? Al's Toy Barn? Bueno Nacho? And... A good rendition of Pizza Planet?

Call me crazy.

EUREKA! Downtown Disney could easily get revamped and made as enjoyable as the rest of the resort via basing the shops and restaurants off of... Disney! What sort of places could we have for visitors to enjoy? (Licensed stores may also be kept if they fit well) In fact, could the revamp of Downtown Disney come with a theme of its own? Let’s see how much space we have in Downtown Disney. Well, I think there’s just enough to give tourists a decent taste of Disney even without the parks and hotels. But what if we had layers?

Restaurant ideas:

• Gusteau’s (Ratatouille, table-service) - French cuisine, high-quality atmosphere.
• Remy’s Bistro (Ratatouille, quick-service) - A counterpart to Gusteau’s. Serves casual French fare (crepes, ratatouille, sandwiches, etc). Located next to Gusteau’s. Open for character dining.
• Traverse Town Treats (Kingdom Hearts, quick-service) - variety of signature Disney cuisine, from Dole Whip to Mickey Ice Cream. Forms part of a KH-themed sub-area.
• Pizza Planet (Toy Story, table-service) - A much more accurate replica of the one seen in the film, complete with arcade and its distinctive shape. Serves various pizza types including deep-dish, stuffed crust, thin crust, calzones, authentic Italian style, etc. Probably replaces Earl of Sandwich.
• Tiana’s Place (The Princess and the Frog, table-service) - Cajun, carribean, and Mediterranean cuisine. Complete with performances by Louis the Aligator and his band of the Firehouse Five. Character dining is available (Tiana, Naveen, Louis, Oswald, Steamboat Willie Mickey, Steamboat Willie Minnie).
• Bueno Nacho (Kim Possible, quick-service) - Tex-Mex.
• Radiant Garden (Kingdom Hearts, table-service) - Focus on vegan cuisine.
• The 13th Hideout (Kingdom Hearts, quick-service) - Bar and grill. Also has a souvenir shop inside.
• Tony’s - Expanded clone of WDW version
• Casey’s Corner - Clone of WDW version

Shops

• Traverse Town Treasures (Kingdom Hearts) - Video Games, KH merchandise, photo frames, and sundries. Would also feature the return of Sora as a meetable character (now a face character), along with more KH characters.
• The Daily Bugle (Marvel) - Marvel merchandise, masks, comics (both floppies and trade paperbacks), original graphic novels.
• Kermit’s Corner - Muppet merchandise, swimwear
• Monster’s Inc Plush Factory - Allows visitors to create Monsters Inc, Muppet, Inside Out, and Zootopia plush of their own. Presented by Build-a-Bear.
• Al’s Toy Barn - A huge Toy and game shop. Features meet and greet.

An urban theme is kept in place, and made as a counterpoint to CityWalk in Universal. Would keep that green leaf motif, and maybe play it up a little more. World of Disney will be restored to its former glory.

Any other ideas you’d like to add? What improvements could be made?

 

[ObscurityPoint]

A villain's lair shop or high-scale restaurant would be incredible, the possibilities are bouncing around my head. I think that even though the shopping center should be Disney-based, some more well-known retail stores should remain. Maybe keep stores like Underarmor, Vans, Nike, etc- upscale shops that are popular with younger crowds- throughout the area. There should be two levels maybe, like Citywalk. The lower level can have the non-Disney smaller food and shop venues while the upper deck can have all the Disney-owned experiences, movie theater, larger restaurants, attractions, and so on. I love this concept, keeping the Disney vibe while also making a modern entertainment district.

Update: Just started sketching out a map of this concept, I like it so much. I'll probably end up uploading it under my 'themeparchitect' section on my website as I develop it. I really like this idea, we need to keep the creativity flowing!

 

[Miru]

A villain's lair shop or high-scale restaurant would be incredible, the possibilities are bouncing around my head. I think that even though the shopping center should be Disney-based, some more well-known retail stores should remain. Maybe keep stores like Underarmor, Vans, Nike, etc- upscale shops that are popular with younger crowds- throughout the area. There should be two levels maybe, like Citywalk. The lower level can have the non-Disney smaller food and shop venues while the upper deck can have all the Disney-owned experiences, movie theater, larger restaurants, attractions, and so on. I love this concept, keeping the Disney vibe while also making a modern entertainment district.

Update: Just started sketching out a map of this concept, I like it so much. I'll probably end up uploading it under my 'themeparchitect' section on my website as I develop it. I really like this idea, we need to keep the creativity flowing!

If possible, perhaps give even at least some of those licensed retailers a Disney twist, especially with the “Traverse Town” motif I was thinking about. And I like the idea of it being two levels. Perhaps even three levels, for possible “Pleasure Island” stuff? Adventurer’s Club, something Deadpool based, maybe even a spot for a mature Halloween event? And I agree on the Villain bar/shop, perhaps Organization XIII themed, like “The 13th Hideout”. “Gaston’s Tavern” might also work. The logo could reflect the two or three layers of the location.

 

[TwilightZone]

Maybe a modern version of disneyquest. But I guess that would be the void now I think about it.

Still would be cool.

 

[ObscurityPoint]

If possible, perhaps give even at least some of those licensed retailers a Disney twist, especially with the “Traverse Town” motif I was thinking about. And I like the idea of it being two levels. Perhaps even three levels, for possible “Pleasure Island” stuff? Adventurer’s Club, something Deadpool based, maybe even a spot for a mature Halloween event? And I agree on the Villain bar/shop, perhaps Organization XIII themed, like “The 13th Hideout”. “Gaston’s Tavern” might also work. The logo could reflect the two or three layers of the location.

Love the Halloween attraction idea. I know Hong Kong Disney does a terrifying Halloween attraction and I feel like if the US parks were to do something similar, they would be best off in a spot like Downtown Disney where its more aimed towards nightlife and teens and away from the more family friendly parks.

 

[RustySpork]

Burn it down, and build the 5th gate!

Spoiler

 

[Miru]

Love the Halloween attraction idea. I know Hong Kong Disney does a terrifying Halloween attraction and I feel like if the US parks were to do something similar, they would be best off in a spot like Downtown Disney where its more aimed towards nightlife and teens and away from the more family friendly parks.

Yeah, we could port over one or more of the Hong Kong attractions this way, and maybe use Alien vs. Predator as the basis for a new one. Maybe the Disney World Boardwalk could also have this?

 

[NateD1226]

Burn it down, and build the 5th gate!

Spoiler

Where is the 3rd and 4th

 

[Miru]

Maybe a modern version of disneyquest. But I guess that would be the void now I think about it.

Still would be cool.

Where is the 3rd and 4th

Well, if we bring DisneyQuest over, it could be a sort of third gate (kinda like how the Water Parks and formerly DisneyQuest serve(d) as additional “gates” for Disney World, with it once having effectively nine gates in total) for the resort. After all, DisneyQuest is an indoor park.

If we do bring DisneyQuest over, I think it should have a different structure from the WDW version, with different themed lands inside. Litwak’s Arcade would be a nice land to have there, for one. Litwak’s would be where all the various arcade games are, including several exclusive games like Sugar Rush. Maybe we could have a Slaughter Race attraction as the highlight?

Next themed land could be based on TRON. Maybe we’d have a Frozen area, a Muppet area, and... at the top... a KH world! I’m pretty sure a Figment-based area (perhaps with Journey into Imagination!) could be a major highlight.

I’d imagine the first floor (Litwak’s+Imagination Institute) to have

• Litwak’s Arcade - Arcade with several games including exclusives.
• Slaughter Race - Universal-styled Ride+simulator with competitive element (think Transformers+Buzz)
• Figment’s World of Cuisine - Quick-service with Mexican, Japanese, Chinese, Italian cuisine.
• Journey into Imagination - Clone of original Epcot version.
• Cranium Command - Clone of Epcot Version.
• Dive into the Heart - Commonality on all floors, a themed elevator.

Floor 2 (Muppet Virtual Studio, Arendelle, TRON Network)

• Muppet Mayhem Arena - Similar to a “splash battle” attraction, riders move in a circle and fling virtual pies, fish, etc, at each other and targets. Players can pick up additional items to score more points.
• KerMix - Video mixing and editing suite, with the ability to buy videos you made.
• Backstage Bonanza - Walkthrough & play area.
• Arendelle Avenue - Shopping area.
• Olaf’s Snow Ride - Simulator ride with multiple-choice paths.
• Kai and Gerda’s Sweets - Snack shop