Blog #10: The Marketplace

Photo by Bill Sauerbier



Welcome to another Monday edition of the Disney World Nation. This week Michelle W, Bill W, Beth, Katherine (filling in for Lauren), Ted and Bill S. will answer a question about Downtown Disney. Here is the Monday question for 4/25/10.

Downtown Disney is a great place for Disney guests to go. It is broken up into three parts. The first part is the Marketplace. The marketplace spans from the bus stop by the Christmas shop, all the way to Fulton's Crab House. It has shops, food, and even a few kids rides. So your question for this week is "What is your favorite thing to see/do at the Marketplace".

Michelle W: For us, we usually hit Downtown on our first day in WDW or in the middle of our trip to break up the week. First stop for my daughter is a ride on the carousel & the little train. She just loves taking a ride on both of these knowing that at some point during our vacation she’ll get to go on the Big versions! Then I’m usually allowed to take some time to look at the new selection of pins at “Disney's Pin Traders” while the rest of my family ventures off to “Once Upon a Toy” to see what new Star Wars items are in-stock. Then one of our favorite places to grab a quick bite to eat is at Wolfgang Puck Express (we love the meatloaf). After that, if we’ve left room, then it’s ice cream time at Ghirardelli’s! Now if we want something not so quick to eat, then we’ll head over to T-REX Café. It’s like Rainforest Café but with Dinosaurs & a meteor shower!  Then no shopping trip is complete without a stop at “World of Disney”. They have everything & anything there. I usually like to try and get all my “big” shopping done first, so that I don’t forget anyone, but usually we’ll make one more trip here before we head home.  I also want to give an honorable mention to one of my favorite places to visit that is no longer at Downtown Disney, which would be the Adventures Club, which was located in the Pleasure Island area. Back in the day, that would be the place where I would spend most of my evening while at Pleasure Island. There was just nothing else like it, that’s for sure! How I miss it! Kungaloosh!

Bill W: The Marketplace at Downtown has so many things to do, and stuff to buy. There is one place we visit every time, without fail, Goofy’s Candy Company. There is something magical about making your very own customized Disney sweet treat. I love putting special touches on a Mickey Rice Krispie bar, while my wife and daughter can’t resist making a yummy caramel apple. We always leave there with smile on our face and a sugar high.

Beth P: Our first stop at the marketplace has almost always been the Lego Imagination Center. I'm convinced we have a budding “Imagineer” on our hands. My twins were born in 1998, and I think the Village was their first 'Disney Adventure" even before they were born. We like to see what new things have been added to the store, and count the many wonderful colors and shapes of the many models. It's also so much fun to take pictures everytime we go, and on our return home, we like to take out the pictures and compare how we have changed, and how the Lego Store has changed.

Katherine E: Downtown Disney is a great way to get a dose of Disney without being in the parks. It offers shopping, dining, and entertainment which one of these three is bound to draw anyone in.  For me and my Husband shopping tends to be our biggest draw in the Marketplace section of Downtown Disney. Our goal on every trip is to look in the gift shops as you go and at the end of the trip head to Downtown Disney. We always head straight to the World of Disney and buy up our must haves. We also love this store because of all the extras it has. Even if you were not there to buy something just walking through and enjoying the decor is fun, true you might need to maneuver around a lot of people to see them but you can still have fun. 

Ted H: I always enjoy going to downtown Disney.  And although Dina and I always hit up world of Disney to go shopping, our favorite time at the marketplace was when we went to T-Rex for dinner.  The planets were aligned that day, cause it was a cold January day during the off peak season and we strolled up and asked how long the wait was expecting for a ridiculous wait time.  To our surprise they sat us at that moment no wait.  The food was great, the staff was very nice and how many people can you say ate at a restaurant where you are surrounded by dinosaurs and a meteor strikes every 20 minutes. Not to many.  Now when we walk by T-Rex and see the long lines to be seat, we laugh and remember our great dinner there and can't wait for our next.

Bill S: So I have two answers for this (I know that’s cheating, but it’s my blog J). It’s a dinner/dessert combination like no other. First head over to Wolfgang Puck’s Express. The Pizza here is the best I have ever tasted, and the four-cheese macaroni is amazing. Once you have eaten there, head across the way to Ghirardelli’s for ice cream. This place is great, not only does it taste good, but it is fun to watch them make the tasty treats. The Gold Rush (peanut butter hot fudge sundae) is my favorite. Each ice cream also comes with a Ghirardelli’s chocolate square, how can you go wrong with that??  After hitting these two stops you will be so full, you will feel like you need to be rolled back to the WDW Motorcoach, but it will be so worth it.

I hope this gives you some idea for your next trip to Downtown Disney, thank you once again for visiting the Disney World Nation Blog, come back Friday when the Nation debate does adding new features help or hurt a classic Magic Kingdom ride. Till next time, See You Real Soon Bill Sauerbier