Is Disney Springs a waste of time ?

[eco-muse]

It's good if you want to do some shopping or have dining reservations. Beyond that, I think time could be better spent at the parks or resorts.

 

[dizneefan13]

We went to Disney Springs on our departure day a couple trips ago and neither of us was impressed. Just felt like a huge money suck, which of course is what Disney is. But at least in the Parks you have rides, attractions, shows, etc.
We haven't been back. There is plenty of food and shopping in the parks, but we're not big eaters and I hate shopping and spending money on souvenirs. Yep, I'm very frugal, no, make that cheap.
Don't waste your time going there if you have doubts.

 

[firefly_ris]

I am not a shopper and I do not spend full days there or plan out a specific time to go there, but that said if we arrive to WDW in the afternoon/evening we do tend to head over to Springs to see what's available for dinner and to just walk around, then head back to the room for an early start at the parks the next day.

Some things I like personally there:

- The Lego Store - my kids and husband are both big Lego fans.
- Food -- there's nothing wrong with the food in the parks, but if I'm doing an overall, generalized comparison there is better food at DS.
- The rooftop bar at the Coke place, with some interesting drink concoctions.
- I have enjoyed the show at Raglan Road.

Things there that I haven't personally tried but could be good depending on interests:

- Splitsville, if you need a low key night away from the parks but still want to do an activity, can bowl here, and I hear their sushi is very good.
- The Void VR Experience is there
- The amphicars, but I think they are $$
- The hot air balloon

Thing that I am not into:
- Shopping -- a lot of expensive stuff to be had here if you're into it, but I'm just not. I'm a "go to the store for this specific list of items that is on sale and then leave" type person, but if you are into jewelry, handbags, clothing etc. it seems like they have a lot of different stores for that. I also previously enjoyed the World of Disney store, but I'm not a huge fan anymore.

In the future there will be a few more activity/entertainment features once The NBA Experience opens and Circqe du Soleil reopens with a new show.

All that said it used to be a more "Disneyfied" experience when it was still called DTD and Pleasure Island existed.

 

[MainMom]

I liked it better when it was downtown Disney. We tried it last year and are skipping it this year.

 

[chapie1968]

We used to spend our last night or day at Downtown Disney every trip. Now it is nothing but a high priced outdoor mall you can find anywhere in the USA, but you have to deal with crazy traffic and parking issues.

PASS.

Disney really dropped the ball on this one and ruined a nice little area. Feels NOTHING like Disney to us.

 

[Bellex917]

We went this past week and didn't enjoy it, but that's bc we had a 3 yr old and a 7 yr old, so we weren't enjoying shopping (they just want something everywhere lol) or doing any of the special stuff there. I'm glad we went to see it, and I think we'd enjoy it more alone or when the kids are older. There's great restaurants there though so I'd def go back for dinner or something one night, but for us it's not worth losing park time for it.

 

[Elephantay]

We actually enjoyed our time here last trip, but we didn't stay long. We had dinner at Planet Hollywood ( had never been), then walked around a bit listening to music, got an ice cream, took the boat from one part to another. It was a fun night, but we aren't in a rush to go back and will skip it this time. We had stayed at B and B for a night- the bus back was non existent and after many phone calls it finally showed up- after waiting for over 90 minutes. That was a nightmare!

 

[Tink_83]

We normally do it on either arrival or departure day. We don’t do much shopping at the parks so we use these days to shop for souvenirs. This trip we are staying at POR so we booked dinner for that night at T-Rex for the kids. I think it will be fun to have the ferry ride over and to eat dinner and not have to worry about driving back (ie mommy can have an extra drink!). We will probably also hit it on the drive out, but we drive so it’s not that hard to stop by for a couple of hours of shopping that we didn’t want to do in the parks. If I wasn’t staying at a resort with the ferry ride over - or had a car, I most likely wouldn’t go though - in favor of other things to do. Unless I had a resort day planned and they had a dining option I really wanted.

 

[NickC]

It's a nice place for non-park days. If we go to WDW for 10 days, it's nice to have a break day where we skip the parks. The food is good, there is live music all over the place, plus The Void is cool and there are some fun stores.

 

[MsOnceUponATime]

I would never go to Disney Springs if I had park tickets. Disney Springs, for me, would be a place to go if I didn't have park tickets or if the parks were closed once I got to Disney. You can find a lot of the stores elsewhere in the US. It's essentially a huge outdoor shopping center - just Disney'fied!

 

[Maggie Gallagher]

I’m planning a trip to WDW now with a 10 & 5 year old. Why would I go out of my way to visit Disney Springs ? This just takes time away from the parks. There are plenty of food and shopping options at the parks and resorts. I’ve been to Disneyland and at least Downtown Disney is on your way into the park. If you use the parking garage or stay on property. Disney Springs just seems so out of the way? Am I wrong ? I don’t have my flight yet and we’re going in December so if it’s a mid day arrival maybe we could go there and see the trees and eat and shop, but with younger kids they would probably want to head into a park.
Thanks for any help planning.

My family considers it a waste of time. If it were set up like Downtown Disney in Disneyland and you could visit on the way to or from the parks, it would be very convenient.

 

[Summer2018]

It's 24 minutes by bus from Polynesian Village Resort to Disney Springs. There are enough restaurants and stores that we like that are a lot more convenient for us.

When we stayed at the Disneyland Hotel, we were in Downtown Disney every single day, sometimes multiple times a day because it was steps away from our hotel and the parks. It couldn't be more convenient.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Not happy spending my vacation time at a mall so we avoid DS.

 

[trubgerg]

If I was on a short stay at Disney World, I wouldn't attempt to squeeze in a Disney Springs visit. Clearly each park is a better experience; it's not a matter of Disney Springs vs. a park. But on a longer trip my family enjoys going there on a day when we're not visiting a park or when we're exhausted and want to leave the parks early to mid afternoon. (FYI, I'm the "kid" at 41 years old, so we don't have to deal with cranky children... except for my father sometimes.)

The World of Disney store is fun just for just looking at stuff even if you don't want to buy anything. Then there's the free chocolate square from Ghirardelli, and at Christmas time they have the Christmas trees set up, plus the hot air balloon and the amphibious cars if you still want to do a ride, and live music sometimes. One time we took a boat from one end back to the other because we were feeling too lazy to walk back to where we parked. I think saying "it's just a mall" is not quite accurate.

 

[marcyleecorgan]

Yeah we weren't incredibly impressed with our visit. But it took up time like it needed to!

 

[Breezy2]

Total waste of time unless you are a shopper that likes to visit the same old boring stores that are in every larger scale city area mall. By previous posts you'll notice most people are still only buying and shopping at the old original Downtown Disney Stores which still have nice touristy Disney items. So they are still worth the visit. You'll notice shoppers carrying "Disney" bags but almost non-existent shopping bags from the perceived "over priced, Disney priced" upscale stores. It's cheaper to go to the same outlet stores right up the road from Disney if it's shopping you are looking for. The only saving grace for kids is the movie theatre which was part of old Downtown Disney. Totally boring for kids.

 

[Ryan Massad]

It's fun, but it's very crowded and very difficult to get out of!

 

[BritneyC]

No! if you dont want to go to a park one day this is a great place to go in the evening. It is definitely not an all day things but there are some fun things to do and great food!

 

[Farro]

Going there instead of park? No, I wouldn't do that.

But if you've got the time, we like it! It's actually quite pretty, especially at night. Music, food, cocktails - great way to spend an afternoon, evening or later night. Great variety of restaurants.

 

[Margie Rose]

We always go to Disney Springs on our arrival day. We fly in from Canada, so we're tired and not fit for the parks. My kids always loved going for supper at Giradelli's - the only time they were ever allowed to have dessert for supper! They also really enjoyed the Lego store and Once Upon a Toy. There is such a relaxed atmosphere at DS. I should note that we usually stay at Port Orleans Riverside, so we travelled by boat, which we always enjoyed.