Disney Springs Review:
Disney Springs (formerly Downtown Disney) is a collection of restaurants, experiences and shops lining along with a walkway on the edge of a lake. This theme park is it becomes lively at night when the atmosphere is brilliant and it’s pretty common to find street entertainers offering music and comedy. There’s also a Cirque de Soleil theatre here that used to present a show called La Nouba which was absolutely fantastic. However, it is now still waiting for a new replacement to show at the theatre. The main reason why Disney Springs is great is that it is completely free to enter with no car parking fee.
Don’t underestimate how big this place is. It will take you up to half an hour just to walk from one end to the other, so look out for the free ferry service that links the two ends by taking you across the huge lake. You could pay for a tour around the lagoon on an amphibious car with your own captain. This experience is brilliant and unique but quite expensive.
The main experience here is a huge balloon called “Characters in Flight”, it raises groups of people up to the sky. If you wish to ride, the balloon operates from 8.30am to midnight daily with adult tickets costing $18 and children $12. If you get up early, then there is an early-bird offer before 10.30am of $10 per person, so we recommend that. Be aware as the balloon doesn’t fly in bad weather conditions, so be prepared. Other experiences at Disney Springs include Splitsville Luxury Lanes which is a new bowling and dining experience.
There are lots of eating experiences at Disney Springs. We can recommend the House of Blues which has its own concert venue next door and serves delicious traditional American food. The other place to eat at is Planet Hollywood which is more about the movie memorabilia than the food in our opinion. Even if you don’t want to eat there, you can still see one of the boats used in the film Forrest Gump moored outside. Other restaurants at Disney Springs include the Rainforest Cafe, T-Rex Cafe, Fulton’s Crab House, Wolfgang Puck, Raglan Road Irish Pub, Portobello, Paradiso 37 and Bongos Cuban Cafe. You can also visit The Boat House, a highly themed restaurant and bar in the style of a boathouse, it’s well worth a visit. There are also plenty of snack type places too, don’t forget to visit Ghirardelli’s shop for a free chocolate square sample!
Most stores and experiences at Disney Springs open from 9.30am to 11 pm or midnight.
