Downtown Disney – Page 6

PHOTOS: Food Truck Park Opens at the West Side in Disney Springs

WDWNT on December 30, 2014

After months of delay, Food Truck Park on the West Side at Disney Springs finally opened to guests today. The area offers a permanent home to the Food Trucks at Downtown Disney and to some live entertainment space along the water:

Walls came down around Food Truck (or Exposition) Park today, located between Bongo’s and Starbucks on the West Side

As reported, the Sunshine Highline is not accessible

There is no more grass, just pavement and planters around the Food Trucks

Live entertainment in the park

Live entertainment in the park

This is where the elevator would have gone to get up to the Sunshine Highline

Another look

Instead of ordering at the truck, there are now podiums at the Food Truck

Signs tell guests to order at the kiosk

Nearby, walls have also come down around the Harley-Davidson store

PHOTOS: Walls Come Down and Walkways Open in Disney Springs, Revealing “The Landing”

WDWNT on December 30, 2014

Walls came down around the former Pleasure Island bridge area (near the Adventurer’s Club site) over the Thanksgiving weekend, revealing new facades, concept art, and more for The Landing, the replacement land for PI courtesy of the Disney Springs makeover project of Downtown Disney. Let’s see what’s new and exciting:

Walls came down on the former Pleasure Island bridge connecting to the West Side last week, just in time for the heavy crowds

It has been closed for quite a while, well over a year

This area underneath the Restrooms next door to the former BET Soundstage seems to have been cleaned up

The large open space is where the Comedy Warehouse used to be

New lamps

Continuing the story of the abandoned railroad, there are train tracks in the pavment

Train tracks

Train tracks

One of the new facades, not sure if this is a shop or restaurant

Looking down the main street of The Landing towards Paradiso 37

Another look at this large facade

Sign is up, but nothing is on it…

As much as there have been complaints that the Town Center looks fairly bland, the Landing has some really pretty elements

The former home of the Adventurer’s Club will become a restaurant

Some small store facades in The Landing

Some small store facades in The Landing

Some small store facades in The Landing

The former home of Mannequin’s is transforming in Morimoto’s

Another new facade

Originally meant for just dining, The Landing now includes several store spaces

Some new concept art for The Landing

Looking towards Paradiso 37 and the West Side from the new park area

Concept art showing the Landing, including another look at the yet-to-be-named restaurant in an airplane hangar…

The frame of the airplane hangar building is up

Another beautiful piece of concept art showing what will become of the Adventurer’s Club and BET Soundstage

Here’s what it looks like now

The Landing will open in the Spring, but I can’t imagine these facades will be changed by then

Another new piece of concept art

The Landing neighborhood in Disney Springs will open Spring 2015, although the area will likely not be finished by that time.

Dirk Wallen’s 11/3/14 WDW Photo Report (Walls Down at Disney Springs, New Concept Art, Big Hero 6, Christmas Merch, ETC)

WDWNT on November 25, 2014

WDWNT Reporter Dirk Wallen visited Disney Springs, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom, and Epcot this week and he has a ton of newsworthy photos to share with us in this HUGE photo report, so let’s get started:

Plenty of roadwork still to be done for Disney Springs

A new piece of elevated track is rising on the West Side, between Splitsville and Wolfgang Puck

We now know this large building with be the Boathouse

Disney announced this new restaurant concept last week

They wasted no time in adding ads to the walls for the restaurant

Concept art for the faÃ§ade of the Boathouse

The small waterside park in The Landing opened this weekend

A nice little area for relaxing and live entertainment

Some of the buildings are out from behind construction walls in The Landing

New concept art for the area now on construction walls

There is a giant inflatable Baymax from Big Hero 6 on the West Side…

These storefronts in The Landing are just about done

The bridge in the Marketplace is also nearing completion

Two small, temporary stores operated by Something Silver opened by Fulton’s recently

The Marketplace bridge with the Rainforest CafÃ© faÃ§ade refurbishment in the background

Shifting gears, Christmas merchandise has invaded the resort

Ornaments

Some Star Wars holiday pins were released

Plenty of Big Hero 6 merchandise is available around the resort

2015 calendars available

New “I Conquered” shirt

Iron Man and Captain America shirts

New Star Wars character glasses

New Darth Vader t-shirt

Some new merchandise was released at the Art of Animation Resort

Over at Epcot, walls finally came down around the area that was closed when a water main was hit after the Flower and Garden Festival

No visible progress at Norway’s Frozen attraction

We tweeted these weeks ago, but if you haven’t seen, some new retro EPCOT Center merchandise has been released

A quick stop at Animal Kingdom reveals work walls near Pangani Forest and Kilimanjaro Safaris

No visible changes at AVATAR, it’s impossible to see from inside the park

Moving to Disney’s Hollywood Studios, work continues on Starbucks and the Trolley Car CafÃ©

Nah nah nah nah, nah nah nah nah, hey hey hey…

Big Hero 6 merchandise carts replace the Frozen carts

Banners up in the Animation Courtyard

Work has finally begun on the Big Hero 6 meet and greet inside The Magic of Disney Animation

Big Hero 6 billboard by The Legend of Captain Jack Sparrow

Let’s journey inside the new Wandering Oaken’s

Purchase with purchase Frozen bag available

Jim Shore has released some Frozen statues

Osborne Lights are ready to go

No more Backlot Tour…

More Details & Concept Art Leaks for Downtown Disney’s Conversion to Disney Springs

WDWNT on November 25, 2014

Well, here we go again. You may remember when we “leaked” the original concept art and plans for Disney Springs in early 2013, but even with a formal announcement following that, Disney has remained very quiet through many stages of the construction process on this overhaul of Downtown Disney. Today, we have uncovered some recently released documents that point to more of what is on the way for Disney Springs.

The now confirmed back story of Disney Springs involves a town that grew around local springs. The Marketplace is essentially the suburbs where residents moved to as the town experienced a boom. The Landing is a commercial district with a train station, bottling co. (Morimoto Asia), dock, and a large ferry boat (Fulton’s). The Town Center is the shopping center of the area and will feature the bulk of the retail options for Disney Springs. The West Side feature remnants of the abandoned train tracks, but is a thriving entertainment district. Further speculative details on the back story can be found in our original pre-announcement story. It seems the original document is pretty much on par with the finalized back story.

Now, let’s get into some new details and concept art for the neighborhoods of Disney Springs, starting with the West Side:

On the West Side, Food Truck Park (which will otherwise be known as Exposition Park) slated to open this Summer will now be opening by the end of November 2014.
The abandoned elevated train tracks in that are will be called the Sunshine Highline. We still expect this to offer lounge and bar areas when completed.

Waterview Park area of The Landing, looking towards Raglan Road

The new park that recently opened in The Landing next to the Boathouse is called Waterview Park. As you can see in the concept art above, there will be a fountain and more trees added soon.
In the next 6 months, The Landing should open with 12 retail locations and 7 restaurants including the Boathouse and Morimoto Asia.
The walkway between Paradiso 37 and the other stores to the West Side should be open by Thanksgiving
BET Soundstage and the Adventurer’s Club locations have been confirmed as venues for new restaurants, so the Adventurer’s Club return rumor can now be ruled out.

New pathway between Raglan Road and Portobello, facing Boathouse in The Landing

The path recently opened while work on the new buildings continues

The new, renovated area in front of Fulton’s and Portobello is Riverfront Square. Walls have come down in this area already:

We did not get much in the form of new details about the Town Center area, but we did get several new pieces of concept art for this area replacing the Pleasure Island parking lot:

The entry plaza for the Town Center

The Town Center

The entrance to Town Center from the new bus loop

The Town Center

The entrance to Town Center from the Marketplace parking structure

New pedestrian bridge over Buena Vista Drive into the Town Center bus loop

Some notes on the Marketplace:

The lake will be called “Lake Buena Vista”, because, believe it or not, it wasn’t called that already.
The World of Disney expansion will come out towards Town Center, modifications inside of the store are already taking place
More pedestrian bridges will be built over Buena Vista Drive leading guests to and from Hotel Plaza Boulevard.

The Disney Springs master plan

A closer look reveals the World of Disney expansion and new pedestrian bridges to Hotel Plaza Boulevard

So, what do you think?

“Sunshine Highline” Elevated Dining Area for Disney Springs Officially Cancelled

WDWNT on November 25, 2014

Disney released an interesting piece of concept art today:

Something missing?

Concept art with the “Sunshine Highline” still there, including the ADA compliant elevator

In back story, the area was an abandoned railroad track

It would seem that the delay in the construction of Food Truck Park on the West Side, now also known as Exposition Park, was the removal of the “Sunshine Highline” second floor offerings, an elevated abandoned train track area for guests to relax and possibly dine. The concept art on the walls for Food Truck Park featured the above art until quite recently it was removed and signs change to reflect the Fall 2014 opening, rather than Summer. Disney is being very quiet about the removal, so it is unknown if it was a budgetary or safety decision. Drunken guests on an elevated platform WOULD be a bad idea. Regardless, it’s sad to see the use of these structures relegated to simply being shade and lighting structures. Oh well…

Dirk Wallen’s 10/10/14 Disney Springs/Downtown Disney Photo Report (The Landing, EPCOT Center, Food Truck Park, ETC.)

WDWNT on October 24, 2014

WDWNT Reporter Dirk Wallen visited Downtown Disney (Disney Springs as it will be known soon) yesterday and has some great newsworthy photos to share with us from his trip:

The large waterfront building in The Landing is coming along nicely

It was supposed to open Summer, but Food Truck Park still isn’t finished

The concept art

There’s an EPCOT Center bag hidden in the artwork…

A look at the new boardwalk and the large new structure in The Landing, which is currently still Pleasure Island

Originally, the Landing was supposed to be just new dining options, but some retail space has been built

New, small retail locations can be found in front of Fulton’s

The first one appears to sell bar accessories

The second is called Sublime… no idea what it is…

The Marketplace bridge will be completed by early 2015, maybe even for the 2014 holiday season

Even though it is only a year old, the Rainforest Café volcano is being fixed up

Ghirardelli has a new sundae

They also have some great holiday treats

MINI CHOCOLATE!

La Nouba Dinner & Show Package To Be Offered 9/30-11/22/14

WDWNT on September 30, 2014

The package includes category 1 or 2 tickets to Cirque Du Soleil La Nouba 6 Pm performances and dining at Splitsville, Wolfgang Puck, or Planet Hollywood on dates ranging from 9/30 through 11/22, 2014. Category 1 tickets are $119 + tax for adults and $109 + tax for children, while category 2 tickets are $99 + tax per adult and $89 + tax per child.

Dinner includes one entrée, 1 non-alcoholic beverage, and 1 dessert per person and gratuity is not included. Dining can be before or after the show, with before needing to be seated prior to 4:30Pm and after seating beginning at 8PM.

You can book this package by calling (407) WDW-SEAT, or by visiting the box office at Cirque Du Soleil at Downtown Disney.

Tom Corless’ 9/23/14 WDW Photo Report (Frozen Store, Disney Springs, Hollywood Studios, ETC.)

WDWNT on September 30, 2014

This weekend, I visited Downtown Disney/Disney Springs as well as Disney’s Hollywood Studios and I have a number of newsworthy photos to share with you from my trip, so let’s take a look at what’s new and exciting!

Disney Infinity 2.0 for sale at Once Upon a Toy

The remodeling has begun at the World of Disney store: the pirate displays were ripped out and replaced with this temporary display

Work on the new pedestrian bridge in Marketplace continues

If you’re complaining about the lack of Android or iPod cases at WDW, the sun damage to these packages should indicate how poorly they sell compared to iPhone cases

Some of the pavement between Portobello and Fulton’s has come out from behind walls

The new pathway through Pleasure Island/ The Landing is nearing completion, so you’ll be able to walk between Raglan Road and Portobello soon

Legends of Hollywood is now a Frozen store on Sunset Boulevard at Hollywood Studios

With Wandering Oaken’s closing on the 28th, this will be the home to all Frozen merchandise at the Studios

Even the window display got dressed up for Olaf

A look inside

There’s even pressed pennies!

Not Frozen, but I spotted this awesome new pressed pennies book in the store

OLAFS!!!!

Character portraits can be found near the ceiling

New, 2-sided ornament

Pins

Over at One Man’s Dream, the New Fantasyland model is gone and the old exhibits are back

At Muppetvision 3-D, a new soon-to-be interactive element was spotted hanging in the pre-show

Goodbye…

Disney Tries To Sort the Downtown Disney/Disney Springs Mess For Guests, New Project Details Revealed

WDWNT on September 5, 2014

Starting today, guests visiting Walt Disney World will find a new map that isn’t labeled as a map… It’s simply titled “Tips for Visiting Downtown Disney”. The last few months have seen quite a bit of confusion and anarchy at the shopping and dining district as Disney tries to operate the popular attraction while performing a massive overhaul into Disney Springs. The parking situation currently has many guests missing movie showings and dining reservations on a frequent basis, so to avoid some of the existing confusion and to help guests do whatever they may be planning to do at Downtown Disney, some drastic changes were made to the map:

The walkways to Saratoga Springs were more clearly labeled, as well as the new bridge connecting Marketplace to the hotel. Bus stops, valet parking, and other walkways to other areas are now also sporting the large black and white text bubbles to clarify how guests can get where they need to go. In addition, some new opening dates for two facets of the Disney Springs project were revealed to us:

The West Garage was supposed to open this fall, but has now been pushed back to early 2015.
The pedestrian walkway or bridge across the water in Marketplace is now also labeled as opening in early 2015.

The busy summer months may be drawing to a close, but it is sure to be an interesting few months over at Downtown Disney with the parking structure, pedestrian bridge, and The Landing are all set to open in “early 2015”. Stay tuned…

Dirk Wallen & John Corigliano’s 8/22/14 Disney Springs Photo Report

WDWNT on September 5, 2014

WDWNT Reporters Dirk Wallen and John Corigliano both visited Downtown Disney/Disney Springs earlier this week and have a number of newsworthy photos to share with us, so let’s take a look: