Is Disney Spring worth 1/2 extra day and night stay?

[rteetz]

I wouldn't purposely go out of my way and book an extra night for it but I really enjoy Disney Springs. They have some of the best dining on property. I always try to eat somewhere there. Shopping is just an added bonus for me.

 

[jreed]

I wouldn't purposely go out of my way and book an extra night for it but I really enjoy Disney Springs. They have some of the best dining on property. I always try to eat somewhere there. Shopping is just an added bonus for me.

I agree with this. We always hit Disney Springs and enjoy it. But it's typically on an arrival day or a rest day. Wouldnt make any trip alterations to get there.

 

[sachilles]

If you are staying off site....and can manage off-site near the springs, it's probably worth it. Coming down a day early if you are driving, to get in the extra rest is likely worth it. Think of it as dinner with a post dinner stroll to work off the calories, and you won't be disappointed.

We usually go on arrival day, as our flights often arrive just after lunch time. We don't want to waste a park admission, so it makes sense to skip to DS for a stroll to enjoy the warm weather(compared to the snow we escaped from) and grab a meal. Then get back to the resort for an decent bed time.....as much for the adults as the 9 year old. We gravitate towards POR, and SSR for that very reason.

It really isn't anything special, but it's sort of warm up for park days. I do think they could add a few more paid attractions on site to make it a bit more exciting for the younger kids. That being said, if it's arrival day, kids are usually wound up and ready to go....and some times running around at DS is just what the doctor ordered after being cooped up in a car or airplane. Sure they'll get plenty of walking in over the vacation, but this gets the first day jitters out so to speak.

 

[Farro]

If it's not going to break your budget, go for it!

Disney Springs is very pretty at night and I can't think of a better way to start a vacation with a great dinner at Boathouse or Morimoto and then waking up rested for your first park day!

Have a great trip OP!

 

[Mom2Stitch]

I would drive in early for the fresh start the next morning and to get the travel day out of the way. Just for DS-no. We will go to DS for 3 things this trip-Christmas Shop to get my traditional souvenir, Art Smith's-cause YUM, and the Star Wars VR for my SW nerd herd of a family. Sometimes we do a movie, but we won't have time this trip. We miss Disney Quest. I will say that we have enjoyed some of the live music in the evening and I might venture into the Coke store since I missed it last trip. They can keep their high end shops. Ghirardelli's use to be a big draw for us, but one was put into the local outlet mall about 30 minutes away from us.

 

[rg35]

I would come down early to start the next day "at Disney" but not necessarily for Disney Springs.

Forgetting the new mall part, there are some great restaurants now and Marketplace Co-op is my entire store in all of "the world".

 

[loves to dive]

Is it worth it is subjective, for us no. We didn't really like DTD so turning it more upscale didn't make it more appealing to us. Out reasoning: we live close enough to Atlanta that if we want high end shopping, it's the cost of gas to drive 45 min there. If we want Disney shopping, there is plenty of that in the parks and resorts to satisfy us, more than enough. If we want food, again, plenty of that in the parks and resorts to satisfy us. So, for us, no it's not worth an extra day, as a matter of fact, even when we are there and have 2 or 3 free hours, it's not worth it to us.

 

[DWillowBay]

I'm in the ABSOLUTELY NOT camp! I have no interest in DS now...it's just a big outdoor mall full of stores I wouldn't spend "that kind" of money in. There are a several good eateries, but not worth the time investment to get there and back. I skip it now.

 

[BradBeast]

We are going for spring break and going on a cruise this fall, and we always schedule an extra post-cruise day to spend a night at DS. A great way to spend a night and day sans kids to do all the adult things DS offers.

 

[North of Mouse]

Haven't been to Disney Springs since they began reimagining it from Downtown Disney. We are planning on starting our onsite stay on Sunday in late may. Had originally planned on driving down Sunday leaving very, very, early in AM. Is DS worth driving down day early on Sat. and spending extra night in off site motel? We like the idea of feeling fresh on Sunday to start our trip to WDW (have done it like that numerous times) but not sure if worth $250-350 more by the time we pay for hotel and meals on Sat.
any info appreciated.
Thanks
mikewdw

No way!

 

[d-train]

DS? No, not worth it.

Now, if you drove a day early, stayed off site, and started Sunday first thing as an extra park day, yes!

But really, skip DS. Just go to your local Mall...

 

[bluejasmine]

We loved DTD and so far have liked what we saw of DS, we only had like 2 hours late night back in May but this trip we are coming in 2 nights before staying at Drury Inn (very late first night) so we can spend the morning and afternoon there, relax and swim at the hotel maybe go to AK that evening if I can get the FP I want, then next morning check into VGF

We always start our WDW vacations at DS, starting at WOD store it just gets us in that Disney mood! I am excited to check out the other newer stores, DH and I like to shop/window shop

 

[fla4fun]

I am of the opinion that an extra day added to a WDW vacation is always worth it! You can't really go wrong with an extra day of rest and relaxation. If you choose to spend that time at Disney Springs, or resort hopping, or some of both, it can be fun. Only you know if the extra expense will be a hardship or not, and only you can determine whether you consider it to be "worth it".

I will say I always check into my WDW vacation after work, which means I work all day and then arrive at my resort around 5:30, too tired to do much but unpack and settle in. However, I consider the fact that I am in the room, unpacked, and can get a solid night's sleep (not to mention I don't have to wait for my room to be ready the next morning) so the extra expense of that room night is very much worth it to me. I do the same thing at the back end - I used to go home on Friday and do laundry and stuff, but then I started staying over on Friday night and just going back to work Saturday from the hotel. I get another full day of vacation too.

 

[hsmamato2]

I wouldn't just for DS...but as OP mentioned, getting a fresh start on Sunday would be a good reason to get into town early! and Ds (to me) is very entertaining- great food choices, evening entertainment all over the place, it's just a fun place to visit! I'd go earlier ,visit DS,and rest up for Sunday.

 

[Tomh]

Whenever I think of adding a day to my trip because airfare is cheaper on a certain day I always take into account food costs for that day. After an additional hotel night AND food costs it's sometimes not worth it. If we are in Disney we are going to want to eat Disney food. Not Sizzlers or Wendy's. So that drives up our costs.

We have found a number of restaurants outside of Disney that aren't available near us in NY. Macaroni's is pretty good, and we had never seen one before. We enjoyed Bahama Breeze quite a bit, and again, we don't have any of them anywhere near us in NY.

Doing some stuff offsite is also a possibility with an extra day. Half the day at Disney Springs, and the other half checking out some of the stuff on I-Drive, and Irlo Bronson Highway could be fun. Old Town is pretty cool. Celebration is beautiful, and has it's own selection of shops and restaurants which could easily fill a few hours.

 

[randumb0]

We have found a number of restaurants outside of Disney that aren't available near us in NY. Macaroni's is pretty good, and we had never seen one before. We enjoyed Bahama Breeze quite a bit, and again, we don't have any of them anywhere near us in NY.

Doing some stuff offsite is also a possibility with an extra day. Half the day at Disney Springs, and the other half checking out some of the stuff on I-Drive, and Irlo Bronson Highway could be fun. Old Town is pretty cool. Celebration is beautiful, and has it's own selection of shops and restaurants which could easily fill a few hours.

I love Bahama Breeze

 

[kangamangus]

Add us to the group that if you can add any extra time for Disney do it! We personally love Disney springs, listening to the music, shopping at World of Disney, getting personalized items, free samples of chocolate and sitting somewhere with a mickey pretzel. In fact I think for our family we don't get there enough. There are a lot of shops that are just like hometown mall but not all of it is like that and anytime in Disney sounds great to me.

 

[SCSteve]

If your concern is if it's worth spending an extra $350 just to see the Disney mall, err., I mean, Disney Springs I say do NOT do it!

If the money is not of concern, then it's nice to walk through, browse the shops and maybe have a bite at one of the restaurants like you would do at any mall in America.

 

[adelaster]

This thread is funny because we spend more time collectively at Disney Springs than the parks. We have fancy malls where I'm from too, and I wouldn't say that it is the same experience at all.

OP, it really depends on what you are hoping to do/get out of your experience. We usually go there to eat and enjoy the ambience-particularly at dusk or after. Sunsets are beautiful over the water. It's more of a place to go to unwind and explore rather than to be entertained in my opinion. They do a decent job with that too though- street entertainers, musicians, etc.

 

[tommygunn]

Wow not a lot of love here for Disney springs. I surprised because I really dig it. Although to answer your question fairly, I'd say it probably depends on your family situation. If you're there with young kids, then it's definitely not worth it. But with older kids who enjoy cool dining options, or with no kids I think DS is great and definitely worth another half day / evening. Agree with others on here who say the new "mall" part is nothing special. But the Disney stores and the themed restaurants are certainly worth spending a night to see. Raglan Road and Homecoming are 2 of my favorites. Great place to people watch, enjoy a meal and a few drinks. Bowling at splitsville is also a lot of fun - my kids love it and the food is surprisingly pretty good. So mix that up with some Disney shopping and it's a great place to spend a half day / evening at. Especially is you're a raging alcoholic like myself