Disney's main strategy here is to appeal to locals looking to do something during the weekend, but not necessarily interested in going to the parks. You could easily spend a day at Disney Springs. I know I would be there every weekend if I lived nearby.
But - this is also huge for guests. There's no mall that I know of nearby, nor am I taking the trip to one. I know there's a Target, etc. but if you don't have a car, you need to Uber or grab a taxi - and I'm not going through that much work.
This past Christmas it was HOT. The weather forecast (literally up until we boarded to head to Disney) called for a few hot days to start the trip, then rain, then the temperature would "drop" into the 70s. Okay. I know packing for Disney during December requires a plethora or clothes. I pack t-shirts, shorts, jeans, long-sleeve shirts, hoodies, scarfs, gloves, etc. I pack for every season. So this year, I packed a good amount of t-shirts for the first few days, then a bunch of long-sleeve shirts and shorts.
Well, the rain never came and the heat never broke. I love Disney, but I rarely rock any Disney gear. If I'm gonna buy clothes, I'd like to to be something I wear. At Disney, I had a choice between buying a Mickey shirt, buying some surf t-shirt from Disney Springs or doing laundry. I did a lot of laundry. It's nice to know that if the weather is too hot (or too cold) I can run and grab a Lacoste polo or a sweatshirt from Columbia.