D is for Downtown Disney
1. Downtown Disney is a free area of Walt Disney World anyone can go there at any time. It originally opened in 1975 under the name Lake Buena Vista shopping village. It was originally planned to be a shopping district for the residents within Disney World property. In 1977 as the space turned more towards hotel spaces it was re-imagined to be a shopping district for all Walt Disney world visitors and it was re-named Walt Disney World Village. In the 80′s Disney was looking for a way to compete with other areas and keep visitors on property longer. They announced Pleasure Island which would be highly themed with adult venues and nightlife. Pleasure Island opened in 1989 along with Disney’s Hollywood Studios the name was also changed to Disney Village Marketplace. In 1997 the Disney Village Marketplace was re-named to Downtown Disney Marketplace as Disney planned to merge pleasure island and the marketplace into one unit. A few days after the naming in September of 1997 Downtown Disney Westside opened as the third shopping and entertainment district, it housed the Cirque Du Soleil La Nouba show and Disney Quest disney’s indoor interactive theme park. Downtown Disney is still going through a lot of changes as they plan to upgrade pleasure island and are still adding stores and restaurants. This fall Downtown Disney will add Splitsville, a state of the art bowling alley which will provide more entertainment options for the Disney visitor.
2. I first experiences Downtown Disney when I went there in 2010. It was pretty amazing to be in a place where people just came and went freely to visit shops, restaurants, pubs and a movie theater. I got to see the Cirque Du Soleil La Nobua show and while it is not my favorite Cirque show (that would be Ovo so far) it was definitely worth seeing. My favorite shop is at Downtown Disney, D Street. This is the place I go to shop for vinylmations (which will be coming up at the end of the month for the letter V). I always really enjoy hanging out here and eating. Here is a list of my favorite spots:
- Rainforest Cafe
- T-Rex Cafe
- Fulton’s Crab House
- World of Disney (largest disney store)
- D-Street
- Earl of Sandwich
- Ghiradelli’s soda fountain and chocolate shop
- Lego Imagination Center
- Disney’s Pin Traders
- The art of Disney
About The Author
Teresa is a life long Fangirl. Her fandom has grown over the past few years and she has found her outlet through geek blogging and podcasting. She is the creator of Fangirl Next Door and contributes to a number of Geek websites. She is most looking forward to the new Star Wars movies!5 Comments
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A to Z Challenge 2013 Participant
We ate at the Irish restaurant at Downtown Disney recently and they had the best salmon I have ever eaten in my life.
I go back there just for that.
I am trying to read all the A to Z blogs, but coming back to the ones I really like.
Looking forward to seeing what you do all month!
Tim
The Other Side
The Freedom of Nonbelief
They changed the theme several times. And it’s been years since I’ve even seen a Rainforest Cafe.
We love this A to Z challenge! The balloon at Downtown Disney is beautiful. Can’t wait to see what else you post for the challenge!
Wow-I didn’t even know about Downtown Disney. It’s an amazing place with so much to do and a nice variety of things,too.
I like your pictures,and your favorite place looks beautiful!
Yeah the Rainforest Cafe was great…the whole downtown was great. Going back at night to see the Cirque show La Nouba and then walking through the lighted street was just a real good time. The big Virgin store…good times.