I don't live in Florida, but my brothers do. So when I visited for a job interview at a school, we decided to spend a fun day at Disney Springs! What I love most about Disney Springs (nee Downtown Disney) is the park-like experience for zero admission fees. There is, of course, a huge difference between the Springs and a park (rides, character meet and greets, parades), but you do get the Disney atmosphere, park-exclusive merchandise and food, access to the Disney park buses (to watch fireworks for free from just outside the entrance to Magic Kingdom) and unique experiences. We had a great time hanging out, and here are some highlights!
First of all, to get to Disney Springs, you have to drive through the gates to the kingdom:
...which I'm pretty sure means you've entered the happiest place on earth. So things are already looking up.
Since my visit last month, they have
opened up a new shopping area, Town Center, with stores like Alex + Ani, Zara, and Sprinkles. Actually it all opened today, May 15! So I'll be covering all the things that have made Disney Springs magical before the newest additions!
I love that Disney Springs has Disney parks merchandise at World of Disney (the old NYC store on 5th ave was a park store so they had park merch too. When they closed that location to open in Times Square, they became The Disney Store, meaning they had Disney Store products--not Disney parks products! Meaning no pins, antenna toppers, and other cute park things.), but I was excited to find that they also have exclusive Springs merch:
Of course this may be the only thing that is specific to Disney Springs (it may also be available elsewhere, but really--why?) but it's fun and cute! It's a glass bottle really playing up the idea that Disney Springs is an old-timey Florida spring water district. I guess there's not a lot you can do with that. The bottles don't come with corks or tops, so I imagine this is just for show, or for immediate serving!
Of course this may be the only thing that is specific to Disney Springs (it may also be available elsewhere, but really--why?) but it's fun and cute! It's a glass bottle really playing up the idea that Disney Springs is an old-timey Florida spring water district. I guess there's not a lot you can do with that. The bottles don't come with corks or tops, so I imagine this is just for show, or for immediate serving!
There is also the Characters in Flight balloon which lets you ride up into the sky and from which, I hear, you can see the surrounding parks (at least Epcot's Spaceship Earth). It's been too windy my last 2 trips (ughh) so I haven't been able to go up, but I am dying to!!
As for the park-exclusive food, there are 3 food trucks stationed towards the La Nouba/House of Blues side of the Springs near Starbucks that have samples of meals from Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, and Epcot's Food & Wine Festival!
Of course none of these trucks had opened yet--we were there pretty early! I thought this logo was pretty cool:
They also have other park favorites:
We stopped at Joffrey's Coffee (mostly because they had a sign advertising their alcohol-infused beverages) where I got a frozen chai tea with Kahlua! I was excited to get my first cup with this adorable Disney design:
It was particularly refreshing on this particularly hot day! Oh, there's that springs mineral water bottle again on an old-timey painted sign:
The Lego store is always one of my favorites! I was looking for the Lego Disney minifigures but they hadn't yet been released. I saw from Disney Springs' latest instagram post that they are currently stocked (I got mine at Barnes & Noble)! I don't usually go into the store but I love the sculptures all around the shop:
World of Disney is my favorite shop in the Springs (followed by Basin, but more on that later)!
Hi, Disney. It's me, Elyse. I'd like one of each pair of these socks in adult size.
Lots of fun photo ops available (my brothers did me the favor of trying these bows on):
Poor Dug in the Cone of Shame:
Make sure you look up--they have gorgeous ceiling paintings!
Lumiere really lights up on all three candle spots. I'm going to buy him when I get my own apartment:
Next to World of Disney is the Ghirardelli chocolate shop:
Looks even better at night!
They always offer you a free sample as you walk in (David has shown me the "repeat offender" technique). This time they were handing out a new flavor, blueberry. It was very pretty, but a strange taste pairing!
In February it was a little chilly, so David and I got the "drinking chocolate," which was a cup full of melted chocolate drops!! Amazingly delicious, but you need to get the smallest cup and not drink the whole thing like we did.
Rich, delicious, stomach-ache-inducing.
Just out the window from Ghirardelli was the volcano from the Rainforest Cafe which I had never seen erupt, so that was pretty cool:
And just next to this area is Basin, a bath store that sells bath bombs, themed soaps, bath salts, shampoo and conditioner bars, and other body products. I fell in love with them on my February visit when I bought a couple Mickey confetti bath bombs. It really is like a special event when you pop one of those in your tub! Here are a couple of the fun soaps:
An appropriately-placed Mickey fountain:
Another favorite up there with World of Disney is Goofy's Candy Company!
This sign is made of jellybeans
Look how cute and Florida-relevant these chocolate mini crocodiles are!
The Good Dinosaur pops:
David and I had too much fun (if there is such a thing) in front of the fun-house mirror...
The details are everywhere in Disney--I especially liked this bench near the Christmas shop:
We were looking to eat at Fulton's Crab House where we ate last time:
but it was under construction so we pardoned their pixie dust and ate at Portobello instead. Good food at a reasonable price, and they give you the choice of olive oil OR butter with your bread (I said if they were so fancy they shouldn't even give us the option. Just bring both over and make us feel spoiled)!
We also absolutely love Jock Lindsey's Hangar Bar:
My Reggie's Revenge came with this snake wrapped around an oar--I love drinks that come with souvenirs!
Between the Hangar Bar and the Boathouse, you can get a ride on an amphibious vehicle:
To me, the cars always look like they're going to sink, but that's just their "style!"
For the gamers out there, there is DisneyQuest, a big arcade that I heard once was "hosted" by Genie from Aladdin (not sure where I heard it so don't take my word for it, but he was the featured character). It's really a big mystery to me because I've never gone in--you have to pay a pretty hefty price for a ticket (about $48), but it sounds cool! This is just inside the entrance (before they take your ticket), and it looks pretty majestic!
They have free Frogger and Donkey Kong Jr. for us cheapskates:
Of course there's always more... Cirque du Soleil's La Nouba is an amazing show (I saw it back in 2008) which has just announced a couple new acts this year! I found a stall that takes requests for custom paintings on Tom's shoes while you wait. There's also a shoe store that carries special running shoes as well as Disney designs:
And the running store carries shirts that aren't necessarily Disney but say things like "Look Like a Beauty, Run Like a Beast." The Starbucks features "Starbucks Evenings," which pair wine and craft beers with small plates of culinary delight!
A pretty mobile hanging from the ceiling in Starbucks
In summation... there is always so much to do at Disney Springs, and they are only adding more.
