damper on downtown disney

[edhunter28]

my last trip to downtown disney realy stank.Although the restraunts didnt change, the good shops were gone.The only reason to go anymore is for the lego store,the world of disney,once upon a toy,the baloon ride & the food.The west side is pretty much gone except for disney quest,the amc theatre &La nuba.
Pleasure island is now just a walkway to the west side & most of the shops in the marketplace are dull & sell the same stuff.
DOWNTOWN DISNEY HAS CHANGED SO MUCH THAT ITS NOT WORTH GOING TO

[Lakin]

I don't see how so. Pleasure Island was an unnecessary part of a what was supposed to be a FULLY kid friendly park. Heck, just to get to the World of Disney store when I was 11, my mother had to put her hands over my eyes. Seriously, I always found Pleasure Island to be a rather ridiculous idea in the first place. And, if they were going to do it, make it in an exclusive section where no kids are allowed. I'm very glad they made it a worry-free walkway.

And, besides the Virgin megastore, what good shops closed?

I find that all of the good things that you mentioned (World of Disney Store, Legoland, Once Upon A Toy) make Downtown Disney complete enough for me to make it an exclusive part of my trip.

[Toad_Passenger]

I was never a big fan of "west side" or Pleasure Island, so for me DD is still one of my favorite places. This past trip we went at least 3 different occasions armed with our Disney Reward Dollars and our Disney Visa's (for our discount!).

As the previous poster said, all of the shops you mentioned are the main reasons we visit DD to begin with! Along with the Christmas shop, and, of course, grabbing some bath bombs from Basin.

[bruin1344]

I am not a big DTD fan especially now that Pleasure Island is closed. I dont like to shop and most of the restaurant are mediocre or arent on the dining plan.

[JPL]

Pleasure Island was an unnecessary part of a what was supposed to be a FULLY kid friendly park. Heck, just to get to the World of Disney store when I was 11, my mother had to put her hands over my eyes. Seriously, I always found Pleasure Island to be a rather ridiculous idea in the first place. And, if they were going to do it, make it in an exclusive section where no kids are allowed. I'm very glad they made it a worry-free walkway.

PI was designed as a gated nighttime attraction for adults not a walkway that children were suppose to walk through. It wasn't until later when the Westside was built that they decided to open it up a walkway to the Westside which wasn't getting much business. The Disney Management at the time mistakenly blame lack of access saying PI was the reason. The removed the turnstiles to allow the flow of traffic and all the problems started. Until the gates were removed PI was rather successful.

[BluewaterBrad]

I enjoyed PI. I didnt go every trip, but it was good to go with different people that wanted to stay out later and have some without worrying about driving back to the resort.

[Seasonscraps]

I enjoyed PI. I didnt go every trip, but it was good to go with different people that wanted to stay out later and have some without worrying about driving back to the resort.

I used to do the same thing. I liked that the clubs were open later then the resort lounges and it was easy to get back to your hotel.

[Marceline]

DTD has always been about the Marketplace for me. I'm not a drinker so PI never held any big draw. I wish there was more of a draw to the Westside....the last two trips we just skipped it. Virgin Megastore was never something I wanted to do on a Disney vacation, neither is seeing a movie, that just seems like a waste of time. I checked out Disneyquest in 2000 and just haven't felt my DD7 would be too interested in it until now. This trip we are going to try out Pucks Cafe for lunch however. Maybe pop back into DQ if the price is right.

I love DTD. I recall when it was just the Marketplace and the Empress Lilly. It was wonderful and except for the switch to Fulton's all of that area remains the same for the most part. It will always be a great way to spend some time shopping each trip.

[Phantod]

I'm with edhunter28. To me DTD is now a complete waste of time without PI. Like I can't shop in any of the other 2000 Disney stores in the various parks? Like that is why I come to WDW to go shopping? Puhleeeze.

I've gotta better things to do with my time, but I'm really missing the Adventurer's Club. We would hit it 3 or 4 times each visit.

Now, we'll be there once this trip, and only because La Nouba is there and we've never done it. And it will be a short visit.

But I guess, that's what makes the world go round....the different things people do on their vacations.

I just don't get the shopping thing. I can do that at home. Why would I pay a ton of money to walk thru shops? And don't even get me started on DQ.

[dnickels]

Haha, you sound like me Phantod. It took me almost 5 months to finally spend my $75 birthday gift card from Disney.

Shopping holds about as much interest for me as getting a root canal, but as another poster said, all those differences make the world go 'round and Disney offers plenty of activities for everyone.

I miss PI though, as mentioned, it was never intended to be a walkway between shopping areas, it was originally meant to be a segregated adult only area. Additionally, the only times I ever saw something that I don't think children should see were REALLY late at night so I guess I never viewed that as a big deal.

Different strokes for different folks.

[KatrinaJ91]

We love DTD and always go there once or twice during out trip. It's just a great way to get some of the magic outside of the Parks. We usually go there on our first night and get into the spirit of Disney. The atmosphere and the shops are great!

[sara114]

I am thankful that DD is there for my next trip. I am staying 2 nights prior to cruise, but due to money contraints....we are only going into the park possibly 1 time. (This is only if can get pass from friend). I will still be able to get my Disney christmas shopping completed.

[KatrinaJ91]

At least DTD is free .... try going to Universal City Walk where you have to pay $12 - $15 to park to go just go shopping or eat lunch!!

[danimator]

That's disappointing, but oh well. It was mostly about the AC for me anyway. DTD's nice just for strolling, but I agree about all the shops basically being the same. Though that's a qualm for me pretty much everywhere. On my first visit, there were few things more disappointing than exploring DHS, and entering all the neat-looking shops advertising movie memorabilia and whatnot, and finding out they're all hocking the same "High School Musical" merchandise.

[Ian]

I have two basic problems with DD the way it is today ...

#1, the vast majority of the merchandise that's for sale there now I can pretty much get anywhere else on property. There's very little unique merchandise there ... at least unique in the sense that I care about it anyway. I'm not really in WDW to shop for sporting goods.

and

#2, they really ruined PI unneccesarily. They never, ever should have removed the gates and admission. It worked just fine and was really, really a great place to hang out when it was a gated attraction.

But, as Jeff already pointed out, they built the West Side and figured that a gated PI was blocking people from wandering down that way, so ..... they opened it up.

Which was stupid, because they basically killed PI in the process and now they're left with what's basically a big, dull strip mall.

[Wrigley]

We love DTD the way it is. We make sure to visit DTD several times during our trip-it's fun for us to just even go and stroll around. We like some of the eateries, and really enjoy many of the shops. I could care less if P.I. is gone because we never went there-not our cup of tea. So, we still DTD and will visit it often on our next trip!

[RBrooksC]

The last time I was there, it was in September so nothing was opened late. So, we would go to DTD rather often in the evening. We never made it to the West Side. To be honest, there isn't much that sparks my interest over there. Even when Virgin was there, because that store was too loud and too expensive.

I went to PI once and only then did I go to The Adventure's Club.

I enjoy the shops at DTD. While I can get much of that stuff in the parks, I would rather not spend time shopping when I am in the parks. Also, we love to get into that annoying long line to get a sundae.

[MadMadamMim]

I think it's funny how people complain about things they can't change like what used to be and what they wish it would be. I'm a huge proponent of just being happy with what you have. Call me a Polyanna but DTD will always be fun regardless of what stores, bars, restaurants they have or don't have. If I can sit down and people watch with my family, or buy a Christmas ornament while listening to Christmas music year round, or eat delicious ice cream I'm happy. Yes I can do that in the parks but sometimes I just don't feel like it. With that being said I continue to give DTD two enthusiastic thumbs up.

[Imagineer1981]

We love DTD and we were huge PI fans. We still love DTD, there are plenty of shops at the Marketplace alone that make it an awesome place to visit, I could spend hours at World of Disney and the Art of Disney, the pin station, Christmas Store, Lego Store, etc. Its a great place. We used to love PI, it was a great escape for adults and early 20s adults to hang out, it was always loaded with CMs having a good time. The idea behind PI was to get that adult crowd that was leaving property to go to Orlando for clubs and it worked and worked well, so much so that Universal opened City Walk to compete. Then somehow the higher ups thought up a crazy idea and ruined it.

[DizneyRox]

And, besides the Virgin megastore, what good shops closed?

So much has come and gone. Two that I miss the most are Gourmet Pantry and Disney At Home. As I've said before, we used to drop thousands in DTD. We've got dinnerware sets that we haven't even unpacked yet. We got it because it was nice and surely we would find a use for it, and we will one of these days.

Lately, we've had trouble find anything worth buying. The merchandise is mostly junk made overseas. Clothing shrinks, their chotchkies now fit their definition... In fact, I think the only shop we spent and "significant" money in was the 12 Days of Christmas. Barely over $100 INCLUDING shipping and personalization.