Is Disney Springs worth it?

[pineapplepalms]

We love DS and always arrange our trips so we have at least an afternoon there. Lots of great food options (Homecomin' is a favorite) and we also enjoy the ambience, live music, and shops. We don't have much time at home for a leisurely afternoon of eating and shopping, so we enjoy spending some of our vacation time doing that. We go to WDW often enough that we don't feel like we're missing out on park time; instead, it's all part of the vacation experience. If you'd rather be going on rides or at the pool and don't care for the restaurants and shops, it probably won't offer as much appeal.

 

[nesser1981]

Our kids loved the Lego Store, and we did the World of Disney, Christmas store, it was a non park day for us and we usually go every visit. I love it, but it was so much busier this time than previous visits.

 

[blueferral]

We go to the spring on our non park day to have silhouettes of the kids made. Don't want to have it done when in the park. Amazing seeing the changes as they age.

 

[apple9117]

Disney Springs is a fun experience. Has outdoor entertainment, plenty of stores and food choices. If you've never been, I highly recommend going at least once!

 

[MikeNamez]

Disney Springs is a must stop every night I'm in WDW. Sometimes I don't even get there until 10-11 at night but its worth it. I barely shop but great food and boose along the way.

 

[MinnieUK]

I think depending on where you are from and what restaurants/stores are near you, it is worth walking around on a non-park day or as op was thinking, after a park day. My daughter is 10 and loves Sprinkles. We all love Blaze, which is a tasty, fresh, lunch or dinner at a reasonable price. The kids always love a walk through the Lego store, and we discovered the UNIQLO last visit this past October which was fun and we found much needed and practical hoodies. We really want to check out the patisserie this coming visit, though my daughter is still planning a cupcake from Sprinkles too. Anyways, even if you aren't a big shopper, it is nice to walk around and see and experience some nice shops and get some different eats than park food, in a really nice atmosphere.

 

[ZoZo]

I tried to talk DD out of going to Disney Springs just to eat at the Ghirardellis shop, but she's insistent on going there so she can take a picture of the brownie sundae and send it to her dad, rubbing it in that she gets one and he doesn't. I think we'll go there in the afternoon when we're done at one of the parks. Maybe spend an hour or 2 and then be done.

Sounds like a good plan. FYI, the brownie sundae is really, really good!

 

[AZMermaid]

For us, no. I do like The Disney specific stores, but it’s just too big now. We have all (most) of the non Disney stores in our hometown- many in the outdoor shopping center two miles away. We have a Sprinkles and a Blaze and an AMC with reserved seats within 10 minutes from our house. To be fair, we don’t have a Ghiradelli

 

[mastermind307]

Sounds like a good plan. FYI, the brownie sundae is really, really good!

The brownie sundae is one of their favorites, that's why she wants to go and get one and send him a pic of it. Just to rub it in that she gets one and he doesn't.

 

[Court7321]

If you don't really have the extra time, I would skip it. It is mostly shops and restaurants, although they have a few other touristy-type things to do. We always go there on the day we arrive (Sat) because we don't want to waste a park ticket by just going to the park for a few hours on Saturday evening. We also usually stay at one of the Port Orleans resorts, so taking the boat over is part of the experience for us. After 16 hours of driving, it is a nice way for us to ease into our week. We always make a reservation at one of the restaurants, and then just browse around, take pics in the Lego store, etc., then take the boat back and get rested up for the next morning!

 

[piratepride]

Breakfast at Wolfgang Puck Express is great! Check out the HUGE Disney Store and be sure to stop by Ghirardelli's for your free chocolate sample! My daughter love to shop here. Many stores that we do not have locally like Lush, etc.

 

[Estella]

We missed visiting DS when it was first renovated - too busy in the parks. Our next trip, we went to DS specifically to do a little shopping and eat at Homecomin'. We enjoyed our time there, took some nice pictures, ate some yummy food and enjoyed a little down time. I probably wouldn't go back on my next trip, but it was nice to experience.

 

[DomesticPrincess]

I saw a video of things to do in Disney Springs that were free or inexpensive. I can't find it now but off the top of my head there is a free boat you can ride across the lagoon, there was a shop that gave small free samples of chocolate, another had a flashy crystal castle and shiny Darth Vader to see, and at yet another there was a bit of an art gallery set up. The Coca-cola store has a rooftop bar that sells international Coke brand products for what looked to be fairly reasonable prices and sometimes there is a Coke Bear character meet and greet. There was a tethered balloon ride that was pretty reasonable as compares to balloon rides in my area at any rate. After that it was all places to eat. The only ones that stood out to me were the Raglan Road Irish pub which had live music which we really enjoy and the bar with all the Indiana Jones movie props. I'm kind of hopeful we can manage to hang out for an evening there while we're in Orlando. Maybe we'll be done in time the day we go to see NASA.

 

[Thrillhouse]

We like taking a trip to Disney Springs on arrival and/or departure days, since they are half-day non-park days for us. We check into the hotel in the afternoon and then spend part of the evening at Disney Springs grabbing dinner, ice cream, Lego store, etc. Kids have a good time and it gets us warmed up for Disney. All of our other days are park days for us, and I wouldn't leave the park to go to DS. Sometimes we'll hit Disney Springs again if we have time before departing, although the last 3 trips we've driven, so we usually just hit the road early.

With that said, DS is also an option if you are night owls and want something to do after the parks close. When I went to WDW for the first time, we were early 20's with no kids, so we left the parks at 9pm and wanted something else to do later into the night.

 

[mastermind307]

I bought a coupon on Groupon for the characters in flight balloon so we can do that and eat at Ghirardellis. Where is the Coca-Cola store? Anybody know what days and times the Coke bear is there for the meet and greet?

 

[MudQueen22]

I didn't care for it. I recall wishing we could have just hung out at the resort rather than wasting time there on our last trip.
Other than the T-Rex restaurant, we enjoyed the resort pools and common areas so much more.

 

[SL6827]

I am planning to go to Disney Springs next month on our departure day. Wanting to arrive there around 9:30 in the morning, on a Thursday, and finish up what shopping we want to do within hopefully 2-3 hours. Then have lunch around 12:30 at Blaze Pizza and then head home. I am hoping that since we will be there on a weekday it won't be too crowded during the morning hours. I don't really like wasting my time at Disney Springs if we are doing a shorter trip, like we are next month, so visiting on our departure day seems like the most efficient way of touring the complex with this trip.

 

[Mickey's Best Girl]

We enjoy the Marketplace side of DS immensely. World of Disney, Earl of sandwich etc. The original Downtown Disney.

I work in retail and really don’t like shopping so we avoid the “outdoor mall” portion.

 

[Happyinwonerland]

I don't do much shopping, but I love to walk around the Disney Springs at sunset. It is just so beautiful by the water, the evening breeze kicking in, usually a band playing. I just find it very relaxing that time of day.

 

[maryj11]

The last two times we have stopped at Disney Springs (March 2017 daytime, March 2018 evening), it has been super crowded and that has been a big turn off for me. The restaurants are pretty neat but generally I find the stores too expensive for my budget. Combine the crowds and the cost and it just isn't my favorite place to go.

Same for me! We are going to eat at Homecomin and maybe look in a couple stores. We probably won't buy anything because it is to expensive.