Tell me about Downtown Disney

[raph_b]

What are the best parts of it?

I am really looking forward to Goofy's Candy Co

What else is down there?

 

[Pinky166]

I love it - lots of great Disney shops and good food.

My DH loves DisneyQuest - I don't mind it for an hour or two but my DH would spend the entire holiday in there if I let him! It depends on if computer games are your thing though.

 

[UKDEB]

Downtown Disney is divided into three sections with West Side at one extreme, Marketplace at the other and Pleasure Island bridging the two.

West Side is home to Cirque du Soleil, DisneyQuest, Virgin Megastore and an AMC 24 screen cinema as well as four restaurants and several unique shops (Starabilias being my favourite). The restaurants are House of Blues, Wolfgang Puck Cafe, Bongo's Cuban Cafe and Planet Hollywood. I'd say Wolfgang Puck's is the best of the bunch, although it does get crazily busy. The House of Blues hosts a Gospel Brunch each Sunday and it's also a concert venue showcasing big names alongside less well known artists.

Pleasure Island is primarily a night-time entertainment district, although Disney recently announced plans to close the nightclubs to make way for more shops and dining . Whilst the area is being redeveloped, the existing shops and restaurants at PI will remain open. Raglan Road is probably my favourite of the restaurants at DTD. Its website does a far better job of describing it than I could.

The focus at Marketplace is squarely on shopping and dining (i.e. it doesn't have the dedicated entertainment options of the other two areas). It has more of the typical Disney feel, possibly due to the fact that Disney shops far outnumber the other stores there. Earl of Sandwich is great for a quick bite and Rainforest Cafe is a perennial favourite, although the Downtown Disney location gets a bit too busy for me - I prefer the one at Animal Kingdom.

 

[Lizzybear]

Claire, my bf would too! He was like a kid in a sweet shop with all the 'free' arcade games
The lego shop is fun.. We got talking to the guy at the counter and he knew not only how many figures were on the back wall but also how many of each type!

 

[chocomochamouse]

Ghiradelli chocolate shop without a doubt - the smell alone is fantastic, and then when they give you the little freebie square of chocolate... heaven!

 

[~Piglet~]

Mmm, the Earl of Sandwich I like the Art of Disney shop and Disney's Days of Christmas. Re: the Lego shop - who knew there were so many different figures and pieces?!!

 

[Pooh's-Honey-Pot]

Some of my favourite places to eat are there! House of Blues, Raglan Road and Earl of Sandwich. Great treats at Ghiredellis, and as you mention the make your own snacks at Goofy's are a must do! And the worlds biggest Disney shop which you can literally lose your self in for house. But my favourite thing to do there is to wonder round once it gets dark - there is just so much atmosphere to soak up!

 

[disneyholic family]

on the west side we typically go to Cirque de Soleil every trip..

we drop into DisneyQuest several times each trip (for about an hour at a time)...we have Premium Annual Passes, so we can pop in and out of DQ without thinking about the cost...otherwise we wouldn't do that..

we usually go to one movie per trip at the AMC movie theatre (it has something like 24 theatres inside!)...

in the marketplace side of DTD we usually eat at the Earl of Sandwich several times each trip (including the evening we arrive)...
and we always shop at the world of disney....other than that we just pop in and out of the other stores there....

 

[Little Flower]

mmmmm.... i wonder if Earl of Sandwich would deliver to Oxford???????

 

[raph_b]

The Earl of Sandwich sounds fantastic

And such a good name too

 

[Snowy-girls]

The Earl of Sandwich sounds fantastic

And such a good name too

Oh boy,you will not be dissapointed.The Full Montagu for me .x.

 

[schumigirl]

Ghiradelli`s for desserts and chocolate Yummy isn`t the word.
It`s a real fun place to be, plenty of atmosphere and even just to wander in and out of the little shops.
Only place I would tell anyone to avoid is Bongo`s Awful place with awful staff and not great food. Never ever go there. There`s so many lovely places to eat including HOB which we loved.
There`s a fab little margarita stand as well which does exquisite cocktails, now we WILL be visiting that again next month