Marketplace causeway at Disney Springs, the new face of Downtown Disney.

Downtown Disney is such a study in contrast right now.

On one hand, you'd got this 120-acre entertainment, shopping and dining district's brand-new Marketplace Co-Op, which features six different boutiques that offer a wide variety of unique, authentic and original merchandise developed especially for the Disney Parks.

You've also got not one but two brand-new Starbucks that just opened. One of which offers a spectacular view of Village Lake from its Reserve Coffee Counter. Virtually everything about this 4000 square-foot store -- from its grass-covered roof to its all-natural-woods interior -- gives off the vibe that you should: Stay. Linger. Loiter. Hang Out.

Now contrast that with what Downtown Disney is saying on its West Side. Just last week, Entrance 4 to this nearly 30 year-old complex was permanently closed so that work could continue on linking the new massive parking structure to I-4.

Given that -- what with the widening work that's currently underway along Buena Vista Drive outside of Downtown Disney (not to mention all of the construction that's going in and around this shopping district) -- this entertainment, shopping and dining district is damned near impossible to get in and out of these days ... Disney had to do the unthinkable last month, which was announcing at virtually the last minute that, for the first time in 39 years, they couldn't host the Festival of the Masters, a three day-long event where more than 300 artists can showcase their work in booths that are set up all the way from Downtown Disney's West Side right through to Pleasure Island.

But given that Pleasure Island doesn't really exist anymore, (Its once-lively collection of shops, restaurants and nightclubs now stands empty behind construction fences, awaiting transformation,) WDW officials felt that they didn't really have a choice. In a statement released through the official Disney Parks blog back in August, Disney Company officials said that they appreciate the ...

... enthusiastic support we’ve received from the arts community, both locally and nationally, which has contributed to the long-running success of the Festival.

Walt Disney World Resort is a strong supporter of the arts and we remain committed to nurturing the arts.

We ask for your patience and understanding during this time of growth and look forward to building new memories with you at Disney Springs.


And that -- in a nutshell -- is what is going on at Downtown Disney right now. The Imagineers are transforming this 120-acre shopping, dining and entertainment district into Disney Springs. Which -- the Company hopes, once all the work is completed in 2016 -- will emerge as a new hot spot for both WDW visitors and Orlando locals.

This $300 million project -- as you might expect -- is a huge, huge gamble for the Company. Disrupting the regular ebb-and-flow of Downtown Disney's retail, dining and entertainment activities for three whole years so that this side of the property can then hopefully emerge as a tribute to all those small, charming lakeside towns which used to dot the Florida landscape back at the turn-of-the-century.

But from the Imagineers' point of view, they just felt that they had no choice. You see, Downtown Disney never really had a plan. Over nearly 40 years of fits-and-spurts of construction, it just sort of grew from this collection of individual artisan shops that opened at the edge of Village Lake back in March of 1975 to this complete unwalkable, unworkable trio of elements (i.e., The Marketplace, Pleasure Island and the West Side).

"What do I mean by unwalkable, unworkable?," you ask. Disney's own internal surveys shows that people who started their visit to Downtown Disney in the Marketplace area would typically shop at World of Disney & Once Upon a Toy and then grab some dinner at Earl of Sandwich or the T-Rex Cafe. But you know what these people wouldn't do? They wouldn't continue on over to the West Side because that part of this retail, dining and shopping complex was viewed as being too far way.

Conversely, most WDW visitors who caught a performance of La Nouba at Cirque du Soleil and then grabbed dinner at Bongo's Cuban Cafe would stay over on the West Side of Downtown Disney because there just seemed to be this huge expanse of property between them and the Marketplace & Pleasure Island.

This is one of the main reasons that the very first elements to be put in place as part of the  Disney Springs redo was this series of clearly visible walkways & causeways, which then created this real sense of connection between Downtown Disney's Marketplace, Pleasure Island and the West Side. Given that at least one of these causeways cuts directly across Village Lake ... Well, the idea that the Imagineers is trying to get across here is that this retail, dining and shopping district is in fact walkable. That all it's going to take for guests to go from having dinner at the Rainforest Cafe to catching a movie at the AMC Downtown Disney 24 is a leisurely 5-minute long stroll.

The other way that WDI is hoping to -- as part of Downtown Disney's three year-long transformation into Disney Springs -- create a sense of continuity between the Marketplace, Pleasure Island and the West Side is by using a common architecture, landscaping, music and costuming within these areas. When all of the grunt work is done in 2016, the overall look of this 120-acre complex will really sell the idea that Disney Springs was once this really-for-real Florida landside town that -- over time -- became this retail, dining and entertainment destination.

Mind you, a big part of properly setting the stage for Disney Springs will be its new Town Center complex. This entrance gateway -- which will occupy a large portion of Pleasure Island's old parking lot area -- will be how Guests who are making use of WDW's bus system will now enter the revamped Downtown Disney. And given that they will be beginning their Disney Springs adventure right at the very center of this retail, dining and entertainment complex, these people will then have the option of heading out to explore:

•    The Landing, which is supposed to have been Disney Springs' old commercial district that now features an inspired array of dining choices which all offer beautiful waterfront views.

•    The Marketplace, which -- thanks to its new over-the-water pedestrian causeway -- is now easily accessible for folks who started their Disney Springs adventure over at ...

•    The West Side. Which -- thanks to the "remains" of an elevated train system which will soon be installed throughout this part of Downtown Disney -- there'll be this brand-new set of elevated spaces that not only provide shade but also give WDW visitors the opportunity to look out at everything that's going on at Disney Springs' West Side.

It does all admittedly sound charming. But the hard fact of the matter is that we've just now completed Year One of the Downtown Disney / Disney Springs redo. There are two more years of construction disruptions ahead. With the toughest phases (i.e., the construction of the Town Center entrance complex. Not to mention the late Spring / early Summer 2015 closure of the Marketplace's parking area so that a 3000 space, 4 story-tall parking garage can then be built on that piece of property) yet to come.

So as they say, "Hope springs eternal." WDW officials are just hoping that guests and Orlando-area locals just don't view this three year-long project to transform Downtown Disney into Disney Springs as an eternity. And that -- once all the work is done in 2016 -- they'll then return to this retail, shopping and entertainment complex and enjoy the ease of use and new style of style that the Imagineers hope will eventually emerge at Disney Springs' hallmarks.

So if you want to get a sense of what Downtown Disney will ultimately be like two years from now, go check out the new Disney Springs Marketplace boat dock & walkway to Saratoga Springs, which opened to guests back on August 15th

This handsome new bridge and dock (which is located near the Marketplace bus stop, just opposite Days of Christmas) is dual purpose. It not only serves as a bridge for folks staying at Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort, it also provides handy access to the dock providing ferry service in and around Downtown Disney. More to the point, this new addition really does look like something you'd find at a lakeside Florida town back at the turn-of-the-century.

And eventually all of Downtown Disney will have this same look, and more importantly, this same ease of use. If we can all just tough it out and get through the next two years that are needed to transform this 120 acre shopping, dining and retail district into Disney Springs.

Orlando, FL – 09/05/14

By: Jim Hill