Why do people love Downtown Disney?

[chama1]

Downtown Disney

We go to DTD just to sit, listen to the music while having something to drink/eat by the boat ramp. Since we live near Disney it's a wonderful place to "people watch" and just relax in the evening. We've been doing it for years.

 

[6laurac]

We go to Ghiradelli's for their fab hot fudge sundae that I can't get in NC. Plus you're at Disney but not at a Disney park so you still stay in the Disney groove and get a little change of things too.

Oh, and to see all the kids acting like kids in a candy store and the parents trying to clutch their wallets one more time at World of Disney.....
Oops-next year I will be one of those parents clutching my wallet with a 3 year old there.

 

[rsoxguy]

Perhaps my answer to the OP's question is too philosophical, but I think that Downtown Disney provides a fairly "clean cut" place to hang-out for many people. Truthfully, I don't go there often, but I think that it is a safe haven for a lot of folks to shop, eat, stroll, and observe.

 

[annawilliams]

We went for a few dinners when staying on property for two weeks. It was nice to experience all of disney!

 

[dreamfinder]

Love it? Can't say we love it. Do we normally end up with a half day or so set aside to do DTD? Yes we do. But that has more to do with flights, non park days, etc. We mostly just meander through World Of Disney, the Pin Store, the Christmas Store, and the Lego Store, and D-Street. Outside of some LE vinyls from D-Street, and maybe a pin or two, I don't think we bought anything at DTD our last trip.

 

[imagineer boy]

IMHO, the only thing worth doing in DTD these days is just La Nouba. Nothing else there interests me.

 

[Tigger#1]

We usually venture over there each trip out of habit but since they closed the Virgin Megastore there's nothing interesting anymore. Even the House of Blues has gone down hill with their selection of generic merchandise.

 

[I_heart_Tigger]

Let's see... we have a small drug store, two tiny grocery stores, and one hardware store. I have to drive 30 mins on a highway just to get to a Walmart (and a small one at that). Not all places have "that"! :animwink:

Ha...ha...I was wondering if you would chime in on this one. I can get to Halifax for all that if needed but when you have to drive for 20 minutes just to buy milk you're not exactly in "world class restaurant" territory.

Hi Fellow Disney-lovers! My family and I have been to Disney World the last 4 years in a row and have only ventured to Downtown Disney twice. Keep in mind we now have 3 children ages 6, 4 and 1. So, shopping with 3 kids is really the last thing I want to do! Also, I would much rather spend any extra money we have on extra days at the parks. I don't want a lot of souveniers to ship home. I guess I am surprised at how many people love DTD and make it such a priority to go there on their trips. What am I missing? Should I give it another try next year?

I like downtown Disney because I like to do one day away from parks and get my shopping done. I always get something from Basin, Arribas brothers and the World of Disney plus some other odds and ends on the way. Even if I can get some of the same items at home it's just nice having them, knowing they're from Disney and to remind me of my trip.

I can imagine why it may not be appealing with small children though - I could see getting stuck at the Lego centre all day. Maybe taking advantage of the babysitting service for an evening and making it a quieter evening for two would help you see why other people find it appealing. A nice dinner out and stroll along the waterfront picking up a few souvenirs could be quite romantic and rejuvinating in the middle of your trip.

 

[stuart]

What's not to like?

Great places to eat such as Earl Of Sandwich and Wolfgang Puck and available as quick service on the DDP.

Great places to shop such as te Lego Store, World Of Disney and Days Of Christmas (there's something about shopping for Chrostmas goodies in the summer).

Great places to sit and let the world drift by or to people watch such as Ghiaradelli's, mmm, ice cream.

What the fellow Scot said. Prefer in the evening or at night night actually as there is quite a nice atmosphere to the place. Depending when your there, and what the weather is like, its a great place to see a sunset at Disney and also some of the higher pyro from Illuminations. The boat ride back to riverside is also pretty relaxing

 

[Luvmydisney]

I can imagine why it may not be appealing with small children though - I could see getting stuck at the Lego centre all day. Maybe taking advantage of the babysitting service for an evening and making it a quieter evening for two would help you see why other people find it appealing. A nice dinner out and stroll along the waterfront picking up a few souvenirs could be quite romantic and rejuvinating in the middle of your trip.[/QUOTE]

Ahhh...that does sound nice. We might have to do that next time. :animwink:

 

[whitethunder]

im pretty sure my parents are VERY HAPPY there wasn't really a lego store when I was a kid... I'm 27 and I still go in at my local mall, I want a Millennium Falcon!

I only had the big red box of legos... never had a set!

Man they have some cool ones now for star wars in the lego shop!! Including a Deathstar!!

 

[Father Robinson]

I for one couldn't be more thankful for DTD. I never go anymore, and if it wasn't there, the rest of the parks would be even more packed than they are with DTD! It's not that I don't like DTD, far from it, it's just that I never have enough time in the parks as it is. Bad weather, incredibly long lines forcing you away from rides...all this amounts to waiting longer to do the things you want to do. I was stuck in the China gift shop at EPCOT for almost 2 hours due to the rain. If I was in WDW for longer than a week I would go, but until that happens, I'll stick to buying my souveniers at the Emporium!

 

[Sigmundooze]

Disney Quest, Art of Disney, and World of Disney for gifts for people back home. Earl of Sandwich and Pollo Campero are nice places for quick bites too.

 

[Mawg]

We use DTD on our arrival day and a down day away from the parks in the middle of our vacation. It take so long to travel to WDW for us that we don’t check in until 4pm, then we wait for our groceries to be delivered and head out to DTD for dinner and maybe a shirt for the kids they can wear while at the parks. They love the lego store. We usually go for 7 nights but only get a 5 day park hopper, one day in the middle we won’t go to a Park, instead we’ll ride the monorail around and have a late breakfast at Chef Mickey’s, then hit the pool in the afternoon and go to DTD at night. It’s just nice to have a day you’re not trying to cram in attractions.

 

[nngrendel]

In Boston...

we have: malls, unique shops, world class restaurants

what wedon't have: Disney World

so we always skip DTD

I live in Atlanta.

We also have Malls, Unique Shops and World Class Restaurants.

We also don't have Disney World.

Another thing we don't have is the Red Soxs!
And for that one thing I am jealous.

Anyway..... DTD
We like taking the kids to Disney Quest.
Love walking and shopping while the kids are at Disney Quest.
I also usually buy most of the pins I want from DTD rather from in side the parks. Unless its a special pin.

 

[Communicore]

I was a huge fan of the 70's era DTD, the Village Marketplace, and barely went once they had changed everything however I have a lot of visitors that I take all the time because it is Disney and it is free (to walk around, that is) so they can have photo ops and all that...also when they had the Virgin Mega we used to hang out there listening to music and we even had a unwritten rule that each time we vist we have to purchase something, the "impulse buy rule" ha ha ha...

 

[mergatroid]

Having being going to Disney for over 30 years and having AP's going for 3 weeks a year we have time to spend away from the parks. As such we enjoy DTD however I really miss the Virgin Megastore and also the Magic Store, both places we could spend time before seeing movies on spec etc. Without them, there's much less to do although it does have the excellent Cirque du Soleil to enjoy still along with the AMC movie theatre.

 

[Cold71]

For me it's the cigar shop and the bars. After a long day at the parks I can just kind of chill out and have a drink.