Downtown Disney with kids

[amy853]

Hey Guys!
20 days and counting, I'm so excited! I was wondering what people's experience is for things to do at DD with a 5 and 7 year old besides Disney Quest? Is it really all shopping and will they be bored out of their minds? We have Cirque tickets that night and wondered if there is enough to do there for a whole day? What do you guys think? Thanks for your help!

[Tink#64]

Oh my goodness, they will probably love DTD, mine have since that first trip when they were 4 & 6! The Christmas store is so neat, we always choose a new ornament & have it personalized. The Lego Store is always so much fun, with life size creations & plenty of lego on hand to spend a little down time creating something fun! The World of Disney is the most amazing store, my very favorite Disney store! Once Upon A Toy is really cool even if you're not a kid!

We always take a family photo in front of the characters in the holiday setting outside of the Christmas shop for our Christmas cards, and every trip I take a pic of my DS's in front of the Lego Loch Ness Monster in the lagoon, it's so neat to look at those over the years & see how they've grown!

There are so many neat shops, various "street entertainers", DTD is such a lively & fun place to spend a few hours. We usually average about 3 - 4 hours in DTD shopping & exploring. Dining is fun there too. Last year we ate at the T-Rex for the 1st time & loved that. Of course Planet Hollywood & Rainforest Cafe are cool too. But our new fave, for food, not atmosphere is Earl of Sandwich! Yummmy! Unless you're also doing DQ, I don't think DTD would keep you entertained more than a few hours. DQ is loads of fun, we spent something like 5 hours in there, we had a blast!

Wishing you a very magical trip! :tink:

[BrerGnat]

Lego store. Lego store. Lego store. There is a build and play area outside that is fun, and the models around the outside of the store are really cool! Lots of great photo ops there.

The Christmas shop is also a hit with most kids. I'd definitely take them there.

There is a small train that they might like riding (mine rode it when they were 4 and 5 and loved it).

There is also the Goofy's Candy Co. shop full of amazing treats that kids would love to try.

You can even rent small boats from the marina there and drive up the "river" to Port Orleans Resort. This is a very scenic and fun ride.

The T-Rex and Rainforest Cafe have some fun gift shops, and you can "build a dino" at T-Rex (similar to Build a Bear). If your kids are boys, they might enjoy the Ridemakerz inside the Team Disney store (this is its temporary location, until the full sized store opens on the West Side).

To be honest, Disney Quest might be over their heads a bit. My kids are 5 and 7 too, but I don't think they would enjoy DQ quite yet.

There is quite a bit to do in Downtown Disney. We plan to spend a day there on our upcoming trip, as we only have 4 park days to work with over a 6 day trip.

[Buttercup]

My kids just like shopping! The Lego store is a huge hit, but they also enjoy the pin trading store and the Christmas store, and of course, World of Disney! My kids are 4 & 7 and they each have a gift card from Santa each year that they can shop with, so they enjoy browsing and deciding how they're going to spend their money!
Top off the day with a big giant sundae at Ghiradellis!

[Mickey'sGirl]

My kids just like shopping! The Lego store is a huge hit, but they also enjoy the pin trading store and the Christmas store, and of course, World of Disney! My kids are 4 & 7 and they each have a gift card from Santa each year that they can shop with, so they enjoy browsing and deciding how they're going to spend their money!
Top off the day with a big giant sundae at Ghiradellis!
This is kind of how we spend our time at DTD. It is too hot and too busy for my kids to enjoy it, so we don't spend a ton of time there. We make the pilgramage to the LEGO store, and hit Ghiradelli's.