Is Downtown Disney worth taking time from the parks:

[Alpha Jeanie]

In all the trips that we have made to Disney World, we have never made it to Downtown Disney. Is it worth taking time away from the parks to go to Downtown Disney? FYI: We have a 9 year old daughter & 15 year old son.

On our last trip, we finally made it to the Boardwalk to eat at Spoodles (before Koucina) and although we liked the restaurant we were not impressed with the Boardwalk in general.

What stores, restaurants, etc. do you think are not to miss at Downtown Disney?

[Celakip]

Your kids will love Disney Quest. It's full of video games, virtual reality games, and even a giant pinball machine. It's very loud, so it gets old for the adults after a while, but the kids will love it!

[Strmchsr]

The Christmas Store, Lego Store, sports store, toy store, Art of Disney and many more are worth the trip to DTD. The Lego Store itself is worth the trip. You should do it at least once and then judge for yourself if you want to do it again. We usually spend one morning there each trip.

[Zippy 1]

We love Downtown Disney!! We go there every night after the parks close. Lots of shops, some great art to look at and a fun place for a snack. We actually did lunch there on our last trip/ We went to Planet Hollywood and had a great meal along with some terrific memorabila from the movies

[CleveSJM]

Downtown Disney is great for shopping on the last night in town. If you get all your shopping done at the resort or parks, DTD is pretty optional.

It does have a Gharadelli chocolate store and ice cream shop. Wolfgang Puck express has awesome pizza. There is a big House of Blues, Rainforest Cafe and T-Rex Cafe that are interesting.

[Alaska Disney Fan]

We love going down to DDT, we will even take a break from the parks and head down for lunch at one of the many places. DisneyQuest is great for the kids, I'm sure they would enjoy the Lego shop too. There is so much more going on, than at the Boardwalk. Ridemakerz where they can build a RC car from scratch, Characters in flight - a tethered hot air balllon right, best taken at night.

[2Epcot]

I enjoy Downtown Disney. We usually go at least once or twice during every visit, and it doesn't take time away from the parks. Often we go on arrival day evening depending on when we get in to Orlando. Depending on the time of year, we will also go after the parks have closed.

[Tink#64]

We love DTD! It's our arrival day tradition! We've been heading there after checking in at our resort since our 1st trip when DS's were 4 & 6, they're now 14 & 16 & still enjoy it. In fact one year I tried to schedule DTD later in our trip & DH & DS's balked! World of Disney store is our fav, but the Christmas Store would be a close 2nd for me, every trip we get a personalized Christmas ornament! When DS's were younger the Lego store was an absolute must & Disney Quest is a blast! But we did it on a seperate trip to DTD, we went one morning at opening & spent 6 fun packed hours there! We enjoy DTD so much, we now head back there a few evening after the parks!

We've enjoyed eating many places in DTD, but our last trip we got to experience T-Rex & Earl of Sandwhich for the 1st time & REALLY enjoyed them both!

We always enjoy The Boardwalk, but it doesn't compare to DTD! So many more shops, restaurants, and last year we experienced more live "street performers" there than ever before! For us a trip to WDW wouldn't be complete without visiting DTD!

[Tinker Fan]

We could not visit WDW without going to Downtown Disney. We go at least 3 times a trip, it's a great break from the parks. Some of our greatest memories are in Downtown Disney.

[minnie04]

Your kids will love Disney Quest. It's full of video games, virtual reality games, and even a giant pinball machine. It's very loud, so it gets old for the adults after a while, but the kids will love it!

We have been once and that was enough for us, but it is a good place when it’s raining and you want to get out...

We always take a trip to Downtown Disney every time we go to Orlando. I love walking the shops and hanging out. It’s nice to do at night. Kids like it. We always buy the few things we want at the World of Disney store it always has plenty of good stuff. I don’t buy in the parks I hate carrying bags all day or when we are trying to leave those stores on Main Street get so crowded. I do look around but I save the buying for Downtown...

I love the Xmas store
DD loves everything
DS16 loves the sports store
DS8 loves the candy store
DH loves when its time to go ...lol.. he's not a shopper

[Sylvia]

Others have already mentioned them, but I cast my votes for Earl of Sandwich, World of Disney (AP discount), Lego store, Once Upon a Toy, etc., etc., etc.

I usually head over to DD at least 3 times every trip.

[Mousemates]

we like to use it as a break from the parks...and typically sandwich a day there in the middle of our trip...like so many others our trip includes a visit to the earl of sandwich...our other personal fave is the Christmas store. We also tend to hit the big AMC theatre if something new has been released.

[DisneyDog]

We are arriving in the late afternoon next Wednesday. We will be checking in to our hotel and going straight to DTD. We love the shops, and we have dinner reservations at Raglan Rd. We never miss DTD on our trips. It is a must see.

[kemps@wdw]

our game plan is always to arrive @ WDW around 5-7 pm (if we drive), spend our 1st night in the DTD area. Our stops...World of Disney, House of Blues, Ghiradelli's, and just kinda stroll around and gearing up for for the wonderful week ahead! There are some great places to eat for the kids. Planet Hollywood, Earl of Sandwich, Rainforest Cafe, make-your-own-tee shop, the Lego displays alone are awesome, and one could spend DAYS in the World of Disney store and the Team Disney sports store!

[TikiGoddess]

In all the trips that we have made to Disney World, we have never made it to Downtown Disney. Is it worth taking time away from the parks to go to Downtown Disney? FYI: We have a 9 year old daughter & 15 year old son.

On our last trip, we finally made it to the Boardwalk to eat at Spoodles (before Koucina) and although we liked the restaurant we were not impressed with the Boardwalk in general.

What stores, restaurants, etc. do you think are not to miss at Downtown Disney?

It depends.

How long is your trip? If you are at WDW for, say, a week, then yes, take half a day and visit DTD. It's a nice way to get your Disney fix on a day when you're taking a break from the parks.

If you have a shorter vacation planned, I would skip it. DTD is really about shopping and dining. There are some great shops -- and I enjoy shopping (my husband will confirm that!) -- but for me, I get enough shopping in the parks. I would rather spend time in the parks (and so would my kids, especially my DD9).

It's an interesting area to visit, but just be aware it doesn't offer much past shopping and dining.

Kathy

[ANG]

We also like to go on our arrival day since we arrive in the evening and don't want to pay for a park ticket.

We enjoy the shopping but also the atmosphere

[caryrae]

We also love to go a couple times a trip. We like to go and just wander around at a slow pace, it is a nice change from the go go go at the Parks.

[finaldynasty]

Yes...DTD is a good change of pace.

[riley1129]

I believe so. Sometimes you need to get out of the hustle and bustle of the parks and see DTD. I think it is an awesome place.. especially at night. Im not a fan of DTD during the day because it is WAY TOO HOT!! But at night time its perfect and so many fun things are going on.

[ryca1dreams]

I'm going to be the party-pooper here. I don't care for DTD. I have restaurants and shops here in our area with the same kind of stuff. To me it is a waste of time unless you just want to get away from the parks.

There are two things there I liked:

1 - Disney Quest is pretty fun for about a half day. We've been there several times and it was worth it

2 - The Adventurers Club is gone, which was pretty cool.

Look at the different clubs/shops/restaurants that are there and see if it's a draw for you.