Downtown Disney changes?

[cy1229]

Interesting. I know DTD has been struggling a tad, but not sure this is entirely necessary.

http://parkrumors.com/major-facelift-fo ... own-disney

[TikiTikiRoom]

i like this idea WAY more. And hey look! Another Starbucks!

[Wizzard419]

Just curious, what is the percentage of vacant/disney owned shops in DTD? At DLR, the number has been slowly rising since stores have closed and no one wants to take their spots.

[cy1229]

Just curious, what is the percentage of vacant/disney owned shops in DTD? At DLR, the number has been slowly rising since stores have closed and no one wants to take their spots.

Someone else will have the number... but I do know that we really only go to World of Disney, the candy store, the Christmas store, store and the Lego store. Only 1/4 of those isn't Disney.

[Wizzard419]

I think the lego store is partially run by disney considering (at least at DLR) the amount of leeway they seem to have with their space and also now it has Disney figures built for it.

[cy1229]

Yeah I'm sure they have at least partial interest financially, as well as exactly what is built.

[Wizzard419]

I imagine they are very strict on what can and cannot happen in the establishments in DTD, which is actually somewhat hillarious when you realize that disney is less strict than the major landowner in OC (The Irvine Company, which hates dancing, drinking, fun, etc. but wants bars and clubs to operate in OC).

[Soarin08]

I think this would be a great overhaul. DTD suffers especially from poor parking facilities and fixing that alone is a bonus.

Plus park support is rumored to be having turnstiles initiated at certain points. Not for ticketing but rather for security and counts since getting crowd levels at DTD is virtually impossible.

[Len90]

I for one seem a bit skeptical about this whole rebranding of DTD. I agree the area needs a facelift but something like this may be too much. Breaking up all the parking lots to build new wings and a parking garage is definitely going to cause some problems with traffic. I do think more parking is needed by the marketplace but the new buildings don't really make sense to a place that is filled with vacancies. Lots of speculation and I do think the final plans will be somewhat or even drastically different.

The biggest pros to come out of this IMHO are more parking spaces and better lots and new bus facilities. That may lead to better bus transportation from the resorts.

[mindflipper]

Yeh, you can file these changes with the Hyperion Wharf renovation plan (and that wasn't too long ago)...

[Wizzard419]

I wonder if malls in vacation destination settings still have the appeal they had 15 years ago? Outside of possibly super high end luxury goods (which are more suited as impluse buys for a gambling destination) there is nothing really attractive any of the DTDs.

Even to a person in a more remote place, the stores are not even that unique now that they can simply buy the products online without having to travel several hundred or even thousands of miles.

[theBIGyowski]

the only draw any mall would have in a place like Orlando would be an affordable dining alternative...that's about all I can come up with though

[cy1229]

the only draw any mall would have in a place like Orlando would be an affordable dining alternative...that's about all I can come up with though

When I took the girls to WDW in 2008, my younger one, then 9 years old, forgot to pack her swim suit. (I don't know how on earth she managed to forget so pivotal a piece of clothing!!!) We went to DTD in search of a new one, as all of the ones available at the Pop Century gift shop were either too small and too little girl (think princess with a ruffle) or too big for her. There was one shop, a surf shop, that had a few suits, and we managed to find ONE suit that wasn't a bikini - two pieces, but the top came down to her waist. Anyway, it was $80!!!! So a mall that I could have gotten to decently easily might have been welcome in that situation. We didn't rent a car that vacation, so I would have had to take a cab to a shopping center in Orlando or Kissimmee, which would have probably amounted to almost $80 by the time I was done.

[theBIGyowski]

the only draw any mall would have in a place like Orlando would be an affordable dining alternative...that's about all I can come up with though

When I took the girls to WDW in 2008, my younger one, then 9 years old, forgot to pack her swim suit. (I don't know how on earth she managed to forget so pivotal a piece of clothing!!!) We went to DTD in search of a new one, as all of the ones available at the Pop Century gift shop were either too small and too little girl (think princess with a ruffle) or too big for her. There was one shop, a surf shop, that had a few suits, and we managed to find ONE suit that wasn't a bikini - two pieces, but the top came down to her waist. Anyway, it was $80!!!! So a mall that I could have gotten to decently easily might have been welcome in that situation. We didn't rent a car that vacation, so I would have had to take a cab to a shopping center in Orlando or Kissimmee, which would have probably amounted to almost $80 by the time I was done.

I assume most people would probably opt for Walmart today for things like this.

[cy1229]

the only draw any mall would have in a place like Orlando would be an affordable dining alternative...that's about all I can come up with though

When I took the girls to WDW in 2008, my younger one, then 9 years old, forgot to pack her swim suit. (I don't know how on earth she managed to forget so pivotal a piece of clothing!!!) We went to DTD in search of a new one, as all of the ones available at the Pop Century gift shop were either too small and too little girl (think princess with a ruffle) or too big for her. There was one shop, a surf shop, that had a few suits, and we managed to find ONE suit that wasn't a bikini - two pieces, but the top came down to her waist. Anyway, it was $80!!!! So a mall that I could have gotten to decently easily might have been welcome in that situation. We didn't rent a car that vacation, so I would have had to take a cab to a shopping center in Orlando or Kissimmee, which would have probably amounted to almost $80 by the time I was done.

I assume most people would probably opt for Walmart today for things like this.

If I had known how to get there, trust me, that's what I would have done.