Walt Disney World, Downtown Disney

Downtown Disney is made up of three sections:

Marketplace
Marketplace to the East which has been the original shopping area since the opening. You will find shops there such as the Art of Disney that moved from its original location in the Pleasure Island area, Team Mickey (sports and athletic goods with a Disney touch) and Arribas Brothers - a Spanish company who make silver, glass and other goods many of which are Disney-themed.

The Marketplace is also the home of World of Disney where you can shop in themed sections of the store where you will find every plush, every t-shirt, every watch and every whatever you can think of for each and every Disney character that has merchandise. You won't find absolutely every product as some items are only sold in certain parks but you won't stick for a variety of items that's for sure. This is also the home of one of the two Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo boutiques on property, the other being in Cinderella's Castle.

You will also find some really good places to eat in the Marketplace; Earl of Sandwich, Ghirardelli, Rainforest Cafe and Wolfgang Puck Express. You will even find the omni-present McDonald's in DTD. There is also a T-Rex restaurant that has just opened in a similar vein to the Rainforest Cafe.

Pleasure Island
Pleasure Island is the central "island" currently home to Fulton's Crab House (formerly the Empress Lilly), Portobello Yacht Club and Raglan Road Irish Pub. The remainder of Pleasure Island was all night clubs up to its closing a few months ago as the night-club theme is being done away with and more shop and restaurant offerings are going to take over. The first new offering, Paradiso 37, is nearing completion with a late-Spring go-date.

West Side
The final segment is West Side located, logically enough, at the Western portion of Downtown Disney. West Side encompasses several specialty shops from a kitchen magnet store to a magic store to a cigar store. There are also a few good places to eat: Bongos cafe, Wolfgang Puck cafe and the House of Blues as well as a Wetzel's Pretzels/Haagen Dazs quick-service offering. DisneyQuest, Cirque du Soleil and AMC Theaters also reside here. Virgin Megastore that takes up one of the main spots in the plaza area has announced it will close this facility in the near future.

Characters in Flight, a tethered balloon ride, has just opened up. Reviews are not yet in but it looks like fun.

Last Updated: May 9, 2009