Is it worth going to DTD?

[MississippiDisneyFreak]

World of Disney and Days of Christmas are two of my favorite stores in all of DW. Plus Wolfgang Puck Express is our favorite CS. Having said that I don't think you need more than a couple of hours there. We don't even bother with Pleasure Island, we stay in Marketplace. We always go there our arrival day because we usually don't get in until 3pm or so and after driving all day we don't feel like going to the parks.

Oh yeah, I forgot about the Design a Tee store. We searched all over the parks for a Tigger t shirt for my DS's girlfriend last trip without any luck. We went into this store picked up an orange Tshirt (her favorite color) in her size, picked out a Tigger design and in a few minutes had the tshirt she requested.

[bostonchic13]

My family and I love DTD.We always go there the first day/night to have dinner(hopefully t-rex this time)and see/do a few things before we call it a night and head back to our room for a great start the next day

[Tink#64]

We almost always arrive in WDW midday, so our tradition is to head straight to DTD for some shopping & dinner & then back to our resort for some pool time before unpacking & settling in for our first full day & first park day. (I tried to change this up a bit one year & my family wouldn't een hear of it!) We've eaten at many of the restaurants there & enjoyed them all! Every trip we get a personalized Christmas tree ornament from the Christmas shop & take a photo of the fam with the character statues in winter scene just behind the store - great for our Christmas cards! We also have a tradition to take our boys photo in front of the LochNess Lego monster - amazing how much they've grown & changed in the 11 years since our first WDW trip! World of Disney is tops in my book for WDW shopping! We also enjoy so much of the live street entertainment at DTD! Our last few trips - we've found ourselves in DTD on several evenings just having fun & soaking up the atmosphere & entertainment when we need a break from the parks! Can't imagine DTD not being park of our WDW vacation experience! We truly enjoy it!

[DizNut42]

Back in the day we used to go to DTD every night after the parks for a few hours of fun at Disney Quest. We hadn't discovered the Adventurers Club yet. We had Ultimate Park Hopper passes back then that got us in everywhere (just like a PAP, but were length of stay).

Now we will go a couple of times during a trip. Gotta have a sandwich at Earl and and sundae at Ghirardelli's. Every now and then we will hit up DQ for some Buccaneer Gold.

[EeyoresBestFriend]

We love DTD and go at least a couple of times each trip. And no, none of us are fans of shopping.

Unlike a few others, I have found stuff in World of Disney that I have not found in the parks and in more variety of sizes.

LOVE:
World Of Disney
Ghirardhelli's
Art of Animation Gallery
Christmas Store
Raglan Road
Earls

And we also stay at FQ, which is a very beautiful and relaxing boat ride to DTD.

[GottaLvDisney]

We always like to go at least once and walk around, shop a little and grab something to eat. We usually save it for an evening when we don't have other plans since the parks close fairly early when we travel and we're not big on evening EMH with the little kids.

[DisneyDawgette]

Just came back from a quick trip to Orlando tonight, and I was very thankful we got to head over to DTD. Definitely a favorite of mine and DBF's. A great time to eat, shop, and relax.

[AvonleaCF]

I tend to go 3-4 times per trip. I just like to walk around, plus I usually use it to hop between resorts for ADRs. And I prefer to do all of my shopping all at once at DTD rather than in the parks.

I also like the Wolfgang Puck Express for a good CS meal.

I've stayed at POR twice and would take the boat nearly every every day. So pretty and relaxing.

[ckaranassos]

Last year we tried something new on our annual Disney trip. We decided to add two days to our trip and see Seaworld. We stayed at a Hilton close by Seaworld, but drove to DTD for dinner and shopping one of those nights. Then the next day headed to Disney and the Beach Club for our official stay. It was great doing it this way. We did not give up our "Disney Time" and got to see something new. This was our first time seeing DTD and had a great meal and fun shopping. Plan on doing something similiar this trip in August.

[mdricks]

If I'm with the family it's hard to get to WDW before noon and I flat refuse to buy a park ticket for 1/3 of a day. This gives the kids a chance to get some Diz for free, we get the souvenirs bought and out of the way. Also I have boys, Lego, nuff said.

On my adult only trips its an absolute must. Sosas for cigars and mojitos, Fulton's for stone crabs, rag road for music and car bombs! Always someone good playing at HoB (saw George Clinton last year for 13$!)

It's not splash mountain but it wouldn't be a trip to diz without it.

[dkmwong]

We usually arrive very early to WDW so we tend to make DTD our first stop. We enjoy going into the World of Disney, Art of Disney, and just browesing around. We then head to one of the parks for the rest of the day and have dinner.

[LudwigVonDrake]

Usually just a few hours to shop.

[disneymom2000]

Wow I am surprised at the responses. I love DTD. I try to get there each trip and how long I stay depends on how long my vacation is. Three days at Disney I don't get to get there but last trip I was there 10 days so I set a whole day aside. We made dinner ressies but left lunch open. Pleasantly surprised when we stumbled into T-Rex around lunchtime. Didn't even know it was there. Great food. I love to do Christmas shopping here and usually have all my packages delivered to my resort except for ornaments. I usually go early Oct or mid-Dec and weather is great for strolling. And who can resist a late dessert from Ghirardhelli's.

[Genie1953]

We always go the day we arrive and then head back to our resort to rest up so we can head out bright and early the next morning to the parks. We also go our last day there if we have a late flight out.

[mrte62]

The following list is the reasons it's worthwhile for me to go to Downtown Disney.

1. Raglan on Sunday nights for real live Irish music played by Johnny and Justin.




That's it.

I have and will drink to that.

[Dsnygirl]

It's a not-to-be-missed spot for us... we love the ambiance, the variety of stores, and the food! Can't miss WoD, LOVE that store (although my budget doesn't... ) Oh, and the strawberry margaritas on the boardwalk... and a ride up in the balloon, esp. at sunset, is a must!! Such a great, beautiful view! So yes, it's a must-do for us...

[thejens]

Nah. I can go to a mall anytime. I don't really understand the appeal. There is plenty of shopping opportunity as you exit most rides. We've been a few times. Did Rainforest Cafe. Ghiradelli's. Shopped. KIds used to like Lego store and build a car thing. I always wanted to go to Adventurer's club but never made it. But who needs more shopping? Yawn.

[DonaldDuckUSA]

I used to hate DTD for two reasons.

1. If I spend a lot of money on tickets, I want to get my ticket money's worth. I'd rather be in the parks.

2. It's all shops and some restaurants and I wasn't interested in spending EVEN MORE money. Not to mention I've never really been a fan of Disney merchandise and I thought the non-disney stuff was WAY overpriced.

Recently, however, we're on our second year of annual passes and we've done A LOT at the parks. We probably won't renew so we're trying to slow down and experience the things we never do.

Also, I have learned to really enjoy window shopping.

So these are things you might want to consider. If you only have three days for four theme parks (or something like that), my vote is no. Spend your time where you get the most bang for your buck.

If you're staying for like, a week, then I think it's probably a good way to spend a relaxing day just walkin' around. Seein' the sights, and such.

It's also a FAR less hectic way to spend an afternoon than in an hour and a half line for a ride. Not to mention all the shops have air conditioning, which allows you to escape the heat as you go.

[texas211]

We go to DTD on our AK day. Try to hit Trex and the xmas store. Disney quest is a flop and I don't understand going to disney to go to the movies, so we skip the theatre.

[Christine]

I think dtd is worth it. In the fall when the parks close early, it's a nice wrap to your day when you're not ready to go to bed yet.

I'm crossing my fingers that Disney Springs brings a new spin on dtd with even more to do.