Disney Springs is one of those parts of Disney that many people are less familiar with. Growing up, I knew it as Downtown Disney. I have memories of the giant LEGO dragon emerging from the water, lots of shops, and an open-air atmosphere, but that’s about it. I honestly couldn’t have told you where it was in relation to everything else—I vaguely thought you could just walk there from somewhere.
Having returned as an adult and seen what Disney Springs has become, I was completely blown away. First of all, it’s huge. With nearly 100 stores and more than 60 dining locations, it can feel overwhelming when you’re trying to figure out where to start.
Before our first visit, I spent a lot of time reading restaurant reviews and studying menus to find something that would work for our family. We ended up trying The Boathouse and The Edison, and both were solid choices with good food and fun atmospheres. One thing I wasn’t prepared for was just how crowded Disney Springs can get, especially on a Saturday. It was far busier than I expected.
On our second trip, we treated ourselves to Drawn to Life, which was absolutely fantastic. Unfortunately, I made the rookie mistake of booking dinner at T-Rex immediately afterward without realizing it was located at the complete opposite end of Disney Springs. What followed was essentially a real-life recreation of the airport scene from Home Alone as we sprinted across the property trying not to miss our reservation.
We made it, but I wouldn’t recommend that strategy. We were hot, out of breath, and probably looked ridiculous. To top it all off, we arrived at our table right in the middle of a meteor shower effect, which thoroughly terrified my daughter. Lesson learned: Disney Springs is much larger than it looks on a map.
As for shopping, many of the stores lean toward the higher end. We enjoyed wandering through several of them simply because they were so unique, but most weren’t places we were particularly interested in shopping. The kids, however, loved exploring the LEGO Store and the M&M’S Store.
Overall, Disney Springs is a great place to spend a few hours. Grab a snack, browse some shops, enjoy the entertainment, and soak in the atmosphere. It’s especially useful on a non-park day when you want to get out and do something without committing to a full day at your resort.
We actually used Disney Springs as part of our resort transfer day, and it worked perfectly. We checked out of our first resort, left our luggage with Bell Services, took a bus to Disney Springs, spent the day exploring and having lunch, and then took a bus to our next resort before dinner. Our bags were waiting for us when we arrived. Easy peasy.
Quick Recap: Disney Springs is enormous, often crowded, and can feel a little overwhelming at first. The shopping tends to be on the pricier side, but it’s a fun place to stroll, people-watch, and explore. If you have some downtime on an arrival, departure, or resort-transfer day, it’s well worth a visit. And if you can fit Drawn to Life into your plans, I highly recommend it.