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DTD is great at night! The stores, restaurants, or just relaxing on a bench on the lake is a wonderful break after the theme parks.
*1993-CBR
*1995-Dixie Landings
*1999-2002 OKW (3 times)
*2003-BCV(got engaged)
*2005-Poly Concierge(honeymoon)
*2007-AllStar Music(expecting 1st child)
*2008- OKW (w/1st child)
*2012-AKL villas
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Definitely worth it!
Offsite: 1977-1990's
96- CB
00-ASM
May 01-Honeymoon- BC
Feb 02-ASS
Mar 04- ASM
Feb 05-SS
Nov 06-SS
July 2007-SS
Mar 08-SSR
SSR Mar 09
OKW July 09
SSR Dec 10
OKW Sept 12
DVC Member since April 2004
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DTD is a must for us as well! Love the shops! We usually do all our souvenir shopping at World of Disney.
As for Disney Quest - we will never spend the extra $ again! At first we loved going b/c it was relatively empty. We were able to enjoy everything DQ had to offer without standing in line. Don't know if it was the time of year we went or even the time of day. We always go in Disney in May (43 days and counting!). That all changed for us a couple of years ago. We planned on doing a morning at DQ. At he time my DD was 15 and loved arcade games. When we arrived at DTD we noticed a hoard of school busses in the parking lot. That should have been our cue to return to our resort bus and head to one of the parks. We had no idea that DQ has become a school fieldtrip destination! It was awful! The whole place was filled with unruly children with nary a chaparone in site!. We tried to enjoy ourselves but after about an hour my DD had had it with the middle-school aged brats. We have learned our lesson - never again!
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Is Downtown Disney worth taking time from the parks:
We love DD. Try to make it there on every trip. End up walking through all the stores although do have favorites. Usually eat, get sundaes at Ghirardelli and try to catch a move at AMC.
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Put us in the We-Love-Downtown-Disney class, too. Our DD8 INSISTS we schedule at least one trip there. Possibly two, if we have the time. She LOVES the Disney Store and the Once Upon a Toy store. My wife loves all the stores there. I like the food options. Wolfgang Puck Express is a hard-to-beat counter-service option.
Sometimes, when we're there, we do an inverse dinner (to be performed ONLY in Disney):
Eat all the Ghirardelli's Ice Cream you can fit into your belly, THEN go have a dinner afterwards if you have room. This is a Disney-only tradition!
You should definitely give it a shot!
WDW - 99 Off Site
WDW - 00 C.Springs, Wilderness
WDW - 01 POFQ, Boardwalk
WDW - 02 C.Beach, POFQ, AK Lodge
WDW - 04 Riverside
WDW - 05 C.Springs
WDW - 07 Riverside
WDW - 11 C.Beach
WDW - 12 POFQ
WDW - 14 Riverside
WDW - 15 POFQ
WDW - 19 Wilderness
WDW - 20 C.Beach
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our game plan is always to arrive @ WDW around 5-7 pm (if we drive), spend our 1st night in the DTD area. Our stops...World of Disney, House of Blues, Ghiradelli's, and just kinda stroll around and gearing up for for the wonderful week ahead! There are some great places to eat for the kids. Planet Hollywood, Earl of Sandwich, Rainforest Cafe, make-your-own-tee shop, the Lego displays alone are awesome, and one could spend DAYS in the World of Disney store and the Team Disney sports store!
1974 - Off Property
1975 - Poly
1980 - Golf Resort (Honeymoon)
1881 - Golf Resort
1982 - Poly
1983 - Contemporary
1989 - CBR (10th anniversay)
1998 - CBR (DD 1st trip )
2001 - CBR
2003 - WL
2004 - WL (25th anniversary)
2005 - WL
2006 - WL
2010 - WL
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I usually spend an afternoon doing some shopping in DTD but that's about it.
Next WDW Trip: July 13 - 22, 2016 Wilderness Lodge
"There's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow shining at the end of every day!"
"Let's Don't be Silly..." - The Mad Hatter
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We always go to DTD for Earl of Sandwich. We'll usually go for lunch or dinner one day, walk around the area a bit, maybe shop, sometimes have a drink at that bar kiosk close to the water. It's a nice time. We don't consider it a "time away from parks" situation - we are just doing something else we enjoy on vacation.
~ Christine
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Originally Posted by Alpha Jeanie
In all the trips that we have made to Disney World, we have never made it to Downtown Disney. Is it worth taking time away from the parks to go to Downtown Disney? FYI: We have a 9 year old daughter & 15 year old son.
On our last trip, we finally made it to the Boardwalk to eat at Spoodles (before Koucina) and although we liked the restaurant we were not impressed with the Boardwalk in general.
What stores, restaurants, etc. do you think are not to miss at Downtown Disney?
It depends.
How long is your trip? If you are at WDW for, say, a week, then yes, take half a day and visit DTD. It's a nice way to get your Disney fix on a day when you're taking a break from the parks.
If you have a shorter vacation planned, I would skip it. DTD is really about shopping and dining. There are some great shops -- and I enjoy shopping (my husband will confirm that!) -- but for me, I get enough shopping in the parks. I would rather spend time in the parks (and so would my kids, especially my DD9).
It's an interesting area to visit, but just be aware it doesn't offer much past shopping and dining.
Kathy
Many trips from childhood to 2008, WDW/DLP
8/09: Ultimate Adventurer Trip, WL Concierge/AKL
6/10: POFQ
12/10: Mousefan Reunion (Pop)
8/11, 7/12: AKL Concierge
10/12: ICOT 15th solo trip (Pop)
4/13: Pop
7/13: Hilton Bonnet Creek
7/14: 3 nights at BLT
12/14: US, IOA, and WDW
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Definitely worth checking out at least once. See Cirque de Soleil and have dinner. Might be a good filler for an arrival day if you don't start using your park passes until the following day. A lot of it is shopping and commercial, but it still feels like youre in Disney.
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We also like to go on our arrival day since we arrive in the evening and don't want to pay for a park ticket.
We enjoy the shopping but also the atmosphere
DVC MEMBER since 2009
CS- Oct.2006 *Honeymoon*
ASM- Sept. 2009 BLT- Nov. 2010
WLV- Oct. 2012 SSR- July 2013
BLT- Jan. 2014 WLV- Nov. 2015
SSR- Mar. 2016 OKW- Oct. 2017
SSR- Apr. 2018 BC- May. 2018
BC- Aug. 2018 BLT Dec. 2018
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We also love to go a couple times a trip. We like to go and just wander around at a slow pace, it is a nice change from the go go go at the Parks.
Off Site-- All Star Movies-- Pop Century-- Coronado Springs-- Port Orleans French Quarter
Walt Disney-"Disneyland is a work of love. We didn't go into Disneyland just with the idea of making money."
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I enjoy DTD... but we would never skip park time to go. We usually go over in the evening for dinner (or after dinner) when we are done with the parks. Once we headed over on check out day and shopped for a couple hours before getting in the van for the long drive home.
We enjoy walking around and going into World of Disney-- biggest store on property. We have eaten dinner at Earl of Sandwich (very good) and ice cream at Ghiradelli's (expensive, but good)... as well as various pretzels and frozen lemonades.
One evening in June 2010, there was a live performer near the water...he was a riot and involved the whole audience. We hope something of this nature will be happening this June.
You can always take a bus to Port Orleans French Quarter or Riverside (connect at MK) and take the boat to DTD. It takes longer than a bus straight to DTD, but if you have an open evening it's a fun way to spend it.
1998 Caribbean Beach
2002, 2003 Off Property
2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 PO Riverside
2009 :(
2010, 2012, 2016 Polynesian
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I find that DTD is a nice break from the parks. We usually try to make it there a few times each trip. Different restaurants/food than you can get in the parks, different stores with different merchandise and a much more relaxed atmosphere. At night it can get pretty crowded, but during the morning/early afternoon its much more relaxed. I think its worth the trip over and take a look around. If its not for you, you can quickly hop on a bus and go somewhere else! Thats whats great about Disney, theres always a way to get to something else very quickly!
Caribbean Beach Resort (several times)
Wilderness Lodge-twice
Polynesian
Contemporary
Dixie Landings
Coronado Springs
Yacht Club
Beach Club
Pop Century
"You're dead if you aim only for kids. Adults are only kids grown up, anyway." ~~Walt Disney
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It has seemed such a hassle to get there. And DTD is always crazy busy.
Jack Sparrow: Hide the rum
91-98 Off property
ASMusic-99
POFQ-01 Wildfires
ASMovies-02,03
Pop-04 Hurricane Jeanne
Pop-05 Tropical Storm Arlene
Pop-09,10,11
Sports-12
Pop-15
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We go on arrival day, and sometimes after AK closes (since it closes earliest). We love it, and try to go two-three times per trip.
First visit: Feb. 1989
a bunch in between
Next visit: 6/16
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Yes...DTD is a good change of pace.
K. White
The magic is within all of us!
WDW Off Site 1978, 1981, 1986, 2005, 2006
Disneyland- 1980, 1984, 1987
WL- 6/2008
Coronado Springs- 6/2009
PO- Riverside- 6/2010
AS Music- Solo, 40th Birthday March 2014
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Originally Posted by jwallace378
DTD is great at night! The stores, restaurants, or just relaxing on a bench on the lake is a wonderful break after the theme parks.
I completely agree with this. The shops are great at night, and can be extremely relaxing for one night of your vacation!
19 Trips to WDW
Last Trip: August 10 BW
Next Trip: June 12 BW
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I do an adult trip every year and we spend at least one or two nights at DTD.
Fulton's for stone crabs with a cigar and mojito at Sosa's afterwards. Get a pint and the tunes at Raglan road.
The lego store is the bomb. Not a huge fan of trex or raniforest althought that might be a draw for your kids.
The shoping is far better than the resorts and you dont need a park ticket to get in.
If you have a travel day and dont want to use a park ticket this is the best "standby".
'76 offsite, '90 offsite, '03 Courtyard DTD, '04 offsite, '05 CBR, '05 POFQ solo, '06 Sports solo, '06 POFQ, '07 Pop, '09 offsite solo, '09 POFQ, '09 Music, '10 CS, '11 Pop, '12 Pop, '13 dolphin.
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I would try it once at least, plenty of great things to do and places to eat. It's usually our 1st stop after we get checked in.
16 trips to "The World"
Last trip - April 2018 - Polynesian
Next trip to WDW - December 2018 - Beach club
"Disneyworld will never be complete. It will continue to grow as long as there's imagination left in the world."
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